Announcement

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Horton Appeals to Court of Appeals

On April 3rd, DR Horton filed an appeal of Judge Sutton’s ruling upholding the denial of the Trillium Master Plan. They’re clearly covering their bases, pursuing the rezone process as well as continuing litigation in hopes they will gain approval to proceed with their previous Master Plan Application.

District II of the Court of Appeals in Tacoma will be reviewing the record, considering further written briefs and oral argument from the parties to the litigation (Horton, the City of Olympia, and Olympia Safe Streets). The process is likely to take a year or so.
Meanwhile, watch for specific notice about the Olympia Planning Commission’s public hearing in May. It will be your opportunity to weigh in with your opinion about the rezone request!

Originally Posted by John at 9:31 PM on the WPOA original blog at: http://wpoa98501.blogspot.com/

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DR Horton proposal still HIGH DENSITY

Please attend the planning commission briefing on April 2nd, 6:30 pm, City Hall.

Cari Hornbein, city of Olympia Planner will be presenting the city’s support for Mixed Use 7-13 units per acre which has the same density as the now defunct Trillium neighborhood village. Storm water will still be piped down the hill, under Wiggins Road and then dump into Chambers ditch as it flows into Wilderness neighborhood.

To prepare for the public hearing on May 7th, 6:30 pm, city hall, please also attend a meeting hosted by Association of Concerned Citizens for Chambers lake Basin, on Thursday April 26th, 7pm Grace Church, Wiggins and Yelm Hwy.

We must all unite to continue the fight to protect our property values.

Originally Posted by Unknown at 7:23 PM on the WPOA original blog at: http://wpoa98501.blogspot.com/

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Trillium – Judge Sutton’s Written Order and Oral Transcript Available

It took awhile but we have finally obtained a copy of Judge Sutton’s written order (there was a lot of back and forth between the attorneys about this one!). It’s pretty short and does not fully reflect the thought and extensive legal analysis she applied to the Trillium case. However, the oral transcript does — if you weren’t able to attend the February 24th hearing where she issued her opinion, it’s well worth reading.

We haven’t heard if Horton has filed an appeal, but should know whether or not they did soon. Meanwhile, please plan to attend the Olympia Planning Commission meeting on April 2nd, as it looks like that’s when the Commission will be briefed on Horton’s rezone proposal.

Originally Posted by John at 4:18 PM on the WPOA original blog at: http://wpoa98501.blogspot.com/

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Thurston County Superior Court Upholds Denial of MPA

As you probably know, DR Horton sued the City of Olympia following the City Council’s denial of the Trillium Master Plan Application (MPA) last summer.

Following a lengthy series of written briefs and oral hearings earlier this month, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Lisa Sutton ruled February 23rd that the City Council had full authority to deny the MPA and committed no errors of law in doing so.
What next? Within the next couple of weeks, Judge Sutton will provide the written order. As soon as we see it, we will post a link to view or download it.
Horton may elect to appeal the ruling to the Court of Appeals, but that would seem futile, considering Judge Sutton’s heavy reliance on theWashington State Supreme Court’s 2011 ruling in Phoenix Development, Inc. vs. City of Woodinville. Continuing to argue that the City Council lacked the authority to deny the MPA would seem futile in light of Judge Sutton’s ruling and this Supreme Court case.
It seems more likely Horton will continue its recent efforts to develop the property as a plain old subdivision. Horton has requested the City of Olympia consider a Comprehensive Plan Amendment which would rezone the Trillium property to R6/12 (similar in density to Neighborhood Village) and, as a result, the Planning Commission will be scheduling a review (and we assume, hearings) of this rezone request.
We’ll keep you posted as we learn more about the Planning Commission’s plans to review the rezone request.

Originally Posted by John at 3:25 PM on the WPOA original blog at: http://wpoa98501.blogspot.com/

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City Council Denies Trillium MPA

Thank you to all who expressed the many longstanding concerns we have had about the proposed Trillium development! Your long and hard efforts yielded measurable results last night when the Olympia City Council voted 4 – 2 to deny the Trillium Master Plan Application (MPA).The basis for the denial, based upon Olympia’s comprehensive plan, code and policies, was three fold: the inability to provide transit service, the failure to provide local school capacity and the failure to provide adequate bike/pedestrian connections. The official ordinance will be adopted by the Council in the near future and will also include the Hearing Examiner’s finding that a full service street connection to Highline Drive shall not be dedicated.

Mayor Pro Tem Stephen Buxbaum and Council Members Steven Langer, Jeanine Roe and Karen Rogers supported the successful motion to deny the MPA. Mayor Doug Mah and Councilmember Craig Ottavelli voted against the motion to deny the MPA, after earlier failing to receive any additional votes for Ottavelli’s motion to approve the MPA. (Councilmember Rhenda Strub was absent.)

We are currently trying to clarify whether the Hearing Examiner’s decision on the preliminary plat will soon be released. That decision would address issues such as stormwater runoff, drinking water, traffic and environmental impacts.

