Do you like to drink wine or beer?

Well, it is time for you to speak up and look at the regulations before the King County Council that will reduce the number of tasting rooms in the rural areas of the county. The debate, which has gone on for over several years, has not been pushed by quickly.

It started with a 2016 King County Sammamish Valley Wine and Beverage Study. The study period was necessary to evaluate previously existing zoning regulations for the winery, brewery and distillery (WBD) industry in light of changes in industry practices, state licensing allowances and the growing popularity of the WBD industry across King County and the state.

Following the task force, Executive Dow Constantine sent over an ordinance, and since I was the councilmember for the area at the time, he asked me to sign on. This ordinance had tasting rooms closing at 5 p.m. Most of us don’t even get off work by that time. So it was obvious that the proposal needed some changes.

One of the main issues is that one group does not believe that tasting wine is an agricultural use of the land at all. Having visited Napa, California, and seeing that it is a thriving business that meshes nicely with the community, I do believe that with specific regulations to not overwhelm the surrounding area that they are indeed compatible. One argument is that people come to the Valley to buy fruits and vegetables and then decide to go to the wineries. I believe that on most weekend nights people come to the tasting rooms and then stop and buy produce. So whatever stance you take, that is one of the arguments.

Another was that the county only wanted this business as they wanted to close the rural county funding gaps. The county has to have a balanced budget and while the unincorporated area could use more funding — this was not the answer. Doing the math on that at numbers that were tossed out would have meant that nearly all of us would be at the tasting rooms almost constantly!

One of the specifications in the bill is that Vashon Island will not have to abide by some of the regulations. This was the beginning of dividing the rural parts of the county. If the regulations for a particular business are good at point A, then within the specifications (and there are many), it should be the same for point B. This continues in parts of the new proposal.

It is complicated to say the least, hence a team of attorneys helped in advising us on the law all along the way. When you hear the three proposals and how technical they are, you will find it interesting that not one question was asked by the committee members. Final action on this bill will be April 26.

Dealing with garbage

Interested in where your garbage goes? Off in a truck? That is the first step, but beyond that, it has impacts to the environment and to potential uses as we all begin to realize that garbage in itself is a resource we have not tapped.

This is a pivotal time for the decision making on our solid waste in the county. The neighbors have long stressed that they have issues with odor and birds dropping many materials including hazardous waste in their yards. The data of the county and the neighbors do not seem to be consistent. The county needs to plan for the future where they need to retain land for a potential site for a more efficient waste management facility such as a modern waste to energy plant.

To have a site location, you need to have three places studied. This area has an existing infrastructure and by court order and proximity, all the neighbors know that a landfill exists. A modern facility would improve the conditions the neighbors are currently dealing with. Again, this could be one of three potential sites, and it should not be removed as an option by where the placement of the new pit is located. So they should reserve at least 20 contiguous acres.

There are many waste to energy technologies that are used in many parts of the world that meet and exceed our federal standards. Over the years, some groups have not wanted to implement these technologies, but we now have wonderful options around the world that can be implemented with a proven track record. In fact, several including the one in Hamburg, Germany, has real time data so all the community has access to their data. The county has studied some of these possibilities and decided to continue on with what I call it the “Flintstone method” of dealing with garbage — put it in a hole. I have seen 14 modern plants in the world and several are ones that I think we should carefully consider in moving forward. The data used in some of the county studies made suppositions that were on the very far end of conservative such as planning to build now to the needs of 2050, when there are many variables possible in between. The plant could be phased over time.

The new storage area “pit” is planned for seven years of capacity and at an approximate cost of $82.9 million. That amount could be a very good down payment on a modern facility that could last for many years. In Germany, they plan the first 20 years to pay off the facility, 20 years to keep it updated, and 20 years to save the money to remodel. Again, looking to how others have been successful is a good model in my mind. In addition, a modern facility can generate electricity or steam as a biproduct. With our ever increasing needs for technology and moving to electric vehicles, this could be an excellent contribution to our power needs.

–

Kathy Lambert is a former member of the King County Council who represented the Snoqualmie Valley. Send comments to editor@valleyrecord.com.