Freeman Road residents take Puyallup to court over warehouse rezoning
Property owners in a neighborhood soon to be annexed by Puyallup filed a legal action against Puyallup on Feb. 8.
Steve Asbjornsen, 64, and his mother, 87-year-old Joyce Asbjornsen are the petitioners. They have filed petitions in Pierce County Superior Court and the Growth Management Hearings Board seeking review of recent zoning changes that paved the way for the annexation.
The City Council voted 5-2 in December to change the current unincorporated Pierce County parcels from residential to light industrial and manufacturing if they are annexed into city limits.
In their petition, the Asbjornsens allege the rezoning violated the Puyallup code for its comprehensive plan.
A city’s comprehensive plan is the overarching vision to plan development, housing, annexation and protect some environmentally sensitive areas. Puyallup’s can only be amended once a year and only when “the existing land use designation was clearly made in error or due to oversight; [or if] there has been a substantive change in conditions since the plan was adopted/last amended,” according to city code.
Steve Asbjornsen said there have been no substantive changes in conditions since the comprehensive plan was last amended.
“I think the process was questionable and then you have to ask if the outcome was fair if the process did not follow what was required,” Steve Asbjornsen told The Puyallup Herald.
He filed at both the hearings board and the courts because he believes there are complaints both venues might throw out in thinking the other body has jurisdiction. Judge Stanley Rumbaugh is scheduled to hear the case on June 6. The hearings board is scheduled for June 25.
Puyallup city attorney Joe Beck said the City Council determined there were substantial changes in the area now that state Route 167 will run through it and additional warehousing projects have been built.
Land north of the likely annexed acres is owned by the Washington state Department of Transportation and slated to become the link between Meridian Road and I-5. The state Route 167 project is anticipated to be completed within the next 10 years, city staff told council in a Nov. 10 council meeting.
“Basically the concept was this property butts up against warehouse property already, and it is going to be very much adjacent to 167,” Beck said.
Among other arguments, the petition claims there was a lack of public comment. When a matter is deemed “quasi-judicial” rather than legislative, council members are expected to act objectively, and decision-makers are prohibited from engaging with either side outside of the proceeding, according to state law.
Steve Asbjornsen said state law also says comprehensive plans are not quasi-judicial. He said he could not have direct contact with council members about the rezoning.
Beck said comments were accepted in public comment before every City Council meeting on the process and residents shared their concerns, including Steve Asbjornsen.
“I’ve never heard of someone arguing too much fairness,” he said. “Council does not have to talk to any citizen outside of a public meeting ever. They are not legally required to do that.”
The Asbjornsens are crowdfunding for the legal fees. They have received nearly $7,000 on GoFundMe from neighbors and supporters.
Steve Asbjornsen’s grandfather built a home inside the area to be annexed. His mother was born and currently resides there. He wants to ensure that she can live out her life on the property.
“This is an effort to provide that level of respect to my mom,” he said.
The “Freeman Road” property has been described as an “island” surrounded by Edgewood, Fife and Puyallup. It is in the process of being annexed by Puyallup after a petition was filed by residents to the city.
Most residents on the east side of Freeman Road East have signed paperwork that they will sell their homes to Vector Development if the area was re-zoned for light manufacturing and warehousing.
Tyler Litzenberger, president of Vector Development Co., told The Puyallup Herald in December the company will work with people who want to remain and create as many improvements as possible.
Vector Development estimates it will spend $3 million to $5 million on improvements, like sidewalks, street lamps, road repairs, water and sewer lines, and adding “buffers” between the warehouse and the homes, like shrubbery.
The City of Fife and the Puyallup Tribe sent letters to the Puyallup City Council opposing the rezoning.
The area is expected to be annexed into Puyallup by March 2021 after the city code is also changed for zoning and the council takes the final vote to annex the 134 acres.
This story was originally published February 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
