Crisis for critical Spanaway watershed

By Marianne Lincoln The chatter in environmental circles is intense. The concern is removal of a large number of huge trees and the ensuing ground heat on the watershed entering Spanaway Lake from the marsh and streams to the southwest of it. Impervious surface and water system pollution are the concerns. The Tiny Home Village…

Jan. 9, 7pm, Environmental Compliance Webinar for Tiny Home Village

From newsletter of Councilmember Jani Hitchen, Jan. 5, 2023: ***Pierce County Village Update*** Many of you have reached out to my office about the proposed Pierce County Village currently sited in Spanaway. There have been a lot of questions, many of which I had myself. I share a link to a resolution below that I think may…

Farms to commercial airports? Graham meeting Jan. 13

The Coalition Against Graham and Eatonville-Roy Airports will be holding a meeting at Graham Kapowsin High School on Friday, January 13, 2023 for the public to come hear about and hopefully express their feeling about the two sites (of 3) that the Washington State Legislatures Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission (CACC) has selected as potential sites…

Recap: Meeting on the Pierce County Tiny Home Village in Spanaway

[Editor note: hard to squeeze in a story with two days of back to back meetings. The County loaded the first two business days of the year for people in Spanaway. 6:30 p.m. in Midland the land use committee will hear about the incorporation study that Rep. Melanie Morgan started] Link to Pierce County TV…

The wolf is wearing a sheep’s coat of helping the homeless

By Marianne Lincoln [Editor Note: This is my testimony to the Planning Commission for 1-3-2023. RR (Rural Resource) Zone is has a maximum density of three housing units per acre with a extenuating circumstances. Normally, two per acre. So with nearly 400 on 27 acres they’re over limit, even though they say they count four…

Comments by County Reviewers of the Tiny Homes Project in Spanaway

[Editor: This is information from the project site at Planning and Land Services and these are comments by County employees who are moving the project along as part of their jobs. Those of you who may want to make public comments, may find some of their comments useful information from which to ask questions.] Reviewer…

Would Mackenzie Scott help us?

Spanaway is just a little place really. It is an unincorporated community with very little in the way of amenities compared to other areas of the county. We have no voice on the Pierce County Regional Council because we are not a city. We share a fraction of a County Council person with other communities,…

SEPA – when it really matters, or does it?

By Marianne Lincoln [Podcast link] [Editor Update: [Editor Update: Wetland Variance, Tommy’s Carwash, Application Number: 979272Related Application Numbers: 958554 and 975551Tax Parcel Numbers: 0319121055, 0319121057 and 0319121058Examiner’s Hearing: March 30, 2022, at 9 A.M., at the Pierce County Public Services Building,South Entrance, Public Meeting Room, 2401 South 35th Street, Tacoma, WA 98409.] SEPA is an…

The Clean Water Act and your water

The Clean Water Act’s (CWA) goal is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters. The term, TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) will appear throughout this article. Other important Congressional Acts are the SDWA (Safe Drinking Water Act) and the Sole Source Aquifer Program (SSA) of the EPA (Environmental…