Editor's note: the following letter was submitted to the Normandy Park City Council about to the Josephine Parc development and its impact on the city, the neighbors and the natural environment.

Normandy Park Mayor Shawn McAvoy, City Council Members, City Manager Doug Schulze and Development Director John Adamson

Re: Patrick Pressentin's memo re development at Josephine Parc

This letter is in support of Pat Pressentin's letter to Ken Nilsen, Pace Engineers, related to the site condition and drainage and erosion control at Josephine Parc.

As neighbors adjacent to this project, we have spent many hours trying to deal with the impact of this development on our property and our lives over the past few months, and doubt that many of you would have been as patient. We've been subjected to constant noise, dust, mud and water for the past five and half months. Our property has been inundated with mud and water since the failure of any erosion control.

This is in addition to the loss of one of the last remaining undeveloped sections of urban wildlife habitat in the city that variously housed over seventy-five species of birds. Contrary to his testimony at the hearing examiner, the developer eliminated every stick of plant material that might have slowed the project's runoff.

At a time when other cities around the Sound are trying to reduce their carbon footprint, Normandy Park has approved a project that will generate almost 4,000 metric tons of CO2. At the outset, without adequate dust control, the project put dirt and dust in the air from a site that clearly contained arsenic and lead from the Tacoma smelter plume.

The grading allowed by the City had allowed 10-foot dirt walls to be built adjacent to our properties without engineered retention to protect the site from further erosion. The current drainage system is dramatically inadequate to deal with the multiple sources of surface and ground water that flow in multiple directions from the project site--ultimately into streams and the sound which the City has historically tried to protect.

Clearly we expect more from our city government. We hope that you will take seriously the issues raised in Mr. Presenntin's letter and monitor this project more closely.

Sincerely,

Mike Waller & Kate Grieshaber

Robb & Judie Shirley

Normandy Park