Fwd Please send comment to meGreetings Tami,
This email is in response to the "Notice of Application" for project name; The Hutch, which is a 118 lot subdivision located at 9306 Mountain View Road, Yelm, WA 98597. Parcel
numbers are 21713430200 and 21713430300.
Land use case number is 20180280.
I have forwarded an email (below) that was written by my neighbor, Neil Thomas. I would also like to be put on record that I am the property owner of 9227 Killion Road SE.
Yelm, WA 98597 and I as well have concerns with the development of this property that could affect my use of property, in addition, affect the value of my property now and in the future.
As a property owner that has several hundred feet of a property line with this proposed community, I agree with all of the concerns put forward by Neil. I would like to summarize these
points coming from the perspective of my family.
In response to the Pocket Gophers and other rodents that are known to inhabit the land of the parcels that are being developed, I too am very concerned about the migration
of these animals onto my property as a result of disturbing the land and heavy machinery use. The reason my family decided to move onto this property of two and half acres is to develop
and begin a family farm. We have plans to start a business selling produce to local restaurants and to sell at farmers markets. We also have started the process of acquiring livestock
(goats, chickens, turkeys, honey bees, etc.). In the time we have lived at this property there has been no new signs of Pocket Gophers or moles. I am concerned that this development
will create rodent problems that would greatly affect my business. I agree that there should be a barrier to protect against this, buried a minimum of 24 inches below the ground and
24 inches above the ground. It should also be durable enough with small openings to prevent all sized vermin from crossing into my property.
In response to the noise of clearing the land and noise of development, I too am concerned with the stress that this could create for my family. When I say family, I have
a wife and I am also a father of three year old twin girls. My daughters room is located on the southwest end of the house, which is the side and corner of where this development will
be taking place. At our previous address, we lived across the street from a senior living development that began and ended during our time there, so we fully understand the noises and
lack of sleep that can happen during all phases of development. I as well would be okay with a time of construction being from around 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday. I would also
like the contractor to put in writing that they would fix any and all improvements to my property that were displaced or damaged as a result of the use of heavy equipment.
In response to the value and privacy of my property, it would also be nice to be provided with the proposed site plan of the layout of this community in order to address
any concerns about how the proposed properties will affect mine. I agree that having small homes on small lots with low value could result in a loss of value to our properties. With
the amount of prospected houses and families that will be living alongside my property line I feel that the protection of living conditions, preserving privacy, and the character of
the adjacent neighbors is among the highest of my concerns. I would also prefer that all homes be set back at least 15 feet from my property line. To concur with Neil about the fence,
I am concerned about family pets or trash entering my property. As seen with the development across the street, Cherry Meadows, the "privacy" fence is already showing signs of falling
apart and boards falling off from the residents dogs bursting through. I too own a dog that roams the property, and this could cause a huge problem. This type of money saving construction
concerns me about the well being and safety of my family and my business, including livestock. In contrary; with having a farming business, I will be having tractors running a lot of
hours during the day and livestock roaming the property. I too wouldn't want any disgruntled neighbors as a result of their houses being 5 feet (minimum county setback) from my property,
especially if there could be up to 10 or 15 homes/families sharing my property line. I would also be concerned about noise, light pollution, and solar access, especially if the houses
were tall enough to affect the amount of sun my property gets. Because these proposed houses are being built on the south end of my property, it would be a high probability that it
would prevent solar access, particularly in the fall and winter months, that would in return affect my farm business.
I agree completely with Neil about the water issue and how it could greatly affect my well because the water run off of the community will be going into storm drains rather
than draining through the ground to the water table. I am concerned about the water rights of Yelm and that we too one day may get a dry well and loose my properties only source of
water. My business relies on our well to provide a sufficient amount of water to grow produce and provide water for livestock. As Neil stated, I too am a property owner in the unincorporated
area of Thurston County, and I own the water rights to my property and will not stand for over use of Yelm City Water Rights in order to approve more developments. Should this occur,
me and my neighbors would be forced to seek relief through the courts. If I ever need to connect to city water and sewer in the future, will the construction plans facilitate or hurt
that problem with my property? The traffic is also a big concern on how much it could bring through Killion Road. I would like this to be looked at and addressed prior to the development
of this property.
