Why I advocate for Highlands and HCA members

I’ve been asked why I seem to stubbornly and consistently advocate for Highland residents and Highland Community Association members in their issues with our city.

Here are a few reasons I continue to advocate for them…

(1) Renton residents, including HCA members, have elected me four times to represent them

(2) I recieve a salary to advocate for all the people who elected me

(3) I have always been an advocate for neighborhoods, and this one happens to be mine

(4) I have worked successfully with HCA for many years

(5) I often agree with HCA and other highlands residents’ views on proposed zoning changes

I hope this clears things up!

Randy

P.S. This is not at all new. I’m in my fourth 4-year term. To get a better picture of my long history advocating for neighborhoods, please read this Seattle Times story from almost exactly ten years ago concerning the Winsper neighborhood (opposite end of town)…

Residents Can’t Halt New Road — Renton Council Backs Plan For Added Traffic
Local News: Thursday, August 15, 1996

Residents Can’t Halt New Road — Renton Council Backs Plan For Added Traffic

Keith Seinfeld

Seattle Times South Bureau

RENTON – In a battle that may presage King County’s next generation of development struggles, residents of a south Renton neighborhood have apparently lost a bid to block a new road that will open their cul-de-sac to more traffic.

The Renton City Council voted 6-1 Monday to allow the road, largely setting aside the recommendations of the city hearing examiner, even after twice asking him to clarify his ruling. Councilman Randy Corman cast the dissenting vote.

“People didn’t get the answer they wanted, but that doesn’t mean the public process didn’t work,” said Councilwoman Kathy Keolker-Wheeler, who chairs the council’s planning and development committee.

Residents disagreed.

“We were asking the city for help, and they’re turning their backs on us,” said Anna Au, president of the Winsper Homeowners Association, representing the 92-house neighborhood.

For nearly nine months, the residents have been battling developer Tom O’Connor, who wants to build 46 homes on about 10 acres near the 3400 block of Benson Drive South.

His proposal includes a road through the existing neighborhood, Winsper, to Talbot Road. It also could create a bypass for cars caught in congestion on Benson.

O’Connor’s plat is considered “in-fill development” because it’s a modest parcel in an area where most of the land is already developed. In-fill is becoming more common under the state’s Growth Management Act, which requires counties to channel new development away from rural areas and into more-urban areas.

“In-fill didn’t happen in the past because difficult parcels were left, because developers didn’t want to mess with them,” said Keolker-Wheeler. “Now, with the urban-growth line, developers can’t find somewhere else to go.”

She predicts conflicts like the one in south Renton will become more common as homes are planned in areas where neighbors are accustomed to having woods, meadows or dead-end streets.

Residents can appeal the council’s ruling in King County Superior Court, but they’ve indicated they probably can’t afford the legal battle.

Hearing Examiner Fred Kaufman, in his final ruling last month, tried to resolve the dispute by offering two alternatives.

The first, preferred by residents, would require O’Connor to build a new access road through several parcels of undeveloped property, bypassing the existing neighborhood.

The second would allow the developer to connect his road to the existing cul-de-sac, South 32nd Street, but require him to monitor traffic volumes, and if they increased, to install a gate across the road.

Neither option was realistic, Assistant City Attorney Zanetta Fontes said. And city officials want at least two access points to every neighborhood, for police and fire vehicles, she said. Winsper has only one because it was built originally in unincorporated King County, which had different standards.

The decision left residents feeling cheated after at least eight public hearings on the project.

“The homeowners in Winsper are not idiots. We all know the area around us will be developed,” said Au. “But when you think about half again as many houses, that’s a lot more traffic.”

Residents fear the traffic will make their narrow, steep road unsafe, especially for children, who often walk to a private park in the middle of the development.

Eventually, as more neighboring properties develop, other streets will connect, creating alternate routes and diverting some of the traffic away from Winsper.

But, until then, more cars will drive through Winsper.

The lesson for homeowners, said Keolker-Wheeler, is to research the zoning and development plans before buying a house.

“It’s not government’s role to create gated communities. You can go pay for that. But that’s not what government does,” she said.

Copyright (c) 1996 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.