The prolonged battle over whether a developer will be permitted to convert the Northshore Golf Course into high-density housing is approaching a climax.
Despite recent favorable legal developments, the issue is still in doubt. A draft supplemental environmental impact statement (DSEIS) has been prepared by the City of Tacoma and will be released for public comment in early May. The purpose of the DSEIS is to assess all of the environmental concerns inherent in the proposed development and either establish them as correctable via mitigation, or identify them as significant unavoidable impact issues.
The City of Federal Way will undoubtedly have comment, and those in the community who wish to defend the golf course are invited to participate.
Following resolution of the comments received, the City of Tacoma will publish the final version of a supplemental environmental impact statement. It will then be forwarded with the developer’s application package to a hearing rxaminer appointed by the city for a final go — or no-go — recommendation to the Tacoma City Council.
A Superior Court judge recently ruled that agreements signed in 1981 to preserve the golf course as open space in perpetuity are legal and binding unless released by the city. A motion to enfranchise the homeowners adjoining the golf course as third-party beneficiaries allowing them a voice in the proceedings was disallowed, but appealed.
Tacoma’s City Council will have two issues to decide:
1. The resolution recommended by the hearing examiner
2. Whether or not to release the 1981 agreements to keep the golf course as open space.
Overhanging these proceedings will be the developer’s $23 million suit against the city for impeding their plans.
An informational meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, at the Meeker Middle School, 4402 Nassau Ave. in Northeast Tacoma to brief the community on these issues and the SaveNETacoma coalition’s future plans. All concerned citizens are urged to attend. This meeting will serve as an excellent preparation for the town hall meeting planned by the City of Tacoma at the Crescent Heights Elementary School on May 21 to present their views on the proposed development.
Gene B. Foster, NE Tacoma
