Where’s water?
July 2, 2008
By Emily Keller
Developers could build more houses if the projects are eco-friendly
Sammamish planners want to encourage developers to minimize their impact on the environment by enticing them with benefits.
City planners are proposing a low impact development (sometimes called LID) ordinance that would reward developers of commercial and large residential projects for using a host of storm water methods favored by environmentalists. On June 24, a representative from SvR Design Company met with environmentalists and city planners to present recommended changes to the city’s proposal.
Low impact development is a stormwater management and land development strategy that aims to minimize soil disturbance and impervious surfaces, protect natural features and add vegetation. Planners say the term does not have one strict definition.
The ordinance would put in place a point system that rewards developers for actions like reforestation and having rain barrels and green roofs. There are 20 low impact development techniques that carry rewards under the proposed ordinance.
SvR Design Company recommended deleting one of the incentives, an extra bonus for combining techniques, and changing the number of points that 14 of the incentives carry.
Earning more points allows builders more leeway in development standards. For example, a developer with 30 points can count 75 percent of the street area that was omitted for environmental reasons in their density calculation while one with 24 points can only count 25 percent of that street area.
“I think for how codes work and how difficult it’s been to do things like this it’s really good for builders and developers to have certainty. When you add the points up there’s rigor to it,” said Peg Staeheli, a landscape architect for the SvR Design Company. “The intent was to try to come up with a menu of things.”
Some environmentalists expressed concern about the density incentive, saying increased density could have adverse environmental impacts.
“I think the concern is in the Beaver Lake, Pine Lake area. If it were to increase density it could be a negative thing,” said Tom Melling of the Beaver Lake Community Club.
Kamuron Gurol, the city’s community development director, disagreed.
“More houses, in and of themselves, is not the thing that creates the impact. It’s how you design it, how it functions,” Gurol said. “We wouldn’t create an ordinance that has a net negative impact on the environment.”
Gail Twelves of the Sierra Club said it is important to create an ordinance that is friendly to developers to be sure it is used.
The ordinance would be separate from the city’s storm water code and would not amend those regulations.
“What this does not do is alleviate any of the standards that we already have,” said Evan Maxim, a senior planner for the city. Maxim said he hopes the ordinance will encourage developers to strive for full Low Impact Development credit rather than using just a few preferred stormwater management techniques.
The code also calls on planners to reassess the techniques every three years to make sure the incentives do not overlap with requirements that are already in place, unintentionally rewarding developers for things they are required to do.
The City Council held a public hearing on low impact development techniques in February, but delayed action pending this study.
The City Council will hold another public hearing on the ordinance, which is likely to be scheduled in September, Gurol said.
Reporter Emily Keller can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or ekeller@isspress.com.
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