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Wednesday, April 12, 2000
SCOTT WYLAND, THE OLYMPIAN, The Olympian , 4/12/2000
THURSTON COUNTY -- Two area developers are proceeding with plans to turn a dairy farm into an upscale 100-lot subdivision south of Tumwater.
Much of the 320-acre development now encompasses the soon-to-depart DeVries Dairy.
Some people worry that the area's road system won't be able to handle the increased traffic flow, even after developers Bob Hilden and Ron Deering make improvements. Emergency vehicles might also be delayed in reaching residents in one section of the subdivision, local fire and safety officials say.
The $5 million development will be wedged between Crockett and Gifford roads, west of Littlerock Road.
A group of about 10 residents filed an appeal with Thurston County last year expressing concern over traffic hazards, wetland effects and possible drainage problems. The county hearing examiner last December ruled that the project could go forward as long as certain conditions were met, such as improving the corner of Littlerock Road and 113th Avenue, northeast of the development.
Hilden said he thinks that most of the problems with the neighbors have been resolved.
"(Residents) always assume the worst when someone moves in with a big project," Hilden said.
The subdivision, named "Field of Dreams," is the latest development in the county to receive less than a warm welcome from existing homeowners. Recently, residents near Nisqually bluff filed an appeal to prevent a proposed 52-home subdivision from discharging stormwater near a slope, arguing that the area is prone to landslides.
"It seems like the bigger projects anyway ... get appealed," said Brent Payton, county development review manager. "People are a lot more sensitive about what's going on in their neighborhood."
Payton said two things might be feeding homeowners' resistance: a recent spurt of growth within the county, and residents being notified about projects earlier in the process than in the past.
Residents who live near the Littlerock development, say they don't oppose having a large cluster of houses in their rural neighborhood, nor do they chafe at having an eventual 350 new neighbors living beside them.
"I didn't want to file an appeal, and neither did our neighbors, because it looks like bad faith," said Dennis Artus, who lives on Crockett Road and 113th Avenue. "But we were told that they (county officials) wouldn't listen unless we did."
The group plans no further action against the development, he said.
Artus said the neighbors' beef is mainly with the county, not the developers. The county, he said, should've put up the funds for improving roads, rather than making the developers pay for the upgrades.
If the county had chipped in, the developers could have created two entrances into the subdivision -- on Gifford and Crockett roads -- instead of just on Crockett, he said. Traffic around the subdivision, in turn, would have been better relieved, he said.
Gifford Road will remain cut off from the subdivision, except as a gated, emergency entrance.
Mike Harris, Littlerock Fire Rescue chief, said Gifford will be barely adequate for emergency access because it is narrow and winding. He would have preferred to have it revamped so it can handle vehicles going 30 mph, he said.
Hilden estimates that he and Deering have already invested $2 million in their project, and that they will spend an additional $3 million before it's over.
Some of the cost includes $70,000 to add a turning lane to 113th Avenue as it connects to Littlerock Road so that drivers can turn more safely; clear a maple tree at the corner to increase drivers' vision; make most of Crockett consistently 22 feet wide; install lighting at intersection of Crockett and 113th.
Hilden and Deering bought 40 acres from Hancock Insurance Co. and 287 acres from dairy farmer Tom DeVries.
DeVries received county approval to build a 12-million-gallon manure pond, but neighborhood opposition to the lagoon prompted him to instead move his dairy to Yakima. DeVries plans to depart by the end of the year.
Hilden expects 30 homes to be built on the property by mid-2001 and for all 99 homes to be completed within five years. The houses will sit on a total of 50 acres.
The upper-end homes -- priced between $215,000 and $390,000 -- will be built on hillsides, and most will have a view of the Black Hills, Mount Rainier or Mount St. Helens , Hilden said.
"What we're trying to do is develop a city concept in the country and meld the two together," Hilden said.
Scott Wyland is a business reporter for The Olympian. He can be reached at 357-0748 or scottolympian@yahoo.com.
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