Neighbors appeal 23-building town home project to Lacey City Council
The city of Lacey hearings examiner has ruled against neighbors who appealed the city’s approval of a site plan for Woodbrook Townhomes, a 23-building project proposed off 37th Avenue Southeast west of College Street.
But those neighbors, otherwise known as the Schilter Farm Homeowners Association, aren’t done yet. They have decided to appeal the hearings examiner decision to Lacey City Council. It is set to come before the council on Feb. 5 unless the developer, Puyallup-based Milestone Companies, and Schilter Farm HOA come to an agreement on their own.
Following the hearings examiner ruling on Nov. 4, the two sides have had a fruitful discussion.
“We’re not generally opposed to the developer,” Schilter Farm HOA president Marcus Humberg said this week. “It just has to be done the right way,” he said about the proposed project.
Milestone proposes to build a 124-unit town home development on eight acres at 3933 Ingleside Drive SE. The property is mostly pastureland, with a house and barn that front 37th Avenue Southeast.
Humberg and others have been concerned about increased traffic in the area, an increase in speeding traffic through their subdivision and accessibility issues along 37th Avenue. A chunk of that street does not have sidewalks.
After the two sides met following the Nov. 4 ruling, Milestone has agreed to a traffic study in the area, and they also discussed improving connectivity along 37th Avenue.
One idea is to create a pathway on the north side of 37th Avenue to College Street, Humberg said.
Milestone managing member Brandon Smith said pedestrian connectivity is something they want, too, but the path is not a done deal just yet because it will need city approval.
Some elements of the proposal are non-negotiable, Smith said, such as increasing parking on the development site and altering the number of buildings of the overall project.
Still, Smith said it was a good first meeting.
“We try to be good neighbors and we want this to be a positive attribute to the neighborhood,” he said.
There’s more work to be done on both sides: The developer is set to make a presentation to the Schilter Farm HOA on Dec. 12 and Humberg said the proposed development will mean changing the HOA’s covenants, conditions and restrictions. To do that, he’ll need voting approval from 75 percent of its members.
Meanwhile, Lacey City Council was updated on the Schilter Farm HOA appeal Thursday night. Some council members asked about the cost of the appeal and its fees, which have been controversial in recent months. The cost to appeal to the hearings examiner was about $2,200 and the cost to appeal it to the council was more than $600, said Rick Walk, the city’s community and economic development department director.
Councilman Lenny Greenstien said the council is set to discuss those fees early next year.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 7:00 AM.
