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Adopting a neighborhood storm drain is easy (and fun!) and can help reduce street flooding and keep pollutants like yard chemicals, pet waste, and garbage out of our lake and streams. Most stormwater in Redmond flows into a storm drain—the metal grate in the street – and is carried to a nearby waterway. By spending just 15 minutes a month removing leaves, garbage, and debris from the top of the storm drain, you can help prevent flooding and protect the waterways that are home to salmon, frogs, and other critters.
Sign up to adopt a drain
Help Redmond keep soap, oil, dirt, and other pollutants out of our streams, lake, and underground drinking water sources. Call the City's Water Pollution Hotline any time you see pollutants on the ground, in the street, or in the natural environment. Working together, we can stop pollution in its tracks. Report environmental concerns to Redmond's Water Pollution Hotline: 425-556-2868
Learn more about keeping our water clean
-- redmond.gov Posted by Yoder, 10/25/24
In response to this post the City posted this advisory on their website front page.
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| Redmond's pollution truck advertises their pollution hot line: 425-556-2868 photo by Yoder |
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| Downtown Park COUNCIL CONVERSATIONS, The Safety Table / photo Yoder |
I sat in at three tables conversing with councilmembers and residents at the busy Safety table, Environmental Sustainablity table and Miscellaneous table. Council V.P. Jessica Forsythe presided over the Safety Table. Feedback from a resident/family living in a downtown apartment was especially interesting. He wanted stop signs placed on Cleveland Street intersections and other downtown intersections -- said he saw pedestrians getting mildly brushed. He said Uber drivers were the worst; always looking at their cell phones. Another guy complained about gangs that prey on residents for their belongings. He thought only 4 - 6 police officers patrolled the whole city and asked for 16 more officers. I think Jessica said the department had over 140 officers (traffic, patrol, detective, drone, criminal, crime etc.) with plans for 4 more. CM (councilmember) Fields asked why the need for 16 more officers? I questioned the need for council taxing their city utilities and raising the business tax to fund a $6 million dollar public safety gap. IMO, the .25% city excise tax on construction was funding enough.
September 2024 |
October 2024 |
Commitment to bring electric vehicles to Redmond will help reduce pollution, improve public health, and boost the clean energy economy for Redmond residents
REDMOND, WA - Today, Redmond Mayor Angela Birney joined nearly 350 U.S. mayors on a new collaborative commitment to electrify at least 50% of municipal fleets by 2030 and increase electric vehicle charging infrastructure by 500% by 2035, with at least 40% of charging investments to benefit disadvantaged communities. As a member of Climate Mayors – the bipartisan network of mayors from across the United States committed to climate action – Mayor Birney is helping to deliver cleaner air, lower tax bills, and a more sustainable future for all Redmond residents.
City Council strongly opposes State Initiative No. 2117. The Hearing will give public an opportunity to learn about the measure and weigh in. In short, the initiative will repeal the market-based "cap and invest" carbon program -- which reduces greenhouse gas emissions -- and will prohibit carbon tax credit trading. It's possible, but doubtful a repeal could increase costs of fuel recipients and fuel suppliers.
Council has a deep commitment to environmental sustainability. In 2020 they declared a "climate emergency" and adopted a 30-year plan for the community to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. They have worked closely with the city Legislative coordinator to make the Hearing happen; and in conjunction with other jurisdictions.
The Climate Commitment Act has already generated $3.25 billion statewide for forest protection, transportation projects, electrification efforts, wildfire prevention, salmon recovery, tribal investments and more.
Source: 7/23 Council Study session and "Council Talk Time" memos.
Reported by Bob Yoder
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| A Bobcat's "last stand" in Sigmund and Werner's backyard / credit Sigmund |
The photograph of this urban Bobcat was taken by Werner & Sigmund. Their home borders on a North Redmond 18-acre forest. Over 300 mature trees were cleared for 76 single-family homes with lot sizes ***4000 - 22,000 SF, according city documents. The project (178th Ct. NE & NE 116th St.) is known as "Pearce PRD" and is one of many environmentally sensitive projects in Redmond developed by Eric Campbell's Camwest Development, Inc. of Kirkland, WA.
According to a "Wildlife Study Report" filed by wetland , wildlife, and forest consultant Chad Armour, LLC on January 20, 2007 "the site may have the potential to support as many as 68 different species of wildlife". Sigmund has also observed coyotes and deer in her backyard and there have been neighborhood reports of *black bear. Where will they go?
Camwest paid an arborist for a tree preservation plan required by city permit. The arborist reported that 294 significant trees were clear-cut. That's 54% of the 489 significant trees on the project. 39 Landmark trees were presumed removed. Landmark trees are supposed to get special protections. (see Councilwoman Kim Allen's statement, below).
