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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
November 29, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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November 29, 2007
 
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BELFAIR HERALD Serving Belfair m Allyn m Grapeview -- Tahuya -- Mason Lake -- South Shore n Victor 00keLand, Allyn lnd Victor may Thursday, November 29, 2007 Section of The Shelton-Mason County Journal At the county: State board says county " new district plan for Belfair is invalid both of LakeLand Village. that certainly didn't take this month's election re- B showed overwhelming sup- for a new North Mason hos- district in Belfair, nearby hbors are already clamoring e included, via annexation, the newly formed district. group of interested citizens formed a working committee h for the annexation of Lake- Village, Victor and AUyn !the newly established Mason ty Public Hospital District 2. E GROUP, which has rep- ltatives from each of the pre-  requesting annexation, is Unite North Mason Health The effort is being led by Dr. hLePere and Rodger DeBritz, The group is encouraging the new Public Hospital District 2 • commissioners to pass a resolution to immediately put the annexation issue on a ballot with a special election to be held in May 2008. Dr. LePere and DeBritz say that if a Mason General bond were to pass prior to the annexation, area residents would be mandated to continue paying that charge for the life of the bond even after annexa- tion. They also say that scenario is not something the residents they talk to are comfortable with. Both men also say that from the initial discussions on the creation of a North Mason hospital district, most have felt the taxing district boundaries should be the North (Please turn to page 4.) 00oice group hears 00tuart, Bakken at 00eir last meeting Z CASE hopes for moving quickly into the B ae North Mason Commu- construction of local affordable Voice group met on Monday, eraber 19, their first regular :ring since the recent election. !Ough the group rejoiced at the a passage of the new hospital ict, they spent more time on  ongoing issues for the north of Mason County. beakers Hannelore Stuart ted the Voice on her work w-income housing and Beau ken, chiefofBelfair's Fire Dis- 2, cautioned the group about lay fire hazards. ast spring, Stuart was bub- with enthusiasm with her t for establishing low-income Bing in Mason County. At the she described her work to es- ish housing for "those people earn too much to qualify for tat for Humanity, but not enough to qualify for con- ional loans at today's housing eS." k1? THAT time, she had high housing. She is still very much mov- ing forward, but her schedule has lengthened. Her group, now named the Masonfrhurston Com- munity Land Trust, is still work- ing on establishing its infrastruc- ture, its policies and manuals and operational budget, and its 503 (c) nonprofit tax status. "I'm seeing that it will take about two years to get it all in place, the same as for a for-prof- it business," says Stuart, whose greatest roadblock at present is zoning ordinances. Stuart says that present county zoning laws prohibit density out- side the urban growth area bound- aries and current regulations al- low only one residence for every (minimum) five acres. "Habitat for Humanity has been knocking on doors for 10 years to change this," Stewart notes. She (Please turn to page 4.) Iason Holiday Meals volunteer driv- tl and Belfair residents Diane Peter- |on and Curt Peterson, at left, picked tll 30 meals and place mats from vol- ttllteers Andrew Be61ik and Ann Olli Volunteers deliver holiday meals  November 21 at the Saint David of ales kitchen in Shelton. The Peter- SOns brought the meals to Theler Center here they met three other volunteer iver teams to distribute them to low- "Come homebound seniors and physi- By KEVAN MOORE The Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board says that Mason County's community development and binding site plan regulations for Belfair are invalid. The county, which has been found to be out of compliance in these matters for about a year, has now been ordered to achieve compliance within 120 days. This marks the third ruling in the case which originally went before the board in August of 2006. Early this week, the county filed a motion for reconsideration from the board. The November 14 ruling, in fa- vor of a petition by Advocates for Responsible Development and John Diehl, comes aider numerous con- tinuances and hearings. "WE HAVE previously rejected Petitioners' request for a determi- nation of invalidity because we did not find there to be an imminent threat of significant inconsistent development which would substan- tially interfere with the County's ability to engage in GMA-compliant planning," the board wrote in their ruling. "Now, however, the risk of significant inconsistent develop- ment is considerable." The board went on to say that "new urban levels of development on community septic systems pro- vide a developer with an opportu- nity to construct urban subdivi- sions within the Belfair UGA with- out public sewer ... The potential of such residential development is very real because a developer need not wait for a public sewer." Diehl said he and the Advocates for Responsible Development are pleased with the ruling. "Our organization was formed to try to promote and encourage wise land-use management," he said. "It's essential that local govern- ment provide local infrastructure to serve the development that they seek to promote." DIEHL ALSO said that the county's sewer plans allow for "leap froging or hop-scotch development from the sewer line" and that the sewer will "only serve the core area, not anything like the majority of the UGA." He says this type of ap- proach "borders on fantasy" rather than sound planning under GMA. In the ruling, the hearings board repeatedly acknowledged the county's efforts to live up to state law. They wrote that they do "not doubt the County's good faith" and said that Mason County has "made enormous progress towards achiev- ing the goal of a public sewer for the Belfair UGA." However, Emmett Dobey, Mason County's director of community de- velopment, took issue with several of the board's findings• "We believe there are a number of errors in the decision, the pri- mary one being that we don't have sufficient money to cover the cost of initial construction for the sewer," Dobey said. 