Letter to editor: Ban all new construction from frequently flooded areas

Editor:

In light of ongoing and upward projections about rising sea levels, I believe that ALL NEW CONSTRUCTION should be banned in the frequently flooded zone. The numbers keep changing as scientists find it hard to calculate the accelerating rate of melting of glaciers. Estimates currently range between one foot and nine feet, and these heights may be reached sooner than expected.

This ban should include the Senior Center, which wants to begin counting its 30-foot limit at two feet above ground level. The current building should be torn down and no other permanent structures should be built in the city’s Frequently Flooded Areas.

There are hazards to future users at the present Senior Center site; also, granting the Center the right to build to 32 feet would set a precedent that will endanger users of future buildings throughout the flood zone, which extends beyond the waterfront itself.

I am a long-time friend and supporter of the Senior Center, including service on its Board of Directors and, later, co-chair of its Advisory Committee with Dave Page. I strongly endorse its need for a new building, and Iā€™m sorry to see the center at the core of a controversy. But it does have other excellent options for a site.

Though it was never publicized, the majority of Senior Center Advisory Committee members present at a 2015 meeting advised Farrell Fleming that a new center should be built elsewhere. In addition to the well-publicized flooding/tsunami risk, we cited the risk of train derailment with potential for a disastrous fire and explosion, and the likelihood of ground liquefaction in an earthquake.

Construction of additional buildings in the flood zone could endanger hundreds of people.

Cliff Sanderlin
Edmonds

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