On the Emerald Heights expansion | Letter

On the Emerald Heights expansion

My name is Ethan Johnson. I am 13 years old, my family and I live on Education Hill and I want to tell you about a problem that is happening in our neighborhood.

This problem is a building proposal from the retirement community Emerald Heights, and is commonly known as the Emerald Heights expansion. The problem is that Emerald Heights wants to expand some more by building another three buildings, including a huge building very near the road.

But the homeowners in Abbey Road that is right next to Emerald Heights are not too happy. The proposed new buildings will destroy many trees in the existing green belt and ruin the natural look and feel of the neighborhood.

I understand that years ago, Emerald Heights signed an agreement with the city of Redmond saying they would not ever build in the green belt buffer. This agreement that Emerald Heights signed says clearly that “the proposed development will make optimal use of the developed areas while retaining the existing green belts and natural areas around the site.”

Since the proposal breaks this agreement, why did the city of Redmond even approve the proposal of this building?

The proposed assisted living building would be as long as a football field and 40 feet tall! Does a building this big really belong in a single-family home neighborhood? The proposed building, only a few feet off of 176th Avenue Northeast, will wipe out most of the trees and bushes on the west side of the road.

Since the neighborhood thinks that the city incorrectly approved this proposal, we had to appeal to a hearing examiner. So, I am now hoping that the hearing examiner, after carefully reviewing all the facts, rejects the proposal of these buildings.

Ethan Johnson

Redmond