(emailed June 26, 2025)
To start with, the CBC board would like to thank everyone who took the time to provide a written testimonial about wanting to see Chelan Butte preserved, as requested in our last update. We had a tremendous response with over 320 testimonials representing over 370 individuals. We compiled them into a single document (over 150 pages!) and added a cover letter that summarizes the seven main themes of the testimonials.
A button has been added to the home page of our website to provide easy access to this document (click here to be taken directly to the document). We are still taking testimonials at LoveChelanButte@gmail.com if anyone still wishes to submit something.
We directly forwarded the testimonial document to the potential developer, Mr. Venugopal, Chelan mayor Erin McCardle, the Chelan city council, the Chelan planning commission, and District 3 Chelan County commissioner Brad Hawkins. The planning commission asked CBC to come to a meeting and update them on the Butte, which we have done. People are finding the document to be very compelling and it effectively counters Mr. Venugopal’s assertion that keeping development off the Butte is only the desire of a few rich people trying to protect their view.
We are also undertaking a “CBC Awareness Campaign” from June 15th through July 15th to make sure as many people as possible in the Lake Chelan Valley are aware of who we are and what we do. There have been flyers distributed around town and we are publishing notices in a number of print and online sources. CBC board members Brian Patterson and Tony Crosetto also went on KOZI radio this week to talk about our organization and our Chelan Butte efforts (see video of our appearance here). You can assist in our efforts by forwarding this email to anyone you know in the Lake Chelan Valley who might not be familiar with CBC.
Specific to actions being taken on Chelan Butte, the City of Chelan continues to evaluate the three building permit applications that were submitted by Mr. Venugopal in February to construct three short-term rentals. As we anticipated, it appears that the City will require that these three houses connect to the City municipal water system, which would be an expensive undertaking not likely to be viable for three units. Not expected is the fact that the City is considering allowing the use of septic systems for these three proposed units instead of requiring connection to the City municipal sewer system. CBC firmly believes that this would be in violation of the City code and is actively communicating with the City to determine why such an allowance would be made.
On June 16th, CBC was contacted by a couple of local community members who were concerned that a backhoe was clearing a path through the native shrub-steppe off Chelan Butte Road to additional parcels other than those associated with the three building permit applications submitted. It turns out that this was to conduct percolation testing for additional septic systems, indicating that Mr. Venugopal is hoping to use septic systems for even more houses on the Butte. We appreciate the local community continuing to be our eyes and ears out there.
I’ll leave it here for now, but please do not hesitate to reach out to us by responding to this email if you have any questions or comments. Note that previous Chelan Butte Updates can be found on our website and anyone wishing to be added to this email list can sign the petition to preserve the Butte found on our website. Thanks as always for your interest in, and support for, this important endeavor affecting the permanent future of the Lake Chelan Valley. Please see our Facebook and web sites (links below) for more information about CBC.
Brian Patterson
Chelan Basin Conservancy President
on behalf of the CBC board:
Lisa Garvich – Vice President
Tony Crosetto – Treasurer
Debra Patterson – Secretary
Mike Cochran