The below application is going before all LUACs (land use advisory committees), and started this week. This will affect every one of our communities in the entire UGA (urban growth area). It appears, the goal is to eradicate all of our individual historic communities altogether as you will see below. Remember the “City of Pierce” proposal two years ago? It is back, just being called something different.
Community Plans update link.
It is not really new, as we are already aware that the County Executive has been talking about 
developing the entire UGA into one huge city with no services as originally planned by the past exec. However, it is becoming more serious as this is the first foray into having the entire UGA, RR (rural reserve), RSEP (rural separator), every area, made into a minimum of 6 houses per acre.
There will still be no public transportation, police, or even sewers – the plan is to put all this housing on septic “until sewers are available”. This is not supportable by the State Health Department, but we all know how Pierce County Planning plays this game. And most of us do not find them to be honest about it either. The county will build out all the available land and we will all be gridlocked, including our emergency vehicles.
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Request: Rezone Single-Family and Residential Resource to Moderate-Density Single-Family
Requestor: Chuck Sundsmo
Request Description
Rezone Single-Family (SF) and Residential Resource (RR) zoned properties located between Pacific Avenue and Meridian Avenue and between 112th Street East and 176th Street East in Frederickson, Mid-County, Parkland-Spanaway-Midland, and South Hill Community Plan areas to Moderate-Density Single-Family (MSF).
Description of Request Area
About 10 percent of the Mid-County Community Plan area is located within the MSF land use designation with SF and RR zone classifications. The original community plan classified areas in Summit View and near 112th Street East that are near critical areas with lower density zones to reduce potential impacts of development and to provide a diversity of housing types within the plan area.
Additional critical area regulations for wetland and streams and stormwater regulations that require increased protection of those areas have been adopted since the original community plan was adopted.
Residential density is based on net developable acreage. To calculate net developable acreage, on-site critical areas and roads are subtracted from total acreage. The total of that calculation is multiplied by the allowed density to determine the number of dwelling units allowed within a development.
How This Request Would Impact Development and Capacity
The current draft of the Mid-County Community Plan includes 1,177 acres zoned SF and 180 acres zoned RR. This request would result in 1,357 acres of MSF, almost 10 percent of the plan area.
Current development regulations allow four to six dwelling units per net acre in the MSF zone. The SF zone allows four dwelling units per net acre, and the RR zone allows one to three dwelling units per net acre. In addition, the MSF zone allows a greater diversity of uses, such as townhouses, duplexes, mobile home parks, nursing homes, schools, day cares, and senior housing. The MSF zone allows five-foot side and rear setbacks, while the RR and SF zones require 10-foot side and rear setbacks (front setbacks are consistent). Design standards for the RR zone when it is located within an open space corridor require 25 percent native vegetation retention, whereas the MSF and SF zones require 20 percent retention.
Pierce County completes a Buildable Lands Report prior to every periodic State Growth Management Act update which analyzes development trends, inventories developable properties, and analyzes lands within the Urban Growth Area to calculate 20-year housing and employment capacities. If the request is adopted, the Buildable Lands Report calculations the assumed capacity of SF and RR zoned lands in the Mid-County Community Plan area would increase by approximately 200 housing units, from 1,247 to 1,452 dwelling units.
Staff Recommendation
Staff does not have a recommendation on the request. The Mid-County Advisory Commission should determine whether this proposal meets their goals for how their community will develop.
Pierce Prairie Post 
How do you plan on controlling the already mounting traffic problems Puyallup has? Do you plan on widening meridian? Traffic has gotten so bad that I plan on moving just to get away from all this traffic.
You guys are going to over build so bad that you are going to make south hill Undesirable to people just because of the traffic congestion
No! We are taking to much land.
There is nice Greenland and some wet lands.
All you people , contractor and estate, lawyer’s and Realtors just want to fill your pockets.
I may be wrong, but the description is misleading. The proposal only involves RR and SF properties. It also does not amend any wetland or environmental regulations. The argument given above against the project talks about rural separator land and talks about wetlands. I live in an area zoned SF, but have about 75% of the neighborhood in apartments, commercial activity, and smaller lots. The county literally went around the apartments to carve out those of us with larger lots into SF. Several blocks in each direction the zoning is higher. We face an arterial, have a bus line in front, sewer, and are less than a 1/4 mile from two freeway entrances. The SF and RR, in many areas, are more political than anything else. If you look closely, the impact is estimated at adding 200 lots. My guess is that about 2/3 of those will never be developed. The net result will simply free up some small land owners to have full and appropriate use of their land.
I emailed ALL county council members when I read about the Rezoning, etc, letting them know that I did not support this and that they all needed to vote no. This was my statement: Message
PLEASE STOP allowing the decimation of our lands! NO REZONING!!! PALS has allowed builders to cover streams, fill in wetlands, stripe the land of all vegetation all in the name of money! Please vote NO on re-zoning Pierce County! Our infrastructure can not handle what PALS has allowed. Again PLEASE NO REZONING OF PIERCE COUNTY!!
I received one response back from Jim McCune..here is his response: Dear Chris,
Thank you for sharing your position on zoning. You may want to share your concerns with the state and how the GMA encourages infill.
Jim McCune
Pierce County Councilman
3rd Council District
What the heck are these Council members good for? Certainly not representing their constituents!
This is insane! This same government who wants to shove global warming BS down our throats are the same people giving developers permission to destroy the greenery and put it concrete jungles. We in Pierce County LOVE our open land… and the fact that we can see actual Earth. I’m 100% against all this nonsense!
Coming down here from the Seattle/Sammamish area, I can tell you from experience over development is a disaster. There is no way PC can keep up with services, not to mention the utter destruction of the environment. I have a 3 acre farm. I say HELL NO to more development!
I agree with the above comments. There is no consideration given to those who currently live in the mid-county and what we want. Do the County Council people ever really listen to us? Who are they supposed to be serving?