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From:Erick Thompson <erick.thompson@gmail.com>
Sent:Wednesday, December 13, 2017 2:52 PM
To:Clark Close
Subject:Concerns about LUA17-000803 (S. Singh Short Plat)
Hello,
I am the owner of the house at 1301 S 9th Street. As you may know, Renton Hill had significant coal mining in
the 1900s. When I purchased the house in 2008, the lot next door to me was empty. I assumed it would remain
so, as there was a mine entrance on the lot. Nevertheless, someone bought the lot and went forward with
building a very large house on the lot. There were numerous problems, both during the construction and after. I
would be happy to enumerate the issues with the crews that were doing the work (including some reported
illegal dumping and tree cutting on the land of the short plat), but the bigger issue was with the land.
During the construction, there was significant land settling, including a cave-in on our neighbours lot (owned at
that time by Armondo Pavone). They ended up pumping a great deal of concrete into the site to stabilize the
land, and the construction ended up taking the better part of a year. When I purchased the house, I checked the
soil, and confirmed that the house was build on clay (likely tailings from the mine). At the time I moved in,
there were no cracks in any of the driveways or foundation, and all the floors were level. Some time during or
soon after the neighboring house was built, the land shifted resulting in half of the house having a slight slope
(enough that a ball will roll on the floor), and a number of cracks in the foundation and driveway. I did not have
evidence that there were no cracks in the foundation prior to the house being built, so I couldn't do much.
I was made aware that the builders and owners of the house next door to mine had also purchased the block
across the street, which is the site of the short plat in LUA17-000803. I am very concerned about this
development for the following reasons:
1. It is in the middle of a high severity coal mine area
(per http://rentonwa.gov/uploadedFiles/Government/FIT/GIS/PDF_Files/Coal%20Mine%20Hazard.pdf)
2. It has a significant slope, and is a continuation of the steep hill that runs along 9th street
3. It has a stream outlet that is currently drained into the wooded area
4. It is in an area with a high erosion hazard
(per http://rentonwa.gov/uploadedFiles/Government/FIT/GIS/PDF_Files/Erosion%20Hazard.pdf)
5. The developers were very careless in their previous construction
Some additional details on #3. There is an underground stream (in the storm sewers) that runs along 9th street.
It is a year-round stream, and exits on the west side of Renton Ave. There is significant outflow from the
stream, and it is currently drained into a marshy area. If this block is developed, what is going to happen with
the stream? If it isn't handled, then the soil will become saturated with water, making it more likely to
have subsidence issues.
I've never interacted with a Notice of Land Use before. What is the next step?
Thanks,
Erick Thompson