Puyallup council rezones residential area for warehouses despite opposition from some
Puyallup is one step closer to growing by 134 acres after the City Council voted Tuesday to rezone property off Levee Road that is slated for annexation.
The 14-month process has been controversial for neighborhood residents and nearby jurisdictions.
The current unincorporated Pierce County parcels will be rezoned from residential to light industrial and manufacturing.
The resolution passed 5-2, which authorized the annexation petition and new zoning regulations.
The next step requires the city to submit a “notice of intent to annex” to Pierce County. The area is expected to be incorporated into Puyallup by March 2021.
Lodged between warehouses to the east and west, the area is described as “an island” surrounded by the Fife, Edgewood and Puyallup.
City Council members described the vote as a difficult one.
Council member Jim Kastama said it’s very difficult to undo anything connected to the heritage of the area, like zoning farmland for warehousing.
“There are a number of reasons to vote for this, despite that,” he said, listing reasons that include: a rezone would match the current zoning of surrounding parcels, the majority of property owners agree with the rezone, and the neighborhood could be improved with structural repairs the warehouse development intends to make.
Council member Ned Witting agreed.
“It’s difficult when you are talking about people’s homes,” he said on Tuesday night. “The idea that people have to leave their homes or there is going to be some significant impact to their homes is always really difficult.”
Council member Robin Farris, who previously said she was hesitant about moving forward without consulting the Puyallup Tribe, voted to approve the annexation and rezoning.
“I find it very compelling that the tribe is looking to build a warehouse in that area themselves,” she said in council. “They can’t say it’s OK for them and not OK for us.”
Mayor Julie Door and Deputy Mayor John Palmer did not feel comfortable approving zoning that neighboring jurisdictions, Fife and the Puyallup Tribe, have spoken against.
“We have gone to court because a neighboring jurisdiction didn’t agree with us,” Door said. “We on one side of town are willing to fight against it, and then we are willing to do it on the other side of town.”
Palmer added that he didn’t want to divide a neighborhood.
“I really have trouble that we are splitting the neighborhood in two,” he said. “I think we need to consider their views as if they are living in the city of Puyallup.”
Advocates
The majority of landowners signed a contract to sell their property to Vector Development if Puyallup rezoned for light industrial and manufacturing. Ten of the 14 parcels have contracted with the developer.
Many residents called-in to the virtual City Council meeting to share strong feelings about the zoning.
Those who sold their property said the area is changing.
The Washington State Department of Transportation owns land behind the neighborhood for the state Route 167 project. The extension would link Meridian Road to I-5 within the next 10 years.
“We should emphasize that the neighborhood is changing dramatically whether we move in or not,” Tyler Litzenberger, president of Vector Development Co., told The Puyallup Herald on Dec. 9. “So it’s a great time for the city of Fife and Puyallup to upgrade the area on the backs of developers and not at the cost of taxpayers.”
While the decision doesn’t approve his company’s warehouse project, it is a major move. Vector Development just needs to submit project plans to the city and work through the permitting process.
Litzenberger says the company would work with people who want to remain in the area, and create as many improvements as possible.
Vector Development estimates it would spend $3 million to $5 million on improvements, like adding sidewalks, street lamps, repairing the road, water and sewer lines, and adding “buffers” between the warehouse and the homes like shrubbery.
“We’re not trying to kick anyone out and make anyone uncomfortable. It is only fair that those who have been trying to sell for decades do that and sell their land,” Litzenberger said.
Concerned neighbors
Several parties aren’t happy with the decision.
Forty-four neighbors on the Fife side of Freeman Road East signed a petition against the rezone.
Fife-side resident Jane Tsitsey was appalled that Puyallup would veer from the Puyallup Tribe’s valid concerns.
The tribe’s future development project is a mile away from the neighborhood in an area already zoned industrial, and therefore not a factor in reducing residential opportunities, she said.
“I was shocked that the City of Puyallup wouldn’t accommodate their requests about land-use matters on the Tribe’s own reservation,” she said in an email.
Steve Asbjornsen, whose mother owns two homes on the Puyallup-side of Freeman Road East, said while he understands that most property owners want to convert the zoning, he feels that money has muddied the argument.
“In short, a developer with resources and intimidation tactics is on the path to buying a zoning change,” he said in an email.
Puyallup’s Planning Commission recommended to the council last month that the area not be rezoned in a split decision, citing Fife and Puyallup Tribe concerns.
The City of Fife wrote a letter to Puyallup, saying the current residential zoning is more compatible and asking for the current land use standards to be kept in place.
The Puyallup Tribe also weighed in on the zoning. The parcels are located within Puyallup Tribe trust lands, and the tribe has expressed concerns about housing opportunities, potential “cultural resources” that could be found and stormwater flow control.
Vector Development is open to working with neighboring jurisdictions and neighborhood residents, Litzenberger said
“We are certainly working forward with them,” he told the council on Tuesday night. “We recognize that there is a lot to do and this is just step one.”
