Residents push back against using wetlands on TCC campus for new soccer fields
Nina Osberg was heartbroken when she heard that the wooded area where she walked her dogs every day was being looked at as a possible site for eight new soccer fields.
“This would not let me sleep. I literally feel sick over this,” she said while walking a trail a brisk, sunny Saturday morning in November.
She was joined by seven neighbors — most of which had met each other while walking their dogs in a 55-acre area of natural land and wetlands to the east of Tacoma Community College.
“I’ve been coming here 10 years. It’s a little piece of paradise,” said resident Bruce Ferry. “I’ve been to all of the parks in the city, and this is the best one — it’s because it’s natural.”
Now those neighbors are pushing back against an idea they say threatens the wetlands and its wildlife with development of new recreational fields. A Facebook page has been created to “Save the Wetlands Behind Tacoma Community College,” and residents have hung signs along the trails, asking for support. A petition, created by Osberg, has gathered more than 2,300 signatures.
“At a time when our earth is experiencing increased global warming, it is crucial that we preserve areas such as the woods behind TCC and not let it be turned into Astroturf and asphalt,” Osberg wrote in the petition.
While Metro Parks Tacoma is looking into the possibility, there has been no official decision to build fields on the TCC campus, spokesperson Hunter George said. Public outreach is expected to start in early 2020.
“The only decision that’s been made is, ‘Let’s talk to each other.’ That’s it,” George told The News Tribune.
Ivan Harrell, TCC president, said the college was briefed on the idea by Metro Parks at a board meeting but is waiting to hear feedback from public outreach.
“At this particular point in time, there hasn’t been anything presented to us from Metro Parks that we would take any action on,” Harrell said.
Study sparked concern
Earlier this year, a feasibility study on the future Heidelberg Sports Village was conducted by architectural design firm Populous for the city of Tacoma, Metro Parks Tacoma, Tacoma Rainiers and the Seattle Sounders.
The study pointed to the TCC property as a potential site to develop recreational fields, which caught the attention of residents.
“People started spreading the word,” Ferry said.
The fields are the third part of a $300 million project that includes the creation of a $60 million soccer stadium and mixed-use development on the Cheney Stadium campus.
The study looked at four different locations for the recreational fields, including TCC, Meadow Park Golf Course, the city of Tacoma landfill and on Mount Tacoma High School property.
The study concluded the landfill site was “not financially feasible” and would require significant grade changes to flatten the land. The golf course option, the study continued, would fit fewer fields — about four or five — and would face issues with vehicle access. At Mount Tahoma High, vehicular access would also be problematic, in addition to “adjacent residential neighborhood to the south and west may have concerns related to traffic and field lighting.”
Residents said they wanted to know why the study didn’t address the same neighborhood concerns for the TCC property, which was declared the preferred option in the study. Some wetlands on the site would require mitigation, but a majority of the wetlands would be out of the way of major development.
Ferry said he was frustrated that the study didn’t include financial estimates for the other locations. If built at TCC, the 8-field field complex, including a 600-stall parking lot, is estimated to cost more than $34 million.
When asked about the residents’ concerns, George said that the study narrowed its focus on the preferred site and that conducting in-depth financial estimates for all the options would have taken many resources. He added that representatives who worked on the study would be involved in the public outreach meetings and that those questions could be looked into.
“These are all questions we want them to ask,” George said.
TCC responds
A letter dated Nov. 8 from Metro Parks executive director Shon Sylvia to Harrell said the study only determined if the project was possible, and “that’s a long way from actually building anything.”
“Metro Parks is known for conducting extraordinary levels of public engagement before deciding what to build and where to build it, and this proposed athletic field complex deserves similar treatment,” Sylvia continued in the letter. “We know that Tacoma Community College staff and neighbors have lots of questions, especially about the wetlands, natural areas and community garden, and quite frankly, we do, too.”
Harrell sent a letter to the TCC community Tuesday about the petition and the proposed sports field complex. In it, he acknowledged that “some of our faculty and staff members have voiced their opposition about the proposal.”
“As the community’s college, it is TCC’s responsibility to engage in conversations when approached about a community partnership opportunity, particularly with a trusted public entity like Metro Parks. But, we are far away from any type of decision. There are too many questions that do not yet have answers,” Harrell said in the letter.
In a phone interview with The News Tribune on Wednesday, Harrell said rumors have spread about the college already making a decision or that he was interested in selling the property.
“I haven’t had any conversation about selling the property at all,” he said.
If Metro Parks decided to move forward with using the site, TCC might not have to sell at all, George said, pointing to other partnerships the agency has with Tacoma Public Schools and Boys & Girls Club where Metro Parks does not own the property.
Demand for fields
Some residents argue new fields wouldn’t be used, but George said there’s been a demand for soccer fields in Tacoma for a while.
He pointed to a Joint Agency Athletic Field Study conducted in 2016, where Tacoma Public Schools and Metro Parks assessed every field they own.
The study found that out of Tacoma’s 81 soccer fields, 77 percent are considered “low-quality” or are not equipped to be used year-round due to lack of lighting and turf or inadequate drainage.
“We don’t have enough fields today to serve the people who want to use them, and our population isn’t sitting still — we’re exploding with growth,” George said.
Lane Smith, owner of the Tacoma Soccer Center and Washington Youth Soccer board member, agrees.
“There’s a huge need. The sport is growing,” Smith said.
Twelve local organizations interviewed for the feasibility study reported increased participation, up to 50 percent for youngest age groups in some cases. Roughly 93,000 teens and kids are a part of Washington Youth Soccer, and that’s risen 3 percent year over year, according to CEO Terry Fisher.
Smith said that rental rates, ownership and quality of fields can influence whether a field is being used year-round.
“What is keeping more kids from playing soccer is a lack of fields and a lack of good fields,” he said.
Urban refuge
The people against the proposal say they’re not against more fields in Tacoma — just the TCC spot.
Carin Jones, who frequents the trails on the TCC campus, said the area is more than just a space to walk her dog.
“It’s definitely a community — that I didn’t expect when I first started walking here,” Jones said.
She doesn’t know another natural space so close to home.
“There’s nothing else that matches this,” Jones said. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
Marilynn Kimmerling, a vocal community advocate, has a soft spot for the area she said helped her to recover from a back injury 10 years ago.
“We need a balance in this city,” she said. “This (area) is a rarity. We need to keep it because it provides wilderness, which human beings and animals need.”
Residents said they’ve seen owls, coyotes and other wildlife living there. Equipment for the Grit City Carnivore Project, a research effort studying how people and coyotes can live together, was set up as part of a partnership with University of Washington Tacoma, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park.
“This place is just too wonderful to be considered property,” she said. “This is an ecosystem, and we have to save it.”
Opponents are planning to attend the TCC Board of Trustee meeting at 4 pm on Nov. 20 to share their thoughts.
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 6:15 AM.
