May 2004

Activities Announcements
COLORS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Have you been in the clubhouse within the last two weeks? If so, then you know what a difference the newly painted colors have made. Not only does it give the rooms a new feeling but they seem so fresh! The Activities Committee financed the painting of the large meeting room and foyer of the clubhouse. The job was completed in a week's time. We appreciate Tracey Landboe for helping lead the project. She dedicated an entire week end plus to help get the job done! We would also like to thank the

LADIES NIGHT OUT--

Oh yes, this was a success! The Activities Committee sponsored a ladies only happy hour on May 7th. Not only were we able to reconnect with old friends but new faces joined us. Approximately 50 ladies showed up for complimentary drinks and snacks. Many commented that we should offer this activity again. We like fun, positive events!

LOOKING FOR CHAIRPERSONS (Without Chairpersons, we cannot offer events! Ask a neighbor to co-chair an event with you or we can help find a co-chair)

The Activities Committee is looking for volunteers to chair three of our traditional events: the SALMON BBQ, the HOLIDAY PARTY and the RUMMAGE SALE. The SALMON BBQ is scheduled for September 19th (Sunday), the HOLIDAY PARTY is scheduled for December 5th (Sunday) and the RUMMAGE SALE is approximately the first week in March. The Activities Committee has notebooks for each event providing valuable information of how past events were accomplished. If you would like to chair one of these events or possibly co-chair, please call Pam Smit (533-0240). The AC will be glad to support the new chair's efforts!

AC'S NEXT MEETING
Our next meeting will be June 2, Wednesday, at 7:00 p.m. at Kathy Malarky's home at 823 Innis Arden Drive. Please RSVP Kathy at 546-2341 if you would like to attend. We welcome new and familiar faces.

Agenda for the June 8, 2004
7:00 PM Board Meeting

• Approve minutes
• Committee Reports
  A. Treasurer
  B. President/Vice President
  C. Secretary
  D. Building and Remodels
  E. Activities
  F. Grounds
  G. Clubhouse
  H. Reserves
• Board Agenda
  A. Discuss amending our Bylaws to be compliant with RCW 23B and RCW 64.38.
  Article I.
  Section 2. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the shareholders may be called by the Board of Directors or at least 10% of the shareholders not less than 14 or more than 60 days in advance. The Board of Directors shall set the date, place and time of said meeting.
  Section 6. Quorum. At all meetings of the shareholders, the presence of one third of all shareholders, in person or by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. (remove: If such a quorum shall not be present or represented, the voting shareholders shall have the power to adjourn the meeting for not more than thirty days. At the adjourned meeting, a majority of those present from the original meeting shall constitute a quorum. At any such adjourned meeting at which a quorum shall be present, any business may be transacted as at the meeting as originally called.)
  Article II.
  Section 10. Removal of Directors. Any director may be removed either for or without cause at any time by the affirmative vote of (remove: two-thirds) simple majority of the shareholders at a special meeting of the shareholders called for that purpose and the vacancy caused by any such removal may be filled by the shareholders at such meeting or a subsequent meeting.
  B. Discuss amending our Articles of Incorporation
  Disallow cumulative voting
  Specify a one-third quorum requirement. Because Innis Arden is a Corporation, quorum requirement defaults to a simple majority per RCW 23B.
• Community Comments

Annoyed by Power Outages?

Call Dennis Mimier, (386-9174), the  Supervisor of Construction and Maintenance for Seattle City Light and/or Paul Lane (391-9601) from the City of Shoreline. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease!

DATE CHANGE!!

The Shoreline Community College  Open House will take place on June 24th (NOT May 27th) from 6 to 8pm to discuss revised intersection proposals. The location will be either at the Board Room 1000 bldg or PUB - directly across from 1000 bldg. Shoreline Community College's website now accepts citizen comments about intersection alternatives for the intersection  at 160th and  Greenwood. Go to the Shoreline Community College website - http://success.shoreline.edu/masterplan/ or you can send comments directly to Judy Yu at jyu@shoreline.edu

Traffic Update by Michael Rasch

There are two issues the community should be aware of.

First the Shoreline Community College is in the final phase of their planning. I believe that in addition to adding to the enrollment, part of the College's plan calls for routing traffic down Innis Arden Way. This will increase traffic on the Innis Arden Speedway as well as on 10th NW. Please review the plans on the SCC web site and send your comments to Judy Yu at SCC. The information on that can be found above.