'lney indicate that we're about $8 million short, but we are not short at all for initial con- struction." DOBEY ALSO said the county believes that developer costs, rates and connection charges will provide tbr future development of sewer lines. "We believe our plan is no dif- ferent than any other community's for providing sewers to areas where growth has not yet occurred." While Dobey says the county is moving forward, if the invalid- ity sticks, it will be impossible for the county to get some $3.2 million that they need to finish the sewer project. That money would come through the Department of Ecology via the state's Community, Trade and Economic Development office. "I believe we will be in compli- ance by the time it's necessary to get to that loan," Dobey added DOBEY ALSO indicated that the board's ruling actually encour- ages something that the Growth Management Act seeks to get rid of. "One of the down sides of the rul- ing is that if somebody wanted to come in and use septic tanks and drain fields they could probably be able to do that and that's something we don't want to happen,  he said. Dobey says that's because the ruling forces the county to revert to its previous rules. "It's a real dilemma," he added. "The dilemma being you have a mandate from the Governor to clean up Hood Canal and we have the money promised to do that. But, we're unable to move forward be- cause we're out of compliance and we're out of compliance because the rules we had developed to try and prevent that from happening have been found invalid•" The board members that issued this latest ruling are Margery Hite, Holly Gadbaw and James McNa- mara. Annas Bay choir set to perform December 12 The Annas Bay Community Choir, directed by Matthew Me- lendez Blegen, will perform "A Classical Holiday in Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes," a concert for adults and families set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 12, at Belfair's North Mason cally challenged adults in Belfair. A to- tal of 159 meals were delivered through- out the county. The Shelton office of the Volunteer Center of Lewis, Mason and Thurston Counties manages the pro- gram. Key sponsors include United Way of Mason County, and Faith in Action- West Sound. Those interested in various volunteering opportunities should con- tact the volunteer center's Terri Shaw at 360-426-3405. Timberland Regional Library. The concert is free of charge and open to the public, a gift and annual seasonal tradition of the Friends of the North Mason Tim- berland Library. The choir will sing "Nursery Rhyme Suite," written by region- al composer Paula Fendler. The composition uses the words of familiar nursery rhymes to pres- ent a history of western classical music from Gregorian and poly- phonic chant to the compositions of Mozart and Beethoven. BLEGEN describes the work as delightful and often humor- ous. He explains that the use of Tamiliar rhymes, including a tongue twister or two, allows lis- teners to really hear each musi- cal style without having .to con- centrate on the words. The choir will also perform holiday lullabies including "Ave Maria," arranged by Shelton composer and chorister Cathryn Mecham. The members of the Annas Bay Community Choir are all local volunteers, shar- ing their joy in music with their neighbors. Blegen is the founder and gen- eral director of the Annas Bay Music Festival, held annually on Hood Canal in Union. The organization's Web site is http'J/ www.annasbay.org. An accom- plished classical vocalist who has sung professionally throughout the nation, Blegen is a magna cum laude graduate of the Uni- versity of Washington Master of Music program. THE NORTH Mason Timber- land Library is located at 23081 NE State Route 3 in downtown Belfair. Those that would like more information or directions should call the library at "275- 3232 or visit the Timberland Re- gional Library Web site at http'J/ www.trlib.org. Timberland Regional Library serves the information, reading and lifelong learning needs of the Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pa- cific and Thurston county public at 27 community public libraries and seven library service partner locations. The library system is funded mainly by local property taxes. Anyone needing special accommodations to participate in a library's program may contact the library one week in advance. On December 3: LHCWC will hear from UW scientist The Lower Hood Canal Wa- tershed Coalition will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, December 3, at the North Mason School District boardroom. The group's guest speaker will be Dr. Thomas Hinckley of the University of Washington. Dr. Hinckley will be making a presen- tation on forest resources, relat- ing to watersheds, in Washington State. The Lower Hood Canal Water- shed Coalition is a group of local residents, business owners and representatives from government agencies who work to improve and protect the quality and quantity of fresh and marine water in the lower Hood Canal watershed. The group's meetings are always open to the