HomeMy WebLinkAbout109.Hennessy, D&L 5-7_Waterfront Regulations Comment
Michelle McConnell
From:dlhenny@comcast.net
Sent:Friday, May 07, 2010 4:22 PM
To:Stewart, Jeff R. (ECY)
Subject:Waterfront Regulations Comment
Categories:LASMP Public Comment
Mr. Stewart,
My wife Linda and I are current residents of Enumclaw, King County. We appreciate the opportunity
to offer our feedback on the Jefferson County Shoreline Master Plan (SMP). We'd like to share with
you our personal perspective on this proposal and how it affects us.
I am a retired high school teacher who put in 33 years of service in Washington public schools. Linda
is still teaching elementary school in Enumclaw and is looking forward to retirement in the near future.
Needless to say, our careers as public school teachers have not offered us financial prosperity.
Nonetheless, we managed to put away some money to invest in our future dream of retiring to a
waterfront home.
In December of 2005, we invested our "nest egg" in a beautiful lot north of the Hood Canal Bridge,
just south of Port Ludlow. Our intention was to build a modest home on this property and enjoy the
scenic view of Hood Canal and Admiralty Inlet from this home in our retirement. The lot, which has
120 feet of medium bank waterfront, is just over 200 feet deep. This size, at the time we purchased
the property, was an assurance that we had plenty of room to build a comfortable home there.
The SMP has since reduced the reality of our dream to nothing. The 150 foot buffer zone, plus the
added 10 foot development setback from that, gives us about 50 feet from Paradise Bay Road to
"build our dream home." In other words, it is impossible. A logical course of action for us would,
seemingly, be to sell our property and look for a home already established on the Jefferson County
waterfront. Nice idea, but what do you suppose the market is for waterfront property that cannot be
used? What we have left, in essence, is a VERY expensive tent site.
In good faith we unwittingly invested our savings in 2005 in waterfront property that the Department of
Ecology and Jefferson County now suddenly tell us we cannot use. We have no recourse to recover
our $250,000 loss. We feel that our property and our retirement money have been taken from us, and
we are powerless to do anything about it. We certainly don't have the money to take this loss and
start over again.
Linda and I are very environmentally conscious people. We wholeheartedly support programs that
protect our wildlife and enhance our natural resources. We want our grandchildren and their children
to enjoy the natural beauty of our state as much as we have. However, we feel that this 150 foot
buffer proposal is well beyond reasonable for a single-family dwelling. It is not justifiable, and it has
essentially stolen from us the money that we worked very hard to save for years as our retirement
investment.
We are certain that our situation is not unique. How many others share a similar story? I hope that the
State of Washington/Jefferson County would consider this before taking our property from us. And if
this SMP is implemented as proposed, don't you think waterfront property owners are entitled to
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compensation for their losses?
Sincerely,
Daniel J. and Linda F. Hennessy
3015 Carbon Ridge St.
Enumclaw, WA 98022
(360) 802-6902
dlhenny@comcast.net
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