Hearing examiner approves Tumwater Boulevard townhome planned unit development amid wetland and airport concerns

The Hearing Examiner on July 25, 2025 granted approval for the Tumwater Boulevard Townhome Condominiums planned unit development and preliminary binding site plan, clearing the way for 24 condominium townhomes on about 10.65 acres at 715 Dennis Street SE and 934 Tumwater Boulevard SE.

The project was presented by Alex Brew, a senior planner with the City of Tumwater, who said the land-use application requests planning development and preliminary binding site plan approval for 24 townhome condominium units on two parcels totaling 10.65 acres. Brew told the examiner the site is zoned Single Family Medium Density with an airport overlay and includes wetlands, wetland buffers and an existing sewer lift station. He said staff recommended approval subject to conditions in the staff report.

The applicant, represented by Brandon Johnson of JSA Civil, told the hearing that the applicant had reviewed staff's conditions and “we have no exceptions to anything that's in the staff report.” The hearing examiner, Mark Meyer, said he would approve the application as recommended by city staff and later stated, “I am approving the site or the planned unit development as recommended without any additional conditions of my own, other than that question regarding the airport.” Meyer also said he would consider materials submitted promptly by the Port of Olympia before issuing his final written decision.

Why it matters: the decision allows a medium-density residential project near an environmentally sensitive area and adjacent to airspace regulated by the Olympia Regional Airport, implicating wetland protections, stormwater controls and airport-overlay rules. Neighbors and the Port of Olympia urged careful review of hydrology and compatibility with airport…