By Marianne Lincoln Land use planning meets sole source aquifer and the fight is on The Pierce County communities of Midland, Summit, Waller, Parkland Spanaway Frederickson, Graham, Elk Plain and South Hill along with Lakewood and University Place have one thing in common, they sit on a sole source aquifer. That means, their only supply…
Category: Ecology
May is “Wildfire Awareness Month”
County Council Proclaims May as Wildfire Awareness Month and Invitation to Participate in Wildfire Ready Neighbors Pierce County, WA – The Pierce County Council issued a proclamation at its May 2nd meeting announcing May as “Wildfire Awareness Month.” The proclamation underscores how wildfire risk and severity in Western Washington is increasing, along with the need…
Habitat Stewardship training in May
Pierce Conservation District is having their first Habitat Stewardship training in 3 years coming up in May. The Habitat Stewardship Program works with volunteers to maintain open space sites in Fircrest and Puyallup. As a Habitat Steward you can take ownership of a site, develop an annual work plan and goals, and lead monthly work parties of volunteers. If you decide to become a Habitat Steward, you…
Watershed local project grants available
PIERCE COUNTY — 3-24-23 Pierce County is partnering with watershed councils, local nonprofits and agencies to fund a small grants program supporting community projects that improve habitat and water quality across the county. The 2023 cycle will award more than $70,000 total to projects in four watersheds: Key Peninsula-Gig Harbor-Islands, Chambers-Clover Creek, Puyallup-White River, and…
County Council passes agenda for homeless
By Marianne Lincoln 3-23-2023 On Tuesday, March 21, the Council chamber were packed. There was an overflow room with people and another 90 on Zoom. Citizens and residents argued against the three measures. Developers and social service agencies argued for the measures. In the end, the Pierce County Council passed three resolutions that pertained to…
Tiny Village in Residental Resource Zone?
The Pierce County Council is now considering the passage of the zoning change to South Hill, Parkland-Midland-Spanaway, Frederickson, and Mid-County Plan Areas to allow tiny home villages in the Residential Resource Zone. The current issue is whether a tiny home village is appropriate in the water resource are entering Spanaway Lake from the southwest. There…
A creek without water is shameful
[Editor note: Letters from a Chambers Clover Watershed Committee (CCWC) thread, a public Pierce County Committee that discusses the watershed, but to the frustration of some, does not take actions. (A different activist group would have to form to take on those tasks.) There is concern, but there is not a solid plan or investment…
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…
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…
Pierce Prairie Post 