Chad Armour made two brief site visits. Among Mr. Armour's qualifications, he is a "certified wetland delineator" and has a certificate in commercial real estate. He was hired by Camwest to write environmental reports for the city land use permit.
Mr. Armour reported: nine wetlands and 20 State Priority habitat tree snags, ideal for Pileated Woodpecker nesting. He identified a foraging P. Woodpecker, and a Great Blue Heron "in the vicinity". The Great Blue Heron is valued by the State and Redmond as a Priority Species of Local Importance. Nesting P. Woodpeckers are potentially endangered and have protections when nests are present. I was told by a resident Armour spent only several hours during each of his two visits to the site.
Mr. Armour stated a heron rookery is located about one mile SE of the site. City planner Cathy Beam indicated months ago these eastern rookery nests were vacated. Mr. Armour also noted a stream map indicating coho salmon migrate to within a few hundred feet of the project site. A tributary to Bear Creek and two ponds are present.
Obviously, significant and devastating deforestation of "urban open space" has occurred. Habitat destruction was far more extensive than Camwest's Tyler's Creek and Perrigo Heights developments. Fortunately, Camwest does a good job restoring and enhancing their streams, wetlands, and forest buffers. However, according to the neighbors, the development will be setback only 20 feet from their properties and exposed neighborhood trees will be endangered by resultant high winds.
Councilwoman Kim Allen is to be commended for speaking up for the neighborhood during Werner's Landmark Tree Exception appeal. Councilman Richard Cole appeared insensitive during reconsideration of the Landmark Tree appeal stating Werner was slowing down the project. Ms. Allen is a qualified lawyer and is a strong council advocate for "green" protections and standards. ** Ms. Allen's statement urging amendments to city tree preservation standards are below. The city is holding a Community Meeting on Thursday, 7/28 to ask for ideas on how to improve Residential Development permitting. Contact Jeff Churchill for more information by emailing: jchurchill@redmond.gov.
*** The City Neighborhood Map and Notice of Application quote different lot size ranges.
**'Councilmember Allen read a written request to the staff as follows, 'Tree retention is an expressed value of the citizens of Redmond articulated in the Comprehensive Plan, Neighborhood Plans, and community meetings. Redmond’s tree retention law reflects that a detailed and thoughtful analysis by the Administrator of what should be a detailed and written account of extraordinary circumstances is required to justify the felling of any landmark tree or drastically reducing our declining canopy. In this case there is no record of that detailed analysis by staff which does both the staff and the citizens a disservice. Our Code Administrators should begin to provide a written and detailed analysis of their reasoning on all of these exceptions to our Tree Retention Ordinance and that the code should be amended to provide notice to adjacent property owners when such a request is made.' - contributed by Werner
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QUESTIONS: Was off-site mitigation required? It not, how where were they replaced? PRD' appeals are Quasi-Judicial. Was there adequate notice? Tom Hinman, a respected planning commissioner, influenced the city years later to map significant and landmark trees on the Notice of Application. Why did it take so long? In 2022, Tree Regulations were updated to protect/preserve Redmond's remaining trees on private properties. It's 2024 and the updated tree regulations still haven't been implemented owing to legal issues Kirkland is facing. No comment.
Opinion and report by Bob Yoder, ~ 2007, updated 1/29/2024
Additional "land use" articles are found using the blog search engine.
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| White pipes irrigate tiny shrubs of the Bear Creek floodplain |
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| Drone photo (1 of 3) by Jason Sperling (Sept. 2022) |
"Migrating salmon navigating from Lake Washington, into the Sammamish River, heading to Lake Sammamish...west to east at this time of year."
-- William C. Leak, Kenmore Facebook Group
Could some of these be Chinook migrating to Bear Creek?
Posted by Yoder, 9/4/2023
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| Green Heron spears a frog on the 90th Street Bridge stormwater pond |
For over twelve years, I have been observing and photographing the abundant wildlife that often appears in this pond. Great blue herons frequently catch fish and frogs here. Above, is a rare Green Heron spearing a frog! Different species of waterfowl often appear during the spring and fall migratory seasons. I once photographed six adult male wood ducks together in the pond at the same time!
In addition to the varied birdlife, I have photographed: a beaver on two different occasions, a raccoon, river otters frolicking in the pond twice, and a coyote, which really surprised me.
I don't know what will become of this wildlife once the project is complete. A worker said they netted all of the fish at the east end of the enclosure, and relocated them to the west end, nearest to the river. This was to protect the fish. The worker said that when entering the pond the accumulated sediment was so deep where they were netting the fish, that it came up to their shoulders!
