Puyallup has begun annexation process for farmland, warehouses west of the city
About 134 acres surrounded by Puyallup, Fife and Edgewood could be annexed into Puyallup if enough property owners sign a petition.
The Puyallup City Council approved a measure Dec. 10 to allow a petitioner to start collecting signatures for annexation and city planners to begin drafting plans for zoning on a rectangle-shaped stretch of land bordered by Valley Avenue Northwest, Freeman Road North, Levee Road and 86th Avenue East.
Most of the acres are zoned as industrial, which has farmland owners complaining of high taxes and restrictive floodplain standards, project planner Kendall Wals said.
Pierce County has been partnering with the city, Wals said. She described the “Freeman Road” property as an “island” surrounded by three cities, making it difficult for county law enforcement to respond to calls. Wals told The Herald in July the property would be a natural fit for Puyallup.
“They would have faster police response, they would have access to city services like libraries, have a more local form of government, and development regulation more closely defined,” Wals said.
If property owners with at least 60 percent of the assessed value of the land sign the petition, the 134 acres would be absorbed into Puyallup. The project would place city taxes and bonds on the property owners, and residents would change over to municipal garbage services, fire and police.
Surface water management fees would increase by about $27 annually for a single-family home, while property taxes would drop from .0122 percent of assessed value to .0114 percent.
The 54 residents inside the potentially annexed land would be represented by District 1 council members, Jim Kastama and Robin Farris.
A developer has shown interest in buying the land to build warehouses. Tyler Lizenburger, president of Vector Development Co., agrees with annexation and addressed the council Dec. 10 to say he had plans. The developer said once the state Route 167 project extended through the properties, it will become “no man’s land.”
“We can build really nice-looking properties here, and it’s not a challenge on the, for instance, Shaw Road issues that have come up,” Lizenburger told the council. “I think industrial is certainly the highest and best use, and that’s our intent.”
Steve Asbjornson said he and his family own property in the potentially annexed land. While he, too, wants to be annexed into the city, he has no desire to see any of the land turned into an industrial park.
Asbjronson said there is an emotional attachment to the land. His grandfather logged the property to pay for his education, and he hopes to pass it down to his children, Asbjornson said.
“It’s got a lot of roots, and we’d like to see it stay that way,” he told the council.
This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
