Tacoma's City Council voted on October 27 to hand over three vacant parcels of land in unincorporated Pierce County to the county government for free, clearing the way for affordable housing on lots that have sat unused for more than two decades. The properties, located at 9512 East 17th Avenue, 10240 18th Avenue South and 10737 Ainsworth Avenue South, total nearly 2.7 acres and were declared surplus after Tacoma Water determined it no longer had any foreseeable need to hold onto them.
The land was originally acquired in 2002 as part of the Southeast Tacoma Mutual Water System acquisition, with the intent of building a well site there, according to The News Tribune, which first reported on the council's action. That well was never built, and the utility eventually moved to shed the parcels rather than continue holding them. Tacoma Water and Power will retain easements for existing infrastructure on the sites even after ownership changes hands, per the same report.
The transfer follows a public hearing the City Council held on October 20, after publishing notice as required under state law, according to Tacoma Daily Index. The deal proceeds under RCW 39.33.015, the state statute that allows a public utility or public property to be transferred at no cost for affordable housing when the receiving organization commits to actually developing it that way.
From Utility Reserve Land to Pierce County Ownership
Tacoma Public Utilities' surplus policy requires that any site suitable for affordable housing first be offered to tribes and local jurisdictions before it can go to the open market, the News Tribune's reporting notes. Pierce County expressed interest in all three properties, and under the surplus disposition the Tacoma Public Utilities Board approved on September 23, the county was cleared to take them. Greg Muller said that if tribes and local jurisdictions had instead declined the properties, they could have been marketed to the public, potentially through a real estate broker, the same account states.
Once Pierce County takes ownership, it will control zoning and permitting as the land-use regulatory authority, and the county says it will provide a public process for community engagement during development and permitting. The transfer includes a 50-year covenant that allows Tacoma Water to reclaim the properties, or collect fair market value, if they are not ultimately used for public-benefit purposes. The county has up to five years after taking ownership to begin construction.
Ainsworth Avenue Site Drawing the Most Scrutiny
The Ainsworth Avenue parcel is planned for an affordable rental housing project through Housing Pierce County, though the number of units, the target population and the final design remain undetermined, according to Kari Moore, a media representative for Pierce County Human Services, as cited in the News Tribune's reporting. Early assessments suggest the remaining sites could collectively support somewhere between 8 and 16 single-family homes, though that figure is not final either.
Pierce County plans to transfer the properties on to Housing Pierce County and the Pierce County Community Development Corporation, which will issue site-specific requests for proposals for affordable housing development. Greg Muller said the county envisions a mix of rental housing and homeownership opportunities across the parcels, per the same News Tribune account.
Neighbors Voice Concerns Over Notice and Density
Not everyone welcomed the plan. Mark Litzenberger said he and his neighbors had no prior awareness of the transfer before receiving notice, and he objected to what he described as a zoning mismatch between his single-family property and the anticipated multifamily development nearby. He estimated that up to 17 or 20 houses could end up overlooking his backyard, according to the News Tribune's reporting.
Tracy Irish raised a separate concern about whether the Ainsworth location could safely support the development and surrounding community, saying he had personally experienced how quickly a situation there could become dangerous. Kit Burns opposed transferring the property without any payment at all, citing fiscal concerns and the future needs of the water utility. Tacoma says all abutting property owners were notified of the sale, though that notice is what first alerted some residents, like Litzenberger, to the plan.
Not every reaction was negative. Sandesh Sadalge said he appreciated the transfer's intention to increase housing in the region, reflecting a more supportive view among some who weighed in during the public process described by the News Tribune.
Part of a Broader Pierce County Push
The Tacoma Water transfer is one of several public-land moves aimed at expanding affordable housing across the county. The Pierce County Council separately approved $12.2 million last year to fund four housing projects expected to create or preserve 646 units, according to Pierce County. The Washington State Board of Natural Resources also unanimously approved transferring roughly a half-acre of state trust land in Tacoma to the county for future affordable housing, as reported by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
In a comparable deal, Pierce County said it would transfer 2.9 acres of vacant land at 3561 Pacific Ave. in Tacoma to the city or the Tacoma Community Redevelopment Authority for mixed-income housing, according to KOMO News. That project calls for at least 80 units reserved for lower-income households, with at least two-thirds of all units dedicated for 40 years to households earning no more than 80% of the area median income. Pierce County had originally acquired that Pacific Avenue property back in 2000 for a county-facilities project that never materialized.
