Squalicum Mountain Brouhaha

Virginia Watson has been a resident of the Squalicum Valley since 1982. She’s a board member of the Squalicum Valley Community Association.

A stop work order was issued by Whatcom County on May 9, 2007, to halt a project on the west side of Squalicum Mountain after concerned citizens got the attention of the Bellingham City Council.

In the fall of 2006, two citizens obtained a copy of the interlocal agreement between the city of Bellingham and Whatcom County Water District 7 from Whatcom County Planning and Development Services. This agreement gives the city of Bellingham the power it needs to protect the Lake Whatcom Reservoir from further degradation caused by inappropriate development in the watershed.

This agreement states in part: “The district agrees it will not sell or resell water for any use other than single-family dwellings on lots of record as of July 1, 1991, without the specific approval of the city of Bellingham.” This restriction was put in place to prevent urban sprawl.

The Growth Management Act (GMA) adopted by the Washington State Legislature in 1990 protects rural lands from urban sprawl by prohibiting the extension of urban services (city water) outside of the city and its Urban Growth Areas (UGAs). The Washington State Supreme Court does not allow the extension of urban services into rural zones outside the UGA.

The stop work order applied to construction that was well underway. Roman R Sarwas and Jacob L Smith own 20 acres of land on Vineyard Drive off of Academy Road just northeast of Silver Beach. According to the assessor’s office, parcel # 380323 326496 0000 is zoned rural, is designated forestland and required a tax payment of $46.76 in 2007. R5A zoning allows a density of one dwelling per five acres.

Although this 20-acre parcel has yet to be subdivided into four five-acre parcels, a large sign on Vineyard Drive indicates that two of the parcels are already sold in addition to advertising city water. Currently there is a moratorium on subdivisions in the Lake Whatcom watershed.

The size and amount of eight-inch water pipe on the site indicated a system capacity far beyond one required to service four dwellings was being installed. Trenches and a stake labeled “center of water tank” were observed and photographed.

A visit to the office of Water District 7 provided concerned citizens with documentation that wells in this area have failed to provide sufficient quality or quantities of water. A document listing names and/or addresses who obtained water service from the district since the year 2000 revealed that the district has agreed to provide water to 96 new customers, 25 of whom are connected or scheduled to be connected this year.

It was also learned that if a landowner is willing to install the infrastructure at their own expense, Water District 7 will sell them water even when it means providing water outside of its service area boundary.

A 2006 Water System Plan map indicates that the Whatcom Water District 7 service area boundary includes all of Squalicum Mountain. Attached to the interlocal agreement is a map indicating the District 7 service area in 1991, and it appears significantly smaller.

In order to expand its service area, a water district must apply for a service area boundary extension with the Boundary Review Board; the board must hold public hearings and then make recommendations to the County Council. The County Council must vote to approve the extension of any water district’s service area.

None of these requirements has been met. Some developers have already profited from this illegal provision of public water. Other landowners and developers are just waiting for their turn. This is probably the case with the proposed cluster development for the top of Squalicum Mountain.

There are two entities using the word Vineyard in their name that are involved with development on Squalicum Mountain. Last summer Vineyard Development Group LLC owned by Bill Sygitowicz proposed a clustered subdivision for the top of Squalicum Mountain. A public disclosure request revealed that Jacob Smith is the registered agent for this limited liability company.

The County Council has passed an emergency ordinance removing the clustering provision from the rural forestry zone from the Whatcom County Code. Citizens are currently working to ensure this change in the code becomes permanent. Vineyard Land LLC is the name of the company owned by Sarwas & Smith whose development on the west side of Squalicum Mountain was issued the stop work order in May.

In addition to the water issue, zoning issues are also a threat to Squalicum Mountain. In 1996 Whatcom County lost at a hearing before the Growth Management Hearings Board and was told that zonings at higher densities than one dwelling per five acres outside of the UGA are illegal.

In 1997 the acronym LAMIRD for Limited Areas of More Intense Rural Development was used to describe areas where development had occurred at higher densities in the rural areas prior to the passage of the GMA in 1990. This concept was based on the already built environment.

There is an improperly designated LAMIRD on Squalicum Mountain. It’s carved into the RF (Rural Forest) zone outside of the UGA. The area is still a forest, and the homes there are recently built. County Executive Pete Kremen owns property in this illegally designated LAMIRD. He has four lots that he could sell for $500,000 each.

Once the area becomes non-rural, it will become part of the UGA, and Kremen’s 8.7 acres will yield 17 lots at two lots per acre. A short plat application filed with the planning department in Kremen’s name is not yet vested due to water not being available. It’s on the record: County Council members Seth Fleetwood and Dan McShane saying Kremen’s property does not meet the criteria for a LAMIRD.

Various citizen groups are working to protect the Lake Whatcom Reservoir from the water quality degradation associated with development in the watershed by insisting current zoning and the laws protecting our resource lands be upheld.

The city and the county under the banner of Lake Whatcom Cooperative Management are supposed to be ensuring the protection of the drinking water source for more than half of the county residents. Their advice to “carpool, carpool, carpool” and “fix fuel leaks” is important, but they could achieve more of their goals by enforcing the regulations that are in place to limit development and therefore reduce its deleterious effects on the Lake Whatcom Reservoir.

As I write this report, a citizen reported that over the weekend of May 12-13 construction work was occurring at a frenetic pace on Vineyard Drive. The head of Whatcom County Planning and Development Services (PDS) Hal Hart and his assistant Dennis Rhodes resigned on May 15, 2007. That brings to 20 the number of planners who have left PDS since November 2000.

Growth and its management are paramount issues for this community, and the high turnover at PDS does little to ensure the protection of our resource lands and the Lake Whatcom Reservoir. Let Pete Kremen know that this is unacceptable. §