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About the Greater Maple Valley Area Council

The Greater Maple Valley Area Council (GMVAC) is an all-volunteer, locally elected advisory body to the King County Council. All members reside in the unincorporated portion of Tahoma School District #409 (see Service Area Map). The Area Council represents and advocates with King County state officials and other organizations for our unincorporated area's citizens' interests. Regular meetings occur on the first Monday of each month. (Read more ....)


Announcements

June Meeting

The Area Council will hold its regular monthly meeting on Monday, June 3, from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM at the Maple Valley fire station (NE corner of intersection of SE 231st St & SR-169).

All members of the public are invited to attend. During the Public Comment period at the start of each meeting, members of the public can address the Area Council on any local issue.


Area Council Vacancies

The Area Council has six vacancies to fill. If you live in the Tahoma School District outside the City of Maple Valley, you are eligible to become a member of the Area Council. Rural Area citizens interested in applying can contact the Area Council by mailing a brief letter of interest to: GMVAC. PO Box 101. Maple Valley WA 98038.



Current News

2013 Ballot and Citizens' Survey

The 2013 Ballot and Citizens' Survey mailed in February to all rural unincorporated area residences located within the Area Council's coverage area — the Tahoma School District minus the City of Maple Valley — are being received and tallied. The one-page survey includes questions on King County services, transportation, land use and permitting, and levies and taxes. Space is available for written comments. Also included is a brief ballot section for Area Council elections.

The Area Council expresses its thanks to all who take a moment to fill out and mail back their surveys. The Area Council has held such elections since its inception. Citizen surveys have been conducted for over 13 years to gain an understanding of citizen opinions on issues of importance to our rural area. A summary of survey responses will be posted on this website and in local newspapers. These results will also be shared with our King County and state officials. Results will be shown as percentages of total votes cast.



King County Unincorporated Area Roads

King County Department of Transportation (KCDOT) has proposed a new “Tiered Level of Service” that would be implemented beginning in 2012, pending King County Council approval. With revenues projected to be insufficient to sustain the preservation and maintenance of the entire county road system, KCDOT has prioritized which roadways will be serviced to keep them in working order, while allowing other roadways to deteriorate due to lack of maintenance and preservation. As a result, a Tiered Level of Service has been established which consists of:
Tier 1 — “spine” of the County road system (e.g., Issaquah-Hobart Rd.), 105 mi (7%);
Tier 2 — connectors for Tier 1 roads (e.g., Cedar Grove Rd.), 166 mi (11%);
Tier 3— highly used “local” roads (e.g., Sweeney Rd. SE), 193 mi (12%);
Tier 4 — residential “dead-end” roads, 510 mi (32%); and
Tier 5— local roads having alternate access, 590 mi (38%).

All five Tiers will be addressed when it comes to regulatory compliance and safety, but only the highest tiers for preservation and maintenance. In the greater Maple Valley area about 60% of the unincorporated roads are Tier 4 and 5. To see a Map of the Tier classifications for all Unincorporated Area roads, click here.



King County Comprehensive Plan

The Area Council conducted a year-long thorough review of the proposed 2012 major four-year update to King County Comprehensive Plan (KCCP). Throughout the process, detailed comments were submitted to King County departments and the King County Council. Oral testimony also was given to the King County Council. In early December 2012, the King County Council approved the 2012 KCCP Update. For more information, please click here. Also please see our KCCP page.



Master-Planned Developments in Black Diamond

On September 20, 2010, the Black Diamond City Council voted 5-0 to pass an Ordinance approving with conditions two Master Planned Development (MPD) applications submitted by Yarrow Bay in and around the City of Black Diamond. The MPDs total 4,530 single-family and 1,520 multi-family units, for a total of 6,050 dwelling units on 691 acres, and 1,165,000 sq. ft. of commercial and office space, all on the rural/suburban fringe of our southeast corner of King County.

Hearings before the city's Hearings Examiner were held in July 2011 on Development Agreements which provide more detail by phase. These development agreement hearings included oral testimony by many members of the public, organizations, local jurisdictions, and King County government agencies. The Hearing Examiner recommended approval of the development agreements but with 24 "Implementing" conditions added, many of which were proposed by the Public and supported by the Area Council.

Using the Hearing Examiner's recommendations as a basis, the Black Diamond City Council started their development agreement Hearings with Public Testimony in October 2011. The Area Council testified on Rural Area issues. The Public requested many "Supplementary" conditions be added to the MPD Ordinance. The Development Agreements were approved in December 2011 and are currently the subject of litigation.

In September 2012, the first phase (Phase 1A) of the Villages MPD was appealed by a group of citizens. The Hearing Examiner conducted public hearings, during which Area Council members testified specifically about traffic impacts. In December 2012, the Hearing Examiner approved Phase 1A subject to a series of conditions achieved by citizens through the appeal.

The Area Council will continue to monitor the proposed MPDs and the inordinate impacts they will have on SE King County traffic.




Items of Interest

Ravensdale Park



The Area Council and local stakeholder groups have actively participated with King County Parks to achieve a neighborhood friendly plan that maintains a connection to the rural community. Phase 1 upgraded two fields and is complete. Phase 2, begun in mid-2012, will add two multi-purpose fields on the west side of the park. Further progress depends on additional funding in 2013. See photos above of the finished product.



Ravensdale Community Meadow

The Ravensdale Community Meadow will bring to local residents a multi-purpose recreational area that can be enjoyed by all ages. The Meadow is being developed on the land between the Ravensdale Post Office and the Fire Station and will border on So. 272nd St. on the north and the Ravensdale/Black Diamond Rd. on the east.

The large center portion of this land was cleared and graded in December 2012 with $50,000 funding provided by King County. Existing trees and plants around the edges will remain to provide a shield from the roads and a natural setting. In the spring of 2013, Ravensdale residents will be invited to help trim up the trees and seed the meadow. Future plans call for a picnic area, informal sports areas, and eventually a community center building.

The Ravensdale Park and Ravensdale Community Meadow projects are being managed by the Ravensdale Park Foundation, which consists of local baseball and soccer groups and local residents, with the support of King County. We can all be very proud of this contribution to a productive and working neighborhood park and community meadow.



Reserve Silica

Reserve Silica's 2011-2012 attempts to re-zone its resource property to Rural Resident RA-10 has been withdrawn and the lands will retain their minerals/mining land-use designation and zoning.

Reserve Silica's requests was submitted throgh the 2012 Major 4-Yr Update to the King County Comprehensive Plan (KCCP). The Area Council opposed this change in both oral and written testimony to the King County Council. Instead the Area Council supported conversion from mining to forestry designation so as to be compatible with the surrounding Forest Production District zoning.

In December 2012, the King County Council, through an amendment to the KCCP, voted to allow Reserve Silica to come back to the KCCP Committee in 2013 to propose a residential clustered development "demonstration project" on up to 50 acres of their 402-acre property. If such a proposal is brought forward, it will be evaluated as part of the 2013 interim KCCP review process. The Area Council is monitoring this very closely and remains wary of such precedents being set.