Homeowners from The Lakes neighborhood along the Green River told the Kent City Council they want more done to lessen the impact of a larger levee on their quality of life and property values.

City staff and homeowners association groups from the neighborhood have yet to come to an agreement about a price for the common-area properties or how to keep their condos and homes more private as the King County Flood Control District makes improvements to strengthen the Russell Road Upper Levee for stronger flood protection.

The city won’t remove any homes for the project but needs to buy large pieces of common areas between the condos and the river to set back the levee and provide an easement for levee access during flood inspections. Those changes will move the levee much closer to the condos.

The repairs will stretch from Russell Road north to South 231st Way. Crews recently completed levee work at Russell Road and James Street just south of The Lakes area.

“I’m pleased to speak for many of the Marina Pointe homeowners,” Larry Tobin said to the council at its Aug. 18 meeting. “We appreciate the protection the levee provides us from flooding and we understand the city and county need to acquire the easement to protect the levee.

“Our concern is the easement will result in a loss of privacy and negatively affect our quality of life and our property value….The easement will run right through the yards and up against some patios. Some trees on the city’s property bordering our association have already been removed resulting in a loss of privacy.”

Despite the concerns voiced by Tobin and others, the council voted 7-0 to approve a Russell Road Upper Levee condemnation ordinance that would allow the city to purchase the properties through eminent domain, which is the right of the government to purchase private property for public use. The work will impact a number of condo communities, including Marina Pointe, Regatta and Riverplace.

No agreement yet

City officials and representatives from the homeowners associations have met numerous times but have yet to come to an agreement about a purchase price or mitigation to lessen the impact of the levee setback and easement.

“I understand why you have to go through this process,” Councilman Dennis Higgins said to city staff about the condemnation process. “It is an alarming word although the only thing that is being condemned is the common area and that would only be if the city and the homeowners associations can’t come to some sort of agreement.”

Higgins added that it is a legal step and it remains “extremely unlikely” that the city would condemn anything.

The easement will be 10 to 15 feet wide along sections of the levee. The levee itself will be 20 to 30 feet closer to the condos and elevated 10 feet from the ground. The paved Green River Trail will remain but the improved levee will include a gravel covered path atop the new levee setback.

City staff and the homeowners associations have talked about types of screening, such as a fence, to lessen the impact but haven’t agreed about what could work.

“People shared concerns about the privacy issues and folks using the levee as a trail when really they shouldn’t be and looking into homes,” said Alex Murillo, city environmental engineering supervisor about a meeting with homeowners. “We talked about a number of different possibilities but there wasn’t a real consensus as far as what should be done in terms of a screening….There was talk about a fence on top of the levee to discourage folks from peeking in.”

Murillo said screening options remain up for discussion.

Ingrid Willms-Dixon, city project analyst, discussed concerns property owners have about impacts to property values from the loss of trees and privacy issues.

“We have had the (real estate) appraisal process done and reviewed,” Willms-Dixon said. “There has been no compensation made yet. The offer is on the table and has been since October of last year. There has been no settlement because of the issues coming up today.”

Property owners received notices about the condemnation process and had their names and addresses published in the newspaper under public notices.

“Since each condo owner has an ownership interest in all the condominium development’s common areas, the city is required to name all of the owners in the eminent domain litigation,” City Attorney Tom Brubaker said in an email. “We will not be condemning any individual units in any of these developments, though those units that face the levee itself may get a larger share of any sum paid by the city.

“Our hope is that we will be able to meet with the HOA from each development and come to an agreed purchase price for the portion of the common areas needed for the flood protection improvements. Although we have been meeting and discussing these issues, we haven’t reached a settlement yet, and in order to stay on schedule with the project, we felt the time had come to file this eminent domain litigation.”