Yodelin Association or Voluntary Group
In the Yodelin community, a distinct group exists, covering 72 lots near Stevens Pass. This Yodelin association emerged primarily around the water system, composed mainly of cabin owners. This group focusing on the needs of these 72 lots, leaving the remaining 114 “tagged” lot owners outside their scope.
The Challenge for 114 Yodelin Tagged Lots
A distinctly different problem exists for the remaining 114 tagged lots. The water system, which was designed in 1997 for just 72 lots, is the core issue: it prevents these 114 properties from accessing necessary water hookups. This exclusion is a significant hardship for the majority of owners, as Chelan County requires a water source to apply for many essential permits.
Denied access to the community water system, tagged lot owners are facing a major roadblock: other owners have declared the properties condemned by Chelan County. This alleged condemnation—based on the lack of community water—is currently blocking the lot owners’ right to apply for essential permits and utilize their land.
Owners are actively working to establish their own water supply following the loss of community access. They have already cleared their properties and received proposals for individual well drilling, which is the required step before applying for necessary development permits.
Restrictive Covenants For Plat of Yodelin (January 15, 1968) Community Water System
The original covenants established for Yodelin, intended to create a thriving Alpine Village, have been neither fully followed nor enforced. A prime example is the community water system, where the mandate for providing access to all lot owners before any development is being disregarded.
“FUTHER, NO HOME, CABIN OR BUILDING SHALL BE CONSTRUCTED, PLACED OR
LOCATED UPON ANY LOT IN ANY PLAT UNTIL SUCH TIME AS A COMMUNITY
WATER SYSTEM MAKING WATER AVAILABLE TO ALL OF THE LOTS IN SUCH PLAT
HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED AND PLACED IN OPERATION. LATERAL LINES SERVING
INDIVIDUAL LOTS SHALL NOT BE DEEMED A PART OF THE COMMUNITY WATER
SYSTEM AND EACH LOT OWNER SHALL CONSTRUCT SUCH LATERAL LINES AS HIS
SEPARATE OBLIGATINON. SUCH COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM MUST BE
CONSTRUCTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PLAT THEREFOR, AND THE PRIVATE
CORPORATION SHALL HAVE NO POWER TO ALTER OR DEVIATE FROM SUCH PLAT”.
Legal Standing and Future Aspirations Yodelin Association
A pressing concern is to prevent the minority of 72 lot owners from asserting undue control over our tagged lots, some of whom devalue our properties, claiming our property is worthless, condemned and with no water. We stand united against any attempt to diminish our property rights unjustly.
Contending with Misrepresentation
The Yodelin Transient Water System Master Plan: This document includes a map that labels 114 lots as “Condemned by Chelan County.” Each of these lots is marked with an “X” in the report’s legend.
A significant controversy centers around a map wrongly marking our 114 tagged lots as “condemned by Chelan County,” a claim we have successfully challenged with proof from the county. These master plans utilize a Transient Non-Community (TNC) formula. This classification maintains the system at a scale that does not include the 114 lots. Transitioning to a “Community” system—to include all lots in the plat—would require significant infrastructure expansion, including increased water storage capacity, larger main lines, and possible fire hydrants. The creation and motive of this map, which has been widely shared online and in person for years, are critical concerns that need addressing. The Stevens Pass Sewer Master Plan: This report reflects a similar classification, listing the 114 lots as condemned and suggesting that the majority of Division 3 is unbuildable. Furthermore, the report asserts that only 72 lots in the Yodelin community are recognized as legal parcels. Because these reports are officially recorded and publicly available, their current data effectively excludes the 114 lots from both water access and the Stevens Pass sewer system.
Administrative Interpretation No. 21-002: In this formal document, the Chelan County Building Director clarified that the County has never officially labeled these 114 lots as unbuildable or condemned. 2. The “Tagged” Status: The lots are officially “tagged” due to their location within geological hazard overlays. This is a standard administrative designation that requires owners to provide site-specific engineering and meet specific building codes to move forward with development.
Chelan County Legal Department Position: Representatives of the Chelan County Legal Department have recently confirmed that the County has no record of any condemned property within the Yodelin plat. The County continues to rely on the 2021 formal interpretation, which provides a path for development through established engineering standards.
Impact on Property Valuation
The public circulation of reports labeling these lots as “condemned” has led to significant confusion among property owners. Some owners have reported that these inaccurate labels are being used to characterize their property as worthless or legally terminated. These assertions are in direct conflict with the County’s 2021 interpretation and the actual status of the land as legal real property.
The 114 lots in Yodelin are legitimate real property parcels. While they are subject to geological hazard tagging, they are not, and have never been, “condemned” by Chelan County. Accuracy in public engineering reports is essential to ensure that the 114 property owners’ rights and land values are correctly represented according to the laws of Chelan County.
Our objective is for the public record to be corrected to accurately reflect the legal standing of these properties. It is essential that the dissemination of inaccurate information—specifically claims that these lots are ‘condemned’ or ‘unbuildable’ by Chelan County—ceases immediately. We seek to ensure that infrastructure reporting is based on verified County data rather than inaccurate assertions that serve the interests of a specific group at the expense of others.