Death of Duvall

Somewhere east of Seattle; between a nasty neon-glow glow strip mall full of Minute Lubes, nail salons, fast food joints and other urban trash, and a large “instant-slum” project with postage stamp lots and dwellings that all look the same, all painted the same, to appear like a gigantic apartment complex straight out of Casino Road in Everett, used to be a small town known as “Duvall”, sadly, it no longer exists.
There is a very ugly scar on what was Duvall now, north of town, it is hideous. I am not sure how to even describe it. I just know that now when I start across the Snoqualmie Valley coming home from work, or play, or some errand, I can see it from as far away as the eye can see and it makes me very sad, because Duvall is no longer Duvall. This ugly mess north of town symbolizes Duvall has become like Lynnwood, a place you would no longer want to stay in, a place you would no longer want to retire in. It has become a place run by quick buck artists, and real estate speculators, and anything for a buck people and that is really terribly sad.

To do my best to describe this atrocity: if there was a huge black bomb crater there, it would be much better, because you would know that no matter how ugly that was now, eventually it would grow back with trees and brush and some bit of natural life and the earth would heal itself. If there had been no “planning” at all and there were single wide trailers, and trash and rusty cars there it would be infinitely better than what is there now, because there would be some small amount of open space and a few scattered trees and plants and it would look somewhat normal for the area in general. It wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb, a big ugly sore thumb trying to hitchhike to greed. They call it by different names like Willow Run and Cherry Hill; I propose a new name, “The Carbuncle”.

But there is no respite. The neighbors on New Year’s Eve (if so inclined), will be able to open their kitchen windows and shake their neighbor’s hand, in his kitchen. Of course they can’t sell what is already built there now. They are trying to sell the tiny little lots for $99,000 and they aren’t big enough to even build a decent garage for the comically skinny houses next door. So the muddy scabland sits.
South of town is apparently what the real estate speculators call New Duvall since they have now taken to insulting the real town of Duvall as “old town”. It is non descript storage units and strip mall junk. Stuff you see everywhere else and no one wants to live next to, or anywhere near. I suppose for the people five miles up Big Rock road it is convenient. Since it is there they utilize it. Even the bank which wanted to stay in town was forced to move there since they wouldn’t logically stay where it was and the City let them vacate the alley. If fact, it would appear from the constant non-stop bridge and road construction that the people making the rules want every single business in old town to go out of business (they are close to succeeding right now). It is really too bad the valley floods every year or I have no doubt whatsoever these people wanting “progress” would annex a chunk of the river valley to build a big bright Wallmart as their coup de grace.
I had no idea that the sewer moratorium we had for a while was so important to keeping the town somewhat stable. Now we have outlandishly high sewer and water bills, constant unrelenting construction (as I write my street is blocked off yet again on a Saturday), noise, banging, diesel fumes and round the clock back-up—beeps, and new super skinny houses going up, three in the space one house deserves.
They say when you follow the money; you find who committed the crime. I hope whoever is responsible for the rape of Duvall has made a fortune beyond their wildest dreams. I would hate to think outsiders are making all the cash from building this Lynnwood-looking urban trash heap that the people who want to actually live here are now forced everyday to look at.