SUPERIOR COURT OVERTURNS GROWTH MANAGEMENT
BOARD DECISION ON SHELTON HILLS PROJECT
PRESS RELEASE FROM HALL EQUITIES:
BOARD DECISION ON SHELTON HILLS PROJECT
Shelton Hills Rezone Approved - On February 9, 2012, the Thurston County Superior Court ruled in favor of the City of Shelton and Shelton Hills Investors LLC and upheld the City’s decision to rezone 160 acres of the Shelton Hills property to residential. This overturns two previous decisions by the Western Washington Growth Management Hearing Board against the City and Shelton Hills Investors.
The Superior Court ruled that there is substantial evidence in the record to support the City’s decision to rezone, and that the City had taken all necessary steps to comply with the law and the required consultation with the WSDOT Aviation Division. With this decision, the rezone is effective and the Shelton Hills project can move forward as planned.
Mark Hall, President of Hall Equities Group, developer of the Shelton Hills project, stated; “We are pleased with this decision and we believe this should bring to a close, once and for all, the controversy surrounding our carefully prepared and studied application. We look forward to a positive working relationship with the Port of Shelton, and we hope the Port will join us in a constructive manner going forward to create an environment where jobs, retail services, and quality housing can coexist harmoniously with Sanderson Field operations.”
Shelton Hills is one of the largest private projects ever undertaken in Mason County. The Shelton Hills project is expected to consist of a major regional retail center and hotel totaling some 500,000 square feet on more than 45 acres; a 50 acre professionally designed Business Park offering build-to-suit and “For Sale” commercial office buildings for area businesses; over 350 acres of new Public Parks, trails, and wetland reserves; and over 1,000 new residential units of varying types and sizes.
The project is expected to cover some 800 acres in total west of Highway 101 near the Wallace Kneeland Interchange. Hall Equities Group has spent over five years working with the City of Shelton, the State Department of Transportation, the State Department of Ecology, and other interested stakeholders to secure approvals for the design and re-construction of the Wallace Kneeland Interchange at Highway 101, and various environmental remediations to impacted wetlands in the area of Goose Lake, as necessary preliminary groundwork needed for the project to proceed.
The project has been effectively stalled for the last two and a half years by the legal challenge brought by the Port of Shelton against the project. Resolution of this conflict now allows this project to move forward.
Link to Court Decision Document pdf:
http://myweb.hcc.net/pkands/docs/court_decision.pdf
Graphic: www.annapolis.gov
The Port’s two year opposition to Shelton Hills at a time when economic development is so desperately needed is second only to their support of Adage in terms of egregiously bad behavior. Like coaches in the NFL the Port may know how to play the game, but these guys think they can go out on the field and run the ball all by themselves. If ever there comes a time management wakes to the reality of public service and breaks up their little huddle at the local coffee shop, then, and only then will they find themselves on the winning team. Good luck with that.
ReplyDeleteThe Port Commissioners should feel stupid about spending one-quarter of a million dollars on attorneys fees to fight this rezone. What could the Port have done with that one quarter of a million dollars that might have served the citizens of the Port District? It's way past time to change leadership at the Port; and electing Dick Taylor to replace Jack Miles is not the change in leadership our Port and community need. Maybe it's time to dust off our impeach Huff information and evidence, update it, and try again! CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CITY OF SHELTON!
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