Something "Uncle Greg" Forgot to Mention

By Curmudgeon

I'd like to make reference to today's lead editorial in the SL Tribune.


Here are the opening 'graphs:

It seems obvious to most of us: Building homes on land that is prone to move is, to put it mildly, unwise.

But some developers who stand to make fortunes selling houses on hillsides that offer million-dollar views don't see it that way. Indeed, as long as the home stands still long enough for them to take the money and run, they don't seem to see any problem at all.

They do, however, object strenuously to government stepping in to put limits on where they can build. That's too bad. When public safety bumps up against private development rights, safety must come first.

The governor's task force on geologic hazards is moving in exactly the right direction toward reining in building on sensitive hillsides where homes are apt to be damaged by landslides. The group, comprising engineers, geologists and other scientists, has recommended a sensible course of action for the state, such as training local planners and raising standards for geotechnical engineers. It will also propose a model ordinance for cities and counties.

And from a little further down in the editorial:

Cities and counties need all the help they can get as they go up against deep-pocketed and politically influential Realtors and developers. Those groups are heavily represented in the Legislature and will, no doubt, do all they can to undercut efforts to curb the profit-first excesses of some land developers.

Having scientific support and state backing for a local ordinance to restrict development and require building practices that mitigate the risk of landslides may take some of the heat off local officials if they must go head-to-head with those developers who have made these regulatory measures necessary.

Gee, when Mr. Montgomery (Emerald City Planning Department Director AND Mayor Godfrey's uncle), speaking for the Administration, was trying to convince the Planning Commission to lift the ban on building on lands sloping more than 30% in Sensitive Area Overlay Zones, and when he appeared before the Council trying to convince it to ignore the recommendation of the PC that the ban not be lifted until a Benchlands Zone was first established, he warned that if the PC and Ogden didn't do as the administration wanted, the state legislature or the courts might do it for them, hinting darkly at pending legislation [which subsequently did not pass] and as yet unfiled and unargued law suits. But I don't recall him mentioning that there was a governor's task force on geologic hazards at work, drafting a model sloped-lands development ordinance for towns and cities, drafted not by developer-legislators but by geologists, construction engineers and other similar qualified folk.

Must have slipped his mind, I guess.