03/06/2025
HERE'S THE SCOOP: The challenge to the siting of the currently named “Good Neighbor Village" is coming to a head, with a hearing in Thurston County Superior Court tentatively scheduled for March 28th. This is the culmination of years of work since the Executive and our Pierce County Council began plotting this project. As a community, we successfully forced the Council's hand to reverse the provision, allowing the newly devised"shared housing village" to be used in the residential resource zone encompassing the intended project site. In response to our 2023 appeal to Growth Management Hearings board, the Council repeatedly changed the ordinance's effective date, permitting the village use in the zone, knowing that a board finding of the county’s non-compliance with the State's Growth Management Act would jeopardize their state funding. Ultimately, the Council repealed the ordinance, finding that the zoning change was not, in the County's best interest. The result was that the zoning remained in effect for only six weeks—during which time, the Tacoma Rescue Mission (TRM) exploited vesting regulations to advance the development of the site, while the Executive's office openly declared their intent to proceed, despite our anticipated court challenge to the project.As a partner organization, Friends of Spanaway Lake, sought to overturn the project approval because it constituted a spot zone. However, the petition was denied by Pierce County Superior Court. In response, SCC appealed to the County's determination that the environmental impact of the proposed village could be mitigated, and contested the issuance of the required conditional use permit. Unfortunately, the arguments were largely dismissed by a newly appointed hearing examiner who aggressively opposed many of those who testified. "Despite this setback, we achieved a partial victory when our request for reconsideration resulted in the denial of TRM's attempt to modify a condition requiring a tree conservation tract."Meanwhile, TRM has hurriedly logged the site,and cooperative County planners are pushing the project forward. TRM also proceeded using so-called “volunteers” to illegally grade Wasmund Road, install overflow culverts at stream crossings, and fill adjacent wetlands—all without securing the necessary permits from the Washington Department of Natural Resources or the Department of Fish & Wildlife. Despite these clear violations, the County issued a site development permit just two days after contradicting itself with a violation notice and stop work order. In response,Spanaway Concerned Citizens filed an administrative appeal to challenge these actions and address TRM’s ongoing noncompliance. Now, just a month later, large numbers of dead fish are turning up at the mouth of Coffee Creek and throughout Spanaway Lake.The hearing examiner erred in approving the ‘Good Neighbor Village” project and we are requesting that Thurston County Superior Court review this case. We urge the Thurston County Superior Court to recognize that TRM is not the rightful owner of the land adjacent to Spanaway Creek,as a prior court decree had already transferred this property to a drainage district. TRM disregarded this ruling and improperly recorded a deed altering the property description. Additionally, the court must acknowledge that the County's flawed housing density calculations directly contradict the Comprehensive Plan. Either of these critical findings could halt the project,preventing further environmental and legal violations. We are confident that our seasoned attorney will capably present the arguments—this project could not, by code, have vested.Please join the hundreds of citizens who have publicly opposed this project due to the serious threats it poses to our community, our water, and our environment. Without intervention, this development may result in an increase of un-housed individuals in residential areas, potentially leading to public safety concerns, environmental degradation, water quality issues, and sanitation challenges. We urgently need your support. Your generous contribution of $250 will help to cover the essential legal costs of this case.Consider this: your $250 investment will likely be far less than the county-wide property tax increase that will be required to fund the “Good Neighbor Village.” This is our last chance to Stop The Village.Together, we can make a powerful impact! Stand up for the Parkland, Midland & Spanaway community— your investment in safeguarding our economic and environmental health is crucial.PLEASE, DONATE TODAY. 1. SCAN our QR CODE BELOW.2. MAIL DONATIONS DIRECTLY to SPANAWAY CONCERNED CITIZENS:Spanaway Concerned Citizens P.O. Box 562 or scan our QR Code Spanaway, WA 98387 *We are a 501-C4. Contributions are not tax deductible. 3. ONLINE DONATIONS: https://spanawayconcernedcitizens.com/ ______________________________________________________________________________3. Or through: FRIENDS OF SPANAWAY LAKE (FOSL) MAIL DONATIONS TO: Friends of Spanaway Lake (FOSL) *Make Checks payable to FOSL (Please note, SCC in the (for) on your check)P.O. Box 1042 Spanaway, WA 98387-1042 *FOSL is a 501-C3. All Contributions are tax deductible.
P.S. PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS.
The County and the applicant have significant resources at their disposal, which has made this battle particularly challenging. However, the dedication of the Spanaway Concerned Citizen's Community has been extraordinary, and your continued support has kept us in this fight.
