A proposed housing development with a long history was authorized during the most recent meeting of the Enumclaw City Council.
By unanimous consent, the council gave its blessing to a proposal carrying the official name of Suntop Farms Division No. 2, Phase B. The proposal calls for lots for 48 single-family homes and two open space/recreation tracts. The final approval means building can begin.
The development is adjacent to land currently under development, all part of the Suntop Planned Unit Development. The PUD is bordered by state Route 410 on the north, Warner Avenue on the south and Watson Street on the west.
Suntop Farms Division 2, consisting of 72 lots, was initially approved in January 2008. The applicant could obtain only 19 sewer connections at the time, so the plat was divided into two phases. The first phase is nearly built out.
Due to planning changes during the past six years, the total number of lots was reduced to 67. Phase B finishes the original proposal.
City specifications have been drafted to create an interesting neighborhood, according to Community Development Director Erica Shook, who noted the presence of “cottage lots.” Those will be smaller parcels with smaller homes, grouped together. There are three other lot sizes and plans encourage varying colors and home heights.
In other action during the Jan. 12 meeting, council members:
• heard about the new TipSoft program adopted by the Enumclaw Police Department. The program allows citizens to provide local law enforcement with information about possible crimes in the community while staying anonymous. Tips can be delivered by anyone with access to a computer, tablet or smartphone.
Mayor Liz Reynolds called the TipSoft program a “fabulous opportunity” for citizens to help make their community a safer place to live.
• listened as Enumclaw resident Joan Brown praised the most recent Cops For Kids effort. She is with the local Police Auxiliary that annually collects and distributes Christmas presents for families in need. This year, she said, the program served 432 children from 156 families.
The Cops For Kids program is a success, Brown said, due to “hundreds of volunteer hours” and the people who provide gifts. She singled out the tireless efforts of Marilyn Hash and retired police officer Dave Voss.
• accepted, on first reading, an update of the city’s formal Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. Police Chief Jim Zoll explained the agenda item was something of a “housekeeping measure” that fulfills a state requirement.
The plan, created in partnership with Fire District 28, spells out duties and responsibilities of the city and associated agencies in the event of an emergency. According to the text of a Zoll memo, it “forms a structure in which emergency planning, preparedness, response and recovery take place.”
• agreed to an agreement with the Rainier Foothills Wellness Foundation that authorizes the city to work on the foundation’s Care Van. The work extends only to “limited, routine maintenance,” according to Scott Woodbury, the city’s interim public works director. He noted the foundation will be charged for parts and labor, along with a 20 percent administrative fee. That echoes the agreement between the city and Fire District 28.
• approved the appointment of Linda Rabb to the city’s Human Services Advisory Board. Her term expires with the close of 2018.
