In recent months several letters have been published which discuss
the Treemont residential development. It appears that, despite the
multi-year regulatory review process and numerous public hearings, there is a
misunderstanding of the project’s features and impacts. We would like to set
the record straight.
Port Blakely Communities has spent a great deal of time and
resources studying the environment and refining the design of the Treemont project
to avoid and mitigate environmental impacts. The project was
recommended for approval by the King County Hearing Examiner in February
2000. Among the specific design features that have been incorporated into
the Treemont development are:
• The project size has been reduced from 236 homes to 194 homes.
• Sensitive areas (wetlands, streams, steep slopes, etc.) have
been carefully identified and protected with buffers. Sensitive area
protection meets, or in many cases exceeds, current regulatory standards.
• A new direct road access, from the project to Redmond-Fall City
Road (S.R. 202) will be constructed to avoid direct traffic impacts on
adjacent neighborhood roads. The project will build a new signal at S.R. 202
and Duthie Hill Road.
• State of the art stormwater and water quality control measures
have been added to avoid impacts to Patterson Creek and the
Snoqualmie River. The proposed measures meet, or exceed, all current
stormwater/water quality regulatory standards.
• The effect of Treemont on flooding in the Snoqualmie River
and Patterson Creek has been carefully studied. Our experts, and
King County’s experts, concluded that Treemont will not increase flooding
of the Snoqualmie River or Patterson Creek.
• The Treemont project was recommended for approval based on
a rigorous review and implementation of the most current mitigations and
environmental standards. The regulatory review and approval process has
lasted over ten years. It has been a long process, but it has resulted in a
well-designed project that avoids significant impacts.
We would request that this letter be published at its earliest date in
an effort to provide a more clear picture of the project.
JOHN L. ADAMS,
Vice President, Port Blakely Communities Inc.
