Lawyers for outraged neighbors and for the Tacoma Rescue Mission traded legal jabs Thursday in front of a three-judge panel, with the fate of the Good Neighbor Village near Spanaway Lake hanging in the balance. At the center of the fight is a technical question that carries big consequences: whether Pierce County properly accepted the permit paperwork and whether those permits became legally “vested,” a ruling that could slow or even stop construction.
Appeal Heard In Tacoma
On April 30, a Division II panel of the Washington Court of Appeals, Judges Rebecca Glasgow, Anne Cruser and Bernard Veljacic, heard roughly 30 minutes of oral argument in Tacoma, according to Washington State Courts. The appeal, catalogued as Spanaway Concerned Citizens v. Pierce County; Tacoma Rescue Mission, challenges the Pierce County hearing examiner's June 2024 approval of the project.
Neighbors Say Permits Weren't Vested
Spanaway Concerned Citizens argues that the county accepted incomplete applications and never properly vested the approvals, with the whole case hinging on a narrow chain-of-title issue. Attorney David Bricklin told the court that “this appeal is about a project that is a good idea, for housing for the homeless, in a bad location,” as reported by The News Tribune.
Project Plans, By The Numbers
Court filings describe Good Neighbor Village as a shared-housing Planned Development District that would include a mix of sleeping and dwelling units, support buildings, a community farm and onsite services. Pierce County's answering brief to the court lists 189 park-model homes, 96 sleeping units, the equivalent of about 24 dwelling units, and three new single-family homes, for roughly 217 dwelling units in total. Those figures and other technical details appear in Pierce County.
Permits, Funding And Construction
Tacoma Rescue Mission and county officials say the project has cleared key permitting steps and that work on the site is already underway. The mission's project page notes it has received clearing-and-grading permits and describes a plan for 285 single-unit homes, while Pierce County's February 11 news release says crews were already working on the site and that the county secured 1 million dollars in state CHIP funding for the village. Together, those official accounts lay out the mission and county's view of construction progress and the funding timeline.
Opposition Focuses On Wetlands And Traffic
Opponents have zeroed in on environmental and safety concerns, arguing that the site sits in Residential Resource zones meant to protect wetlands and wildlife and pointing to reports of fish kills in nearby waterways. The group behind the appeal details its claims, filings and evidence on its website, Spanaway Concerned Citizens, while local environmental advocates have published critiques of the hearing examiner's handling of wetlands and watershed impacts through an Environmental Coalition post.
What Comes Next
The appellate panel did not issue an immediate ruling and has taken the case under advisement. Judges are expected to rule in the coming months and will also decide whether Tacoma Rescue Mission and Pierce County are entitled to attorney fees on appeal, as reported by The News Tribune. Depending on how the court rules, it could send the approvals back for further county review or leave the hearing examiner's decision intact, leaving opponents to weigh additional legal options.
