King County Councilmembers sponsor legislation to help storm victims

The legislation would expedite permits and reimburse living expenses.

By Grace Gorenflo Grace Gorenflo • November 25, 2024 4:54 pm
A house in Issaquah was damaged by fallen trees during November’s bomb cyclone. (Courtesy of King County Councilmember Sarah Perry’s office)
A house in Issaquah was damaged by fallen trees during November’s bomb cyclone. (Courtesy of King County Councilmember Sarah Perry’s office)

King County Councilmembers Sarah Perry (District 3) and Reagan Dunn (District 9) have introduced legislation to help residents affected by November’s bomb cyclone weather event.

The legislation, introduced Monday (Nov. 25), addresses construction permitting and storm-related expenses. It would speed up the permitting process for property repairs, as well as have King County absorb permitting fees. It would also expand King County’s grant program to cover expenses related to the storm, such as insurance costs, generator fuel, hotel stays, food spoilage and fees for tree branch removal/disposal.

“We need to help these folks make repairs so they can recover from this cyclone and move on with their lives,” according to a statement from Perry, whose district includes the Snoqualmie Valley. “In addition to our residents, I am particularly concerned with our farms and small businesses in East and Southeast King County who need our help. It’s our job to be there for them.”

According to a press release, King County Council’s Committee of the Whole will have a hearing for the legislation in early December. Snoqualmie Valley residents with questions are encouraged to reach out to Perry at sarah.perry@kingcounty.gov.

Perry and her team have remained in contact with Puget Sound Energy (PSE), Comcast and other relevant organizations. As of Monday midday, PSE has restored power to 99% of customers affected by the outage, according to PSE. Comcast has restored 97% of the network impacted by the storm, but is still working on outages in harder-hit areas, including North Bend.

King County’s roads department continues its work to clean up downed trees. To report a problem, call the 24/7 Road Helpline at 206-477-8100 or email maint.roads@kingcounty.gov. For help cleaning up yard debris, residents can reach out to Perry’s office, which is putting together volunteer teams with the support of Rotary International, Kiwanis International, veterans, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, Friends of the Trail and more.

For emotional support, Perry’s office shared that the WA Warm Line can be contacted at 877-500-9276 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. There is also a teen-to-teen support line available 6-10 p.m. at 866-833-6546.