Letters to the Editor Opinion

Letter to the editor: Who is financially responsible for future environmental damage?

Regarding “The Reserve, an RM Homes development approved by the City of Gig Harbor despite environmental threats”:

Who pays for future environmental damage caused by a developer?

“In the event of imminent threat to public health, welfare, or water quality, the Stormwater Maintenance Agreement gives the city unrestricted authority to access the stormwater facilities for the purposes of maintenance, repair, and/or retrofit. All costs incurred by the city would need to be reimbursed to the city,” City Administrator Katrina Knutson wrote.

As a resident in the Crescent Valley Biodiversity Management Area, I have a question: Repairs reimbursed by whom?

If the system fails, and the downstream habitat is damaged by this development, who is responsible for reimbursing the city of Gig Harbor?

The developer and the engineers, in perpetuity? The city itself, for granting the variances in the first place? Or the dumb clucks who buy the homes in ignorance of their financial liability when the HOA is formed?

Buyer beware!

Lucinda Wingard

Gig Harbor

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