Conflict broils in Puyallup over city plan. ‘My children deserve better’
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- Puyallup City Council passed a 4-3 first reading of its comprehensive plan.
- Residents objected to equity language changes, climate policy cuts and tribal edits.
- Council debate raised legal concerns and highlighted state-federal policy conflicts.
About 20 residents gathered at the Puyallup City Council meeting on June 10 to protest new amendments the city added to its proposed comprehensive plan.
The proposed comprehensive plan – which will be in effect until 2044 – includes updated language about equity, tribal history, climate change, housing and more.
During the public comment period of the meeting, 11 residents spoke out against the changes, saying the changes will make Puyallup a less welcoming place and put the city at odds with state law.
“I urge the council to think about the inclusive future the community is working towards,” said Heather Schiller, a resident and former member of the city’s planning commission. “The decisions we make today will define this city for years to come.”
The two-hour meeting included impassioned speeches from council members, boos and applause from the crowd, and an unplanned executive session to go over the legality of the amendments.
In the end, the Puyallup City Council voted 4-3 to pass a first reading of the comprehensive plan. Mayor Jim Kastama, Deputy Mayor Dennis King, and council members Dean Johnson and Renne Gilliam voted for it. Council members Ned Witting, Julie Door, and Lauren Adler voted against it.
The council will conduct a second reading on the plan at one of its upcoming meetings for a final vote. After council approves it, the city will send the plan to the Puget Sound Regional Council and the Washington State Department of Commerce for review.
What is a comprehensive plan and what are the amendments?
Puyallup’s comprehensive plan includes the city’s vision and plan over the next 20 years. Cities are required to have a comprehensive plan under Washington’s Growth Management Act.
“[The plan] includes policy direction for community development, housing, economic development, environmentally sensitive areas, public services, annexation, and related issues,” the city’s website says.
Katie Baker, planning manager for the City of Puyallup, told The News Tribune that comprehensive plans are reviewed every 10 years, but the policies are drafted with the intent of being in effect for 20 years. The city’s last major update to its comprehensive plan was in 2015.
In the draft comprehensive plan, council members have worked on changing language throughout the plan and introducing new elements.
The changes that got the most attention from residents who spoke against it at the meeting included:
- Replacing the word “equity” with “equality” in many sections, a language change that is at the heart of a national debate.
- Removing a policy that requires the city to analyze climate change impacts while building new structures
- Language that would require the city to follow federal executive orders, even if they clash with state law.
- Changing a paragraph in the housing section of the plan that lists race as a barrier to housing equity. The sentence currently says “Provisions to begin rectifying past and current disparate impacts to communities of color and other marginalized populations.” The amendments would change this to “provisions to identify and address displacement risks and disproportionate impacts to vulnerable populations.”
- Changing a paragraph about the city’s history with the Puyallup Tribe. The change removes language implying the tribe was forced to leave its land.
The city’s website says Kastama and Witting came up with the amendment that would remove the climate change requirement while building new structures. The rest of the changes were proposed by Kastama alone.
‘Puyallup deserves better, my children deserve better’
There were about 20 or 30 people in attendance at the city council meeting. During the public comment period, 11 people spoke – all of them opposed to the changes.
Joe Columbo was the first resident to speak. He said he was concerned because of the new policy that would de-center climate change.
“In 2020, the air was so thick with wildfire smoke, the sun was orange,” Columbo said. “You could taste the soot in the air. We were told not to go outside unless it was absolutely necessary.”
Columbo said he wants to see climate change be a factor in building new housing.
“Housing can be a big source of pollution from building materials, fossil fuels, to energy-intensive heating and cooling for buildings,” Columbo said. “We must make new homes sustainable with housing climate solutions if we want to preserve the city for our children, grandchildren.”
Kathleen McLeod, another resident, opposed the change from “equity” to “equality.” She told the council that when the Equal Opportunity Act passed, it allowed her to become one of the first 10 women to ever deliver mail in the City of Seattle.
“With DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – we have to have a law that allows [equal opportunity] and the only thing that would stop it is chaos and confusion caused by messing with it,” McLeod said.
Nancy Shattuck, another resident, said she is part of a bicultural and bilingual family – and that her family does not feel represented under the drafted comprehensive plan.
“Equity is about repair, it is about removing those barriers and redistributing power and resources,” Shattuck said. “Puyallup deserves better, my children deserve better. These amendments are gross, they are discriminatory.”
‘You cannot solve discrimination by discriminating’
After public comment, the council took care of other business before circling back to the comprehensive plan.
Witting, speaking about the amendment that got rid of the climate change requirements, said at the meeting that he believed it would make housing more affordable and accessible.
“We need affordable housing, and we need it quickly and cheaply,” Witting said. “I know everything has a big impact on climate change, but if a developer brings forward an all-electric home, should he have to go through an extended [State Environmental Policy Act] review for that house? … I felt like this provision did little to protect our climate but did a lot to increase the affordability of housing.”
Witting also said he didn’t support changing “equity” to “equality,” because he was worried it would violate state law.
“The stance of the federal government is going in one direction and the state government is going in another direction. I personally feel that the state is going to have more impact on Puyallup than the feds will,” Witting said. “I think that we open ourselves up for negative consequences if we don’t follow the language that’s specified in the Vision 2040 and the Growth Management Act, so I think that [changing] equity to equality is probably not in the best interest of Puyallup.”
Council member Julie Door said she would not support any of the changes because she did not believe they would create an inclusive community. She choked up and was visibly holding back tears while she talked.
“I wholeheartedly reject the intent of this and it makes me really sad that this is where we are today. I cannot stand behind any of this. We stood up here last week and we had our LGBT proclamation. Members of this dais stood up here and accepted a Women’s Day proclamation,” Door said. “So we are choosing to acknowledge groups that we want to acknowledge, that we are a part of. I find it very objectionable that we are now saying that other groups do not matter.”
Door also said the council got a legal opinion from a lawyer four and a half hours before the meeting, saying there were legal concerns. Door then asked for an executive session. Mayor Jim Kastama called one, to give council members the chance to seek legal guidance, and the council members left the chambers for about 15 minutes.
When the council returned, council member Dean Johnson voiced his support for the comprehensive plan.
Kastama then delivered a speech, also supporting the comprehensive plan.
“I did grow up in Puyallup, I have lived in the same house now 65 years, and I was raised by two parents who taught me to judge a person by the content of their character and not the color of their skin,” Kastama said. “We believe we enhanced the inclusivity on this. Terms like ‘underserved’ and ‘disadvantaged’ ensure that all residents in Puyallup who face hardship regardless of race are considered – including seniors, low-income families, immigrants and people with disabilities.”
Kastama said he believes the updated language in the comprehensive plan will prevent Puyallup from getting in trouble with the federal government because it aligns with Supreme Court cases and presidential executive orders. When he mentioned the executive orders, the crowd booed.
“I think it’s important that we address the comprehensive plan in a way that looks at people other than through a racial lens,” Kastama said. “The Supreme Court is very clear and adamant that you cannot just look at them and make assumptions about them.”
He then went on to say that he believed the comprehensive plan had broad public support, despite the turnout of protesters at the meeting. Someone from the crowd then shouted, “No we don’t! That’s you!”
Kastama mentioned that Washington state – as well as Pierce and King counties – are already embroiled in litigation with the Trump Administration. He also mentioned federal funding freezes, and said race-neutral language is the safest option right now.
“I know Washington state is going in one direction, but I think that it’s gotten lost and not realized that in the long term, it will be a detriment,” Kastama said. “And I think it will end up smack dab in the Supreme Court, who says that you cannot solve discrimination by discriminating – and I believe that is a belief we hold in Puyallup.”
This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
