Know your…friends?

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Tue, Oct 27, 2009, 11:20 am  //  Tip Johnson

This is probably old news to Responsible Development advocates, but just in case, here's a little heads up on TIm Stewart. He appears to have experience with developments like Fairhaven Highlands. He also appears to have no qualms about doing whatever it takes to get them built. I wondered why Mark hired him!

www.seattleweekly.com/2002-01-30/news/battle-creek/1

Shoreline's Planning and Development Services Department, under the directorship of Tim Stewart, changed Thornton Creek's classification from "stream" to "wetland" where it flowed through the proposed Aegis' Assisted Living site. This change reduced the necessary buffer by half. The city also granted variances that let Aegis lay foundations much closer to the water in some places. Fish and Wildlife biologist, Doug Hennick, didn't approve of the site plan.

But when Hennick went to a public hearing to say as much, he was surprised to learn a city official had already spoken for him. Planning and Development Director Tim Stewart had submitted an affidavit stating he'd had a phone conversation with Hennick in which the biologist said he no longer had any objections to the development. Hennick had to explain at the hearing that he'd said no such thing.

"Stewart never told me that he was going to write something to represent what I said. He put in sworn testimony about what I said, without letting me see the draft, saying that I had changed my mind," says Hennick.

Related Links:

-> www.seattlepi.com/local/75359_thorntonweb.shtml

Larry Horowitz  //  Tue, Oct 27, 2009, 1:32 pm

OK, Tip, I can be a little dense sometimes, so let me see if I got this right.

When Bellingham Planning Director Tim Stewart was the Planning Director for the City of Shoreline, his department conveniently changed the classification of a CREEK from a STREAM to a WETLAND?  Is that even possible?  When is a CREEK a WETLAND?  And that change reduced the buffer surrounding this CREEK / WETLAND by half?

So F&W;biologist Hennick disapproves; but, Tim Stewart falsifies an affidavit stating Hennick no longer had any objections - when in fact Hennick still did?

Is that about right?

Was all of this info on Mr. Stewart?s application when he applied to become Bellingham?s Planning Director?

Did this incident have anything to do with Mr. Stewart leaving Shoreline?  Do you know what year that was?  I see the articles are dated in January and June 2002.  Is that around the time he left?

Seems like the battle is always over the buffers.  Here we go again?


Tip Johnson  //  Tue, Oct 27, 2009, 3:27 pm

Sounds like you understood it about the same way I did.

I do not know whether or not Mr. Stewart listed all his creative skills in his resume for Bellingham, but he somehow impressed Mark Asmundson.

I, too, only have the article dates to go on, but it sure might be interesting to talk to the folks that picketed that project, and maybe some folks down at Shoreline.

Maybe he moved here from Shoreline because Bellingham is too beautiful.  He seems to be working on a solution to that.


Larry Horowitz  //  Wed, Oct 28, 2009, 12:51 pm

To be fair to Mr. Stewart, I am posting an email I received today that purports to be Mr. Stewart’s response to an April 23, 2006 Bellingham Herald article entitled, “City’s new planning director no stranger to controversy.”

I cannot vouch for the email’s authenticity; but it appears to be written by Mr. Stewart and provides his side of the story. 

