Sudden Valley, Washington

Sudden Valley, Washington
Census-designated place
Location of Sudden Valley, Washington
Coordinates: 48°43′13″N 122°20′25″W
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Whatcom
Area
• Total	8.1 sq mi (21.0 km2)
• Land	6.2 sq mi (16.1 km2)
• Water	1.9 sq mi (4.8 km2)
Elevation	673 ft (205 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	6,441
• Density	1,038.9/sq mi (400.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
Area code	360
FIPS code	53-68200
GNIS feature ID	1514482
Highways	none
Website	http://suddenvalley.com/

Sudden Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) just outside of Bellingham in Whatcom County, Washington.

Sudden Valley is the second-largest homeowner association in western Washington, with over 7,000 residents. There are eleven neighborhood parks, miles of hiking trails in woodlands and along Lake Whatcom, beaches, two pools, sports fields, tennis courts, a basketall court, a recreation center with full gym, an 18-hole golf course, a library, a marina and more.

Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Sudden Valley ranks 97th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.

History

The Community Association of Sudden Valley began as “the Ranch”. The original owner of the area was Banning Austin. In 1949, Austin sold the land to Glen and Betty Corning, who named it “the Ranch” and lived there with their children until in 1968 they sold 1,200 acres of property for 1.8 million. The new owner was Ken Sanwick of Sudden Valley Inc. Sanwick envisioned the land as “Sudden Valley Undevelopment” and wanted to preserve the natural surroundings while still incorporating homes into the wilderness. By 1969, the County Commissioners approved the first plat for 158 lots west of Lake Whatcom Boulevard. The first property owner was Mae Schatz, who bought Division 1 Lot 112 in May of 1969.

In the 70’s, the Valley changed ownership a few times. SunMark Inc. bought out the Sanwick Corporation in 1973, and in 1975 Continental Mortgage Investors took over from SunMark as the developer. This was short lived, as CMI declared bankruptcy not long after. In December of 1976, ownership and control was transferred to the newly named Sudden Valley Community Association. The owner of SunMark, Roger Ufkes, who happened to be the son of the first property owner, formed the original Board of Directors for the new Community Association. Ufkes served on the Board for two years in the early 70’s and is credited for urging property owners to buy the golf course and all its subsidiaries for 1.4 million. The one‐time assessment fee of $4,000 was voted on and passed by the residents. From this point on, the SVCA held the title to all the roads, parks, greenbelt, recreation facilities, marina, airstrip, and the country club. Sudden Valley was well on its way to becoming the community it is today.

Sudden Valley is one of the most beautiful places in the Northwest that was conceived in the late 60’s. Now, over 7,000 residents plus an abundance of wildlife call it home. Sudden Valley is proud of its community and offers activities for all ages and abilities, including a marina, library, parks, playgrounds, miles of hiking trails, and an 18‐hole golf course designed by the renowned course architect Ted Robinson.

The Community Center recreation area includes a state‐of‐the‐art fitness center and an outdoor Olympic swimming pool. A "quite pool" is also available near the library.

Interesting Facts

Sudden Valley has not only been rumored to be a destination of many in the Witness Protect, it has also attracted others looking to lay low. The first face seen in a 1973 Sudden Valley promotional video is the “Hillside Strangler”, infamous serial killer Kenneth Bianchi, who had taken a job as a Sudden Valley security guard.

New Law Creates Uncertainty for Some Homeowners

In 2018, the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA) was passed by the WA State Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee. WUCIOA governs “common interest communities” such as Sudden Valley and Section 525 particularly affects the budgeting process historically provided for in the Association's bylaws. WUCIOA requires that every budget for every community be ratified by the community. The budget is ratified unless a majority of the votes (that is, the total votes for everyone in the HOA, and not just the votes of the members who showed up to the meeting) reject the budget. Even if there is no quorum, the budget is ratified. If the budget is rejected, the last budget to be ratified remains in effect until a new budget is ratified.

WUCIOA also set specific requirements for information that must be contained in the budget summary. These requirements include projected income and common expenses, the amount of assessments per unit and the date the assessments are due, the current amount of regular assessments budgeted for contribution to the reserve account, and the current balance of the reserve funding per unit. The budget must also contain a statement of whether the association has a reserve study that meets the WUCIOA’s requirements, and how close the budget is to meeting the recommendations of the reserve study.

In each year since WUCIOA was passed, SVCA has seen it's dues assessment rise.

In 2019, SVCA owners launched a successful community-driven petition, signed by over 660 Members holding 21% of all the Votes of the Association. The Petition sought to limit increases of annual dues and assessments, and special assessments, was presented at a Board of Directors Meeting on July 25, 2019. The goal of this community-driven Petition was to limit increases of annual dues, assessments, and special assessments by the Association, and direct the distribution of excess special assessment funds. This Bylaw amendment would limit Annual increases of dues and assessments for any fiscal year to no greater than seven percent (7%) of the annual dues and assessments for the Association’s preceding fiscal year. While Special assessments for any fiscal year, in aggregate, may not exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the budgeted gross revenues of the Association for that fiscal year excluding any budgeted special assessment revenues. It also sought to return any excess Special Assessment funds back to the owners. The petition was voted on by the community and passed with 85% of the vote.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,165 people, 1,675 households, and 1,185 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 668.8 people per square mile (258.1/km²). There were 1,984 housing units at an average density of 318.6/sq mi (123.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.24% White, 0.79% African American, 1.61% Native American, 1.97% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.91% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.03% of the population.

There were 1,675 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 23.5% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $51,843, and the median income for a family was $60,250. Males had a median income of $45,568 versus $33,565 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $24,563. About 4.3% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

External links

• http://www.suddenvalley.com
• http://www.WeAreSuddenValley.com
• http://www.suddenvalleygolfcourse.com/
• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsXVIymWuw6-Y_ZDk38Dacw
• Sudden Valley History - 1973