I would hope you understand that I do not have the intention to stop the development of this property, in fact it could have some positive points to it for the city as a whole.
However, I would appreciate my following concerns as well as my neighbor Neil Thomas, be considered and addressed before the approval of this development, whether it be through mitigation,
contracts, or conversations. I appreciate your time reading this email, and look forward to hearing from someone soon regarding it.
Thank you,
Christopher Lascik
Glacier Roots Farm
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Neal Thomas <Neal@nwdreamhomes4u.com <mailto:Neal@nwdreamhomes4u.com> >
Date: Fri, Nov 9, 2018 at 5:07 PM
Subject: RE: Please send comment to me
To: Tami Merriman <tamim@ci.yelm.wa.us <mailto:tamim@ci.yelm.wa.us> >
Hi Tami,
This email is in regards to the lot subdivision with project name ‘The Hutch’, 118 lot Subdivision located at 9306 Mountain View Rd, Yelm, WA 98597, land use case # 20180280.
I would like it to be put in record that I am the property owner of 9225 Killion Rd SE, Yelm, WA 98597 and I have concerns with the development of this property that could affect my
use of my property as well as the value of my property now and in the future.
Pre-development: the plot of land proposed to you for development has been used to grow grass hay for at least the last 13 years that I know of. As a result this property is filled with
rodents of just about every kind from field mice to moles. I am concerned that once heavy equipment is brought in and earth is moved that these vermin will scatter to any neighboring
property, mine being one of them. This last summer I had a pocket gopher study done to my property in order to put in a family member unit. I was told by the State Wildlife Department
and the Thurston County Inspector which made multiple trips to inspect my property for pocket gophers, that they have documented Pocket Gophers 600 feet away to the south of my property.
This would put a Pocket Gopher population on the south end of the subject property. This greatly concerns me as the Land Developer would be driving heavy equipment and working out of
the south end of the property in order to develop the north end. This would again send these vermin migrating. So before anything is done to that property I would want a above ground
and below ground vermin barrier put in to stop any potential migration of any kind. From what I read a proper vermin barrier would be buried a minimum of 24 inches below the ground
and extend a minimum of 24 inches above the ground. The barrier itself should be durable enough to stop the smallest of rodents from either burrowing or running across the ground. Additionally,
it should cut back into the subject property to prevent rodents from going around it.
I would also be concerned on the time of day and days of the week I would have to put up with noisy and heavy equipment that could create stress on my family members, animals, and the
improvements on my property that could be damaged because of continuous vibration of the earth. I would probably be okay if the time of this construction was limited to 9 am to 5 pm
Monday through Friday and that the contractor put in writing that they would fix any and all improvements to my property that were displaced or damaged as a result of the use of heavy
equipment.
To this date, I do not have and have not been given a site plan to see just how the layout of this community would look. Can you please provide me with the proposed one so that I can
comment on any concerns that I may have around the layout of the community? For now, I would like to point out that 118 lots on less than 20 acres that would require basic infrastructure
i.e. roads would make for extremely small parcels and small homes. This brings upon several concerns that I would like addressed. The first one is what this would do to the value of
my property having small homes on small lots with low values could result in loss of value to mine and my neighbor’s property. As a real estate agent I have the ability to estimate
that loss to be as high as 15% of the value of my property. With a current market value of $345,000 that would put my losses at $51,750. In order for me not to suffer loss in value,
the lots would need to be a minimum of 5,000 sq ft with homes no smaller than 2,000 sq ft. I am also concerned with the size of the lots, 118 homes would be, that the setback from the
street would put the homes at or less than the minimum county setback of 5 feet from my property. I would prefer any home placed in that field to have a setback from my property line
of at least 15 feet. This may sound a little restrictive but I am betting that there could be as many as 20 homes placed along my property line. Each one of these homes occupied by
a family with pets would create quite a bit of noise and stress to my family and animals, not to mention the potential for those occupying to throw debris/trash into my yard creating
problems that I and my family will have to deal with. In addition to the 15 foot setback, the land developer needs to put a permanent barrier/fence between those lots/homes and my property.