public. Those that would like further information about the group or the upcoming meeting should contact coalition member Bob Hager by calling 275-0618. BELFAIR HERALD Serving Belfair m Allyn m Grapeview -- Tahuya -- Mason Lake -- South Shore n Victor 00keLand, Allyn lnd Victor may Thursday, November 29, 2007 Section of The Shelton-Mason County Journal At the county: State board says county " new district plan for Belfair is invalid both of LakeLand Village. that certainly didn't take this month's election re- B showed overwhelming sup- for a new North Mason hos- district in Belfair, nearby hbors are already clamoring e included, via annexation, the newly formed district. group of interested citizens formed a working committee h for the annexation of Lake- Village, Victor and AUyn !the newly established Mason ty Public Hospital District 2. E GROUP, which has rep- ltatives from each of the pre-  requesting annexation, is Unite North Mason Health The effort is being led by Dr. hLePere and Rodger DeBritz, The group is encouraging the new Public Hospital District 2 • commissioners to pass a resolution to immediately put the annexation issue on a ballot with a special election to be held in May 2008. Dr. LePere and DeBritz say that if a Mason General bond were to pass prior to the annexation, area residents would be mandated to continue paying that charge for the life of the bond even after annexa- tion. They also say that scenario is not something the residents they talk to are comfortable with. Both men also say that from the initial discussions on the creation of a North Mason hospital district, most have felt the taxing district boundaries should be the North (Please turn to page 4.) 00oice group hears 00tuart, Bakken at 00eir last meeting Z CASE hopes for moving quickly into the B ae North Mason Commu- construction of local affordable Voice group met on Monday, eraber 19, their first regular :ring since the recent election. !Ough the group rejoiced at the a passage of the new hospital ict, they spent more time on  ongoing issues for the north of Mason County. beakers Hannelore Stuart ted the Voice on her work w-income housing and Beau ken, chiefofBelfair's Fire Dis- 2, cautioned the group about lay fire hazards. ast spring, Stuart was bub- with enthusiasm with her t for establishing low-income Bing in Mason County. At the she described her work to es- ish housing for "those people earn too much to qualify for tat for Humanity, but not enough to qualify for con- ional loans at today's housing eS." k1? THAT time, she had high housing. She is still very much mov- ing forward, but her schedule has lengthened. Her group, now named the Masonfrhurston Com- munity Land Trust, is still work- ing on establishing its infrastruc- ture, its policies and manuals and operational budget, and its 503 (c) nonprofit tax status. "I'm seeing that it will take about two years to get it all in place, the same as for a for-prof- it business," says Stuart, whose greatest roadblock at present is zoning ordinances. Stuart says that present county zoning laws prohibit density out- side the urban growth area bound- aries and current regulations al- low only one residence for every (minimum) five acres. "Habitat for Humanity has been knocking on doors for 10 years to change this," Stewart notes. She (Please turn to page 4.) Iason Holiday Meals volunteer driv- tl and Belfair residents Diane Peter- |on and Curt Peterson, at left, picked tll 30 meals and place mats from vol- ttllteers Andrew Be61ik and Ann Olli Volunteers deliver holiday meals  November 21 at the Saint David of ales kitchen in Shelton. The Peter- SOns brought the meals to Theler Center here they met three other volunteer iver teams to distribute them to low- "Come homebound seniors and physi- By KEVAN MOORE The Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board says that Mason County's community development and binding site plan regulations for Belfair are invalid. The county, which has been found to be out of compliance in these matters for about a year, has now been ordered to achieve compliance within 120 days. This marks the third ruling in the case which originally went before the board in August of 2006. Early this week, the county filed a motion for reconsideration from the board. The November 14 ruling, in fa- vor of a petition by Advocates for Responsible Development and John Diehl, comes aider numerous con- tinuances and hearings. "WE HAVE previously rejected Petitioners' request for a determi- nation of invalidity because we did not find there to be an imminent threat of significant inconsistent development which would substan- tially interfere with the County's ability to engage in GMA-compliant planning," the board wrote in their ruling. "Now, however, the risk of significant inconsistent develop- ment is considerable." The board went on to say that "new urban levels of development on community septic systems pro- vide a developer with an opportu- nity to construct urban subdivi- sions within the Belfair UGA with- out public sewer ... The potential of such residential development is very real because a developer need not wait for a public sewer." Diehl said he and the Advocates for Responsible Development are pleased with the ruling. "Our organization was formed to try to promote and encourage wise land-use management," he said. "It's essential that local govern- ment provide local infrastructure to serve the development that they seek to promote." DIEHL ALSO said that the county's sewer plans allow for "leap froging or hop-scotch development from the sewer line" and that the sewer will "only serve the core area, not anything like the majority of the UGA." He says this type of ap- proach "borders on fantasy" rather than sound planning under GMA. In the ruling, the hearings board repeatedly acknowledged the county's efforts to live up to state law. They wrote that they do "not doubt the County's good faith" and said that Mason County has "made enormous progress towards achiev- ing the goal of a public sewer for the Belfair UGA." However, Emmett Dobey, Mason County's director of community de- velopment, took issue with several of the board's findings• "We believe there are a number of errors in the decision, the pri- mary one being that we don't have sufficient money to cover the cost of initial construction for the sewer," Dobey said. 