Residents tell council Highlands Phase 2 runoff has eroded yards, flooded basements

Several residents told the Washington City Council on Aug. 4 that stormwater runoff from the Highlands Phase 2 development has eroded yards, deposited silt and flooded a home on Emily Lane.

Mark Gandenoff, who identified himself as living at 313 Emily Lane in the Autumn Leaf subdivision, told the council that construction work beginning in February removed field ditching and terracing that had historically protected properties along the development’s boundary. He said an initial meeting in March with a city employee named Charles and a later meeting with the developer’s project manager did not resolve his concerns and that subsequent storms have produced new erosion and silt on his property. "I feel like a hostage in my own home with the fear of water getting in my basement," Gandenoff said.

Gandenoff described repeated contacts with city staff and the developer, including a March 14 review of preliminary plats and a March 21 site visit by Charles. He said…