The second issue is speed humps. I received data from the City of Shoreline concerning the speed hump which was installed on Springdale Court NW. Prior to its installation, the 85th percentile speed over a five day collection period ranged from 33.8 to 34.9 mph (approximately) with high speeds recorded at over sixty mph. The guidelines state that 85th percentile speeds higher that 5-6 mph over the speed limit are a problem. In the study that was done this March, the 85th percentile speed ranged from 26.2 to 28.8 mph. This is a significant improvement. I can personally tell you that the traffic on Springdale has slowed down dramatically and now we have the empirical data to back up a lay person's observations!

The City needs to run another data collection test at the end of the one year test period to compare to the other studies. I think there is a significant likelihood that we can get more speed humps installed to slow down traffic in the rest of the neighborhood. However, those of you in the rest of Innis Arden who want these changes will have to let the Board know that you still want this issue addressed. As you know I am no longer a Board member. But I would be willing to continue to help make the community safer for our children and other pedestrians. Please let the Board (and me) know if you are still concerned about the speeding in the neighborhood.

Message of Thanks

The Innis Arden Board of Directors would like to thank Michael Rasch for his service to the community and for his efforts as Board President. Michael is responsible for the improved pedestrian safety in our neighborhood by his work with the city of Shoreline to slow traffic with stop  signs,  speed bumps, and lane dividers. Mike supported enforcing the covenants and worked at restoring views in the community.  The Board wishes to thank him for his time and energy on behalf of the entire community.
Thank you Michael!

8:30A.M. TO 10:15 A.M. (DUE TO JUNIOR TENNIS).
FOR SIGN-UP OR INFORMATION,
CALL JOYCE GARCIA AT: 206 546 1258.

More Covenant Amendment Efforts Under Way

You will find three covenant amendment forms inserted into the Bulletin. (they are also available to download on the 'home' page, www.innisarden.com). The purpose of these amendments is to 1) allow sheds in the setback, 2) remove the one dog/one cat rule and 3) to allow wells for irrigation.

See the March 2004 Bulletin for discussion regarding the first 2 proposed covenant amendments mentioned above.

Every summer, many Innis Arden residents receive outrageous water bills due to our large lots and the third tier rate structure imposed by the Seattle City Council. Currently our covenants prohibit the digging or operation of wells. Allowing the drilling of wells would offer an alternative to paying high water bills.

There is a very informative website that details what property owners need to do in order to have a well (licensing, construction, etc.). The Washington State Department of Ecology is the agency that oversees irrigation wells. The website is: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/wells/owner.html. Please note that the City of Shoreline does not oversee wells and does not have this information.

Your Innis Arden subdivision, block and lot number can be found in the upper left corner of the address label of the Bulletin. Please have all owners of your property sign and notarize this document, and then mail it to:

Innis Arden Club, Inc.
P.O. Box 77738
Seattle, WA 98177-0738

A notary will be available at the Clubhouse before the June 8th Board Meeting at 6:30. If you are a notary and would be willing to help in this effort, please call Carol Solle at 542-4978.

I'll refrain from giving my opinion on the hot-button issues of IA. For the record, I agree that covenants, zoning, and land-use are important issues and we need a consensus resolution to them. Yet wherever you come down on the recent votes, is not civility also an important attribute of neighbors?

As we debate the issues facing IA, there is something at stake that wasn't discussed at any of the meetings I've attended: What it means to be a neighbor. In a community where we mutually own and maintain the reserves, club house, and public space, this also deserves attention. I, for one, appreciate the work done by so many in building both the physical and social fabric of IA: the volunteers who work on the reserves, help with the rummage sale, volunteer on the board (whether I agree with their positions or not), put this newsletter together, and plan social events. Views, covenants, and zoning are important parts of any community, yet it ultimately is the people who give a place its structure and who set the ethical standards in how they treat their neighbors.

A month before we moved to IA, the previous owners of our house held a party for us to meet the neighbors on our street. It was a decidedly old-fashioned idea, but one that was classy and revelatory. Of 25 families invited, 22 showed up, a percentage that stunned me and friends from my old Ravenna neighborhood who I told. And I found in my new IA neighbors the kind of acceptance, openness, and friendship that would make any neighborhood proud-all qualities missing from the board meetings I've attended.

One of the things that sold us on Shoreline was a sign posted on the door of Richmond Beach Foods, which read, "Kids, if you shoplift, we'll post your names on the door." The sign is gone now, but the idea behind it-that this was a neighborhood tight-knit enough to discourage teenagers from lifting candy bars-was enough to convince me this was the place for my son to grow up. He's just four now, but I can only hope that as he gets to those difficult teenage years, the same cooperation, consensus, and the intangible asset of neighborliness remain as much a part of living in Innis Arden as they have been in the past.

