Facts about The Villages and Lawson Hills

Transportation | Water Quality | Rural by Design | Schools
Compact Development | Construction Noise

Development often sparks questions and concerns from members of the impacted community. Addressing citizen concerns is an essential part of the development process and it is even more important in a community like Black Diamond, where preserving the historic small-town character is a necessity to providing a high quality of life to community members. Check this page frequently as we will be addressing common misconceptions about The Villages and Lawson Hills.

Transportation Improvements

Fact

We have agreed to nearly 50 targeted traffic improvements, including numerous improvements to SR 169, Lake Sawyer Road, Auburn-Black Diamond Road and many more. These improvements include agreements for intersection enhancements, additional lanes and new roads in Maple Valley, Covington and Black Diamond.

This system ensures that YarrowBay will responsibly address any additional traffic created by new homeowners in The Villages and Lawson Hills. The idea that Black Diamond’s roads will be crammed with 10,000 cars in the next four years is simply untrue.

Water Quality

Fact

YarrowBay has pledged to have zero net increase of phosphorus runoff into Lake Sawyer as a result of the developed portions of The Villages and Lawson Hills MPDs. This commitment from YarrowBay goes well beyond the standards of the Lake Sawyer Management Plan and exceeds existing state and local requirements, including those of the Washington State Department of Ecology.[3]

Embracing Rural By Design

Fact

The City of Black Diamond adopted Rural by Design as a guide for development.[4] These design principles include:

• Compact Form (Use of tools such as clustering)
• Provide for a mix of uses (Residential, Community Retail, Commercial, Business Park, Mixed Uses, Civic/Schools)
• Opportunities for Casual Socializing (Neighborhood design, House design, Commercial areas, Parks)
• Accessible Civic Spaces (Parks, City Facilities, Trails, Community Center, Schools)
• Sense of Community (Respect for local history, design)

The Villages and Lawson Hills embrace these principles as outlined by Randall Arendt, author of Rural by Design.

New Schools

Fact

YarrowBay, the City of Black Diamond, and the Enumclaw School District have jointly drafted a Comprehensive School Mitigation Agreement that provides for adequate schools to support planned growth from The Villages and Lawson Hills.

YarrowBay has chosen to go beyond paying mitigation fees by committing to convey property for as many as seven sites directly to the School District for new schools. The identified elementary school building sites are all located within a half-mile of a majority of the homes and within a mile of all the homes anticipated in The Villages and Lawson Hills.

Compact Development

Fact

Combined, The Villages and Lawson Hills span a total of 1,567 acres. There will be 6,050 residential units, for an average of 3.86 homes per acre.[1] Black Diamond’s Comprehensive Plan for development states that “residential units should be clustered and neighborhoods separated by elements of the open space system.”[2] This level of density promotes a neighborhood atmosphere and aligns with the City’s Comprehensive Plan.

Construction Noise

Fact

We are committed to taking all appropriate measures for mitigating the impacts of construction on current residents of Black Diamond.

• We have pledged to establish a designated haul route on Lawson Parkway during Phase 2 of the project that will dramatically reduce noise for citizens living nearby the construction site.

In addition, YarrowBay has agreed to go beyond the City's noise standards and comply with the following:

• All construction noise is prohibited on Sundays, all holidays, and outside the hours of 7 am through 7 pm, Monday through Friday, and 9 am through 5 pm on Saturday.
• On a case-by-case basis, work may be permitted on Sundays, if authorized by the Noise Review Committee; however, no work shall occur outside the hours of 9 am through 5 pm on Sundays.

[1] “The Villages Master Planned Development Agreement,” December 30, 2010. “Lawson Hills Master Planned Development Agreement,” December 30, 2010.

[2] “City of Black Diamond Comprehensive Plan,” June 2009.

[3] “Stormwater Management Manual of Western Washington,” Washington State Department of Ecology, February 2005.

http://www.ci.blackdiamond.wa.us/Depts/PubWorks/Docs/Volume%201.pdf

[4] http://www.ci.blackdiamond.wa.us/rural_by_design.html