Drafter
Clerk 09/09/2015
Title
AN ORDINANCE adopting a resolution of intention to form lake management district No. 2 in the Lake Geneva watershed and setting a public hearing on the formation of the proposed district.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. Lake Geneva is a thirty-acre lake within a one-hundred-seventy-nine-acre watershed, located within unincorporated King County.
2. Lake Geneva is within the Duwamish-Green River Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 9, and is the headwaters of an unnamed creek that ultimately flows to the Green and Duwamish rivers.
3. Lake Geneva supports swimming, boating, fishing, wildlife habitat, wildlife viewing and park uses.
4. The development in the watershed is predominantly single-family residential and vacant residential land. The Lake Geneva park, owned by King County, is adjacent to Lake Geneva. The Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife owns and operates a boat ramp on the lake.
5. Lake Geneva has issues with aquatic noxious weeds and invasive plant species, high water episodes due to lake outlet maintenance issues, water quality and human health problems due to Canada geese and further water quality decline due to increased algae growth.
6. Chapter 36.61 RCW authorizes the formation of lake management districts for the purpose of improving the environmental, recreational and aesthetic values of the lakes within Washington state.
7. RCW 36.61.030 authorizes the county legislative authority to initiate formation of a lake management district by adopting a resolution of intention.
8. King County has a lake stewardship program promoting lake monitoring and protection activities and also assists communities in lake management district formation and operation. Through the program, the county and the nearby property owners have conducted plant surveys, water quality monitoring and some aquatic plant removal.
9. King County has assisted the Lake Geneva Property Owners Association in exploring the creation of a lake management district.
10. The Lake Geneva Property Owners Association has completed the Lake Geneva Management District Plan, and desires to create a lake management district as a reliable funding source to address the lake's aquatic ecosystem issues. That plan is Attachment B to this ordinance.
11. If formed, the district would impose special assessments on lakeside property owners for ten years and use the proceeds to implement the improvement and maintenance activities set forth in the plan.
12. In accordance with RCW 36.61.160, the method of special assessments for the district is proposed to be based on a combination of factors, including relative impact of activities on the lake, the benefit received from the activities of the lake management district, the type and extent of improvements on the property and the proximity of access to the district improvements.
13. Following the adoption of a resolution of intention, chapter 36.61 RCW requires public notice and a public hearing to provide opportunity for the county to evaluate property owner interest in formation of a lake management district.
14. The funding proposed to implement improvement and maintenance activities is to be raised by the district, which would impose special assessments for ten years on lakeside property owners.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. In accordance with RCW. 36.61.030, this resolution of intention to form lake management district No. 2 for the Lake Geneva watershed, as described in sections 2 through 7 of this ordinance, is hereby adopted.
SECTION 2. The nature of the lake improvement or maintenance activities proposed to be financed by the district include:
A. Managing of waterfowl, such as Canada geese;
B. Surveying invasive aquatic plants;
C. Controlling or eliminating invasive aquatic plant species, including but not limited to purple loosestrife, yellowflag iris, cattails, fragrant water lily and root mats and pondweeds;
D. Distributing education materials to residents about events and best management practices;
E. Preparing and distributing an annual newsletter;
F. Holding biannual public meetings with property owners; and
G. Managing the district by King County, including costs for the specific reporting specified in this section, as well as administrative costs.
SECTION 3. Special assessments totaling $14,500 shall be collected annually to finance the district activities for ten years, with the total amount to be collected during the life of the district being $145,000.
SECTION 4. The proposed duration of the district is ten years from the date the district is formed by ordinance in accordance with RCW 36.61.100.
SECTION 5. The proposed boundaries of the district are inclusive of all lakeside parcels, as depicted in Attachment A to this ordinance.
SECTION 6. In accordance with RCW 36.61.030, a public hearing shall be held on the proposed formation of the district:
Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Time: 1:00 PM
Place: Federal Way Senior Center, 401 South 352nd Street, Auburn, WA
SECTION 7. A. As authorized under RCW 36.61.060, the metropolitan King County council hereby delegates the responsibility for holding the public hearing required under section 6 of this ordinance to the King County hearing examiner, as an officer of the council. In formulating the hearing examiner's recommendation to the council on the formation of the proposed district, the hearing examiner shall take comment on the draft management plan, which is Attachment B to this ordinance.
B. The clerk of the council or the hearing examiner shall issue the public hearing notices required by RCW 36.61.040.