Knutson Industrial Project Goes Forward, With Conditions

PUYALLUP, WA — The Pierce County Hearing Examiner last week upheld with specific conditions the county's plan to develop 2.6 million square feet of industrial warehouse buildings on a 162-acre plot of land near Shaw Road and East Pioneer, an area outside the Puyallup city limits but reportedly within its urban growth boundary.

Puyallup city officials had previously appealed the county's approval of the Knutson Farm warehouse development plan on the grounds that the county hadn't properly surveyed the environmental impacts the development would have on the surrounding area.

The Pierce County Hearing Examiner submit his decision Nov. 21, which reportedly came after a two-week trial in July and "extensive briefing" from both the city and county in the following months — though the city was never on-board with the plan since it was introduced in 2014, with city councilors in 2016 describing it as "appalling" and stating things like, "I hate it."

According to the city, Pierce County officials previously approved the plan without preparing a full State Environmental Policy Act environmental impact statement or any other precautionary oversight. The Hearing Examiner's decision reportedly still allows the county to move forward without the environmental impact statement but requires improvements to the SR-410/East Main/Traffic Avenue interchange to be completed before any project development can be established.

"The city has shown by clear and convincing evidence … that allowing traffic from the Knutson project to impact the SR-410 interchange with Traffic Avenue and East Main Street will create significant, adverse, environmental impacts that cannot be mitigated except by the construction of the SR-410 interchange project," the Hearing Examiner stated in his decision. "Knutson traffic would add to already severely congested intersections with long queues that would extend into the downtown area of Sumner and to the intersection of East Main and Shaw Road and beyond in Puyallup."

The county was "…clearly erroneous in not requiring completion of the SR-410 interchange project prior to issuance of occupancy permits," the Examiner's statement reportedly continued, noting also that "additional investigation must occur regarding Wetland D prior to commencement of site development work."

City officials reportedly estimate the Knutson Farms warehouse development plan will generate 1,750 heavy truck trips through the area each day once it's fully up and running — and the SR-410 interchange is already well-known for having considerable daily congestion.

The Hearing Examiner noted in his decision an additional requirement that industrial applicants planning to establish themselves in the newly developed area "prohibit the use of Shaw Road south of Pioneer Way East as a truck route," and in applications verify traffic estimates as well as "provide … the names of initial tenants, the square footage leased, and the uses of the leased premises."

All prospective applicants reportedly will be required to provide the county with semi-annual updates with this information, which will in-turn be shared with the city.

"The Knutson project is being reviewed and permitted by Pierce County even though the site is in the city of Puyallup’s Urban Growth Area. The result is that the county benefits from the project, but its impacts and burdens will fall heavily on the city of Puyallup," City Manager Kevin Yamamoto said in a statement responding the Examiner's decision. "The city is therefore pleased that the Pierce County Hearing Examiner decisions recognize that there are significant shortcomings in the county’s approvals. The city is now studying whether the changes ordered by the Pierce County Hearing Examiner are sufficient responses to the issues raised by the city and the public at large."

If the city deems it necessary, and in the best interest of the public, it will reportedly appeal the Examiner's decisions to the superior court.

Additionally, according to city officials, "The city also has pending in the Washington Court of Appeals a challenge to the county's refusal to recognize the city as 'SEPA lead agency' for the project, with authority to direct environmental review and to ensure it is performed by qualified, unbiased experts."

The hearing for that appeal will occur Jan. 15.

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Image via Pierce County