ARLINGTON — A lawsuit filed this month seeks compensation for stormwater damage to an industrial property downhill from the Gleneagle housing development.
Joe Holden and Lee McDaniel of Arlington own the parcel at 18520 67th Ave. NE. The business partners claim that stormwater runoff following the big snow of December 2008 and flooding of January 2009 put their property in jeopardy.
The suit names the city, the Gleneagle Country Club Association, the developers of Gleneagle and more than 25 other parties as defendants.
The business partners’ property is zoned for industrial use and is leased to a company that makes steel buildings. The manufacturing process involves the use of hazardous materials and those materials must stay on site. The Holden-McDaniel property cannot be leased for its intended purpose if it is subject to flooding, the suit says.
Seattle attorney David Bricklin, representing Holden-McDaniel, said the lawsuit is important because it brings to light a failed stormwater system set up by the developers of Gleneagle and the city of Arlington.
The plaintiffs want the system fixed to reduce the flow of stormwater or improve the capacity of a pond used to catch the runoff, Bricklin said.
The lawsuit was filed Jan. 5 in Snohomish County Superior Court.
The city is in the process of responding to the lawsuit, spokeswoman Kristin Banfield said.
Holden-McDaniel filed a claim notice with the city of Arlington after the urban flooding in January 2009, she said. No complaints have been filed since, she said.
The city is responsible for storm drain facilities near the Holden-McDaniel property and is responsible for their maintenance. The lawsuit argues that city engineers were negligent in design and construction of the city’s stormwater facilities, making them unable to adequately handle the stormwater that floods the industrial property.
“We knew potentially that a lawsuit was coming,” Banfield said. “The city is working diligently and hard to improve our stormwater system. With this suit, we just have to see where it goes and move forward.”
Bricklin and Banfield agreed that progress in the suit could be slow because of the number of defendants named.
Other defendants include several development corporations, builders, banks, and engineering and design firms.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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