City leaders toasted the end of North Bend’s building moratorium April 8 with glasses of fresh city water.

The official end of the decade long moratorium was marked at the April 8 North Bend City Council meeting. The next day, water began flowing from the city’s new pump station.

“It seems like we have taken the longest possible road to get here, but we are here,” Mayor Ken Hearing said.

City and county officials celebrate the end of North Bend's building moratorium with a glass of water.

The moratorium was established in 1999 as part of an agreement with Washington State’s Department of Ecology, which is in charge of regulating water rights. North Bend learned from the department that the city had exceeded its share of water, and to avoid fines that could have cost the city about $5,000 a day, city leaders agreed to not allow new residential construction in the city until additional water rights were secured.

Hearing ran for mayor in 2003 on a promise to end the moratorium. He said that at least one person told him that he would never fulfill that campaign promise.

King County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, who was present at the April 8 council meeting, said that she always had faith in the mayor’s ability to get additional water rights.

Hearing credited the hard work of city staff, especially Public Works Director Ron Garrow, who worked to accomplish the mayor’s goal. He also thanked the Valley’s state legislators, who helped move the project forward, and other city staffers who performed important “leg work.”

Lambert said that she remembered getting a call a decade ago from the city’s former mayor, who told her that North Bend just learned about its water problem from the Department of Ecology. She noted that the city faced many obstacles in getting new water rights, but the city’s leaders were always able to overcome the challenges they faced.

“Your determination has just been incredible,” Lambert said.

Several members of the council noted that the end of the moratorium would be a new chapter in the city’s history, as the city becomes more attractive to development.

“We’re going to see a lot of changes in North Bend, now that we have secured water for the foreseeable future,” Councilman Russ Loudenback said.

Another member of the council, David Cook, said that he hoped the city could control growth when it starts to happen.

In other business, the council approved a general facility charge of $5,711 to pay for water-related infrastructure. The general facility charge will apply to new home construction. General facility charges are a way of having new growth pay for the cost of infrastructure associated with the growth.

City Finance Director Elena Montgomery said that the proposed rate was in line with other eastside municipalities. The general facility charge for Duvall is $6,153, in Carnation it’s $6,050, in Issaquah it’s $4,713, and in Snoqualmie $2,150. Montgomery said that Snoqualmie’s rate was lower because they used a different model to calculate their general facility charge.

The council also set a public hearing date of April 21 for the Tanner Annexation that includes the Wood River subdivision east of North Bend.

Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248. 

The building moratorium is back, but hopefully not for long.

The North Bend City Council approved renewing the city’s building moratorium at its Feb. 3 meeting. A public hearing on the issue was continued, and the public will be allowed to comment on the moratorium renewal at the council’s next meeting, Feb. 17. 

Public Works Director Ron Garrow cited delays in getting electric service installed on the Hobo Springs transmission line as the reason behind the moratorium extension. Garrow said that the delays were caused by bad weather in December and January.

The renewed moratorium is scheduled to last until April. Ironically, the building moratorium was imposed in April 1999, and the ban on residential building will be 10 years old when it expires.

“Hopefully, this will be the last time that the moratorium is extended,” Garrow told the council. “We’re all excited about ending the moratorium, as I’m sure everyone else in the city is.”

The moratorium was modified in November of 2008 to allow builders and developers to submit plans to the city and to begin the process that will eventually bring new homes to North Bend. Those submitting plans have been required to sign waivers holding the city harmless for any delays associated with ending the decade-long moratorium. 

In other business, the council also approved an ordinance allowing the city to join the Eastside Transportation Partnership. The partnership is a consortium of about 20 cities and several transportation related agencies that provides advice to King County Metro. 

North Bend will join the voting bloc of Snoqualmie Valley cities, which has two votes. The voting bloc includes Snoqualmie, Fall City, and Duvall. The larger communities in the partnership each have two votes, King County has three votes, and Snohomish County has one vote. Another voting bloc of small cities also has two votes in the partnership. 

To join the partnership, the city has to pay $50 in dues. It could have paid $200 in dues to become a full member with its own two votes.

“So it’s 50 bucks for a half vote and $200 for a full vote. I think I’ll take the $50,” council member Russ Loudenback said. 

The council viewed joining the partnership favorably and unanimously voted to approve joining. Mayor Ken Hearing told the council that he was in favor of joining as a way to protect the city’s bus routes from changes. 

“We’ve finally got some halfway decent Metro [bus] service and the city of Seattle is going to try and steal it away,” Hearing said.   

Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.

Immediately after the SnoValley Star began publishing in March, the Snoqualmie Valley provided many interesting stories to report on.

Just in the first month, there was another run made at a second high school, a debate over a soccer field, an agreement signed that ended a long-awaited moratorium and a heated public discussion over a hospital.

From a state playoff run by the Mount Si football team to a bizarre robbery at a local fast-food chain, the year continued to provide intriguing story lines. Five, however, stood out among the rest. Here is a run-down of the top five stories of 2008.

