3rd Street Excavation. This has been a very confusing project to report on with primarily second hand information coming in.
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The Meeting Report. The following statement was made in our Gilberton Creek Washout Meeting Report: "It was interesting to note that several people asked the county about the excavation work along 3rd Street at the headwaters of Gilberton Creek. The county reps said they would look into the project."
A Brief County Response. One of the persons questioning the county about the project got the following response: "I also received a call from Kim at DCD, after Larry Keaton passed along my inquiry to her. She said that the permit has been issued and the project is being monitored."
Neighbor Calls. Since we have not heard anything more from DCD, we are going to try and report on this based on calls received and a brief look at the wetland report in the file, so be aware that we may not have the complete story.
Extreme Concern. First of all it appears that many of the neighbors are extremely concerned with what is happening in their neighborhood with the excavation of the wetland areas. Evidently they have contacted the county and not gotten much information except that the project has been approved.
The Right Wetland Report? The wetland report in the file was for a small isolated wetland and doesn't resemble the wetland flagging next to the trees in the area, which is very confusing. There seemed to be no mention that the area is the headwaters of Gilberton Creek, which is also confusing. There did not appear to be a wetland report for the area being worked, which again is very confusing.
Property Owner Approval? There are allegations that the buffer averaging approval was not understood by the property owners for the work that was accomplished. Additionally, they are saying that the neighbors were not given any notice of the extent of the "grading" project which to them was much more than just grading. Again, the more information that comes in on the project the more confusing it becomes. Neighbors are hoping the county will soon provide some explanations of what is taking place and clear up the confusion in this neighborhood in Illahee.
A Follow-on Wetland Project? A resident dropped off a legal notice from Saturdays CK Reporter regarding a "Reasonable Use Exception" application to approve a residence within 5 feet of a Category 3 wetland that usually has a 60 foot buffer. The address is 6501 Rest Place which would put it in the wetland at the headwaters of Illahee Creek and adjacent to the wetlands of the headwaters of Gilberton Creek, which were just discussed. The person asked if wetlands were no longer considered important in Kitsap County and wondered if the state felt similarly. Based on what just happened with the Gilberton Creek wetlands, we couldn't answer the question. The contact person listed in the paper for the project is David Greethan 337-7181.
Why So Many Controversial Issues? We were hoping to use these community updates for less controversial issues such as wildlife reports, as there enough problems already in Illahee. However, this is the information that we are receiving and so we are passing it on.
Jim Aho
Nice map, but could you please annotate where the wetlands are for those who don't live nearby.
ReplyDeleteSo people are surprised the county does not protect wetlands? This is a property rights prevail county in spite of all the ordinances that give the impression wetlands are to be protected. All you need to do is look at the record.
By the way, isn't this the wetland area Joe Mentor wanted to fill in years ago and was stopped? The county doesn't seem to have much of a corporate memory if they are now turning their backs on this issue.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Now, we'll need to see if and how the county will respond. Just don't expect much as they never seem to admit to making mistakes.