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Acres of Diamonds asks Duvall to waive early permit fees as expansion readies for hearing
Summary
Acres of Diamonds asked the Duvall City Council to waive initial land‑use and entitlement fees so the homeless‑services nonprofit can advance a campus expansion that adds a trauma‑informed daycare and 24 housing units; staff recommended bringing a Phase 1 waiver back to the next consent agenda and noted later fees will require separate review.
Acres of Diamonds asked the Duvall City Council to waive the city’s initial land‑use and entitlement fees so the nonprofit can advance a planned expansion that adds 24 housing units and a trauma‑informed daycare that will accept state vouchers.
The request was presented May (2025) by Jennifer Paddock, chief executive officer of Acres of Diamonds, and John Hall, chair of the organization’s building committee. Paddock said the project will add 24 families to the site in addition to the 11 families already served at the Pearl Tanuma home and will include a daycare licensed to serve about 60 children. She told the council the expansion is intended to serve clients who rely on vouchers and other subsidies and that Acres has raised about $4,000,000 toward a $7,000,000 fundraising goal for the project.
Hall, the building committee chair and a retired contractor, reviewed the site plan for Kennedy Drive: demolition of an existing apartment building, construction of a new three‑story building with a daylighted lower level for the daycare, additional play areas, and interior community spaces. He said the group has submitted a master use permit and anticipates applying for a building permit in roughly six months.
City Administrator McNabb and staff described the council’s options and urged a phased approach if council wants to help. Staff identified three fee groups tied to the project: (1) land‑use entitlement and plan review fees (the immediate request), (2) later building permit and inspection fees, and (3) connection and impact fees. Staff estimated the Phase 1 entitlement/plan‑review fees at about $35,000 and recommended the council direct staff to draft a Phase 1 fee waiver for the next consent agenda so the nonprofit can move forward with funding and permit submittals. Staff cautioned that Phase 3 connection and impact fees involve potential pay‑back or accounting considerations and will require additional legal review before any council action.
Council members expressed general support for moving the Phase 1 waiver forward quickly while reserving later decisions for the specific fee categories and legal review. No formal policy change or final fee waiver was adopted at the meeting; staff said they would return a Phase 1 waiver for council consideration on the consent calendar and follow with separate items for building/inspection and connection/impact fees.
If approved later, council members said they want clarity on which city funds (for example, recently enacted dedicated revenue sources) could be used to cover or reimburse waived fees and asked staff to return the Phase 2/3 analyses when available.
The council’s discussion kept a distinction between (a) the discussion and the nonprofit’s stated fundraising and program details, (b) council direction to staff to return a discrete Phase 1 fee waiver for the consent agenda, and (c) the formal actions still required for later building and connection fees.
