City of Federal Way responds to code enforcement letter | Letter
Published 12:34 pm Monday, January 19, 2015
The issues Lynda Myra refers to in her letter are related to a water quality assessment requested by the community to address water quality concerns at Lake Lorene, Lake Jean and Joe’s Creek. The homeowners association is concerned about potential pollution sources that are affecting surface water and adjacent homes.
They requested the city assist in identifying potential pollution sources so that these may be addressed and the lakes and Joe’s Creek be returned to better health.
A number of property owners provided permission to Public Works staff to walk Joe’s Creek on their property in order to further this work. During the stream assessment, staff identified a number of potential sources of water quality pollution that could be affecting property owners and stream health, including garbage, construction materials, vehicles, sewage contamination and even goats. The information was turned over to the Community Development Department to identify whether any of the potential items were actual violations.
One potential violation that was turned over to Community Development included a photo of the recreational vehicle on Ms. Myra’s property. The photo was taken by staff from a neighboring property for which they had permission to be on.
The Community Development Department contacted Ms. Myra to ascertain facts regarding two potential violations identified in the photo: a potential water quality violation from discharge from the recreational vehicle to the creek and a potential violation of the city code limiting the size of recreational vehicles that can be stored on a residential property.
Ms. Myra provided proof that the vehicle on her property was not occupied, thus eliminating the water quality concern. The city has requested additional information regarding the recreational vehicle to ensure that it does not exceed the maximum size of 9 feet high by 22 feet in length.
Chris Carrel, city of Federal Way
