Those of you who don’t know about the “user fee” laws, I will clue you in. Back in March 1999, the DDES permit fees were restructured. They no longer assess a flat fee but now charge hourly. For services that are rendered on an hourly basis, the cost of those services [is] based on the “actual” hours worked. The county worker determines the “actual” hours and this includes clerical and fieldwork. Hourly fees are charged at the rate in effect at the time of service ($132 per hour in 2002) and will be billed monthly, along with any other outstanding fees. Scott Miller of KING 5 investigations did a story on this last year. I was part of that story, and here it is in a nutshell:

Prior to the time I purchased my property, the previous owners had cleared an area, which was too close to a stream on the property. When I acquired the property in 1994 and applied for a building permit in 1997, the County required me to submit a detailed re-vegetation landscape design (at my expense), re-vegetate the area (at my expense), maintain the plants for three years, replacing any that died (at my expense), and put up a $1,000 bond (at my expense). After three years, I contacted King County DDES to review the area and release the money. I was billed over $600 in user fees for this “service.” For example, I was billed $132 (an hour’s worth of time) for the County to send a form letter to my bank, to release my own bond money. Think about it, if the CAOs are instigated, each month you can expect in your mail your electric bill, gas bill, and now your “user fee” bill from King County DDES. Only in America — or should I say, only in King County. Not only do we have to give up 65 percent of our land, but
we have to pay for it a second time as well. If a tree falls in the woods, King County will be there to hear it, and the sound it makes will be that of a cash register.

Keep in mind: My acreage was not “old growth” forest. I purchased land previously cleared by Weyerhaeuser about 30 years ago. Weyerhaeuser never replanted or re-vegetated the area. The County makes so many of its laws “retroactive,” I often wonder why the County doesn’t go after Weyerhaeuser to re-vegetate the areas it destroyed. I think we all know the answer to that. Big corporations bring in big tax dollars. They also have high-powered attorneys that can fight regulations such as the CAOs. It is much easier for the County to pick on the rural landowner who doesn’t have such resources at its disposal.

People, the writing is on the wall. Nothing is free. They are not going to be using volunteers to enforce all of these regulations and restrictions. We are going to have to pay for them one way or the other. That might explain why I saw King County DDES actually moving the NO CAO signs on the Carnation/Fall City Way - job security. Not very smart using a county vehicle for your personal agenda, DDES. I wonder what poor sap will be billed for that time?