FAQs

Each year, residents reach out to the board regarding the high speed of traffic on McLeod, MaGrath and Roma, particularly at school start and end times. From observation, this involves parents as much as teen drivers.

Over the years board members have had multiple communications with the principals of Northern Heights Elementary School (NHES) and Squalicum High School (SQHS) regarding this issue. Administration staff from both schools have assured us that they frequently remind drivers to adhere to the posted speed limits. They also routinely include this information in their newsletters at the start of the school year.

For our part, we have been in contact with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s office, and in the spring of 2022, their traffic engineering department set up a traffic count on McLeod Road (between Tamarack and MaGrath), which also measured speed. After one month of recording data they reported back to the board that only 4% of traffic exceeded 35 mph. The average speed was 28 mph, and 85% of cars travelled at or below 32 mph. A radar speed sign was placed after the traffic study was completed, and the department agreed to place our neighborhood on the list for repeat counts at the start of the new school year. Of note, they report only one collision from 2017-2022, which resulted in property damage only.

Traffic calming and mitigation measures (such as the installation of speed bumps in the road(s)) were discussed with the County staff, but we were informed that they are not prioritized in absence of collisions.

Over the years we have observed that there may certain times of the day and school year when speeding cars are more noticeable. Northern Heights residents are encouraged to call the principals of both NHES and SQHS with concerns regarding speeding.

NHES principal: Pam Poddle – 360-647-6820
SQHS principal: Miguel Perez – 360-676-6471

Background Information

There is a 30-foot “unopened” County right-of-way between the Northern Heights homes on the south side of McLeod Road and Tweed Twenty. This area is not developed (unopened) and contains numerous large trees and bushes, as well as a drainage ditch. It is unknown if the drainage ditch was installed as part of the Tweed Twenty or the Northern Heights developments. The purpose of the drainage ditch is to capture any stormwater surface runoff coming off the hillside from Tweed Twenty before it enters the Northern Heights properties. This ditch was designed to convey stormwater runoff from the west to the east. The current ditch continues east to an undergound pipe across the south end of the lot at 1367 McLeod Road and then north through a rock-lined ditch between the lots at 1367 and 1371 McLeod Road. A pipe conveys the water north under McLeod Road to a rock-lined ditch located behind the homes on the east side of Tamarack Road. A third pipe conveys the water under Roma Road to a rock-lined ditch on the east side of the lot at 1368 Roma Road. This ditch discharges the stormwater into Toad Creek (not our detention pond).

Unopened Right-Of-Way

Over the years there have been numerous discussions with the County regarding ownership and responsibilities associated with this right-of-way (ROW). Before Northern Heights was developed, there was a 60-foot ROW north of Tweed Twenty that extended straight across from Britton Road to Sunset Drive. This ROW was laid out (i.e., platted) to be used to provide a
future road between these two roads. In 1990, the Northern Heights developers did not use this ROW but instead shifted it north to create the current McLeod Road alignment. They took the northern 30 feet of the platted ROW, added it to the adjacent Northern Heights lots, and created a
new ROW for McLeod Road. The southern 30 feet of the originally platted ROW remained straight across the north Tweed Twenty development boundary.

In May 2023 we received the following information from the County’s Real Estate Specialist regarding the County’s position on Unopened ROW:

The County’s general position for unopened ROW is that the County does not maintain those areas. If the ROW hasn’t been opened and the County hasn’t previously done any maintenance work, then there isn’t any County obligation to do any maintenance work, unless the County determines it is necessary. The County generally doesn’t own the ROW in “fee” so the underlying land is owned by the adjoining property owners. That is why fences, gardens, and sheds are allowed in the ROW. It is the property owners land just encumbered by a ROW. If the County ever needs to use the ROW, the fence would need to be moved, the plants possibly would be removed, etc. The County doesn’t own the dirt, they just have the right to use the area for any use that is related to transportation/drainage/utility etc. purposes.

The northern 30-feet of the original 60-foot ROW was given to the Northern Heights developers as part of their 1990 development. Based on the County’s position stated above, the remaining 30-feet is actually owned by the Tweed Twenty property owners. In this case, the Tweed Twenty adjacent property for the majority of the ROW, and the portion that includes the existing ditch, Parcel # 380315 107248, is owned by a single company, Overlake Properties in North Vancouver, BC. It is the responsibility of this property owner to maintain this ROW property.

Tree Clearing

During the January 2021 annual meeting a few homeowners on the south side of McLeod Road stated they had experienced considerable damage and incurred considerable expense from fallen trees that landed on their lots from the ROW and the Overlake Properties lot. The damage was so significant that Dennis and Bonnie Lancaster at 1325 McLeod Road contacted Whatcom County Public Works regarding the ownership of this property and the implications of removing hazardous trees from that property. The Lancasters received the February 3, 2021 letter from Jon Hutchings, Whatcom County Public Works Director (see Attachments) that states the following:

… Whatcom County Public Works contacted the listed attorney for two former shareholders of Overlake Properties, Inc. The attorney indicates that Overlake Properties maintains no legal interest in the real property and has no objection to removing trees. Similarly, Whatcom County has no objection to you retaining a licensed, insured and bonded tree service to remove trees from this property.

The Lancasters shared their letter with the Northern Heights board and in May 2021 the board sent this letter and an accompanying figure (see Attachments) to all the homeowners whose lots abut this ROW. This figure shows the affected McLeod Road lots, the ROW, the abutting Overlake Property parcel, and the abutting Tweed Twenty Lots. The figure also provides a summary of the tree removal procedure in this areas.

Ditch Maintenance

During winters of heavy rainfall some lot owners adjacent to this ROW have stated that the ditch was ineffective in capturing stormwater surface runoff and conveying it away from their properties. This most recently occurred in 2006, 2009, and 2021, when some homeowners experienced significant damage in their home’s backyard and crawl space. During the 2021 tree
removal investigation the board walked the ROW and observed the condition of the ditch and the surrounding trees and vegetation. The ditch was observed to be in need of maintenance that included:

● The removal of vegetation, lawn clippings, fallen trees and branches that impede the flow of water through the ditch, and,
● The removal of deposited sediment and regrading of the ditch to remove standing water and provide a uniform downward slope from west to east.

Current Status

After ditch and tree removal comments were made at the January 2023 annual homeowners meeting and the February 2023 special meeting, the board contacted the County for additional clarification on the County’s position on maintenance in the ROW. The board’s understanding is that the association’s and the board’s responsibility is to take care of the facilities on our property. Based on the information stated above, the ROW, and its ditch, are not in an association common space or on the association’s property. With the realization that the County and Overland Properties will not perform any maintenance in this ROW area, the board believes that the individual Northern Heights property owners adjacent to this ROW should work together to jointly maintain this ditch and ROW area for the mutual benefit of all these neighbors.