Golden Hills residents tell council construction has caused flooding, demand remediation

Several residents of the Golden Hills neighborhood told the Cheney City Council on April 22 that construction behind their homes has caused repeated drainage failures, mudslides and property damage and asked the city to hold the developer and contractor accountable.

“We have been directly impacted by an ongoing issue resulting from the construction project that is taking place behind our homes,” Jennifer Franczyk told the council, saying slope buildup and a lack of drainage infrastructure had led to flooding, water intrusion and erosion across the neighborhood. She said Lennar and Winkler have at times blamed each other and have recently asked residents to sign an agreement releasing the company from liability.

Craig Miller said his property experienced a “mud intrusion” in 2022 and a major mudslide again during recent snowmelt, and that he has exchanged many emails with the city, Lennar and Winkler without a permanent fix. “They need to go back and remediate the drainage conditions there and to prevent future intrusion of mudflows into my property,” Miller said. Neighbor John Phelan described a mudslide that dammed runoff and sent water into his basement during spring runoff.

Council members did not take a formal vote on the matter at the meeting. The presiding official said he would try to arrange a meeting with Public Works Director Todd Abelman so residents, city staff and the involved contractors could “sit down and figure out what our next step going forward” would be. Residents were asked to share contact information to facilitate follow-up.