Controversial homeless village breaks ground in Pierce County as picketers march nearby
On Nov. 21, Tacoma Rescue Mission hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at its property at 176th Street and Spanaway Loop Road. The property, situated next to Spanaway Lake, will be the site of what is being called the Good Neighbor Village — a project that promises to provide nearly 300 permanent homes for chronically homeless people.
The project has been a priority for Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier. Thevillage, which will require residents to pay rent, work and follow community guidelines, is modeled on a village for the formerly homeless in Austin, Texas.
Counsel to Dammeier's office, Steve O'Ban, spoke at the groundbreaking of his visit to the community in Austin. He said after his two-week stay at the village he was 'stunned' by the power of the community there.
'It was quiet and peaceful,' O'Ban said. 'We felt safer there than we do in our own neighborhood in West Tacoma.'
Since the beginning of the project's conception it has faced political and regulatory hurdles. A group known as Spanaway Concerned Citizens has fought the project at nearly every turn.
The group has objected to the project over concerns that it would have adverse environmental impacts on multiple wetlands on the property as well protected Garry oak trees and endangered squirrel habitat.
This spring, Spanaway Concerned Citizens hired lawyers who fought the project during a Pierce County Hearing Examiner hearing that lasted multiple weeks. In June, the hearing examiner approved the project.
During the groundbreaking, Tacoma Rescue Mission executive director Duke Paulson celebrated the progress of the project, which recently was granted a clearing and grading permit from the county.
Paulson said the project had been an 'intimidating' one, that he and others at the rescue mission had poured their hearts into, at times shedding tears through the obstacle-riddled process.
Two protesters walk past security guards at the groundbreaking ceremonies at the site of the new Good Neighbor Village in Spanaway, Washington, on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. The women left the property on their own a few minutes later. Tony Overman/toverman@theolympian.com
As the groundbreaking took place, a small crowd of picketers with Spanaway Concerned Citizens protested outside the property.
Debbie Clark lives down the street from the site and was there to protest. Clark told The News Tribune she felt the hearing examiner's approval of the project was 'politically motivated' and that the county hastily granted clearing and grading permits as a way to push the project through before any appeals.
She worried about oak trees being cut down and black bears being displaced into the surrounding suburbs.
Spanaway Concerned Citizens filed an appeal to the hearing examiner's decision in Thurston County Court on Sept. 16.
During the groundbreaking, construction crews could be heard working in the wooded areas of the property. One could hear mechanical equipment, and voices hollering, followed by the snapping, cracking, and heavy thuds of trees being felled.
Neighbors to the village often bring up concerns over the people that will live in the village.
Clark told The News Tribune she was concerned about the kinds of transient people the project could attract and how that might affect property values in the area.
'These are not the kind of people that are wanting to better themselves,' she said of the potential residents of the village.
Stephanie Dye also lives nearby and attended the protest. She told The News Tribune she feared the 'type of people coming into the area' and had already noticed an uptick in unhoused individuals.
She blamed the village, which had not yet been built.
'Well, it's the only thing that has changed,' Dye told The News Tribune.
She said she worried about the safety of her children amid construction.
'I understand that some fear the project because it is unknown,' Paulson said during the groundbreaking ceremony in an attempt to address concerns in the surrounding community. 'We want to be good neighbors to those around us. In the long run, we are partners with them.'
Dammeier said outside community support would be 'critical' for the success of the village, which he envisioned to be 'inviting' instead of 'isolating.'
'It's going to take a community to deliver this,' he said.
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