Yelm council authorizes mayor to sign 640‑acre purchase‑and‑sale agreement with Bluefern

The Yelm City Council voted to authorize Mayor de Pinto to sign a purchase‑and‑sale agreement (PSA) with Bluefern Development for a 640‑acre parcel (parcel 1172), approving a phased sale that staff said would be paid to the city in stages as development milestones are met.

Todd (city staff) told the council the city began the process in June 2024 by hiring Kidder Matthews to market the parcel and explore development options. He said Bluefern’s offer would pay the city a minimum of $16,500,000 and up to $18,550,000, depending on the exercise of extension options and nonrefundable extension fees, and that purchases and development would be phased over roughly 12–19 years. Todd described an entitlement and phasing schedule that requires council approval of each conceptual master plan and later final approvals for development agreements and permits.

Bluefern representative Silana Poloshkova told council Bluefern is primarily a residential developer but has experience delivering master‑planned communities with mixed components, including commercial and public spaces. "We are a residential developer ... but master‑plan communities necessarily include other components, which include commercial, which include public spaces," she said.

Councilors asked detailed questions about checks and approvals in the PSA, whether a future adjoining landowner (referred to in the meeting as Triple D or DDD) could block or delay access, and how the contract protects the city if later phases do not proceed. Staff and the developer pointed to contract exhibits that require council approval for conceptual master plans, described staggered payments tied to feasibility, permitting and building permit milestones, and said the city would retain legal checkpoints allowing it to walk away if terms were not satisfied.

Staff said the PSA includes provisions for a new roadway — a 3.2‑mile, 110‑foot corridor to connect State Route 507 to Tahoma Boulevard described as the Southern Loop — and estimated the roadway cost at roughly $50,000,000. Staff said Bluefern would participate in funding and that the phased structure was intended to encourage full build‑out. Todd said a feasibility phase in the PSA carries an estimated feasibility payment of $850,000 to the city, payable when feasibility milestones are completed.

Councilor Wood voiced strong objections, saying the deal risks transferring disproportionate value to neighboring landowners and urging caution. "I just feel like we're being fleeced," Wood said. Staff and the developer replied that the agreement contains safeguards, checkpoints and latecomer payment provisions; one staff member noted any adjoining owner benefiting from road construction would be expected to participate in costs, not receive a free roadway.

Councilor Crossman moved to authorize the mayor to sign the PSA; Councilor Richardson seconded. The council took a roll call vote and approved the authorization. Recorded votes in the meeting transcript show Councilor Kaminski, Councilor Johnston/Johnstone, Councilor Hess, Councilor Kangerizer/Kainizer, Councilor McRosman and Councilor Richardson voting yes; Councilor Wood voted no. The motion carried.

City staff described the authorization as an early milestone in a long process that still requires additional study, wetland and topography analysis, conceptual master plan approvals and subsequent permitting and development agreements. "This is a huge first step for us... this is just a first step," the mayor said after the vote.

Next steps noted by staff include completion of feasibility work, entitlement steps that will come before the council for approval, and coordination on funding mechanisms for the road and infrastructure. Council did not adopt a final master plan or development agreements at this meeting; those approvals and any changes to the PSA would come later in the process.