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 overlay standards during the hearing.

What the approved plan includes and conditions cited by staff: Brew said the development will construct frontage improvements on Tumwater Boulevard, an internal public street, stormwater facilities built to the 2022 Tumwater drainage design and erosion control manual, and active and passive open space. A notice of application and an optional SEPA review produced a Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance (MDNS) issued July 25, 2025; Brew said no appeals were filed and that SEPA and other conditions are incorporated into the decision.

Wetlands, buffers and open space: staff described two wetlands on the property. Wetland A was identified as a Category II wetland where the applicant proposes a buffer reduction from 150 to 110 feet; Wetland B is a Category III wetland where the standard 150-foot buffer will be maintained. The city will require split-rail fencing, signage and covenants to protect those areas. The city and applicant disagreed on the project's counted open space: Brew said the city’s calculation of required and countable open space totals roughly 1.6 acres, while the applicant’s critical areas report lists 8.51 acres of open space (presented by the applicant as roughly 7.77 acres passive and 0.84 acres active). Brew explained the difference arises because the city does not count entire wetlands as open space but counts trail-adjacent portions of the wetland buffer as passive open space.

Tree retention and habitat measures: Brew said the site’s professional forestry report identified 447 trees on-site; Tumwater code requires retention of at least 126 trees and the applicant proposes to retain 407 trees, with roughly 40 trees removed and supplemental plantings on the preliminary landscape plan. As a public-benefit tradeoff under the plan unit development, staff and the applicant negotiated two public-benefit points: enhanced usable open space and habitat enhancement within the wetland buffer (invasive species removal, native planting, wildlife boxes and monitoring).

Stormwater approach and neighbors’ concerns: the applicant described a “full dispersion” stormwater approach consistent with Department of Ecology guidance, saying multiple dispersion trenches and discharge points are proposed to avoid concentrating flows at a single wetland location. Neighbors raised repeated concerns about observed changes in the wetland—dying cedar trees, expanding ponding attributed by some to beaver activity, and worries about peat and changing hydrology. Joanne (Bonnie) Blessing presented written comments citing historical soil maps that indicate peat and asked whether dispersion trenches and proposed mitigation would preserve wetland hydrology and peat character. The applicant and city staff said final review of drainage will occur during civil plan review and that stormwater facilities must meet the 2022 Ecology/manual and Tumwater standards.

Airport overlay and Port of Olympia concerns: Warren Hendrickson, representing the Port of Olympia, said a portion of the two parcels lies within airport overlay zones that, in state guidance, restrict residential development close to runways. Hendrickson warned that approximately 25–30% of the combined lots fall within the airport overlay Zone 3 and urged the record be considered for aviation-safety compatibility. City staff responded that Tumwater’s code treats the proposed housing as allowed where the city defines attached units differently from multifamily; staff described clustering the development away from the runway centerline and maintaining contiguous open space adjacent to wetland buffers in keeping with the overlay’s intent.

Hearing examiner's ruling and next steps: the examiner granted approval consistent with the staff recommendation while reserving the right to consider the Port's submitted materials promptly before finalizing a written decision. He conditioned the decision on compliance with the cited manuals and standards (SEPA conditions and Tumwater civil and environmental requirements) and said the written decision would follow once he has considered any timely materials the examiner requested.

Community context: public commenters included nearby residents who live in the Silver Ridge neighborhood immediately across the wetlands, who asked about buffer widths (city staff said Wetland A buffer would be reduced to 110 feet pursuant to the buffer-reduction allowance), trail materials (the applicant and city said decomposed granite/crushed rock is proposed with a vegetated strip between path and fence), and fencing (split-rail along wetland buffer; 72-inch cedar fencing in other areas and a 10-foot site-obscuring evergreen buffer where the development borders light-industrial property).

What the record preserves: staff noted a cultural resource study was required in response to requests from the Squaxin Island Scribe and the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation; Department of Ecology comments on water quality and construction practices were addressed through conditions; a SEPA MDNS was issued July 25, 2025, with no appeals recorded.

The examiner closed the oral record after public comment and stated he would issue the final written decision as soon as practicable, taking the Port’s timely materials into account.