A decision is in on controversial Pierce County village homeless project. Details here
A hearing examiner has approved a controversial village for the homeless near Spanaway Lake, despite several legal arguments made in opposition to the project at a lengthy hearing.
Pierce County hearing examiner Alex Sidles released his decision June 3 in a 79-page document which included nearly every piece of evidence featured in the hearing and addressed nearly every argument made by the appellants — Spanaway Concerned Citizens.
Sidles concluded that the Pierce County Village project as proposed by Tacoma Rescue Mission was consistent with Pierce County land-use and zoning code.
In his decision, Sidles established conditions related to concerns raised by Spanaway Concerned Citizens, including:
“The community farm in the southern portion of the property may be considered active recreational space for purposes of this condition. If adequate water for farming cannot be made available to support farming on the community farm, other active recreation shall be provided to meet the County code requirements for such recreation.”
“Onsite parking shall be provided in no greater quantity than that depicted in the site plan dated April 18, 2024,” which included 285 parking spaces. The hearing examiner stipulated that no sleeping should be allowed on the property.
“Occupancy in 80 percent of the sleeping units shall be limited to a single person.”
The proposed Agriculture Building, which Tacoma Rescue Mission said would be used to host farmer’s markets, and the Civic Center Building, which was proposed to be used for community events, are for “community accessory uses” for the residents allowed by Pierce County code. The hearing examiner wrote “The Agriculture Building thus shall not be used as a profit-generating event center for weddings or other similar private gatherings,” and the “Civic Building thus shall not be used as a profit-generating event center for weddings or other similar private gatherings or used for commercial purposes that are not operated by Pierce County Village residents unless the use is allowed outright in the Residential Resource zone.”
As for the environmental appeal and case made by the legal team representing Spanaway Concerned Citizens, Sidles decided the appellants failed to meet their burden of proof.
“The Hearing Examiner is not left with a definite and firm conviction” that the county’s determination that the project would not have a significant environmental impact on the surrounding wetlands and habitat was “predicated on insufficient information,” he noted.
During a hearing that began on April 29 and concluded 10 days later, lawyers representing Spanaway Concerned Citizens made a case against the Pierce County Village on the basis that the project was not consistent with zoning codes and would adversely impact nearby wetlands. Spanaway Concerned Citizens is a community advocacy group of community members who live nearby to the project and oppose wear it has been sited.
The Pierce County Village proposed by Tacoma Rescue Mission, an organization that provides services to the unhoused and manages multiple homeless shelters. The Pierce County Village project is unlike anything Tacoma Rescue Mission has ever done as it promises to build an over 280-unit micro-village community to permanently house elderly homeless individuals who have been living unhoused for decades in some cases.
Tacoma Rescue Mission Executive Director, Duke Paulson, said the village is modeled after a community for the homeless in Austin, Texas which had a community “spirit” unlike any he had seen anywhere else in the country. In an interview with The News Tribune, Paulson said the village would serve people who don’t have many sustainable, long-term options to get off the streets. They would come to the village to work, pay rent and rehabilitate themselves, he said.
“The thorough report demonstrates that the concerns brought before the Examiner were fully and thoughtfully considered before rendering a decision and approving the permit,” Tacoma Rescue Mission said in a statement emailed to The News Tribune following the decision. “We are pleased the project has been approved and look forward to building a community that brings real hope and solutions to some of our most at-risk neighbors. We plan to continue forward in a spirit of partnership with the entire community to make this a reality.”
Lawyers representing Spanaway Concerned Citizens used witnesses and documentary evidence to argue that the project was not an appropriate land use as dictated by county code and its proximity to several wetlands on the property would affect the wetlands systems and endangered wildlife habitat.
“We are very surprised and disappointed with the hearing examiner’s decision,” a spokesperson for Spanaway Concerned Citizens stated in an email to The News Tribune. “This area warranted an Environmental Impact Statement 20 years ago when the Cross Base Highway was being debated. But, today it gets a free pass with no Environmental Impact Statement required.”
During the hearing lawyers for Spanaway Concerned Citizens argued that the project would impact habitat of the protected western gray squirrel.
“The Applicant’s failure to mention the western gray squirrel in its environmental review materials does not represent a failure by the County to consider relevant environmental information because, as detailed in the findings, the Hearing Examiner concludes that the western gray squirrel and its habitat are not present on the subject property,” Sidles wrote in his decision.
“The Western Gary Squirrel was a hot topic and had we presented just one photo of a squirrel on this property the decision may have been different,” a Spanaway Concerned Citizens spokesperson told The News Tribune. “We know squirrels are present.”
The hearing examiner did establish conditions related the proposal’s environmental impact, including:
“The final development plan shall use grading techniques designed to maintain health of trees to be retained, create tight neighborhood clusters of dwelling units and sleeping units, and concentrate access lanes and parking areas away from natural areas that are to remain.”
“No plants known to be invasive shall be allowed to be grown in the community gardens.”
“An education plan shall be produced to educate residents about responsible pet ownership and how to dispose of animal waste properly. This will include signage to be posted in communal areas and educational material reviewed with each tenant prior to occupancy,” and “the final development plan shall indicate where pet waste is to be disposed of.”
“The Applicant shall remove invasive vegetation across the subject property. Invasive vegetation consists mainly of Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) in the upland area where the project houses will be constructed as well as scattered locations along some of the roads and trails. In addition, European ivy (Hedera helix/Hedera hibernica) was evident climbing the trees in some forested upland areas and shall also be removed.”
The hearing examiner’s decision also addressed arguments made regarding the project’s distance to the nearby wetlands and retention of trees by stipulating that the final development plan must have buffer zones from the wetlands consistent with regulations. He also established that the final development must retain 30% of the protected Garry oak trees more than 8-inches in diameter and the Douglas fir trees more than 24-inches in diameter in the main residential village and in the proposed community farms.
A spokesperson for Spanaway Concerned Citizens said they are considering other legal avenues to pursue an Environmental Impact Statement requirement for the project to further assess the impact it would have.
“We believe this piece of property should be preserved,” Spanaway Concerned Citizens said in an email to The News Tribune. “Once the old growth trees are cut down and the animals are forced to relocate, the damage is done and cannot be repaired.”
This story was originally published June 4, 2024 at 1:35 PM.
