‘Father’ of Snoqualmie Ridge retires

Published 3:27 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

After 25 years with Weyerhaeuser, Jim Nyberg’s decided it’s time to

move on to other projects.

As with any “retirement,” he leaves with some regrets. On the other

hand, he takes great pride in being the person who took Snoqualmie Ridge

from inception through planning and on into the growing residential/business

development it is today.

Notably, the Spokane native says a career in forestry, real estate

and development was not high on his list of priorities when he graduated

from high school.

“I went to the University of Washington for a couple of years,”

Nyberg commented during a recent interview. “I got tired of being broke, so I

went into the Air Force. I was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi.

“After I got out, I got a job as a mechanic and spent one and a

half years working in a service station. It took me about a year to realize I

was just as broke as I was when I was in the Air Force.”

At that point, Nyberg said, he decided he wanted to try something

else. He returned to UW for studies as a forest engineer, which included an

internship with Weyerhaeuser.

“I worked a logging camp for three years,” he said. “Absolutely loved it.

I enjoyed working in the woods, but looking ahead ten years, I wanted

to do something more.”

He returned to school at the University of Santa Clara in

California, picked up a master’s degree in business, then came back to

Weyerhaeuser corporate headquarters, where he started working with the real

estate side of the company.

“The company had a graduate study program in Longview,” he

added with a smile. “I was kind of the D.B. Cooper of Weyerhaeuser. I was

the first person to ever sign up for that program.”

Moving up the corporate ladder, Nyberg said he held several

positions and several titles – ranging from project manager, to assistant

director, to assistant regional director – before the Snoqualmie Ridge project

came up.

In 1984, the real estate company purchased the property from the

parent organization and started looking at development. According to

Nyberg, about 1986 a decision was made to “do this differently.”

“We did a telephone survey,” he stated. “We called about 500

homes, and asked them 10 different questions. Should it be a piecemeal

development? What are the things the city needs to do? We were trying to get

a `pulse.’

“Then we’d hold meetings at the hospital – `Here are some ideas’ –

and take input. When we submitted the petition for annexation to the city,

I think that’s when I fell in love with this city. I thought, `what a great

town, what great people.'”

Nyberg also recalls the opposition, which was strong and strident

from several quarters, but feels, “that’s

fine. You build consensus and things improve. Your ideas, other ideas, you

get a plan.”

As the project moved along, Nyberg said it became a lighting

rod for development, attracting attention not only from land use and

interest groups, but also the media.

“The P-I and the Times were relentless,” he said. “It got to the

point where I wasn’t answering the phone. There was an atitude

towards Snoqualmie from King County – a lot of folks and the media – `you’re a

small town, you don’t know what you’re dealing with.'”

The primary group fighting the development was the Friends

of Snoqualmie, which fought the development through the King

County Boundary Review Board all the way to the state Supreme

Court. Snoqualmie Ridge ultimately triumphed, but it took two and one

half years, along with four years to get the annexation.

“We refreshed the plan and in September 1996 the city approved

the mixed-use plan,” Nyberg recalled.

“In late 1996 we started construction.”

On the plus side, Nyberg gives much of the credit to two groups:

the Snoqualmie Steering Committee, formed by George Swenson, and

the mayor and administration of the city itself.

“The project went through an ungodly amount of hearings,” he

stated. “Every time we had a hearing, they (the steering committee) would

show up, anywhere from 30 to 80 people. It’s something I’ve never seen in

the land use hearing process.

“I remember the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement)

hearings going Monday through Friday, 7 to midnight. But they got better as

they went along.

“The city staff was very bright, very capable and methodical,”

Nyberg added. “A goal we had, and the city too, was to do this as quickly as

possible. My idea was, the city and staff needed incentive, and the

incentive was information.

“For example, if someone came in and said, `there are bald eagles

up there,’ I’d say, `fine, let’s study it.’ By the way, I have never seen bald

eagles up there.”

Nyberg feels the city has grown with the project, and it is

becoming something the city can be proud of. He rates the consensus building

process that Weyerhaeuser and Snoqualmie engaged in as one of

the highlights of the whole procedure, adding, `that’s where working with

the city of Snoqualmie has been really good.”

“I think the neat thing about the city is that once we were aligned,

everyone worked together. That’s been refreshing.”

But now, with houses and industry sprouting on the hilltop, it’s

time to move on. Nyberg says it’s like raising a kid: now’s the time to send

him or her off to college.

“All of the agreements are in place, the golf course and clubhouse are

finished, and we’re working towards the second phase,” he said. “And

I thought, okay, it’s time to move on to new challenges.

“It’s a legacy. You have a soft spot in your heart for it. You’d like to

stay involved and guide it, but you have to step back.”

He officially retires from Weyerhaeuser on Oct. 1, but has

no plans to really “retire.”

“I’m still too young not to be doing something,” Nyberg

announced. “I’ll look at other opportunities in

the real estate field, but I’m open to just about anything. I’d like to stay in

the area; I have a son who has about five years to finish school and he likes

the area.

“I think the important thing is this project is healthy and it’s off

the ground. I think Snoqualmie’s going to grow into one of the finest places

in the county to live, because they’re looking long term and planning

carefully.”

When asked if he was truly the “father of Snoqualmie Ridge,”

Nyberg smiled and shook his head.

“Yeah, I’m probably the guy that helped it go through. I’ve had 25

great years; working for Weyerhaeuser was easy, and they always stood by

their commitments.”

“I never lost face in this city.”