Sno-King Watershed Council (SKWC) is asking your financial support to help us with appeal costs for the Ironwood development located northeast of the Lynnwood High School. A local neighbor, Chris McKnight has set up the GoFundMe site where donations can be made. Our appeal must be filed by July 22, 2020, so please donate today!
Ironwood is a proposed development of 88 single-family residencies on a Type 2 wetland that has been declared a Priority Habitat by WDFW. This wetland is critical habitat for birds like woodpeckers and owls. This wetland has several large second-growth trees that provide valuable habitat. It is also a large area for storm and surface water catchment that feeds into North Creek. North Creek is part of the Lake Washington watershed, and provides spawning habitat for runs of king, coho, and sockeye salmon.
We are appealing the project because:
– The land contains Priority Habitat Species and is classified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as a sensitive area.
– The builder is planning to fill a steep ravine and has not received approval for the sewer system from the local water agency AWWD. (See what happened to another similar development in Edmonds that was clear cut and now can not be built: https://www.heraldnet.com/news/frognal-property-up-for-auction-over-debt-developer-says-no/)
– The development is too dense for an already crowded area with heavy traffic congestion.
– The builder has applied for numerous exemptions that will allow them to minimize the cost of installing required landscaping and space between houses so they can maximize their profit.
The project designer is Merle Ash’s firm, Land Technologies, who also designed the stalled and failed Frognal development. Despite Land Technologies recent failure, Snohomish County has once again approved Mr. Ash’s permit for early clearing at Ironwood. Mr. Ash also sits on the County’s Planning Commission and is a big donor to many County Council members.
Ironwood proposes to clear-cut most of the forested site, place 100,000 cubic yards of fill in a ravine that was formally the main channel for Martha Lake Creek, before the creek’s flow was diverted in the 1940’s from North Creek to Swamp Creek. The applicant proposes to construct 88-lots, some as small as 3,600-sf, in an area zoned for R-7,200, making stormwater infiltration infeasible because of the higher housing density. This project will decrease summer base flows in North Creek resulting in higher temperatures and lower oxygen levels that will be harmful to aquatic life.
Please help SKWC appeal this clear-cut and filling of a valuable wetland. Don’t let Snohomish County get away with another Frognal. Any amount you can contribute goes straight to fighting this project. Please share on all media platforms and THANK YOU!
