Build Up, Not Out
News and Happenings
Public Hearing on the draft Countywide Planning Policies on 1/21/2025
Click here to watch the packed public hearing (public comment starts at 1:57:00 and runs over an hour and a half). The developers wrote the draft UGA swap policy and are trying to get the county to approve their version so they can skirt the law and over time pave over the entire UGA, removing all greenbelts and open space. The swap law says that no swap can result in an increase in development capacity of the UGA. Subsection d of draft policy 2.6 would let them dodge that requirement.
Commissioner Menser remarked at the beginning of the hearing that 60 people had signed up to testify, which was more than he had ever seen in his many years as a commissioner. The ratio of people against the draft policy to people in favor was 7 to 1.
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County staff Ashley Arai gives information to the audience at the beginning of the public hearing. Screenshot by Ronda Larson Kramer, 1/21/2025.
Warren Bergh, a direct descendant of Chief Leschi of the Nisqually Tribe, speaks against the swap policy written by the two developers standing behind him (Mike Brewer and Rob Rice) and their consultant seated on the left side of the photo (David Toyer). Warren described how the original owner of the BAR Holdings parcel after the Medicine Creek Treaty was William H. Mitchell, who is the Thurston County sheriff's deputy who carried out Chief Leschi's execution 11 years before acquiring the parcel and who later boasted that he had sent Leschi "to the happy hunting grounds." Leschi was later exonerated. Bergh also explained that the developers began calling their project "Salish Landing" after learning that the Cowlitz Trail (a 9,000 year-old trading route and later the Oregon Trail) runs across the property, and that this led them to seek the backing of the Squaxin Tribal Chairman. They did these things a year after they first applied in late 2021 to have the parcel added to the Tumwater UGA. Screenshot by Ronda Larson Kramer, 1/21/2025.
Forest Walk to the Cowlitz Trail/Oregon Trail, 12/15/2024
Attendees stand under the eagles nest platform and look at BAR Holdings' parcel, which begins a few feet from where they are standing. Photo credit: Brenda Wilmoth, 12/15/2024.
Eagles Nest Platform Installation, 11/15/2024
The view of BAR Holdings from the eagle's nest platform is fabulous. Photos courtesy of Ray Gleason.
Forest Walk to the Cowlitz Trail/Oregon Trail, 11/10/2024
On November 3rd and November 10, people toured the Squalli-absch Family Forest next to BAR Holdings to see where the Cowlitz Trail/Oregon Trail crosses and to hear about forestry, natural history, and cultural history of the area. Photo credit: Jeanne Allan on 11/10/2024.
First annual Cowlitz Trail walk, 10/27/2024
Participants gather at the Davis Meeker oak before walking 2.7 miles to the Squalli-absch Family Forest along the path of the Cowlitz Trail/Oregon Trail. Photo credit: Kathy Cox.
2024-10-27 Cowlitz Trail walk
Participants of the walk enjoy a fire and sandwiches at the Squalli-absch Family Forest after walking from the Davis Meeker oak 2.7 miles on the route of the historic Cowlitz Trail/Oregon Trail. Video credit: Ronda Larson Kramer.
Ronda Larson Kramer, Brette Clubbe, Greg LaDue-Grove, and Ray Gleason at the Cowlitz Trail/Oregon Trail crossing in the Squalli-absch Family Forest. Photo credit: Ronda Larson Kramer.
How to help the housing crisis
JOLT News Reader Opinion
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Ronda Larson Kramer discusses why the BAR Holdings project will hurt efforts to fight the housing crisis. October 8, 2024
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Do you want to help combat the housing crisis? Then you should consider submitting comments to the county in opposition to a development called BAR Holdings/Salish Landing. Read more...
KAOS - Jeff Sowers interview
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Kim Dobson of Parallel University interviews Jeff Sowers, educator and former chair of the Thurston County Democrats. They discuss BAR Holdings and urban planning. August 29, 2024.
KAOS - Ronda Larson Kramer & Marianne Tompkins interview
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Kim Dobson of Parallel University interviews Ronda Larson Kramer, attorney, and Marianne Tompkins, advocate for farmland preservation. They discuss BAR Holdings, Urban Growth Areas, and saving the Davis Meeker oak. September 12, 2024.
Developers gamed the system
View the recording here and read the JOLT article here.
On August 19, 2024, elected officials from most jurisdictions in the county (Thurston, Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Yelm, Tenino, Rainier) held a meeting to discuss ideas for policies regarding UGA swaps. Without advance notice to the public or to planning staff from any of the jurisdictions, the agenda was amended mid-meeting and draft policy language was voted on and approved. The rushed policy language misstates the law because it assumes that the 2024 swap law provisions do not apply to all UGA swaps. The process was so flawed that two of the seven jurisdictions present submitted a minority opinion the next day in protest. Yelm's mayor played a significant role because that city acquired a 640-acre parcel far out in farmlands and forestlands, which Yelm seeks to develop through a UGA swap. But the parcel does not qualify for a swap under the law. Read more here.
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Development would destroy forestland
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The JOLT News
Monday, March 11, 2024 7:41 pm
By Ronda Larson Kramer
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Do you like trees? Then you should be a big fan of infill housing. That means building up, not out, and putting houses where we’ve already cut down all the trees. But Thurston County could approve a development that would do just the opposite. Read more...