We appreciate the leadership the Mr. Buxbaum, Mr. Langer, Ms. Roe and Ms. Rogers demonstrated and their recognition that they — not developers, or the school or transit districts — are responsible to ensure the goals and requirements of Olympia’s comprehensive plan are maintained and implemented. If you’re similarly appreciative and would like to thank them, their email addresses are:

sbuxbaum@ci.olympia.wa.us

slanger@ci.olympia.wa.us

jroe@ci.olympia.wa.us

krogers@ci.olympia.wa.us

Mayor Mah, Councilmember Ottavelli, and Councilmember Strub may be contacted at:

dmah@ci.olympia.wa.us

cottavel@ci.olympia.wa.us

rstrub@ci.olympia.wa.us

Originally Posted by John Cusick at 4:23 PM on the WPOA original blog at: http://wpoa98501.blogspot.com/

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Trillium Master Plan Application

Please attend Olympia City Council hearing – Tuesday, June 21 @ 7:00 PM

The Trillium Master Plan application is finally scheduled for review and decision by the Olympia City Council. As many of you know, it’s been a long haul over the past year and the City’s Hearing Examiner has thrice — yes, three times — recommended denial of the Trillium Master Plan Application (MPA). It is now time for the City Council to review the record, hear arguments and make a final decision on the MPA.

If you are one of the recognized participants in this lengthy review process, please plan to attend the City Council hearing and share your opinion about the MPA. We are each allocated up to 5 minutes to speak and it’s vital ALL participants participate. You don’t have to talk the full 5 minutes, you only need to say you want the Council to support the Hearing Examiner’s recommendation and deny the MPA.

If you are not among the recognized participants, please attend the hearing if at all possible. The Council will take note of the audience’s interest, particularly during this election year!

If you want more detail, all documents and audio transcripts are availablehere. The Hearing Examiner conducted nearly 28 hours of hearings spanning 6 days, for which there are over 1,000 pages of transcripts, and entered 202 separate exhibits consisting of over 5,100 pages. Enjoy the reading or listening if you are so inclined!

The Council hearing will be in the new Council Chambers:

Olympia City Hall – 601 4th Avenue
7:00 PM – Tuesday, June 21st

See you there!

Originally Posted by John Cusick at 5:29 PM on the WPOA original blog at: http://wpoa98501.blogspot.com/

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Thurston County Commissioners Meeting – 2 PM, December 7th

As we discussed at our last WPOA meeting, on December 7th, the Thurston County Board of Commissioners will be considering its Hearing Examiner’s recommendation on vacating to the WPOA a portion of the right-of-way between Highline and Frontier Drives and the proposed Trillium development. The topic currently appears as item 4.b. on the agenda. (The agenda may be revised before the meeting.)

If you support the notion that the property should be vacated and maintained in its current state (native vegetation, trees and trail) with no paved access, please attend the meeting and say so! (The Commissioners may elect not to conduct a formal hearing but always allow public comment at the beginning of the meeting.) The meeting begins at 2 PM, Tuesday, December 7th in the commissioners’ chambers on the 2nd floor of Building 1 of the county courthouse.

If you are unable to attend the meeting and wish to comment, you may send an e-mail to the three commissioners here.

Originally Posted by John Cusick at 5:14 PM on the WPOA original blog at: http://wpoa98501.blogspot.com/

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Olympia School District Capital Facilities Plan Hearing

If you’re concerned about the impact increasing development has on school capacities in our area, please attend this hearing October 25th at Centennial Elementary School!

Facilities Plan Public Hearing October 25The Olympia School District will conduct a public hearing regarding its six-year Capital Facilities Plan for 2011-2016. The hearing will be held on Monday, October 25, 2010, 6:00 p.m., at Centennial Elementary School, 2637 45th Avenue SE, Olympia 98501. All citizens are welcome to speak or provide written comments regarding the six-year Capital Facilities Plan. Written comments should be addressed to Timothy Byrne, Capital Planning & Construction, Olympia School District, 1113 Legion Way SE, Olympia, WA, 98501. For further information,please contact Tricia Nicholas by email or phone at 360/596-8560.

View the Facilities Plan

If you believe new development should pay for itself, including school capacities, please review recent testimony at the Olympia City Council about declining impact fees:

http://olympia.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=8&clip_id=610

On the left side of the screen change the clock to 01:02:15 and hit enter.

Originally Posted by John Cusick at 9:47 AM on the WPOA original blog at: http://wpoa98501.blogspot.com/

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DR Horton and City Planning Department Request Reconsideration

Two motions for reconsideration were filed today with the City hearing examiner concerning his Master Plan recommendation.

One was filed by the attorney representing the developer, and the otherwas filed by the attorney representing the City Planning Department. Both contend the hearing examiner erred in his street design, transit and school district recommendations.

We will post more as we learn how the hearing examiner intends to proceed with the two requests.

Originally Posted by John Cusick at 7:13 PM on the WPOA original blog at: http://wpoa98501.blogspot.com/

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Thanks for Attending the Thurston County Hearing Oct. 4

Thanks to all who were able to attend the Thurston County hearing October 4th or submit written testimony in support of the county’s proposed vacation of a portion of the right-of-way. This morning we received copies of the two documents that the City of Olympia sent the hearing examiner, along with the county engineer’s revised recommendation:

Exhibit #3 – City of Olympia Letter re: Request to deny vacation action
Exhibit #4 – City of Olympia Engineer’s Report
Exhibit #7 – County Engineer Memo re: modification of original County Staff Report

Originally Posted by Christi McGinley at 3:10 PM  on the WPOA original blog at: http://wpoa98501.blogspot.com/