I have just seen the Valley Record’s Dec. 13 article on “stealth amendments” to King County’s 2000 comprehensive plan that affect North Bend.

I participated in a similar appeal to the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board regarding a number of regulatory environmental overlays adopted by the County Council in 1997.

The published date for the public hearing on the overlays was May 27, 1997, with one of the items being a tree-retention overlay for “identified properties within the Vashon Town Plan.” However, on June 16, Councilman Brian Derdowski introduced amendments that created tree-retention overlays that could be applied countywide, and the public hearing was held that same day. (After which the council applied the overlays to the Northshore and Soos Creek planning areas.) Not one affected landowner testified because not one of us had heard anything about it.

As with the stealth amendments affecting North Bend, the lack-of-notice arguments went nowhere with the hearings board. And when I filed a motion for reconsideration of their decision, they didn’t even bother to respond.

Hooray for North Bend for appealing the hearings board decision to the King County Superior Court. I hope the court will be more respectful of proper process and notice than was the hearings board.