Some 45 Lacey residents showed up at a public hearing on Tuesday about the proposed construction of a gas station in the northeast corner of the city, with some staying online for more than four hours to be able to testify against the project.
Sound Law Center Hearing Examiner Andrew Reeves, under contract to Lacey, said that he had already reviewed around 400 written public comments and a comprehensive staff report prepared by the city staff before the actual hearing. The hearing started at 10 a.m. and ended just after 2:30 p.m.
"My role here is to collect this evidence and prepare a recommendation, and then ultimately, it is the City Council that makes the final decision," clarified Reeves.
Residents who signed up to testify in the hearing raised concerns about pedestrian safety, traffic collisions, and the availability of existing gas stations.
Child safety
"Gas stations are magnets for human trafficking," Lacey resident Lori Martell said. "One of our children disappearing is too much to ask of this community." Martell added that children's safety should be the city's top priority when planning such developments.
"Locating a gas station so close to a school and a densely populated residential area… is truly a horrifying idea to me," said Martell.
Eugene Kyyal, CEO of VIS Group, a firm that manages homeowners’ associations in this region, said residents have been calling his company to raise various concerns about the proposed gas station.
Kyyal said some residents are concerned about pedestrian safety, particularly children who usually pass by the area.
"A lot of children are walking on these sidewalks, and they definitely will have an increased risk of being hit by [a] car or by the activity happening at that location," said Kyyal.
The residents also raised concerns over the sale of alcohol and tobacco near parks and schools. Some residents also noted there is no need for an additional gas station in the area.
Reeves said he also noted concerns over property values and issues on homelessness from the written comments that he received. Some brought up worry over possible traffic noise and pollution.
Not up to code
Some residents alleged that the proposed Meridian Market and Gas Station does not abide by the Lacey Municipal Code.
Resident Elaine Briggs cited Lacey Municipal Code 16.37.070 or the Design Standards for Convenience Store and Service Stations, stating that stores and service stations shall not be permitted on any parcel adjacent to an intersection.
"It seems to me that the project should be rejected on this basis alone," Briggs argued.
Meanwhile, during the earlier part of the hearing, Lacey Senior Planner Samra Seymour explained that they had already studied and reviewed the appropriate development for the neighborhood.
"The neighborhood commercial zone is intended to serve the neighborhoods surrounding it," said Seymour.
Seymour noted that city staff already added conditions to the proposal to ensure that design criteria are in place.
Traffic concerns
Chris Stolberg, Lacey’s transportation engineer, stated that a traffic roundabout at the intersection of Campus Glen and Willamette is planned to improve traffic conditions there. He also pointed out that the city will require the project developers to dedicate a right-of-way at the southwest corner of the parcel in question.
Stolberg also noted that Lacey and Thurston County would collect traffic impact fees from the developers.
Based on the proposal from Northwest Investors LLC of Federal Way, the development would have a gas station and two commercial buildings that provide commercial and office space.
David McDonald, a representative of the developers, said their company is confident that they have already adequately addressed all the concerns in the site planning.
Reeves said concerned parties would get a copy of his recommendation, which will also be published on the Lacey website by May 3, his target date.
The City Council will then review the recommendation for their final decision on the proposed Meridian Market and Gas Station.
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AugieH
I sat in on the public hearing more out of curiosity than anything else. I live deep inside Jubilee and access to a minimart/gas station, whether the existing Arco at Marvin Rd and Hawks Prairie Rd or the proposed one being fought over, is pretty much of equal interest (or disinterest) to me.
The arguments presented by the Meridian residents were powerful. McDonald, the developer’s rep, hardly said anything and his case supportive of the gas station/minimart was non-existent; he let the City of Lacey’s reps carry the load. The City’s justification for the project was tepid at best. I left the hearing feeling that the Meridian residents are completely justified in their opposition, and I have emailed the City of Lacey to that effect.
Two arguments made by the opposition seemed particularly relevant to me.
First, the developers have made application to Lacey for a conditional use permit to build the gas station, which means that local conditions reflect a pressing need for the station, much like the FDA’s emergency use approval for the COVID vaccines before they went through the full approval process. Yet, as one resident so eloquently pointed out, two of the three entry points for residents into the neighborhood already host 4 gas stations – the two at the intersection of Martin Way and Meridian Rd and the two along Marvin Road at its intersections with Britton Parkway and Hawks Prairie Road.
Second, the developers in their application to the City, apparently stressed the need for a neighborhood market at the proposed site. Some would argue that such a market is truly needed and I suggest that many Meridian residents wouldn’t object to that. However, the developer has apparently indicated that a gas station is also necessary at the site to make a market viable. Yet the City has already determined that a market on its own would generate significant walk-in traffic. So, it seems to me that the developer is using the prospect of the market as a carrot to justify the gas station which, I gather, would be, of the two, more profitable for them.
It will be interesting to see what the Lacey City Council finally decides. Will it support the residents that it ostensibly serves or an outside moneyed interest? If it comes down on the side of the latter, I will be suitably disgusted but not surprised. Money talks; we’ll see.
Friday, April 15, 2022 Report this