While the Rev. Ken Hutcherson and others came to Mount Si High School to protest the Day of Silence April 25, others were on hand to support it.

March – School bond

fails again

For the third straight time, a bond put forth to voters that would have provided a second high school in the Valley failed. And, once again, it was close — less than 2 percent shy of the 60 percent super majority needed to pass.

The district was asking for $189.6 million to fund land and construction costs for a new high school. The total also would have funded a sixth elementary school, roofs and heating systems for several existing schools and a new school bus parking facility.

In the end, 58.6 percent (4,510 voters) voted for the bond, while 41.3 percent (3,178 voters) rejected it.

In 2009, the district will attempt a much smaller bond. The $27.5 million they’ll ask for this time around will not include plans for a new high school.

March 13 – North Bend ends building moratorium

After almost a decade-long ban on building, the city of North Bend worked out its water problems and ended a self-imposed moratorium.

The problem began in 1999 when North Bend learned municipal pumps were drawing down the nearby Snoqualmie River. As a result, the city imposed upon itself a moratorium on new construction.

Eight years later, North Bend reached a deal with Seattle that would allow the city to access 1.1 million gallons of water a day, paving the way for the ban to be lifted. But an appeal to the agreement was filed by local rancher and tree grower Ewing Stringfellow, who was concerned the new operation would lower the water levels on his property. To avoid a months-long court case with Stringfellow, the city decided to pay him $40,000 to end his appeal.

In November, North Bend officially lifted a portion of the moratorium and began accepting plans for development.

April 25 – Day of Silence

gets noisy

The Rev. Ken Hutcherson and about 100 members of the Antioch Bible Church converged at Mount Si High School to protest the school’s annual Day of Silence.

The Day of Silence, held at 255 middle schools and high schools across Washington on an annual basis, is an event meant to draw attention to the harassment gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people face. Participants remain mute throughout the day.

About 40 parents and 30 counter-protestors arrived opposite Hutcherson’s group to show their support for the event. Many of them held signs either in support of the event or in opposition to Hutcherson’s group.

Five Snoqualmie police officers were on hand to watch over the groups, but no incidents were reported. More than 600 students, however, were absent from class.

Earlier in the school year, Hutcherson arrived at Mount Si to speak during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day assembly. He was booed by one teacher and questioned publicly by another for his opposition to gay rights. Hutcherson later requested both teachers be fired.

May 15 – John McCain

visits the Valley

Republican nominee John McCain made a campaign stop in North Bend to talk about environmental issues at the Cedar River Watershed Education Center.

McCain was joined by a panel of environmentalists and business leaders. He pushed the need for clean energy, specifically nuclear energy, and criticized his Democratic rivals for their “never having written” pro-environmental legislation.

Republican nominee John McCain traveled to the Cedar River Watershed in North Bend on May 15 to discuss global warming.

McCain talked about environmental issues for more than an hour.

“I’m not new to this issue,” he said, “but I’m always learning.”

In November, McCain lost his bid for president to Barack Obama.

Nov. 6 – Snoqualmie Casino’s grand opening

After much planning, construction and the spending of $375 million, Snoqulamie Casino finally opened its doors.

Included in the casino are 170,000 square feet of space, 1,700 slot machines, a cigar lounge, a ball room, a night club, a fine dining restaurant and much more. The casino, owned by the Snoqualmie Tribe, also employs 1,300.

Jessica Simpson performed for a small crowd on opening night and then again for a larger crowd the following night. Lots of other entertainment, including boxing matches, have been planned at the casino, located right off I-90 at exit 27.

Upon the partial lift of North Bend’s building moratorium Nov. 17, five new developments have been planned for the area.

North Bend Mayor Ken Hearing does not expect there to be an explosion in the city’s growth, now that the building moratorium has been partially lifted. The building moratorium may be completely lifted as soon as the Jan. 20 City Council meeting.

“We’re hoping we don’t see an explosion in growth, so that we’ll be better able to recognize and shape development and growth as it comes,” Hearing said.

The five new developments are probably not a warning of a building boom in North Bend, according to the mayor. Hearing said that the proposed developments would not be getting building permits anytime soon, but are just beginning the planning process. The recession and the time it takes to put water service infrastructure in place will slow developments. 

Three of the development proposals come from North Bend developer John Day, of John Day Homes. Hearing said that these developments are about two years from being built, because they will have to wait for construction of water service infrastructure.

Day has submitted application materials for a 68-lot cottage-home subdivision located off Thrasher Avenue; a 36-lot single-family home subdivision located off Maloney Grove Avenue Southeast, east of the Si View neighborhood; and a 28-lot single-family home division located off Malone Grove Avenue Southeast, south of Tenth Street Southeast. 

In addition to the application materials submitted by Day, there was a pre-application review submitted by Byron Moore for a 103-lot single-family home subdivision located on property in the Silver Creek neighborhood south of E.J. Roberts Park. 

Developer Don Klausing also submitted plans for removing an existing house and constructing a two-story professional office building at the corner of West 4th Street and Ballarat Avenue.  

Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 425-392-6434 Ext. 248.