Washblog

Douglas County Planners
Transportation and Land Building
140 19th Street
East Wenatchee WA 98802
Re: Calvin White CDL Development LLC Application NumberCPRZ 06-01

April 30,2006
The area Calvin White and CDL Development LLC have requested for a rezone is in a very well know Native American Archaeological Site. The Richey-Roberts site was discovered in 1987 and is located directly across Grant road from part of the planned rezone. There is no doubt about the current archeological significance of this area because as I write this letter J & K Earthworks has shut down work because of this very issue. J&K is located in the middle of the ancient Columbia River bed and Native Americans used both sides of this old river for centuries. The land is scattered with artifacts of that time. Any development especially at the density and impact planned by CDL Development LLC should require tribal supervision plus careful and methodical excavation and development.
Water is a major issue; the East Wenatchee Water District service does not at this time service Mr. White's property but it seem that Mr. White may be a luck man as the 2005 EWWD Comprehensive System Plan shows that the majority of Mr. White's development will be added to the district in the future. (The decision by EWWD to included Mr. White's project into their proposed future service area should cause already over taxed property owners to set up and take notice especially considering what Mr. White has said in the past about infrastructure and who should be responsible for funding it.) Even so Mr. White seems to be working on a Plan "B" in case EWWD doesn't move fast enough to suite his needs. He has submitted an application for change of water rights to DOE. (**Please see attached letter that was submitted to the Douglas County Water Conservancy Board in regard to that application.)
Mr. White has made public statements to the effect that he does not believe that developers should carry the burden of improvements or infrastructure but that ratepayers, surrounding property owners and taxpayers should. Why should ratepayers; property owners and taxpayers fund infrastructure and improvements for Mr. White so that he can increase his profits? Water, sewer, streets, etc. should be Mr. White and CDL Development LLC's whole and complete responsibility. There should not be even a consideration of placing any or part of this burden on ratepayers, taxpayers or other property owners.

The impact of 20 acre dry land agricultural zoning is 125 homes vs. the rezone proposal to 10 acre Rural Commercial which with clustering (even thought clustering required 70% to be left open we have to be aware of the fact that a large majority of this open space will be vertical walls of basalt which is unusable by either people or wildlife.) and bonus homes will increase the number to nearly 300 total which will be a huge impact on the area.

This is three quarters of the size of Fancher Heights, which is larger than many midwestern towns. Will police, fire and ambulance service be upgraded to meet the needs of these thousand more people? If so, who will be burdened with that responsibility, CDL Development LLC, or the rest of us? We were just hit with a school levy that will cost the average property owner $500.00 a year more. If children come with these new homes (as we know they will) who will make sure the schools are capable of handling them, CDL Development LLC? If not then I guess we the taxpayers will be paying for another levy in a few years while CDL Development LLC will have by that time closed out, dispersed the profits amongst the members and moved on.
If the rezone is approved there will be traffic issues...remember Fancher Heights? Developers were not required to put safe, accessible, roads that met with state, county and fire codes. We all know what is happening with that now as Douglas County spends millions to fix something that should have never been permitted in the first place. If this development is allowed one of the first requirements must be roads that are constructed to at least meet if not surpass code. Culverts, grades, snow removal, looping, emergency access, and impact on adjoining city and county roads should all be of major consideration.
Mr. White is now fighting the City of Wenatchee on this very issue. He doesn't believe that he should be required to pay the money and take the extra time to fulfill his social obligation to the city and the people that will live in his development by making sure he has a safe accessible road to the development. Will he feel any remorse if he allowed to do a cut rate road and then people die because of a lack of access for fire trucks or egress in case of an emergency?
It seems that Mr. White had very little consideration for the safety and well being of Douglas County citizenry either. That was apparent when he purchased land that was earmarked for an access road to Fancher Heights and then extorted costs and improvements from the county for the right of way. It is clear that his intent is to not do anything more that he is absolutely required to do. Do we want to encourage and endorse this type of bottom line development in Douglas County? Hopefully Douglas County has a learned valuable lesson from Mr. White's actions and will not be so naive in dealing with him this time.

Elected representatives of Douglas County must make sure that before this rezone is approved Mr. White and CDL Development LLC will be required to do what is best for the people that will live in their development and for all of the citizens of Douglas County, not just what is convenient and cheapest for Mr. White and the other members of the LLC.

Most likely Mr. White and CDL Development LLC will invoked "private property rights" to develop this area as they see fit and to their exorbitant benefit.  Nevertheless the duty of Douglas County Planners and Douglas County Commissioners is to consider the health, well-being, safety and private property rights of ALL the citizens of this county not only those with the wealth to force their way upon all the rest of us.

**Change Application C4-30432P
March 11, 2006
Douglas County Water Conservation Board, Douglas County Commissioners, Department of Ecology and other concerned groups,
We are writing regarding the case involving CDL Development LLC Douglas County Water Conservation Board file # DOUG 06-01 Department of Ecology tracking # G4-30432P. As citizens of Douglas County we are deeply concerned about the impact of the four thousand plus acres of proposed housing developments by Calvin White/CDL Development LLC of Wenatchee Washington upon our regional water supply.
These developments will utilize local aquifers and domestic wells to supply their residents and businesses once built. The true location, size, source and replenishing time of these aquifers are speculative with no scientific data to back up these speculations and theories. Because of this, one of the conditions that should be required to be met by Calvin White/CDL Development would be that they prove adequate water supplies before a water system can be approved or building can commence, this is the very minimum that should be done in this case.  Water sufficiency and longevity must be verified and wells that are "said" to be viable for ten or twenty years should not be considered reliable water sources. Home mortgages are for 30 or 40 years and water needs to be available for at least that length of time, ethically and morally they should be proven into perpetuity.
Another concern is the seemingly intense pressure to change viable agricultural wells into domestic or public status. It is our understanding that there are plenty of developable lands within the East Wenatchee Water District so why the urgency to develop in areas that are not serviced with public water systems? The Douglas County Water Conservation Board and County Commissioners should be preserving agricultural well and water rights not giving them away. In the future Bio-fuels will be a valuable commodity. When that happens many will regret not having defended agricultural resources as aggressively as they have development.
Until these issues can be resolved we would most certainly like to address the Commissioners on whether Calvin White/CDL Development LLC should be permitted to receive official authorization to create their own municipal water district or change the status of any existing wells from agricultural to public.
Public opposition to overdevelopment and aquifer depletion has been substantial and intensive from many quarters, In light of the potential and likely impacts upon unverifiable subsurface water supplies that thousands of new users in these projects would create, it seems very minimal to require that water adequacy studies be done before the issuance of permits and certificates that would allow such developments to occur. This should be a critical function and priority of the Douglas County Commissioners, Douglas County Water Conservation Board and Department of Ecology.
County Commissioners should consider the long-term welfare of the community as a whole. To risk the depletion of a crucial water supply in the future for tax dollars and growth now is irresponsible and reckless. Tens of thousands of current aquifer users in Douglas County will appreciate your careful consideration of this matter.
We thank the Douglas County Commissioners, Members of Douglas County Water Conservation Board and Department of Ecology for their careful reflection in this serious matter affecting a great number of Douglas County residents.