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 plans filed by the developer eliminated storm sewers and inlets that earlier plats had shown, and that a removal of protective terraces has allowed runoff to reach his yard. He said he filed a stormwater complaint through the "mayor's action center" on April 28 and received a generic acknowledgement from the mayor's office. He told the council he had not received substantive follow-up from the developer’s project manager, Ben Ruther, and that silt continued to accumulate after storms in late March and June.

Neighbor Brandy Hagenorn, 309 Emily Lane, backed Gandenoff’s account, saying, "Everything Mark stated has been true. The runoff is unbelievable." She said longtime homeowners in the subdivision feel overlooked as new construction proceeds.

Gandenoff also said a contractor identified as Kurt entered his property during recent work and berated him; Gandenoff told the council the contractor "told me the hell he will make of my life." Gandenoff said he had at one point called police.

City staff responses cited in the residents' statements included on-site visits by Charles and messages that staff were "working with the developer to contain the sediment and silt runoff," but residents said the corrective measures were inadequate and delayed. At the meeting a council member stated, without a recorded formal motion, that the matter "probably need[ed] to be talked about in closed session." The council did not record a public vote related to the residents' complaints during the meeting.

Why it matters: residents described ongoing property damage, a flooded basement at 2209 Anniston Drive and recurring silt deposition that they said began after the developer submitted revised plans. Residents said their attempts over months to get a fix produced only partial or delayed responses.

What the record shows: the transcript documents repeated public complaints (March through June dates and the April 28 mayor’s-action-center complaint were cited by speakers), on-site visits by city staff, correspondence sent to the developer and a pledge by council/staff to pursue remedies. At the Aug. 4 meeting the council indicated the issue will be discussed in a closed session; no public action or formal remedy was recorded in open session.

Next steps noted at the meeting: council members said the issue would be discussed further in closed session; the transcript does not show a public directive ordering specific mitigation work, nor does it record a timeline or binding remedy.

Sources and attribution: quotes and paraphrases come from speakers at the Aug. 4 Washington City Council meeting: Mark Gandenoff and Brandy Hagenorn (public commenters); the transcript also references Charles (city staff), Ben Ruther (KJU project manager) and a contractor identified as Kurt. Statements attributing action or promises by city staff are taken from residents' accounts as recorded in the public comment portion of the meeting.