Triway Enterprises Takes On Tumwaterby Janine Gates The City of Tumwater hosted Triway Enterprises to meet with interested South Sound community members the evening of October 29th to discuss a new development proposal.
Tumwater City councilmember Judy Hoefling was one of about 40 interested local residents in attendance. As the meeting was about to begin, Hoefling asked, "I'm wondering where the other (Tumwater city) council members are...am I not supposed to be here?" No other city council members were present or arrived, and Hoefling stayed for the full three-hour meeting. Triway is requesting approval of a multiple building, mixed-use commercial/retail project located along Capitol Blvd/Tumwater Valley Drive and between E Street and M Street, just off I-5, exit 102. If approved, it will cover about 42 acres, and will be a mix of residential, retail, and professional office buildings to be known as "Bellatorre." The development application includes a request for conditional use permit approval to construct six of 10 new buildings over the current building height limit of 50 feet within the mixed-use zone. It also requests that the land be divided up into 11 lots so the existing and proposed buildings sit on separate lots. The City of Tumwater gave residents and neighbors their first public notice about the project, sending it out only to addresses within 300 feet of the project. A second notice was sent out to addresses within a one fourth of a mile around the project. Chris Carlson, Tumwater planning manager, said that the earliest public hearing date for the project could be December 10th. The October 29 meeting was scheduled as an opportunity for the public to hear about Triway's proposal, review the plans and ask questions. Developer Tri Vo and his team of at least seven project staff members lined the room to answer questions but despite the team's presence most of the questions were answered by Roger Gellenbeck, director of Development Services for the City of Tumwater. In fact, if he hadn't been wearing his city's fleece vest with a Tumwater logo on it, one could have thought he was a paid spokesperson for the developer. Although the meeting was not a public hearing, it was an opportunity for Tumwater and Triway to avoid the type of public relations mistakes made in Olympia with Triway's proposed "Larida Passage" project on the isthmus. Many Tumwater citizens who attended expressed various concerns. Erik and Marcia Kjesbu have lived on 2nd Avenue for 20 years, and they are deeply apprehensive about the project. "We are concerned about the traffic, water, trees, and views. We have met with Tom Schrader (Triway's Bellatorre project manager) and the city of Tumwater's development department. Per the detailed information supplied, our house's elevation is around 180 feet and directly across from us, Bellatorre's elevation will be 240 feet plus. For us, it appears we will no longer be able to see Mount Rainier. Also per the information supplied, the elevation of 3rd Avenue is around 230 feet, so a lot of views will be impacted. I am not sure that very many of these people are aware of this. This is a sad day. Our hope is that the city will not allow the variance and the project will have to stay at the current elevation allowed of five stories high." Concerns about the project's proximity to the Deschutes River were also expressed. The Triway website does not acknowledge the presence of the Deschutes River in its illustrations of the Bellatorre project. Instead, a watercolor shows desert-like dirt piles on that side of the project. The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) requires state and local agencies to consider the likely environmental consequences of a proposal before approving or denying a project to go forward. Triway's website optimistically says, "Within the next several weeks, we are expecting the city to issue the SEPA (permit) with all elements in favor of the project." Project engineer Steve Hatton tried to convince the audience that his portion of the program was boring, by repeatedly saying, "Now this is boring..." as he quickly explained the project's impact on soil erosion, sewer, water, and storm run-off. The audience was skeptical and responded with comments and questions such as: "Sewage goes downhill. What is the discharge amount?" "Our neighborhood has come close to flooding three times in the last 14 years..." "That is a steep hillside that this development will be on..." "The water in our basement has risen since the houses on Tumwater Hill came in...I live in the 400 block of 2nd Ave..." "When that valley gets filled up, it gets backed up and it floods." "The well fields supply water to the city...this project impacts not only our neighborhood, but all the citizens of Tumwater..." "The threshold for SEPA needs to be higher - it's a salmon-bearing river." The project application was submitted three years ago, when the Deschutes River buffer requirement was less than current standards. Carlson later said that the previous buffer code was decided "essentially on a case-by-case basis." In 2005, Triway hired Steve Shanewise, a wetland specialist with The Coot Company, to assess the riparian zone. Shanewise concluded that the shoreline buffer requirement of 200 feet was sufficient. The required buffer is now 250 feet from a riparian zone. The current buffer requirements for Tumwater rivers can be found in the city municipal code; Chapter 16.32.065 specifically covers the riparian habitat buffer areas. "Could there be a SEPA review?" someone asked. "There could," answered Gellenbeck. "It depends on our analysis and the checklist. If we make a determination that there is more than a moderate impact, then that will put us into the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process. This would require a public scoping, informational meetings, public hearings, and an environmental study, similar to the Walmart study, which took two and a half years." "To be frank," interjected Carlson, "Triway is trying to avoid a shoreline permit process which would require... improvements, so no, the project is not within 250 feet (of the Deschutes River)." This