Long-planned Mount Rainier resort in jeopardy over lack of progress. Permit at stake
A decision on whether to let a long-planned resort proceed near Mount Rainier appeared to give a partial victory to both sides.
The development, in the works at least on paper for 25 years, has been polarizing for neighbors who are divided over whether an influx of hundreds of jobs would be worth a redeveloped landscape and added traffic.
The hearing examiner’s decision on Mount Rainier Resort at Park Junction was issued Nov. 14. In his 27-page report, Pierce County hearing examiner Stephen Causseaux noted that the developer has not made sufficient progress “in a reasonable and consistent manner and is subject to revocation of its Conditional Use Permit.”
UPDATE NOV. 22: The decision also stated the county “should consider granting the applicant an opportunity to process the project to completion in a reasonable and consistent manner” by complying with benchmarks set by the applicant, as well as requirements from the state and county government departments involved in the project’s permitting.
“Should any delays occur on the part of the applicant in meeting milestones/commitments or in acquiring any state, federal, or county permits, the county should institute revocation proceedings,” Causseaux wrote in the decision.
The News Tribune asked a representative of the county planning department Thursday for more specifics on the project’s milestones and commitments, as well as what type of delay would trigger revocation proceedings.
Sheryl Rhinehart, media representative for Pierce County Planning & Public Works, responded via email: “Since this decision was just issued today, our staff has not had a chance to review and discuss it,” adding that a response would be forthcoming next week.
The resort’s project manager, Sylvia Cleaver Shepherd, also told The News Tribune on Friday via email that she had no comment at this time.
“We will have a meeting on Monday or Tuesday to discuss the decision,” she said.
Legal counsel for Tahoma Audubon Society, leading the challenge to the project, also declined comment Friday on the decision.
Proponents have insisted the resort would bring a much-needed economic boost for families living in the area and serve tourists as a one-of-a-kind destination near Mount Rainier National Park.
The $200 million resort would be 11 miles from the park’s Nisqually entrance on state Route 706, halfway between Elbe and Ashford, bringing dramatic change to the rural area.
The first site plans were filed July 5, 1994. The ensuing years have included a complex permitting process, a court battle, deaths of some connected to the project — including the project’s main financier — and periodic status hearings.
There’s not been much activity on the property itself outside of some logging, according to testimony at a July hearing.
The property’s owner is Park Junction LLC, led by Elbe business owner Gayle Adams, majority owner and managing partner for the project.
According to the plans detailed in the last status hearing in July, the 420-acre resort would bring a 270-room hotel with restaurants, two indoor and four outdoor tennis courts, a heated swimming pool, spa and fitness center. Plans also call for a 22,000-square-foot conference center, an 18-hole golf course, a sewer plant to accommodate the new development and 325 housing units.
Those residences, Shepherd told The News Tribune in August, would be a mix of duplexes, fourplexes, sixplexes and detached single residences, with employee housing built off site.
Additionally, there’s a 20,000- to 30,000-square-foot shopping center planned for retail and tourist shops.
“The goal always has been to provide something for the valley,” Shepherd told The News Tribune in an August phone interview.
She said it would create “a reason for kids growing up there to stay in the place they love, creating jobs. That’s what started the whole thing.”
Critics have argued the plans are fraught with ecological consequences, and they also have questioned the developer’s ability to finance the project after the death of the plan’s main financial backer, Portland construction executive Selwyn Bingham, in 2013.
The hearing examiner’s report appeared to reflect some of those concerns while at the same time giving the project a chance to continue.
“The applicant in the past has made promises to obtain permits and otherwise move the project forward and has accomplished little,” according to the report. “The applicant now provides measurable benchmarks going forward. Assuming compliance with said benchmarks and any other timelines imposed by Pierce County, the project will come into compliance.”
It also seemed to recognize concerns from the developer’s side stated in testimony in July about the challenges the project faced in regard to environmental code compliance.
“Furthermore, compliance with the new storm drainage, critical areas, sewer, and water standards provides a more environmentally sensitive project than originally approved,” according to the report. “Compliance with the new standards may also have delayed the project due to the necessity of providing updated/revised plans.”
Full text of the decision is on file online at pals.piercecountywa.gov/public/documentView?docSysId=1350921
This story has been updated based on clarification from the county Nov. 22.
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 12:47 PM.
