My name is Dan Hagen. Joyce Hansen and I own a piece of waterfront property Next to
Driftwood cove and beneath Southworth Landing communities, about 2 miles sound on
the beach from the Southworth Ferry.
A developer is suing us to try and enforce a very poorly written "view addendum".
At issue is the view that his housing development had in 2001.
Fortunately, we took aerial photographs of the neighborhood, our forested slopes, and our property, in
2001, so the truth is, hopefully, self-evident. His action, though, seeks to cut 65
foot native maples to a height of four feet (so they can be maintained by a
stepladder) and alders (ranging from 30 feet to 50 feet)to a height of 12 feet
(where they will have the best chance of survival.) The effect of this would be
that the entire deciduous cover on our 2.5 acre parcel would be removed (that
amounts to about 75% of the existing canopy.) He has obtained a so-called "forestry
expert" (whom we strongly suspect is merely an excavator, as he has an image of a
bulldozer and a back-hoe on his stationery) who says this topping won't hurt the
trees. He has also obtained a so-called GeoTech who says cutting the trees "in and
of itself" won't harm the slope.
By not simple approving their wish, they then sued us claiming we're breaking the
agreement. And the developer of the community above is funding the suit on behalf of
two homeowners he sold land to recently. And unfortunately, he has deep pockets
They hired a geotech (who, it turns out, never even visited the property) and a
lumberjack to issue reports to the county saying this is all just fine to do. Based
on that, the county, incredulously (and without our even knowing they were
considering an approval) approved the cutting. We only found out when they mailed us
the approval along with everyone else.
We hired our own Arborist (Eliot Menache) and a very well respected geotech (Ted
Hammer); with both totally refuting the initial findings. But when we presented this
to the county, they basically said, "we', we already decided..."
Since then we've been everywhere and seeming talked to everyone. Most push back
immediately, saying some variation of "we don't get involved in lawsuits." Others,
the Department of Ecology, for instance, use the "we only get involved in big
projects" option. The result is no one is willing or capable of helping us,
Our three acres lie at the mouth of Wilson Creek, a Type F salmon-bearing (though,
severely diminished) stream. It's also in a Geologically Hazardous Area (with slopes
of 75% and 100% directly above our house, where a large documented slide occurred in
1986), Flood Hazardous Area Adjacent to a (Wilson Creek.). It also contains 300+
feet of Shoreline/estuary, Shellfish beds, Eagle and Osprey habitat , and finally
Wetlands
There is a 14-acre open space just to the north of our property (on the other side
of the creek) which cannot be built on and in the heart of the low elevation, near
shore riparian environment, making this a very unusually 17 acres of waterfront
environmentally-rich land.
But no one seems to care!
Our main attempt is to get the county to actually recent their prior approval, based
on incomplete (or bad) science, and force the cutting process to be more controlled
to maintain our slope stability and to minimally impact the sensitive near-shore
environment.. The county's fear, apparently, is the liability of trying to rescind a
prior approval (again, one that we didn't even know what being approved!).
We've spent nearly $30,000 on legal and experts fees to try and slow and better
control this process, currently to no avail. We go to trial September 11th
Finally, and at the risk of over-extending this plea, below is an article that ran
in the Port Orchard Independent yesterday.
Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated!
Our contact into is:
Dan Hagen/Joyce Hansen
8100 Pristine Beach Lane SE
Port Orchard WA 98367
(360) 616-4525 home
(206) 550-1171 cell
PS Last year several in our neighborhood formed Friends of Wilson Creek to try some
stream restoration as the development of all the tributaries above Wilson creek have
not been kind to it. Our site is at www.friendsofwilsoncreek.com
Article follows:
Wednesday, August 23, 2006 . Port Orchard Independent
Short-term gain too often trumps long-term pain
I went to my class reunion a few weeks back with no special objectives. I
didn't set out to look up old sweetheart or to prove anything to anyone. I
certainly didn't go with the intention of ruining anyone's evening.
That said, sometimes evenings don't go as planned.
When Kathy D. approached and asked me my name, saying, "You don't look
familiar I can't remember you," the plan should have been to politely answer
back.
Instead I looked at this woman who I hadn't thought of in over 30 years and
heard myself say, "I would rather not give you my name. You were the biggest
bully that walked the halls of that school and you made my life a living hell.
I would rather you have nothing of mine."
When she stepped back and said, "Me? A bully? No!" the plan should have been
to smile, apologize and joke it off.
Instead, I said, "Really? I am not sure Karen C., Cindy S., or Sandy W. would
agree. "Mean Girls" had nothing on you. You were a monster."