'lney indicate that we're about $8 million short, but we are not short at all for initial con- struction." DOBEY ALSO said the county believes that developer costs, rates and connection charges will provide tbr future development of sewer lines. "We believe our plan is no dif- ferent than any other community's for providing sewers to areas where growth has not yet occurred." While Dobey says the county is moving forward, if the invalid- ity sticks, it will be impossible for the county to get some $3.2 million that they need to finish the sewer project. That money would come through the Department of Ecology via the state's Community, Trade and Economic Development office. "I believe we will be in compli- ance by the time it's necessary to get to that loan," Dobey added DOBEY ALSO indicated that the board's ruling actually encour- ages something that the Growth Management Act seeks to get rid of. "One of the down sides of the rul- ing is that if somebody wanted to come in and use septic tanks and drain fields they could probably be able to do that and that's something we don't want to happen,  he said. Dobey says that's because the ruling forces the county to revert to its previous rules. "It's a real dilemma," he added. "The dilemma being you have a mandate from the Governor to clean up Hood Canal and we have the money promised to do that. But, we're unable to move forward be- cause we're out of compliance and we're out of compliance because the rules we had developed to try and prevent that from happening have been found invalid•" The board members that issued this latest ruling are Margery Hite, Holly Gadbaw and James McNa- mara. Annas Bay choir set to perform December 12 The Annas Bay Community Choir, directed by Matthew Me- lendez Blegen, will perform "A Classical Holiday in Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes," a concert for adults and families set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 12, at Belfair's North Mason cally challenged adults in Belfair. A to- tal of 159 meals were delivered through- out the county. The Shelton office of the Volunteer Center of Lewis, Mason and Thurston Counties manages the pro- gram. Key sponsors include United Way of Mason County, and Faith in Action- West Sound. Those interested in various volunteering opportunities should con- tact the volunteer center's Terri Shaw at 360-426-3405. Timberland Regional Library. The concert is free of charge and open to the public, a gift and annual seasonal tradition of the Friends of the North Mason Tim- berland Library. The choir will sing "Nursery Rhyme Suite," written by region- al composer Paula Fendler. The composition uses the words of familiar nursery rhymes to pres- ent a history of western classical music from Gregorian and poly- phonic chant to the compositions of Mozart and Beethoven. BLEGEN describes the work as delightful and often humor- ous. He explains that the use of Tamiliar rhymes, including a tongue twister or two, allows lis- teners to really hear each musi- cal style without having .to con- centrate on the words. The choir will also perform holiday lullabies including "Ave Maria," arranged by Shelton composer and chorister Cathryn Mecham. The members of the Annas Bay Community Choir are all local volunteers, shar- ing their joy in music with their neighbors. Blegen is the founder and gen- eral director of the Annas Bay Music Festival, held annually on Hood Canal in Union. The organization's Web site is http'J/ www.annasbay.org. An accom- plished classical vocalist who has sung professionally throughout the nation, Blegen is a magna cum laude graduate of the Uni- versity of Washington Master of Music program. THE NORTH Mason Timber- land Library is located at 23081 NE State Route 3 in downtown Belfair. Those that would like more information or directions should call the library at "275- 3232 or visit the Timberland Re- gional Library Web site at http'J/ www.trlib.org. Timberland Regional Library serves the information, reading and lifelong learning needs of the Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pa- cific and Thurston county public at 27 community public libraries and seven library service partner locations. The library system is funded mainly by local property taxes. Anyone needing special accommodations to participate in a library's program may contact the library one week in advance. On December 3: LHCWC will hear from UW scientist The Lower Hood Canal Wa- tershed Coalition will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, December 3, at the North Mason School District boardroom. The group's guest speaker will be Dr. Thomas Hinckley of the University of Washington. Dr. Hinckley will be making a presen- tation on forest resources, relat- ing to watersheds, in Washington State. The Lower Hood Canal Water- shed Coalition is a group of local residents, business owners and representatives from government agencies who work to improve and protect the quality and quantity of fresh and marine water in the lower Hood Canal watershed. The group's meetings are always open to the public. Those that would like further information about the group or the upcoming meeting should contact coalition member Bob Hager by calling 275-0618.