Land plan to be sent back for hearings
Published 1:19 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008
By Dennis Box, The Courier-Herald
The Pierce County Council is about repeal the Comprehensive Plan Amendment passed Nov. 18 that added 496 acres to Bonney Lake's Urban Growth Area (UGA). The amendment had been surrounded in controversy from the beginning.
The UGA included a 393-acre corridor with environmentally sensitive wetlands and Fennel Creek.
The amendment was challenged by the urban growth watchdog group 1000 Friends of Washington and joined by the state's Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) with the authorization of Gov. Gary Locke.
The repeal of the amendment is not meant to completely roll back the decision. The Council ordinance will repeal the existing amendment, then after a review before Planning Commission, insert a portion of the amendment back into the Comprehensive Growth Plan.
The portion of the amendment that will return for Council approval is known as the U8 zone, the 393 acre Fennel Creek Corridor.
The Fennel Creek Advisory Committee has been meeting since April, drawing up a proposal for proper use of the corridor. The proposal will be used as an outline for protecting the environmentally sensitive area of the corridor, while allowing landowners some development options.
The repeal of the original amendment brings the process back for public review and stops an appeal by 1000 Friends and CTED before the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board.
"This gives us time to convince everyone this makes sense for all parties," County Councilman Shawn Bunney said. "It makes sense for Fennel Creek, the community and private property owners. It is an opportunity to broker a win-win situation. We're going to take 200 acres to create a park in Bonney Lake. If we walk away we will never get this opportunity again."
The planned repeal was welcomed by 1000 Friends of Washington.
"We think it's wonderful they're repealing this amendment," said Tim Trohimovich, planning director for 1000 Friends. "Hopefully the parties will use the information they've gathered for the new process."
The new proposal to add the U8 zone back into Bonney Lake's UGA will go before the County Planning Commission for public hearings, then will return to the Council again for approval.
The other parcels of land in the original appeal have been dropped completely from further review because Council staff members determined those expansion could not be defended as necessary for Bonney Lake's growth.
"U8 isn't being brought into Bonney Lake for capacity," Hugh Taylor said. "Right now it is an island surrounded by the city. This proposal will preserve the land."
Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald
