Update: Environmental group appeals West Bay Yards project to Thurston County Superior Court
The debate over West Bay Yards, a mixed-use proposal with housing and commercial space for West Bay in Olympia, is headed to court.
Olympia Coalition for Ecosystems Preservation, an environmental group that already challenged West Bay Yards at the city level, has now asked Thurston County Superior Court to rule on the case, court filings show.
A year ago, West Bay Development Group LLC submitted a development agreement application to the city for West Bay Yards, which would add 478 market-rate apartments to the long-undeveloped former Hardel Plywood site on West Bay in Olympia.
Development agreements, which are voluntary but binding, lock in the city’s existing land use regulations that would specifically affect West Bay Yards for the next 15 years, The Olympian previously reported.
After the development agreement application was submitted to the city, the city issued a “non-project” determination of non-significance under the state Environmental Policy Act, meaning a more thorough environmental analysis known as an environmental impact statement would not be required for the development agreement. The Olympia Coalition disagreed and appealed that ruling to the Olympia Hearings Examiner. The hearings examiner upheld the city’s decision.
Olympia City Council signed off on the development agreement, voting 6-1 to approve it.
A development agreement is separate from the land-use applications that will be submitted for the project. As the developer submits those applications, they, too, will be subject to review under SEPA, which means the city could still require an EIS at some point for the project.
In its latest legal step, Olympia Coalition has appealed the City Council decision to Superior Court and also has reiterated its original concerns about the proposal in the lawsuit.
“The foreseeable, significant, adverse impacts that will result from the development agreement include, but are not limited to: increased traffic and foot traffic, increased noise, increased density, increased impacts to soils, overburdening of public transit, overburdening of public parks, decreased views, loss of residential character in the neighborhoods surrounding the affected parcels, increased strain on police resources, incompatibility with existing land use plans, loss of upland, tideland, and submerged land habitat, increased stormwater runoff, and release of toxic and hazardous substances into Budd Inlet,” the lawsuit reads.
The group hopes the court will vacate the Olympia City Council decision and direct the city to prepare an environmental impact statement before taking any further action.
“Let’s start over, follow the law and see where it takes us,” said Daniel Einstein, board president of Olympia Coalition, on Monday.
A spokeswoman for the city declined to comment on pending litigation.
Troy Nichols, spokesman for the developer, said the appeal was expected, but he believes the city’s actions will be upheld. “Our assumption is the outcome will be the same,” he said.
Nichols said the developer can continue to work with city staff on the required permits for the project.
“It does not delay the project,” he said about the appeal, adding that they expect to break ground on the site in January 2022.
Court records show the first hearing for the lawsuit is set for Aug. 20.
This story was originally published April 20, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
