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Resident urges Bonney Lake to require full SEPA review for proposed Lakeridge reservoir
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Summary
Julian Amatsitsi, a nearby resident, told the council the city's SEPA record is incomplete for the proposed Lakeridge 748 reservoir and asked the city to require a Determination of Significance and an Environmental Impact Statement citing visual, wildlife, stormwater, and access impacts.
A resident who lives adjacent to a proposed city site for a planned reservoir urged Bonney Lake elected officials on March 3 to require a full SEPA review and not proceed with a Determination of Nonsignificance while key analyses remain outstanding.
"I'm not opposing water infrastructure reliability. The issue is whether the project is being cited and reviewed in a way that is fair, transparent and consistent with SEPA," said Julian Amatsitsi, who said he submitted written comments during the public comment period and provided a GIS aerial map to the council. Amatsitsi listed missing items he believed should be in the environmental record: stormwater modeling, a shadow study for the proposed 120‑foot structure, a site‑specific wildlife evaluation despite reported owl and bat presence, and enforceable mitigation where the city does not own screening vegetation.
He added that the proposed city facility is surrounded by unincorporated, residential Pierce County lots whose owners would bear many of the project’s direct effects yet do not vote in Bonney Lake elections.
"Requesting a determination of significance and an environmental impact statement is not a request to stop the project; it is a request to do it right, evaluate reasonable alternatives and ensure mitigation is enforceable," Amatsitsi said.
The council acknowledged receipt of the comment and asked the clerk to collect contact information so staff could follow up. The transcript does not record a staff response or a council direction on SEPA at that time.
What happens next: The transcript shows the resident provided written comments during the SIPA public comment period and the council requested contact information; any formal SEPA determinations or additional environmental analysis were not resolved at the meeting.