The Plight of Cooper Crest: The ongoing struggle of a Low Impact DevelopmentKaren Veldheer Three years ago my husband and I put money down to purchase a home in Olympia, WA in what was being marketed as a 'low impact development'. We had never heard this term before and wondered what it meant? How would this affect the long-term value of our new home purchase? We learned that Low Impact Development (LID) is a stormwater management system that seeks to minimize stormwater runoff near the site where it is generated. This is accomplished through small onsite stormwater features, which often include compost amended soil and rain gardens (a.k.a. bioretention areas). A LID may also be accomplished by developing a neighborhood with fewer sidewalks or narrower than normal streets to reduce impervious surfaces that generate runoff. My husband and I came to the conclusion that purchasing a home in such an area would be beneficial, and we were excited to purchase a home in a LID development. However, once our home was completed and we moved in, we noticed the builders had not provided the home with a number of LID features that were used to market the home to us. The landscape was not comprised of native Pacific Northwest plants, but native plants of Nova Scotia, Japan and even Afghanistan! The home did not have motion-sensored exterior lighting to reduce light pollution and give the neighborhood a more rural feel. As time passed, it became more and more apparant that neither the builders, the developer, or the City of Olympia cared whether this community was properly built to LID standards or not. Both city ordinances (ORD 6143) and the Federal Clean Water Act set standards for development in ground water Critical Areas. Homeowners succeeded in 2007 in having the City of Olympia hire a third party to assess the overall stormwater plan for the community. The results of this third party review demonstrated that Cooper Crest was not properly developed in accordance with LID requirements. To date, the City has not required this report's recommendations to be implemented by the builder or the developer. Cooper Crest developer, Triway Enterprises continues to hold more than 1 million dollars in construction assurance bonds for proper neighborhood development. The bonds notwithstanding, Triway Enterprises has only been minimally involved with homeowners seeking to resolve development problems. Perhaps not surprisingly, the builders blame the city for improper development in Cooper Crest. In a letter to the City of Olympia, the builders write, "...given the development modifications and existing site conditions, Cooper Crest can no longer be characterized as a "low-impact" development as those criteria would dictate" (November 26, 2007 letter from Jonathan Koshar, Chief Operation Officer Sound Built Homes to Keith Stahley, City of Olympia Director of Community Planning and Development.) However, the city's third party review lays out specific recommendations that can be implemented in order to bring the development into compliance with the low impact development guidelines set forth for Cooper Crest. Homeowners and city staff who seek to properly address development problems in Cooper Crest are wrongfully labeled "trouble makers" and frequently slandered by city staff behind closed doors. Homeowners have been lied to and yelled at by City of Olympia building inspectors on numerous occasions. This has become a classic example of an indifferent bureaucracy that scapegoats whistle-blowers and seeks to protect its own at all costs. When a hand full of neighbors and I began meeting with the City two and one half years ago, we never imagined the uphill battle ahead as we simply pointed out permit requirements that had not been met in Cooper Crest. Unfortunately, the hill has become a mountain and the summit is not yet in sight. Karen Veldheer is a homeowner in Cooper Crest, and can be reached by email at karenveldheer@mac.com or by phone at 360-528-0970. (Editor's Note: The above article reperesents one viewpoint and a single experience, in the opinion of the author. The Green Pages values diverse perspectives and welcomes submissions on related topics.)
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