First, please look at the link to the proposal in the Pierce County website. That way you will better understand what is happening.
The proposed site has had a significant amount of planning, but little public input. It was unveiled on October 18, 2022 by the Pierce County Executive’s office, with a great deal of fanfare. Although most people support doing something for all the homeless folks in the county, the Spanaway site is surrounded by wetlands and is not zoned for this kind of development.
Concerned Citizens of Spanaway attended the Chambers Clover Creek Watershed (CCWC) meeting on October 19, raising issues with the impact to the nearby Spanaway Marsh (Osprey Lake), Coffee Creek and Spanaway Lake. The houses would all be on septic tanks, leading to questions of the lake headwaters right after a Lake Management District was formed to help clean up the lake’s water quality.
Traffic congestion on Spanaway loop Road and the current lack of bus service to that area will also be concerns. Developers are promising to provide services, but ongoing funding may be an additional issue. Currently there is a $22 million set aside for starting the project.
There has been an uproar among the watershed committee members and many local citizen’s as well. A community meeting is going to be held at Spanaway Lake High School (date to be announced) with members of the County Council regarding the project.
The Housing Action Strategy Plan is scheduled to be heard during the Pierce County Council Human Services Committee meeting on November 1st at 9:30 a.m. You can listen in, follow up, follow along, or be part of the process, comment publicly or in writing.
Even members of the Pierce County Council have many questions about this proposal. If you are concerned, do contact your Council member for more information.
Pierce Prairie Post 
Marianne, you’ve marked only one of the three parcels the project is supposed to take up. Parcel numbers are #0319294135, 0319293002 and 0319293004. These are the three large parcels west of the Spanaway Loop Curve. There are more concerns than just the watershed. The proposal is for “CHRONIC homeless” housing. A quote from District 3 council member Amy Cruver: “The goal is to target the aged-out, chronically homeless segment of society, helping them, not hiding them.”
Chronic means they are drug or alcohol addicted. Once their monthly SSI payments run out, theft is the source of more addiction money. It’s a rare person in the South Sound area that has not been hit by one of the theft issues – from porch pirate to car prowling to car jacking – with no property-crime assistance from the overworked, understaffed, equity-hampered sheriff’s department or local courts to put a halt to it. Those of us who live right next to the proposed housing area have serious concerns about our safety.
Photos are corrected. Thank you Jean.
This is so awful! I have rental house right next to this! This is going to devastate my property values and my renters will move. That’s not the worst of it. My houses are on a well for water and this may jeopardize the water quality. I don’t want to sound mean but these people need to be housed in a place where they can receive mental help and help for addition. I just heard about this and I am out of state. I hope the property owners in the area protest this!
It’s too bad that JBLM can’t release some land for this purpose. They have so much of Pierce County and don’t even have enough housing for their enlisted folks. But that’s a different matter.
This is in an area that is in a significant location to affect the watershed. (The water we drink). We do need solutions to help those that need shelter. However, we must think long term. This proposal could have significant negative impact on the quality of our drinking water in the future. Once that’s gone, then what will we do? Not to mention the lack of transportation and the fact it will permanently put the brakes on the cross base highway plans, currently a five lane road leading to no where. Why didn’t they find a place that won’t affect our precious resources? I’ll do my best to attend the meeting! Thanks for sharing.
This is incredibly interesting, radical, and well thought out by a tiny group. Mostly hidden from those who will pay for it and it will affect most, allowing time And tax dollars to be invested to build up a nice head of steam for this minority and their agenda to get ahead of us.
As a local realtor of over 20 years in the area, land developer, working with multiple builders through the process of developing and selling and closing on hundreds of new homes, I can see no way you could get around zoning here? Obviously you can? Really? Septic with all of those homes? With all the effort in regards to the watershed? I am all about solutions, typically the county is not when it comes to development. There is no solution here for development by your rules. Not from my 20+ years working very hard, and having our plants being picked apart by the county for reasons that pale in comparison to septic‘s on a watershed, chronic homeless, all those currently living there? Grandfathered in with their wells right there? And now with all those homes on septic? you know what’s gonna happen with crime here .. yes, it needs to go somewhere,. I am happy to help find a better more suitable location. I’m 51 years old in with never go to Spanaway lake throughout my childhood just because it was so dangerous, after all this work in the betterment of our community, especially local, It’ll be interesting to How many involved here happen to live close to your proposed location? I would suspect none of you. That’s typically the case, sell them with this or should I say never is it, I know the perfect spot, right by my house! And if so it would definitely be an investor or a developer or someone who will gain financially.
With my experience sniffing out land, going through pals, and now very other resource,
I’m excited to help and certain can come up with many more suitable options especially knowing that I can disregard zoning, that’s always been the hugest hurdle for every little structure that’s ever been developed anywhere around here… The countless hours, hundreds thousands, all those hours buried in paperwork about zoning… But not now, I bet I can save you a bunch of money. And those Who has spent much time working on this, so it’s not in vain, who would rather have it right by their house on can just send me your address, I understand it could make it more convenient for you as you’re helping those who are homeless here… Logistically you can be there throughout development and there after.
Thank you, I can be very resourceful and am so happy to help. This is my main priority. I understand those on the inside may be able to achieve some slight variance in zoning, what do you think the watershed? This precious area with that type of development? People can throw things at me left or right and say whatever, by that that’s exactly what I mean. Zoning is always been based on? You guys made up the words we just saying. If they’re offensive to people that’s their problem. But they’ve always been broken down into class, and their impact. So now we have the most sensitive area imaginable things that live, and breathe, I that which sustains life and gives life…. , ??
Isn’t our number one goal as humans to try to help improve the lives of all that live and breath? Isn’t that why you created the zoning? And in time that’s gone by wouldn’t even be considered more sensitive now? With more restrictions than even what are noted? Yet now we’re going to impact it in the worst way possible? Take a dagger and stab it right in the heart? Just kill everything here? So all who wish to develop now can we disregard the zoning? This isn’t about helping those who are on the house. This is what we all know what it’s about, and what it always has been and always will be. You take the good hard-working people that if they don’t develop they don’t eat, you tell them no, but those on the inside can just kind of schmooze right on through the zoning Ha? Good thing we’re here. Will definitely be letting everyone know. Thank you.
Thank you for your insights.
Thank you Jimmy, for your experienced remarks. This is a brainchild of Lakewood players, the same Lakewood that put a couple alum treatments in Waughop Lake and essentially sterilized it of fish and birds. As I am on the Chamber Clover Watershed Council, I have heard horror stories of Lakewood’s treatment of Waughop. It makes me totally frightened to know they are going to come over here and make a bigger mess of our wetlands in Spanaway & Parkland. Sadly, even the Spanaway Lake Mangement District was a slate of people approved by County Executive Dammeier, who is a developer himself. Looking at the warehouses on 208th approved by his administration, with a small stream scraped off the face of the Earth. and others with ponds removed, ignored or relocated for other area developments, this current administration’s determination of build rather than save the ecology is frightening! I sure hope people turn out in mass & with protest signs on January 3rd!
That is not a solution to homeless. That is creating a wildfire of issues and bigger problems for short term and long term. To fix something, you must tackle it from the source. Different facilities for different needs, training and education. Also work side by side with a homeless prevention department. I have reached out before to council members.
I live adjacent to the proposed property and I object to the Tiny Home Village location. It will impact the wild life. I have not built a fence around my property, so the wild life have a free range. With your facility you are fencing off their area. And going into the wetland area by changing the “LAND USE” to allow this. Again I say NO!!!