Watchtower Housing
Development Proposal
(NE Tacoma):
FAQ

September 5, 2024

Watchtower development project—Overview of the Proposal

The proposed “Watchtower development project” (Watchtower project) was originally submitted to the Planning and Development Services Department (PDS) in February 2022. The proposal is for housing development on an 18-acre site in near the King County border in Northeast Tacoma.

Toll Brothers Construction filed a Preliminary Full Plat Application with plans to subdivide the undeveloped wooded property into 47 single-family residential lots, with a new private roadway, utilities, site drainage, three open tracts for private drainage maintenance, open space and critical area preservation. The application includes a Critical Area Development Permit for impacts to the wetland and biodiversity area. An environmental review is required for the proposal in accordance with SEPA, RCW 43.21C, WAC 197-11, and Tacoma Municipal Code (TMC) 13.12 Environmental Code.

Watchtower Permit Application—Current Status as of August 30, 2024

• Two separate SEPA requests for appeal were filed with the Hearing Examiner’s Office prior to the appeal deadline of August 22, 2024. One of the appeals was withdrawn (the appeal by area residents).

• The Hearing Examiner public hearing was held on August 29, 2024. At that time, the City’s Hearing Examiner heard the applicant’s appeal to some of the conditions on the environmental review. The Hearing Examiner left the hearing open for two weeks, until September 12.

The Full Plat Application Staff Report, including the proposed site plan/survey, critical area documentation, Geotech, stormwater and other technical documents, as well as the submitted public comments, is available to the public—go to https://aca-prod.accela.com/TACOMA/Default.aspx and enter the Watchtower permit number – LU22-0055 – in the search field on the upper right. Attachments are located under the “record info” tab once the permit opens.

Watchtower – FAQs

Q: What kind of permit is this?

Toll Brothers Construction submitted a Preliminary Full Plat application for the Watchtower project. The process for property subdivision includes this preliminary plat stage, and final plat stage. At the preliminary stage, the main considerations are:

• Does the application comply with our plat code TMC 13.04?

• Does the application address critical areas, site access, proposed roadway configuration to serve the lots, proposed lot area and configurations, among other considerations?

The preliminary plat will have recommended conditions which must be complete before the applicant can come in with a Final Plat application. These conditions will generally require site development permits and work order permits to complete. This work will include items like installation of roads, curb gutters, and utilities, plus any related necessary work, such as installation of roadway signage, pedestrian crossings, etc.

What is a Final Plat? That stage is comprised of primarily ensuring that all of the preliminary conditions (generally related to the utilities, new roadway construction, stormwater system construction, etc.) and then all required easements and dedications are in place.  Once that is verified the Final Plat can be approved by the department director in a Final Plat decision and then after that the map can be recorded and the lots are created. 

Q: What are the “conditions” included in the permit approval notice that the Watchtower project must meet?

PDS recommended conditions for the Watchtower project application, which include:

• Certain conditions that are standard with any permit application are included in the Preliminary Plat decision, such as Preliminary Plat expiration date of five years.

• Other conditions specific to utility easements, new private roadway construction, stormwater requirements, and sanitary sewer requirements.

• Conditions for several critical areas that require 25% of the site to be maintained as a protected Biodiversity Corridor with a wetland present. There are other wetland buffering requirements for off site wetlands. Requirements also include City monitoring of certain critical areas for a five-year period, as well as fencing and signage requirements pertaining to the critical areas. Conservation easements are also required.

• Conditions specifically for geotech/steep slope critical areas that are potential slide hazard areas.

• The Watchtower site has ASARCO Soil Plume requirements for erosion management and dust control during grading and construction.

• Due to concerns about the safety and visibility of pedestrians, and the addition of street trees, three streetlights will be required on the site.

• A variety of site development requirements will be required off-site in the area immediately surrounding the property, including updated curb ramps at select intersections, sidewalks, and flashing pedestrian lights on Browns Point Boulevard as part of a SEPA mitigation requirement.

• Fire hydrant placement will be coordinated with Tacoma Fire in conjunction with site development and work order permitting. Approval of hydrant placement will be through coordination with Tacoma Water. Fire hydrants will be required at average spacing not to exceed 600 feet. Proposed hydrant locations should be shown on the plans.

• The applicant is advised that the homes constructed on lots 1 through 44 require automatic fire sprinkler systems due to the single access road (IFC D107.1, Exception 1). Water meters and service lines must be sized adequately to support a fire sprinkler system, therefore, site plans will need to specify combination fire/domestic water meters, meter size, pipe size, and pipe material.

Q: What was the timeline on the Watchtower permit process?

• The application was complete on February 15, 2022.  The application was originally submitted with a different subdivision configuration, and after City staff noted several necessary critical area evaluations, the applicant took several weeks to reconfigure the site subdivision.

• Public notice was sent on July 11, 2024, to all residents in a 1,000-foot radius of the proposed project site. The notice advised area residents of a public comment period and how to submit comments.

• A total of 29 responsive comments were submitted prior to the comment deadline of August 1, 2024, with over 200 pages of comment from those who made written submissions. Staff reviewed and compiled public comments, which are available to view as part of the Hearings Examiners packet.

• Two requests for appeal were received on the City-issued SEPA decision prior to the deadline of August 22, 2024. One appeal was withdrawn before the hearing.

• A Hearing Examiner Public Hearing was conducted on August 29, 2024, to hear the remaining appeal from the applicant.

• The hearing record is open for two weeks (August 29 – September 12), allowing negotiation between the developer and the City on the SEPA MDNS and some identified points of clarification on the conditions of approval.

• The record is expected to be closed by the Hearing Examiner by September 12, who will then issue a decision that will be published on the Hearing Examiner - City of Tacoma webpage within a few weeks of the closing date.

Q: What can my City Council Member do about the permit?

A Preliminary Full Plat application is under the review and approval of the City of Tacoma Hearing Examiner. While the City Council adopts the zoning chapter and the overarching policies that inform city code, they are not involved in administrative permitting or the Hearing Examiner’s decisions.

Q: This proposal is opposed by the neighbors, and there is public comment on record that voices this opposition – why can’t the city just deny proposal based on this opposition?

Public comment is helpful in analyzing consistency with the criteria, and it shines a light on strengths, weaknesses, and concerns neighbors may have about a specific proposal at a specific location. However, Preliminary Plats are not decided by a vote or popularity measure—Preliminary Plats are reviewed according to the criteria set out in the zoning code, as described above, and public comment is just one factor that is considered in the decision, not the sole factor. The conditions placed on an approved project are tailored to respond to concerns raised by neighbors and members of the public and mitigate possible conflicts or potential impacts to the surrounding neighborhood.  

Ultimately it is the decision of the City of Tacoma Hearing Examiner, who reviews the staff report, exhibits from the City and the applicant, hears public testimony, and then rules on the facts of the matter in a quasi-judicial process, per TMC 1.23; and in the case of the Preliminary Full Plat, with a Critical Area Development Permit, 13.04, 13.06, 13.11

Questions? Contact lharala@cityoftacoma.org or call (253) 591-5030 and press 6 for the Zoning and Land Use Division.

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