The Innis Arden View Preservation covenant was ratified by approximately 60% of shareholders in each Innis Arden District, I, II, and III in late 1970¹s. It was first tested in court in 1984-88, in the case of Innis Arden v. Binns et al. The court ruled that the covenant was valid, and directed the community to devise a suitable plan to carry it out. Operation of the covenant has been chaotic, contentious and destructive to the comity of the community. This is because the covenant makes no reference to fairness and no recognition of values alternative to those of expansive and unimpeded views of sound and mountains. Innis Arden is a "view community", but not all parcels are the same, and the potential for views is not the same for all parcels. In light of these differences, and the fact that we all live in someone¹s view, the following rules of encounter are proposed.

A view petitioner will:

• Recognize that trees have value to their owners.
• Notify a tree owner by word of mouth or in writing that there is or are trees that impede the petitioner's view.
• Invite the tree owner to the petitioner¹s home to see the view and the tree in question.
• Identify specific trees pruning or removal of which would improve a view.
• Accept the tree owner's invitation to visit the tree owner¹s home to visualize the effect of pruning or removal on the tree owner.
• Offer inducements to the tree owner if necessary. For example: --"Thank You" --Financial assistance in the costs of permitting, pruning, removal, and replacement of suitable lower growing plants. --Compensation for the tree owner¹s values lost for the purpose of the view petitioner¹s values gained.
• At all times approach the discussion with rationality, reason, and respect.

A tree owner will:

• Recognize the validity of the View Preservation covenant, and the petitioner's right to make a request.
• Respond to and entertain the view petitioner¹s requests, and invitations.
• Be ready to negotiate a solution to improving the view petitioner¹s view.
• Be willing to accept a rational, reasonable and respectful plan, and reply in kind.
• Move forward with agreed upon work expeditiously.

Pruning will be done according to International Society of Arboriculture standards. Tree topping will not be allowed.

If the above process does not lead to an amicable solution, the parties will:

• Agree to mediation by a conflict resolution third party, consisting of either
  --A professional conflict resolution person or firm, or
  --A committee appointed by the Innis Arden board, made up of non-involved shareholders acceptable to each side.
• Agree on fair and equitable division of costs involved in mediation or arbitration.

If mediation is not successful in finding a solution, the parties involved may agree to legal arbitration, or seek a court ordered solution.

Board Members Present: Michael Jacobs, Carol Solle, R.L. Smith, Harley O'Neil, Wendy Higgins, Al Wagar, Maggie Taber, and Shelley Watson, (Eva Sledziewski was absent) About 40 Shareholders attended.

The meeting was called to order by Michael Jacobs, President at 7:05 p.m.
Action: Carol Solle moved that the April minutes be approved as written. R.L. Smith seconded, motion carried unanimously.

Committee Reports:
Treasurer's Report:
R.L. Smith told the audience that (he meant to say "the financial report") audited reports were available at the back of the room. He stated that we have six accounts with approximately $74,753 available in the budget to spend this year. We also have approximately $14,000 outstanding in dues to be collected. To date we have spent about $25,075 in legal fees. Elaine Phelps said that she had hoped that after paying our deductible, the insurance company would pay the Association's legal expenses and expressed concern that our legal fees are five times what was budgeted.

• Michael Jacobs explained that our deductible is $5,000.00 and in most cases we do not reach that threshold.
• R.L. Smith responded that he did not know how to counter that except to say that we need to have an attorney represent us when the City of Shoreline or a Shareholder threatens to sue the Association.
• Harley O'Neil asked R.L. Smith whether he thought the budget would be exceeded and the Board would have to go back to the community and ask to draw from the Reserve account. R.L. replied that he thought we would stay within the budget for the year.
• Leon Zainwel asked if it was appropriate to take money from one line item and transfer it to another line item.
• R.L. responded that his understanding is that money can be transferred from one line item to another as long as the total budget is not exceeded.
• Josh West expressed his concern that the opinion letter drafted by Peter Eglick was more extensive than it needed to be and consequently cost the Association a lot of money.
• Mike Jacobs replied that the Board sought answers to a number of questions that had been brought to it by the members.

