In recent months several letters have been published which discuss

the Treemont residential development. It appears that, despite the

multi-year regulatory review process and numerous public hearings, there is a

misunderstanding of the project’s features and impacts. We would like to set

the record straight.

Port Blakely Communities has spent a great deal of time and

resources studying the environment and refining the design of the Treemont project

to avoid and mitigate environmental impacts. The project was

recommended for approval by the King County Hearing Examiner in February

2000. Among the specific design features that have been incorporated into

the Treemont development are:

• The project size has been reduced from 236 homes to 194 homes.

• Sensitive areas (wetlands, streams, steep slopes, etc.) have

been carefully identified and protected with buffers. Sensitive area

protection meets, or in many cases exceeds, current regulatory standards.

• A new direct road access, from the project to Redmond-Fall City

Road (S.R. 202) will be constructed to avoid direct traffic impacts on

adjacent neighborhood roads. The project will build a new signal at S.R. 202

and Duthie Hill Road.

• State of the art stormwater and water quality control measures

have been added to avoid impacts to Patterson Creek and the

Snoqualmie River. The proposed measures meet, or exceed, all current

stormwater/water quality regulatory standards.

• The effect of Treemont on flooding in the Snoqualmie River

and Patterson Creek has been carefully studied. Our experts, and

King County’s experts, concluded that Treemont will not increase flooding

of the Snoqualmie River or Patterson Creek.

• The Treemont project was recommended for approval based on

a rigorous review and implementation of the most current mitigations and

environmental standards. The regulatory review and approval process has

lasted over ten years. It has been a long process, but it has resulted in a

well-designed project that avoids significant impacts.

We would request that this letter be published at its earliest date in

an effort to provide a more clear picture of the project.

JOHN L. ADAMS,

Vice President, Port Blakely Communities Inc.