statement was disputed by those in the audience. Tumwater resident Nancy Partlow expressed confusion and referenced an email dated October 6th that she received from Carlson, which says in part: "...the closest building to the Deschutes is the one on the far north side (Building J) which is 200 feet from the west bank of the river. The two other buildings closest to the river range from 230 feet to 260 feet at their closest point..." (signed) - Chris Carlson "Of primary importance to me is protecting Tumwater's ecosystem, which includes the whole Deschutes River Valley and uplands," Partlow said. Developer Vo said his company was in discussions with Rite-Aid to possibly develop at the northern end of the site, which is the area closest to the river with the least amount of vegetative buffer. "The north end of the project is where the highest impacts will be because that's where the commercial development is. My heart sank when Tri Vo said they were in talks with a drug store company for that area. Such a high intensity use right above the river..." Partlow said after the meeting. As currently planned, the proposed project will be built in phases. The residential phase will contain 335 units, condos which will retail for $350,000- $600,000 each, according to the developer. The entire project will have 1,239 parking stalls and two new restaurants are also proposed. Triway's website says the development will feature "two ninestory, two seven-story, two six-story and a five story building(s) (that will) offer views of not only Mt Rainier and the Deschutes River basin, but views beyond to the Puget Sound and of the state capitol building." Those Mt. Rainier views, however, are currently being enjoyed by Tumwater residents who live along 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Many of the houses have decks built onto their homes from which to specifically enjoy those views. "We live on 2nd Ave. and our views will be impacted," said one woman. Gellenbeck responded, "There is nothing in the city code or state law that gives you a view right..." After an inconclusive discussion on the exact angles and heights of the buildings in question, developer Vo said he would personally come out to look at the woman's view and address her concern. Traffic and access points were of major concern, as was current "M" Street congestion. "Getting out of the valley is like Russian roulette now!" said one woman. "I've lived here for 14 years - this is a problem area and nothing has changed. Why wasn't the "M" Street area included in the study? I sat in this room two years ago and brought up that concern. It is our only way in and out. It should have been included in the scope of work." she said. Gellenbeck, noting that he was not a lawyer, stated "he (Vo) cannot be held responsible for an existing traffic problem." The project's traffic representative, Perry Shea, added that there are expected to be over 500 additional peak hour trips due to the project. During the meeting, citizen comments were written on a board by a city employee. While some in the audience were not necessarily opposed to the project, they had many questions, and hoped their concerns would be taken into consideration by the developer. The comments will be typed up, with answers, and sent to those who signed up to receive the information. Gellenbeck was reminded more than once to not just answer the question with his own opinion, but write the community concern on the board for formal documentation. His excitement for the project was evident as he answered citizen's questions with explanations for the project's shortcomings. "I consider the trees along Capitol Way to have historical significance," said one man. Gellenbeck responded, "These trees don't have a good root system..." He shared his opinion that Tumwater has needed a mixed-use development such as this to revitalize their local economy. When Triway team members did speak, they repeatedly remarked that they have been working hard on this project for three and a half years. When someone asked how much the condos would retail for, Gellenbeck proceeded to give a mini lecture on the state of the national economy. After prompts from the audience, developer Vo stepped up to answer the question, as noted above. One could not help but see the similarities between this Triway development proposal and other proposed Triway projects in Olympia: seeking substantial lifting of building height restrictions, spectacular views that could be taken out of the public domain; mixed use/condo development very near a natural water feature that is already suffering significant development impacts, and the siting of a project next to publicly owned park or facility. The proposed Bellatorre project is very close to the 200 plus acre Tumwater Municipal Golf Course. Asked to comment on the Bellatorre project, Bob Jacobs, former mayor of Olympia and member of the group Friends of the Waterfront said, "Triway is using the same approach as it did for its Olympia isthmus proposal and its two West Bay proposals. In all cases, Triway uses one of the oldest developer ploys -- buy land that is relatively cheap because of its zoning, then request a significant upzone to achieve immediate profits. And, of course, they justify the proposals by asserting that it is not private gain, but the public interest that is being sought. Let us hope that our elected officials have the public's interests in mind when they deal with these proposals." Janine Gates is president of SPEECH and can be reached through her website at www.janinegatesphotography.com. For more information about the proposed Bellatorre project, contact Chris Carlson, Planning Manager, City of Tumwater Development Services Department, 555 Israel Road SW, Tumwater, WA 98501, (360) 754-4180 or Carlson@ci.tumwater.wa.us. To address questions or concerns to the City of Tumwater, contact Tumwater City Council at 555 Israel Rd. SW, Tumwater, Washington 98501, or council @ci.tumwater.wa.us. Triway Enterprises can be reached at 1500 79th Ave. SE, Olympia, Washington 98501, (360) 956-0710 or www.triwayenterprises.com.
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