Residents speak out against granting developer an option to lease 200 acres from Port
Residents are speaking out and emailing the Port of Olympia in opposition to an option-to-lease proposal now under consideration on port-owned land in Tumwater.
At Monday’s Port of Olympia commission meeting, the commission received its third consecutive briefing about a preliminary step in the leasing process that would allow the Panattoni company to explore a 200-acre parcel in Tumwater for development before moving forward with a lease. The port is not selling the land.
Panattoni is based in Southern California, but it has local representation in Tacoma. It is known for industrial, office and build-to-suit projects, said Allyn Roe, the port’s business development director, during Monday’s presentation.
The 200-acre parcel of undeveloped land is at the port’s New Market Industrial Campus in Tumwater, west of the Olympia Regional Airport. The parcel is bordered by Center Street, Tumwater Boulevard and Interstate 5. According to the port’s map, the parcel includes a significant urban forest.
The goal of the option agreement, which could translate into long-term leases, is to grow revenue at the port and to take advantage of its “largest area of vacant land properties,” Roe said.
Some of the proposed terms of the option agreement, according to Roe: 10 years in length, although Panattoni would have to execute its first lease within five years and for no less than 10 acres. Panattoni can explore commercial, business park and light industrial uses, but all proposed uses must be consistent with city of Tumwater zoning. For all 200 acres, the option would pay the port about $354,000 per year.
Meanwhile, the port has two years to complete a habitat conservation plan for the property, Roe said.
Public comment at Monday’s meeting was opposed to the port’s lease-option proposal.
Tumwater City Councilman Charles Schneider, speaking as a resident of the city, acknowledged the importance of economic development, but the port also “must be mindful” of the impacts development can have on nearby existing neighborhoods.
Josh Stottlemyer, who lives south of Tumwater, said Panattoni develops “massive warehouses” that can generate hundreds of truck trips per day and disrupt ground water, traffic and small businesses.
Port commissioners Bill McGregor and Joe Downing spent time trying to placate concerned residents, while commissioner E.J. Zita had some concerns of her own.
Although Zita thinks real estate development is the best way to get the port’s budget back into the black, she also wants to make sure the port does it “smart and sustainably,” emphasizing the need for an open public process.
The port commission, like other local governments, has been meeting online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Let’s slow down and do this right,” she said.
Commissioner McGregor said he has received a series of emails that accused the port of “illegal activity,” “corruption at its finest” and “malfeasance.” He said none of that was true and that he would do nothing to hurt the port or the community.
McGregor added that the port has struck option agreements with developers in the past. A decade ago they did so with Prologis that never advanced to a lease, he said. More recently, the port signed an option agreement with downtown Olympia developer Walker John, who is building a mixed-use development on the port’s East Bay property.
Commissioner Downing wanted to make clear that if Panattoni moves forward with a development, it would come before the city of Tumwater and be subject to the state Environmental Policy Act. He said the proposed option agreement means that Panattoni just wants to be “first in line” to develop the property.
There was one element of the option proposal that did raise some eyebrows: If there are mitigation costs associated with the habitat conservation plan, the port is prepared to spend as much as $100,000 per acre to address those costs.
Stottlemyer questioned why the port would offer a handout like that to a big company. “I hope you spend a lot more time and receive more public comment on this before you make any decisions at all,” he said.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