TO: Mayor Asmundson
FROM: Tim Stewart Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
DATE: April 26, 2006 RE: Follow up to April 23 Herald article:
?New Planning Director No Stranger to Controversy? I want to make sure you have complete, accurate information about this
newspaper article and the issue it highlighted.
The article ?New Planning Director No Stranger to Controversy? published April 23, 2006 targets a controversy that is nearly six years old. The article lacked facts and objectivity, and likely puzzled more than informed Herald readers. I am disappointed the reporter did not give me an opportunity to be interviewed, since he was given my email address and telephone number in March. I sent a letter to the editor about these problems.
If this article has raised community interest in this project, I will be happy to provide further information when I arrive in the states the first week of May. Meanwhile, below is a summary of the issue highlighted in the Herald article.
The controversy highlighted by the Herald has to do with a telephone conversation I had with Doug Hennick, a biologist with the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, during the late summer of 2000. Aegis Assisted Living had proposed the redevelopment of a site for special needs housing next to I-5. Thornton Creek, a salmon stream, runs through the site then into a drainage structure of I-5.
As Director of Planning and Development Services in the City of Shoreline, I was the official responsible for issuing a SEPA determination and decision on a variance. I wanted to make sure that I communicated with the area biologist from Fish and Wildlife before a decision was issued. The site was already fully developed and I was especially interested in learning how the proposed redevelopment could be used to enhance fish and wildlife habitat. I called Mr. Hennick.
We talked for a long time about the proposal and the draft conditions of approval. I clearly recall Mr. Hennick offering changes to specific conditions and supporting the package of proposed mitigations as beneficial for the stream. Based in part upon this conversation, I then issued the SEPA determination and permit with thirteen conditions/mitigation measures.
But like many land use decisions, the decision was appealed to the City of Shoreline Hearing Examiner. Because I had a scheduling conflict, I was not able to attend the hearing, but instead, signed a Declaration which described my conversation with Mr. Hennick, stating in part, that, ?...Mr. Hennick and I concurred that the permit, with the specific conditions/mitigations, would have a net positive impact upon the functions and values of the creek.
Mr. Hennick expressed support of the permit with the 13 conditions/mitigations.?
At the appeal hearing, held on September 27, 2000, Mr. Hennick appeared as both employee of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and as an expert witness for the appellants. He testified in opposition to the permit and stated that my Declaration ?was not correct?.
However, later in the hearing, he testified that: ?...the mitigation that has been described here will, in fact, make the stream better….?
On cross examination, Mr. Hennick was again asked about his opinion of the impact of the proposed mitigation: ?Your statement was essentially that the bottom line to the mitigation proposals by Aegis in this case, is an enhancement, an improvement of the habitat at this site, isn?t that correct??
Mr. Hennick, under oath, answered: ?Yes?.
It has been nearly six years since Mr. Hennick and I had the telephone conversation highlighted on the front page of the Herald. The project has been built and is now occupied. The mitigation measures have been completed, the habitat improved and fish passage barriers removed. The developer has been fined $30,000 by the City. A film has been made about the negative environmental impacts of the development. A claim against the City by Aegis for $3.2 million has been dismissed. Project opponents have been elected to the Shoreline City Council. Civil lawsuits between the private parties have been filed and settled. But an arson case at the site has not been solved and still the land use litigation continues, albeit with fresh new lawyers on both sides.
I have learned many lessons during the long and challenging Aegis development process. One lesson I learned, about five years ago, is that when I write a heated and impassioned letter, it is always, always, much better to sleep on it and perhaps toss it into the trash the next morning, than to ship it out in a rush with the evening mail.


Lummi Ferry Petition is Linked

Wed, Sep 01, 2010, 2:40 pm  //  John Servais

A petition to the federal government online at skookum.us. It asks they step in to resolve the impasse between the Lummi and Whatcom County.

0 comments


Lummi Island - The Price of Admission

Thu, Aug 26, 2010, 3:01 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Legal or Political Football?

4 comments; last on Aug 27, 2010


Politics & Ice Water: Part 1 of ?

Sat, Aug 21, 2010, 8:07 am  //  Larry Horowitz

Politics is like a pool of ice water. When men jump in their balls shrivel up.

5 comments; last on Aug 26, 2010


Lummi Island Softball

Fri, Aug 20, 2010, 3:26 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Islanders need a new game

1 comments; last on Aug 24, 2010



Cantwell Confused

Wed, Aug 18, 2010, 4:07 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Ignoring the real problem

3 comments; last on Aug 19, 2010


Election Results

Tue, Aug 17, 2010, 8:05 pm  //  John Servais

A running blog this election night

0 comments


The Political Downzone of Responsible Land Use Planning

Mon, Aug 16, 2010, 12:55 pm  //  John Lesow

John Lesow rebuts Jack Petree's Herald oped article that strongly criticized county planning.

30 comments; last on Aug 25, 2010


Herald runs a beautiful smear of Rossi

Mon, Aug 16, 2010, 12:03 pm  //  John Servais

Headline and article paint U.S. Senate candidate Dino Rossi very badly on final day ballots are mailed. The Bellingham Herald editors print a perfect smear.

5 comments; last on Aug 18, 2010


Lummi Football

Sat, Aug 14, 2010, 12:20 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Time for hardball?

0 comments


Mail your ballot by Monday, 3 p.m.

Sat, Aug 14, 2010, 6:51 am  //  John Servais

Mailing even late Monday evening is gambling on its being counted. Mail in time.

1 comments; last on Aug 14, 2010


Deceptive Herald article on planning

Fri, Aug 13, 2010, 8:39 am  //  John Servais

Am looking for a writer to rebut Jack Petree's BIAW propaganda article the Herald saw fit to print.

3 comments; last on Aug 20, 2010


The Way I See It - Time to change

Wed, Aug 11, 2010, 4:00 pm  //  Ham Hayes

Fear and attack-rhetoric are leading us in the wrong direction.

1 comments; last on Aug 12, 2010


Candidate choices of John Servais

Mon, Aug 09, 2010, 3:15 pm  //  John Servais

Personal opinion and recommendations from an independent liberal and progressive. ADDED more on Tuesday, Aug 10.

3 comments; last on Aug 13, 2010


And in the 40th we have…..

Mon, Aug 09, 2010, 1:49 pm  //  Ham Hayes

Candidates, o candidates - where art thou? Monday Updates

2 comments; last on Aug 04, 2010


Where’s the Info?

Mon, Aug 09, 2010, 12:38 pm  //  Viki Warner

One week till the Primary, but no info?

3 comments; last on Aug 09, 2010


Cooperation no substitute for small libraries

Sat, Aug 07, 2010, 8:18 am  //  John Servais

A library card from any Whatcom County library can now be used at any library in the county

5 comments; last on Aug 15, 2010


40th District State Representative Pos 1 Primary - Tom Pasma’s Responses

Fri, Aug 06, 2010, 4:54 am  //  Ham Hayes

Tom answers our questions

1 comments; last on Aug 08, 2010


40th District State Representative Pos 2 Primary - Rep. Jeff Morris’ Responses

Fri, Aug 06, 2010, 4:50 am  //  Ham Hayes

Jeff answers our questions

0 comments


40th District State Representative Pos 1 Primary - Chuck Carrell’s Respones

Fri, Aug 06, 2010, 4:48 am  //  Ham Hayes

Chuck answers our questions

0 comments


Act of War or Act of Congress?

Thu, Aug 05, 2010, 1:50 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Where, oh where, are our federal representatives?

6 comments; last on Aug 06, 2010


A letter to the Bellingham City Council

Thu, Aug 05, 2010, 8:28 am  //  John Servais

We ask why the EIS extension was given to the Chuckanut Ridge developers when the city is negotiating to buy the property.

0 comments


City bumbles on Chuckanut Ridge extension

Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 8:12 am  //  John Servais

Bellingham Planning Department is giving quiet extensions to the Chuckanut Ridge developer - propping up the property value.

1 comments; last on Aug 04, 2010


Chuckanut Ridge Development Gets Extension

Mon, Aug 02, 2010, 1:30 pm  //  John Servais

Bellingham Planning Department gave a three month extension, till Oct 29, to Greenbriar

2 comments; last on Aug 02, 2010


John Powers death, in the words of a friend

Sat, Jul 31, 2010, 9:29 pm  //  John Servais

John Powers died yesterday. Ted expresses his remembrance.

0 comments


Raising a Village: Can the Bellingham Cooperative School be saved?

Fri, Jul 30, 2010, 10:54 am  //  Kamalla Rose Kaur

Mourning the loss of a valuable community asset

2 comments; last on Aug 01, 2010


The Way I See It - Mud resurrected

Wed, Jul 28, 2010, 4:39 am  //  Ham Hayes

It is time we gave “mud” back its good name.

0 comments


The Way I See It - En Garde

Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 4:42 am  //  Ham Hayes

“We have lots of robberies.” As I reported last week, that was the apocalyptic statement by the investigating officer to our recent plight in St.…

0 comments


Greed: The Shadowy So-called Non-profit Taecan

Mon, Jul 19, 2010, 11:53 am  //  Tip Johnson

For-Profit Non-Profits - Pulling the Plug on Services

0 comments


The Forsaken Constituents of Lummi Island

Mon, Jul 19, 2010, 11:20 am  //  Tip Johnson

Taxation without representation

3 comments; last on Jul 28, 2010


Libraries are still very valuable

Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 8:18 pm  //  John Servais

The New Spice Man tells us why libraries are useful and valuable. This applies to all libraries.

0 comments


Three Port Executive Finalists Withdraw

Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 1:30 pm  //  John Servais

In a surprise development, the Port of Bellingham is starting over again in their search for an executive director. Position now vacant for over a…

1 comments; last on Jul 18, 2010


Book Review:  Whole Earth Discipline

Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 4:44 am  //  Guest writer

Eric Hirst reviews this October 2009 book by Stewart Brand of Whole Earth Catalog fame. Stewart is critical of several mainstream environmental stances.

1 comments; last on Jul 19, 2010


 

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