We purchased 2 acres in rural, unincorporated King County in Renton. We lived years in our modest farm house with a huge yard and a giant pond fed by natural, artesian springs. There were 20 or more wooded acres with wetlands that were protected (or so we thought) from development buffering us from the highway.

Our neighbor began to advocate for high-density development. Although we were against this, we comforted ourselves that we still had a 2-acre buffer between us and development.

How wrong we were.

On a Sunday, a tractor cut a swath through the wetlands and woods behind us. King County downgraded the wetland status and began building on all 20 acres. Next come the lawyers telling us our fence line was on their property; then the city allowed a builder to re-align the artesian springs into a storm drain.

We had deeded water rights and lost.

Our hearts crashed that day.

The county stated there would only be modest traffic increase … even had statistics to prove it. Traffic got so bad we could not get out of our driveway for five minutes or more at peak times and 2,000 new residences sprung up.

Here is my message:

1) Water is precious to Vashon and to life. We do not have enough for this rezone.

2) Major development will come from off-island developers with no accountability to the islanders and no care of their lifestyle.

3) One big builder brings another and then, goodbye to rural Vashon. That certainly won’t help any affordable housing problems.

Having lived through and lost by this very rezone idea, I urge, with great passion, Vashon — and all of her intelligence and care for community — to use those very tools to solve the affordable housing problem.

High-density development changes all the rules and will completely change the culture of Vashon, destroy the land, cause environmental chaos, tax all the resources and ruin the very essence of this beautiful gem.

— Judy Wright