--Photos and Story by John Reinke, 8/7/2023
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| City removing rich, organic soil from the pond |
"The existing NE 90th St stormwater pond treats the runoff from the 90th St stormwater basin before it drains into the Sammamish River. It was constructed in 2000 and currently provides about two thirds of the water quality treatment required by today’s regulations. The pond works by allowing sediment to settle out of the stormwater before it enters the Sammamish River. Over the last 20 years, significant sediment has accumulated, filling up a portion of the pond. The City will be removing the accumulated sediment from the pond during the summer of 2023. "
(Source: NE 90th Street Stormwater Pond Retrofit | Redmond, WA )
1. Reducing air travel by 9,000 miles per year saves us 7,200 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. We mostly stay local, but in 2021, Gail made a round trip to Portland in her 2018 Hyundai Ioniq hybrid, and I made two round trips to Renton in my 1990 Geo Metro XFi. Zoom and Microsoft Teams make it unnecessary to do a lot of flying and driving.
2. Nature has replaced 3,000 square feet of our lawn with drought-tolerant plants like buttercups, dandelions, clover, and blackberry. Although they are non-native and invasive, they require zero watering, minimal mowing with a manual reel mower, and provide nectar and pollen for bees. This saves 42,600 gallons of water a year and earns 4,260 “Sustainability points.” The 40,000 sq. feet of forest that we have been allowing to grow on our property since 1994 has removed more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than our cars have released into it.
3. By adopting smart driving habits, we save 110 gallons of gas and 2,960 pounds of CO₂ equivalents a year. Avoiding heavy acceleration, coasting when possible, light braking, and driving the speed limit help a lot. I turn off my car when stopped at traffic lights; Gail’s hybrid does that automatically. My car has no gas-guzzling air conditioner. And I regularly service our cars and keep their tires properly inflated.
Attendees learned the Evans Creek Relocation project was held up by King County permitting and the trenching to relocate the creek to the north hasn't started. Trenching was supposed to begin last year.
A large swath of invasive reed canary grass is being removed by mowing and applying Roundup. It's a big project. It's anticipated the relocation project will re-start sometime next year.
Critical seismic areas didn't appear to be of deep concern with staff since entire Puget Sound area is subject. They referred to building codes as protecting the city structures in the event of an earthquake.
The council-approved tree regulations are still not in effect owing to prolonged negotiations with the Master Builders. Thus, current projects are vested under the old, more lenient regulations.
Questions and concerns about the city's shallow aquifer was noted.
-- Bob Yoder, 6/23/2023
Dear residents of Redmond
I write this blog post with deep concern and a solid commitment to our community's well-being and using LinkedIn for broader reach. Recently, a decision was made to open the gate on the 172nd Avenue corridor, and it has ignited significant unease among residents, myself included. As a resident of Parkridge at the Woodlands in the Education Hill area, I felt compelled to raise awareness about the concerns surrounding this decision and advocate for a safer, more sustainable, and inclusive approach. The city is proceeding with removing this barrier in order to improve traffic flow. Once removed, the corridor will be bi-directional. Up-to-date information is now located on the City’s webpage.
Safety Concerns for Our Neighborhood: The potential increase of 5,000 vehicles passing through our neighborhood per day has raised serious safety concerns, especially with the recent establishment of Clara Barton Elementary School nearby. Our area already experiences high traffic volumes, and the proposed opening of 172nd Avenue would create yet another shortcut for traffic, adding to the existing congestion on 116th Street. Just days ago, a car speeding through the crosswalk hit the crossing guard's flag with children present. This is simply unacceptable. We have witnessed tragic incidents where black bear cubs were hit by speeding cars, emphasizing the urgent need to address road safety and protect our wildlife.
Environmental Impact and Ecological Preservation: Preserving our natural environment is a shared priority for our community. The decision to open the gate on 172nd Avenue also raises concerns about the potential environmental consequences, particularly in relation to our wildlife and community parks such as the Smith Wood. Conducting a comprehensive ecological study will enable us to understand the potential effects on our local animal population and make informed decisions that align with our commitment to environmental preservation. Moreover, it is vital to assess the capacity of our existing road infrastructure to handle the ecological impacts of the significant increase in traffic, ensuring the protection of our valuable wildlife and water sources.
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| This neighborhood home is tucked away from all the commotion. Note how this living, green rooftop camouflages the house and contributes to sustainability. (click picture to enlarge) |
Walking around the Education Hill neighborhood this Spring day we noticed this house had a green and grey roof. It seems to be holding up quite well. Council Member Jessica Forsythe and others constantly ask the Mayor for green rooftops on new buildings. A tiny green rooftop is planned for the Senior & Community Center. The city compensates developers for Landmark Trees by "Exceptions." The same should be done for green rooftops, perhaps as a small amenity.
-- B. Yoder, opinion, 3/25/2023 by
