Documents filed with the city of Federal Way appear to show the Renton-based Orca Bay Seafoods, Inc., will move its headquarters to Federal Way.

That is, if the citizens let it.

The city of Federal Way has been flooded with letters, 30 of which were obtained by the Mirror, where writers protested the development of a 314,424-square-foot warehousing, distribution and processing center located on a forested portion of the former Weyerhaeuser campus.

“The whole thing stinks,” wrote Federal Way resident Ann Hardwicke. “By the way, has anyone asked if this kind of facility does give off a stink?”

The applicant, Chill Build Seattle, is proposing the 19-acre site, which will hold Preferred Freezer’s 239,000-square-foot freezer warehouse with offices and docks. An additional 75,000 square feet of seafood processing, offices and dock space will be for Orca Bay Seafoods. The proposed site is located on two parcels, with the addresses 33700 32nd Ave. S. and 3120 S. 344th St., in Federal Way.

In a joint announcement from the two seafood companies, Orca Bay Seafoods CEO Ryan Mackey said “the move to Federal Way and partnership with Preferred Freezer Services provides us an ideal opportunity to improve our operational efficiency and flexibility by consolidating our Bellevue and Renton locations.”

Preferred Freezer is headquartered in New Jersey and already operates in 37 locations nationwide.

It’s estimated the two seafood facilities will provide 300 new jobs.

The proposal includes plans to relocate four of eight small wetlands on or near the property for a total of 8,000-square-feet of land. Developers are working with the Army Corps of Engineers, which is in the process of approving that “plan of action.” According to the announcement, the campus’s “well-groomed lawns” will be surrounded by a 50-foot-wide forested buffer that will “maintain the existing leafy character of the industrial-zoned property.”

While the project fits within current zoning code, as it’s subject to the pre-annexation zoning prior to an agreement with Weyerhaeuser from August 1994, many are still questioning how the facility will work with what’s currently there.

“Was allowing a seafood warehouse next to a Bonsai Museum and a Rhododendron Garden part of Kemper Freeman’s advice on how to give Federal Way sprawling downtowns?” questioned letter writer Anya Biryukova. “The future of Federal Way: a seafood warehouse, and throw in a bonus deforestation. Really?”

More citizen writers are concerned about the overall environmental impact the processing center could have and want the most stringent environmental protection standards applied.

Preferred Freezer Services states they are a LEED-certified designer and developer, which ensures environmental responsibility. Orca Bay has participated in Fishery Improvement Projects among other efforts to reduce waste.

The project’s 19-acre site is among the 430 acres Weyerhaeuser Company sold to Industrial Realty Group, LLC, in February for $70.5 million. Weyerhaeuser announced they would move their corporate headquarters from Federal Way to Seattle in the middle or later part of this year.

Concerned residents or citizens can submit written comments on the warehouse proposal until Aug. 22. Only the applicant, people who submitted written documents to the director and people who specifically requested a copy of the original decision may appeal the director’s decision.

The city’s acting community development director is Scott Sproul, who can be reached at scott.sproul@cityoffederalway.com.

Community members can review the official project file at the city’s Community Development Department, which is located on the second floor of City Hall (33325 8th Ave. S.).