Buckley council hears divided views on Rainier Vista housing plan for Brooks farmland

Council member Lily Thompson opened a public discussion April 1 on a proposed housing project on land Kent Brooks said he has agreed to sell to support his family’s future.

The proposal, presented in the meeting as the Rainier Vista development, would convert roughly 39.5 acres (about 35 acres for housing after a school parcel) currently used for farming. “My family’s been farming this land for over 75 years,” Brooks said. “The compensation is fair, and it helps set my family up for the future. I also believe this area could benefit from more housing.”

The project manager for the developer, Chloe Clearwater of Clearwater Construction, told the council the developer has performed traffic studies and plans “traffic calming measures by adding a roundabout west and north of the new school along with extra access roads coming in from all directions into the neighborhood.” Clearwater also said the plan includes planting buffers of trees and shrubs to limit noise where the development borders neighboring farms.

Neighboring farmer Lucas Walton said he opposed locating the subdivision adjacent to active farms. “If you put housing development next to it, the noise, the traffic, the pollution, it’s gonna destroy everything that I’ve worked for. My farm is not just a hobby. It’s a livelihood,” Walton said, adding that construction traffic and nearby houses would change air quality and the rural character.

Speakers from an existing nearby subdivision raised concerns about school capacity, taxes and local congestion. Clearwater said the developer anticipates the build will add roughly 150 school‑age children and plans to site a new elementary school in the center of the development, plus donate portable classrooms to nearby schools.

Council members and residents questioned which public authorities would be the formal parties to any purchase or development agreement. In a later public comment exchange, a resident asked Brooks whether his agreement was with the city or with Clearwater Construction; Brooks replied he had “kind of was going along the lines with it's an agreement with the city and the city was hiring Clearwater Construction to do the development,” and later acknowledged he had not fully worked that through.

The council did not take an action or vote at the study session. Mayor Pro Tem Ron Smith (presiding) and other council members said staff will review the points raised, gather more data and consider additional public hearings. “We will review the findings of the studies on traffic, pollution, and the environmental impact that was brought up today,” the presiding official said near adjournment.

The discussion will continue at future meetings, and council members asked staff to return with clarification of the approval pathway (city vs. county permits) and any outstanding agreements between Brooks, the developer and local government.

Ending: The council left the item for further review and public input; no permit, rezoning or council vote was recorded at the April 1 study session.