Legal Matters:

• Mike Jacobs reported that Gene Maddox has filed a $1,000,000 claim against the Innis Arden Club because he believes the Club has wrongfully placed a lien against his property for non-payment of mandatory dues.
• Mike also reported that the City of Shoreline has filed a Notice and Order to Correct alleging that the Club has exceeded the scope of the work approved by the City in regards to removing, trimming, or creating snags of hazardous trees within the Innis Arden Reserves. A fine of $16,500 has been assessed by the City of Shoreline with additional penalties to follow if the Club does not provide a restoration plan and complete the project within 60 days. Harley O'Neil asked that a few of the members of the Board meet with the City staff to see if the fine can be removed and a reasonable resolution of the misunderstanding be addressed.
  Action: Carol Solle moved and Maggie Taber seconded a motion for the Board to meet in Executive session to discuss this matter at a time that is convenient.
  Action: Harley O'Neil moved and Al Wagar seconding an amendment to the motion that the Executive Session would be held after the meeting if the meeting adjourned prior to 10:00 p.m. Amendment and Motion carried unanimously.. (In Executive session it was decided that Harley O'Neil and a few other Board members would meet informally with the City staff to see if the fine could be removed and that the City staff would agree to contact the Innis Arden Board prior to entering the Reserves).
• Michael Jacobs also shared with the community that Brian T. Ritchie had threatened to sue the Board if the Board did not take action restoring views.

Carol Solle announced that she would no longer be preparing a Bulletin for the community after this month. She agreed, however, to e-mail people information about the minutes and other items found in the Bulletin and would put it on the Web page. She also agreed to post a copy at the Club House for those Shareholders who did not have access to a computer. Josh West volunteered to be Bulletin editor. Mark Weinberg also volunteered to help.

Activities:
Shelley Watson reported that the Activities Committee members and others completed the painting of the interior of the Club House. (Applause) She also announced future activities. She said that the Activities committee needed someone to chair the Salmon Barbecue. The committee wanted to provide a Holiday Party for the younger members of the community and maybe the older as well. She announced that the activities committee planned to deep clean the floors and kitchen. New carpet will be layed on May 12 in the foyer. Carol Solle asked if a clock could be purchased for the Club House.

Mark Weinberg told the group that he had been manually turning on and shutting off the sprinkler system. He expressed concern about the gate valve owned by the City of Seattle Water Department. He was told that it should be replaced. Michael Jacobs agreed to write a letter to the Water Department to see if they will do it for free.

Reserves:
Maggie Taber said that she had three petitions to share with the Board and community.

(1) John Hollinrake requested that 37 trees be pruned in Running Water Reserve. The trees had been pruned previously many years ago. He had an Arborist report that recommended that the work be done. He agreed to pay for the cost of the permit and the cost of pruning the trees. Maggie moved and R.L seconded a motion for the Board to assist in the application process with the City of Shoreline. Elaine Phelps questioned why the community had not been given time to look over this request and the opportunity to respond. She felt that a request to prune trees should be treated the same as a request to remodel a home. John Hollinrake asked if he was being asked to tag each tree or would he have to spray paint the trees. It was generally conceded that this was not necessary and that it was unfortunate that John had applied for permission from the Board in October and the Board was just now getting around to taking action. The Board voted unanimously to assist John with his petition to the City.

(2) Dave Fosmire requested to work on 16 trees in Blue Heron Reserve that had been cut back to stumps previously and now had grown tall again. Dave agreed to pay for the cost of the permit and the cost of removing the trees. Carol agreed to put information about these projects on the Innis Arden Web site. Elaine asked if Al Wagar had seen these trees. Al replied that he had and that he agreed with the arborists report that the trees should be cut back to stumps again and maintained as coppice. Josh West asked when these trees would need to be cut again. Maggie Taber replied that they may need to be cut every year or two. R.L. Smith moved and Al Wagar seconded a motion that the Innis Arden Board assist Dave Fosmire with his petition to the City of Shoreline.

(3) A proposal by the Bear Group, represented by Ron Salvino asked to remove 6 trees in Reserve C and 6 in Reserve L. Money to do this work is already in a segregated account of Innis Arden Club. This request had been passed previously by the Board, subject to a site visit. Board members who have viewed the trees being discussed said that they were really big trees. Al Wagar expressed concern for the removal of these trees. Elaine Phelps asked if the trees could be windowed. Ron Salvino agreed that he would re-plant other trees in place of the trees being removed. Carol agreed to place this on the Web site and would be brought up again at the next meeting.

(4) Maggie told about a large Maple in Bear Reserve that split during the last storm. When it split it fell on a large Alder, which should also be removed. It was recommended that the Board get the City's blessing before any action be taken. It was decided that a picture of the tree along with a letter would be sent to Tim Stewart.