She remembered my name at that point and spent the evening running in the
opposite direction whenever I drew near. (I can have that effect on `people.)
Researchers say pain registers more of an impact on one's memory than
pleasure, and losses are felt more acutely than gains. In other words, the
amount of satisfaction Kathy would have received from bullying was not in
direct proportion to the amount of pain she caused.
And she certainly caused a fair amount of pain, especially when gym teachers
would hand her a dodge ball and leave the room.
But why take so much from someone else for so little return?
I thought about this a lot as I walked the slopes behind Joyce and Dan Hagen's
house and listened to their story.
The couple had purchased the property that lies on the water near the mouth of
Wilson Creek near Driftwood Cove off Banner Road as a quiet haven. They
organized Friends of Wilson Creek to protect and enhance the natural beauty of
the salmon creek and have learned as much as they can about their natural
environment.
They identify the birds that regularly frequent the beach, and the waters.
They regularly see eagles and osprey soar the skies and watch them swoop and
hunt.
It is a lovely site.
Surprisingly, though, you don't see all the beautiful landscaping you would
expect from Joyce, a Master Gardener. The couple's time and money is going
elsewhere.
Since they purchased the land in 2001, they have spent tens of thousands of
dollars defending their home and struggling to protect their personal safety.
It's all because of a hastily written document they were pressured to sign.
They were presented with it just four days before closing, after spending two
years working through the permitting process and thinking they were finally
ready to close and begin construction.
The document, a "view addendum" demanded that they allow for "existing views"
in the event the owner developed the property on the slopes above them.
Knowing what they know now regarding how geologically hazardous the slopes
behind their house are, they say they would never have signed the document or
purchased the property.
Once the large, gated community came in on the slopes above, the lawsuits began.
Funded by the developer, they demand views far greater than those that existed five
years ago with no compensatory protections.
More than these demands, though, it's the lack of protection from the county that
distresses the Hagens.
When the county asked for expert advice, the developer found an "arborist" who
suggested topping all the alders and big-leaf maples, some to a height of four feet
tall, where he suggested they could be maintained with a "stepladder."
Now, I took the arborist exam to become certified several years ago through
ISA, (International Society of Arboriculture), and it's a rigorous test with
more root physiology than anyone should rightly have to know.
And, I can say with certainty that no arborist worth his or her salt would
ever suggest topping a tree.
If the trees don't die outright due to crown rot, the resulting sprouting
would make them top heavy and unstable. Either way the stability of the slope
would be compromised.
If you remember what happened to the Herrens, the family of four who were
smothered in their sleep in their home in Rolling Bay on Bainbridge Island in
1997, slope instability is nothing to scoff at.
In fact, mudslides account for more deaths in the world than all other natural
disasters combined.
Unfortunately, the county too often practices a "wink-wink, nod-nod" approach
when it comes to developers and their demands that frequently compromises not
just environmental health but public safety.
You see it everywhere. Asked why all the trees were clear-cut from the parcel
of land that's going to become part of McCormick Woods North, the new
president of McCormick Woods responded, "because it was cheaper and because we
could."
That's the same argument given by Darlene Piper when asked why she's
clear-cutting a parcel of land to put 78 homes on 12 acres in Manchester off
Woods Road.
I'm sure it's the same argument Kathy D. would have used. Short-term gain
trumps long-term pain.
It's not necessarily economically advantageous, however. Jim Trainer, leader
of Kitsap Trees and a true certified arborist, who has planted thousands of
trees in the county and elsewhere, suggests that saving historic and
significant trees increases a property's value.
Of course, in the Woods Road subdivision case, putting 78 units on 12 acres
leaves room for nothing else.
Trees, Jim will tell you, allow for the slow percolation of rainwater back
into the ground. With the removal of trees comes not just erosion with
rainwater rushing over soil and across pavement, but lower water tables as
rainwater joins large bodies of water instead of seeping slowly into the
ground.
Already, our water tables are measuring at the lowest levels seen in over 30
years.
People with their eyes fixed on short-term economic gain don't see that
environmental integrity goes hand in hand with public health. Even people you
count on to be protectors of the environment, like Charlotte Garrido, get
blindsided by dollar signs.
She's the person who brought the Washington Timber Management Co. to the South
Kitsap Park and Recreation District board to investigate logging the park for
reasons I can't begin to ascertain. (Their meeting is Thursday, Aug. 24, at 6
p.m. at Park Vista, if you wish to discuss this logging issue)
When the monies have long been spent or lost by logging and developers and
they have moved on to other pristine parts of the world, the memory of what
was lost will still linger.
Unfortunately, the Kathy D.'s of the world don't understand that.
Mary Colborn is a Port Orchard resident.
