Lake development hits another roadblock

Developer Bill Floten ran into another city roadblock on his proposal to build 27 homes on the banks of Lake Meridian because of six lots he wants to build on wetlands.

The Kent City Council voted 6-0 on April 15 to affirm a decision last year by City Hearing Examiner Ted Hunter to approve, subject to conditions to ensure the protection of wetlands, a preliminary plat application by Floten to build the homes.

Floten filed an appeal to the Council to remove the conditions of the approval by Hunter that six lots near the shoreline of the proposed Meridian Banks development may be unbuildable because of potential harm to wetlands.

Bill Williamson, the attorney for Floten, argued before the Council that it should grant the appeal to allow the homes because the plat for the subdivision should be allowed as an exemption under the Kent City Code critical areas ordinance because cabins and a home already exist on the property. Without such an exemption for the subdivision, the impact on lake properties could be widespread, Williamson told the Council.

“It could affect every owner on Lake Meridian for any remodel who has protected wetlands on their property,” Williamson said.

But Kim Pratt, assistant city attorney, later told the Council during her presentation that a plat for a new subdivision does not meet the criteria for an exemption under city code.

“Mr. Williamson is trying to misconstrue the exemptions,” Pratt said.

Pratt also argued that a decision to disallow six homes to be built on the wetlands on the Floten property has nothing to do with future projects along the shoreline.“The issue is the wetlands on this parcel,” Pratt said. “All of the other parcels would have to be looked at to see if they have wetlands. Each case would be looked at individually. All lake improvements will not disappear.”

After hearing arguments from Williamson and Pratt, the Council met for 20 minutes in executive session to discuss the appeal. The Council then returned to Council Chambers and voted to affirm Hunter’s decision. Councilman Bob O’Brien had an excused absence from the meeting and did not vote.

Because the Council serves as a quasi-judicial body on land-use matters rather than its normal duties as a policy-making body, the Council had the right to discuss the appeal in private, said Wayne Tonaka, who contracted to serve as the Kent city attorney on the hearing to avoid a potential appearance of bias by City Attorney Tom Brubaker.

Brubaker stepped aside as city attorney during the quasi-judicial proceeding because the city is involved in a lawsuit filed by Floten on a Meridian Banks rezone application to allow six homes per acre rather than 4.5 homes per acre on the 6.3-acre site on the lake’s northwest shore at 25840 135th Lane S.E.

That suit remains tied up in the Washington Court of Appeals as Floten attempts to get the rezone application approved despite the Council’s attempt to send the rezone back to the hearing examiner.

Brubaker said he is still trying to get the rezone application back in front of the Council for a vote. Floten filed a lawsuit last December in King County Superior Court to allow the rezone after the Council voted in November to send the rezone back to the hearing examiner. Superior Court Judge Jay White issued an order in January that stopped the rezone from going back to Hunter.

In a third matter connected to the proposed development, Floten plans to appeal to King County Superior Court a denial of his appeal by Hunter of the State Environmental Policy Act threshold determination.

Hunter ruled that Floten must prove he will take steps to mitigate the impact on wetlands as required under the State Environmental Policy Act. Those steps have not been taken. The state policy requires local agencies to consider the likely environmental consequences of a proposal before approving or denying the proposal.

Contact Steve Hunter at 253-872-6600, ext 5052 or shunter@reporternewspapers.com.