By REBEKAH DENN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

The major source of neighborhood stability is the Silver Lake Action Committee, a group of residents who intently watch over the area's water quality and growth, stepping in where they can to guide both.

"They're one of the better organized and financed growth-monitoring committees probably in the state," says Everett city planner Bob Larsen, who means it as a compliment.

One of the group's recent victories was its opposition to a planned 481-unit apartment complex that members say would have towered an out-of-scale seven stories over the lake. The proposal was put on hold about six months ago, says project architect Lyle Kussman, and the landowner is considering several options for the well-situated 8.5 acres. The committee hopes the city will purchase it as an addition to the neighboring city park.

The committee's successes are often smaller-scale, mitigating projects rather than blocking them.

"Once the zoning is in place, which it was before anyone really realized how to work the system, it's very difficult to make a significant change," says Dorthy Vandeventer, head of the action committee and an active member for more than a decade.

Even so, going head to head with the committee can be an unattractive prospect for builders.

Restaurant owner Cole called his experiences building his eatery "a hard lesson in land development," with an arduous eight-year interval between the time he optioned the property and the day he opened for business.

In some cases, though, the committee supports new developments rather than opposes them, including the new Clare Bridge home for people with impaired memories. It's one of several housing projects around the lake aimed at senior citizens.

With existing conveniences like shopping and medical offices, Silver Lake is already well-equipped to handle the needs of seniors, says resident Ben Zarlingo. At the same time, such developments tend to bring less traffic than others.

For some, the Silver Lake neighborhood is already too far gone for preservation.

"They're developing every little corner and wetland and filling a lot of stuff in. They've overdone it," says Peggy Claflin, a resident for 24 years. It's no longer a place for people who "want a little breathing room."

But it has escaped the fate of other waterfront neighborhoods that support only mansions. Silver Lake's buildings were summer cabins that largely gave way to modest homes on smaller lots.

Along with that smaller scale, there's still enough peace and wild by the lake for residents like Zarlingo, who describes it as "a nice place to live that's under pressure."

As his dock of a boat glides on at sunset and parents call their children in from the water, Zarlingo passes just a few neighbors: fishermen dangling lines from a faded green rowboat, two rowing teams in slim outrigger canoes calling out "hut two!" as they race, a goggled woman swimming a brisk freestyle in a straight line toward the opposite shore.

Zarlingo aims the boat toward a stand of trees, searching their branches. "The eagles were here this morning," he says..

He's confident the lake will draw them back.