Board Agenda
Michael Jacobs reported on several View Preservation Petitions that he had received and brought those up for Board discussion. Michael said that a process to handle these requests had been built into a proposed By-Law Amendment, but the amendment did not get enough votes to pass. Michael said that he still believes procedures need to be developed to provide a mechanism for addressing these petitions. He went on to say that he believes a Covenant Compliance Committee is a valuable part of this process and that someone on the Board should chair this committee. Harley O'Neil agreed to serve as chairman of the Covenant Compliance Committee and asked members of the audience if they would agree to serve on the committee. A number of hands went up. This is to be an inclusive committee, not exclusive. Harley said he wants people with differing opinions to serve on the committee. Stacie Pederson said that members of the committee should read cases regarding the Special Master process. She agreed to provide information on the cases for the committee members.

Community Comments
Jennifer Dallas asked to speak on behalf of a neighbor who wanted the covenants changed allowing for wells to provide non-potable water for gardens and lawns in Innis Arden. Presently, our covenants do not allow for wells on properties in Innis Arden. It was generally agreed by the Board members that we need to look at many possible covenant changes to be presented to the Shareholders to vote on. Carol again agreed to provide information of the Innis Arden Web site so that Shareholders can become better informed.
Respectfully submitted,
Harley O'Neil

• A resident has filed a claim against the Innis Arden Club because he believes the Club has wrongfully placed a lien against his property for non-payment of mandatory dues.
• The City of Shoreline has filed a "Notice and Order to Correct" alleging that the Club has exceeded the scope of the work approved by the City in regards to removing, trimming, or creating snags of hazardous trees within the Innis Arden Reserves. A fine of $16,500 has been assessed by the City of Shoreline with additional penalties to follow if the Club does not provide a restoration plan and complete the project within 60 days. The Club believes that the City's allegations are without merit.
• Attorney Brian T. Ritchie representing several Innis Arden residents has threatened to sue the Board if the Board did not take action in restoring views.
• Attorney J. Thomas Richardson representing an Innis Arden resident has threatened legal action if the Board did not a) manage view blocking trees in the Reserves and b) rule on view blocking trees on private property.

2) Our Reserves, some background:

• In November of 2002, Group Four, Inc. was hired to perform Boundary and Topographic surveys, locate existing trees 6" and greater, and 40%+ slopes within Running Water, Blue Heron and Eagle Reserves of Innis Arden, for $28,750. Each tree a) had a numbered metal tag nailed to it and b) was plotted on a map and c) was described and entered into a spreadsheet. This survey was a prerequisite to managing the trees in our Reserves. Over two thousand trees were documented.
• At the request of several Innis Arden residents, the Reserves Chair hired Tree Solutions to inspect and rank the trees (from 1-12) on a Tree Hazard Evaluation form, which is a two-paged checklist of conditions and 'targets' (trails, homes etc) to be observed. If a tree was found to be hazardous, action options included removal, snag, monitor or prune. This was put on a 'matrix' by Tree Solutions to condense and simplify the Hazardous Evaluation forms.
• Arborpro performed the work recommended on the 'matrix'. (It would be a conflict of interest if the same company evaluated the trees and performed the work). Arborpro faced some challenges. Many of the metal tags identifying the trees were removed, perhaps maliciously. Because the trees were mapped and described, Arborpro was able to identify trees with tags removed.
• Sometimes when a tree is found to be dead and/or dangerous, 'snagging' can be recommended for wildlife habitat as well as soil stability. The tree is cut to 15'-20'. Snags are not particularly attractive, but is a method to create habitat . In addition, debris from tree removal is to be left on the forest floor for a healthy ecosystem. The City of Shoreline requires both practices.
• Currently the City is questioning some of the work that has been performed in the reserves. Additional information has been gathered to answer the City's misunderstandings of the Hazardous Tree work.

3) Board of Directors:
Michael Rasch's resignation was effective on April 29th. On May 5th, Harley O'Neil was elected by the Board as a new director. Mike Jacobs is now the President, Carol Solle is Vice President, and Harley O'Neil is Secretary, with the remaining positions unchanged.

Bulletin Board

Participate in the Building and Remodel Application process
by joining the committee. Call Wendy Higgins at 542-5544.

Childcare Needed
Parents of 9 year old boy and 6.5 year old girl seek responsible person to care for them from about 8:30am thru 1pm weekdays from mid-June through early August. Will facilitate swim team practice, possible swim lessons, and lunch, then drive them to afternoon program. Call Rich or Karen at 546-0434.

Activities Committee wants YOU!
Chairs needed for the Rummage Sale, Salmon BBQ and Holiday Party! Call Pam Smit at 533-0240.

Home For Rent
Semi-furnished 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, family room, office, 2 fireplaces, patio, 2 decks $1,850- available mid July-Possibly before. Call 425-488-9009 or 206-910-5503