Currently right now the only thing that separates our two properties is a double stranded barb wire fence. On my side, I have a in ground wire transmitter that restrains my animals
from leaving my yard. I have used this for the past 13 years and it has worked just fine. All these new homes would come with pets that could enter my yard and do damage or injury
to my property and my pets and possibly even my family. This is why I would request a permanent and durable barrier, not just the standard 6 foot wooden privacy fence stapled together
with a life span of about 3 years as we’ve seen from the construction across the street in the Cherry Meadows community. This barrier would also need to provide privacy as well.
As for the water issue, I am also concerned that even though this community is being fed by Yelm City Water, the water shed coming from this property and from rain that feeds the ground
water could adversely affect my well in numerous ways. First, like many, I am concerned that the city of Yelm continues to exceed their water rights and one day my well may dry up leaving
my property without a source of water. As a property owner in the unincorporated area of Thurston County, I do own the water rights to my property and will not stand for over use of
Yelm City Water Rights in order to approve more developments. Should this occur, me and my neighbors would be forced to seek relief through the courts. It also concerns me that again
with the water run off of this property going to the storm water system instead of draining through the ground to the water table, this can have an adverse effect on my well.
While I understand some of the infrastructure i.e. electric, water, sewer, storm water and telecommunication lines were stubbed out to this property at the time Killion Rd was improved
by the city of Yelm during the first phase of the bypass, I may have concerns depending on how that infrastructure would be ran throughout this community and request that information
so that I can express any concerns I may or may not have.
Traffic: 118 new homes will bring with it an increase in traffic on Killion Rd, which runs right in front of my property. This is a concern because the bypass which was supposed to relieve
traffic has not been finished and as a result would increase noise to my property. This additional traffic could have other unforeseen consequences that I would like looked at and addressed
prior to development of this property. I would like to see entrance and exits to this development on both sides of the development. One on Killion and one on Mountain View Rd as a minimum.
In closing I would like you and everyone involved to know it is not my intention to stop the development of this property. However, the above concerns need to be addressed before I can
give my blessings. In your letter, dated Oct 31st, it gives me 15 days to add comments and concerns and while I have expressed some of those, I have not been given full information
needed to fully consider the impact it could have on my property i.e. I have not received the proposed layout of subdivision with infrastructure and lots. Additionally, I have not been
given proper contact information to the land developer or the owner in order to express and possibly work out concerns with them. In the letter I received, while it named a contractor,
the address listed belongs to a car dealership and not a land developer. There are no phone numbers and you Tami are my only contact at the time of this email. If this is the information
that was given to you, I have to question why incorrect information would be put on a permit request. Please provide updated contact information when you get it. You may also share
my contact information below with the owner and contractor of this project. They are welcome to contact me anytime. I think that all will find I am easy to work with as long as we can
address my concerns.
Thank you and please reply so that I know you have received this email,
Neal
Your referral is the greatest compliment we can receive! It would be our honor to be a resource for you, your family, friends and coworkers.
From: Tami Merriman <tamim@ci.yelm.wa.us <mailto:tamim@ci.yelm.wa.us> >
Sent: Wednesday, November 7, 2018 8:54 AM
To: neal@nwdreamhomes4U.com
Subject: Please send comment to me
At this email address.
Tami Merriman, Associate Planner
Community and Economic Development
105 Yelm Ave. W
Yelm, WA 98597
360.458.8496
tamim@yelmwa.gov <mailto:tamim@yelmwa.gov>