On Tuesday, April 9, the Pierce County Council voted unanimously for Resolution 2013-20 which begins the process to close a section of 180th Street in Frederickson next to James Hardie. The company is looking to expand production due to increased demand in the region.

Monday evening, April 8 at 6 p.m., local residents were invited to a community open house at the James Hardie plant. There was considerable discussion and sharing of ideas. Overall, the neighbors welcomed the jobs and just offered their ideas regarding mitigations they would suggest as part of the process.

At Tuesday’s meeting, council members pointed out they had received several phone calls, letters and emails from the public. Hugh Taylor of the council staff mentioned very briefly that there is another way to close a road under county regulations, Freeholder petition. He noted the county engineer would have about 30 days to review the proposal and make a recommendation. Discussion regarding the utilities that are under the roadway that will need to be moved or re-routed, bounced back and forth between Taylor and the county engineer Brian Stacy. They indicated the proponent, James Hardie will be responsible to pay for moving those, rather than each individual utility.

Further discussion revolved around notification. Taylor stated this particular kind of road closure is rare. Because of this, and comments from the public about it as a unique precedent, the county decided it was best to cast a wider net in their notification process. Taylor suggested in addition to notifying residents on 180th Street, they would be notifying  residents on 38th Avenue, 192nd Street and 176th Street in the vicinity of the closure.

Councilman Fleming asked Hugh Taylor about a letter he received noting there were violations of the Frederickson Community Plan in the proposal. Here’s Taylor’s response to that allegation:

• The policies do discourage vacation of right of way.

•The county should provide notice to the community on the proposals.

•The county engineer will need to do close evaluation of the community plan as he reviews the proposals and make sure adequate notifications are made.

Councilman Fleming also asked for an explanation of why Hardie needed to build on the road as opposed to under, over or around it. The response was that for plant efficiency, the increased production must be part of the same, existing production line.

During public comment, representatives from James Hardie, the Economic Development Department and Dave Randles came to the microphone as proponents.

Kit Mattson, who is assisting Hardie with public relations spoke and noted that he took flyers to houses down the street. He learned the value of transparency and noted, “The skateboard kinda got out from underneath us,” referring to the community’s initial response and concerns about the proceedings being under the radar.

Marianne Lincoln of the Pierce Prairie Post testified and thanked the James Hardie team for holding the open house and getting to know their neighbors. She also pointed out one aspect that would need to be considered and likely had not up to this point regarding pedestrians. Pedestrians that are walking from the residential area to the nearby shopping center would need a pathway. She suggested they might not be pleased to walk an extra 3/4 mile the wrong direction to go shopping. She noted the value of having the community involved and being transparent with the process.

Before the vote, Councilman McCune asked for confirmation that 50th Avenue would be built before the section of 180th Street was closed. Hugh Taylor noted that James Hardie has stated in their proposal they would not close 180th until the 50th Avenue extension was built.

Just before the vote, Councilman McCune announced there will be a Frederickson Clover Creek Community Council meeting on April 20 and he and Hugh Taylor will be attending to answer any questions about this. Then Council Chair Joyce McDonald replied, “Transparency, as Ms. Lincoln says, is very important to the County Council.”

Here is a link to the video of the council meeting on April 9 which included the passage of Resolution 2013-20. This resolution is at minutes 33:48 to 68:05.