McNaughton Group to appeal required EIS
By KRISTI PIHL Staff Reporter
Snohomish County Hearing Examiner Barbara Dykes issued an order for an environmental impacts statement (EIS) of all of the McNaughton Group’s proposed rural cluster developments in the Lake Goodwin area.
In the Oct. 16 order, Dykes said the county planning and development services (PDS) needed to redefine the Edmonds-based company’s proposal to include the nine submitted projects.
The company plans to build 12 rural cluster subdivisions, amounting to 585 homes, on 2,000 acres.
The hearing examiner’s requirement of an environmental impact statement vindicates the 7-Lakes organization, said Dave Ridgeway, president of the grassroots group that filed the appeal of the developments. The hearing examiner has held the developer and PDS accountable, he said.
The order follows a PDS staff report that attempted to overrule the hearing examiner on the issue of interdependency of the nine subdivision applications.
Dykes’ recent order is already part of an appeal that the McNaughton Group made in King County Superior Court, said Kevin Ballard, company general manager.
There is an appeal of that appeal that is scheduled for a hearing in Superior Court in early December, he said.
The McNaughton Group has complied with the current land use code and has completed studies that included a cumulative analysis of the projects, Ballard said.
“The hearing examiner is again requiring more study and data that is simply unwarranted and beyond her authority,” he said. “At a time when we could be adding much needed jobs to the local economy, we are stalled in a flawed process.”
Ridgeway said that he hopes King County Superior Court throws out the company’s appeal.
