• City of Tacoma QA
  • City of Tacoma OpenData




Bridge Industrial BNSF

Bridge Industrial Project


What's the latest?

 
The Hearing Examiner Decision was issued October 5, 2023, and can be reviewed here. Click here to see a list of Frequently Asked Questions about this project.

An appeal hearing concluded on August 4, 2023. Recordings of the hearing are available through the Hearing Examiner’s Office, linked here.
 

Permit Status

 

The permit status for LU21-0125 is “decision issued as of April 21, 2023.

 

The Critical Areas Development Permit decision is “approved with conditions - which means the project, as it has been revised over the last several months, has been reviewed for compliance with the Tacoma Municipal Code for critical areas and, if built with certain conditions, the development may be approved. Conditions include: 

  • Completion of restoration, enlargement, and enhancement of the wetlands and stream 

  • Protection of the Garry Oak trees on site and providing excess plantings to compensate for the one being removed 

  • Preservation and enhancement of the steep slope and treed areas on the western portion of the site 

  • Recording these protections permanently on the title to the property 

  • Providing monitoring of all plantings until they are well established 

 

The associated SEPA Environmental Determination is a “Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance” - which means the review of the entire project, as revised and with the additional studies that have been reviewed, is not likely to have a significant adverse impact on the elements of the environment that are reviewed under SEPA. This is as long as the project meets certain conditions (mitigation) for the impacts. Mitigation under SEPA includes the following: 

  • Clean-fuel construction equipment and no-idling rules on the site 

  • 30% tree canopy coverage on development portion of site, with payment in lieu of plantings for a portion of the tree provision 

  • Traffic monitoring as site is built out, with caps on trip generation 

  • Construction of a new north access road for trucks to reach S 35th, intersection improvements at 35th and Union 

  • Improvements to S Madison 

  • Public bicycle and pedestrian path along the north-south road 

  • Pedestrian improvements (sidewalk connections, rail crossing, bicycle lanes) on several streets and at several intersections 

 

Online Files

 

https://aca.accela.com/TACOMA/Default.aspx and enter “LU21-0125” in the search field. Documents are located under the “Record Info” tab. The documents are the files that are part of the project record, which were used in making these decisions. Documents that are not part of the record have been archived.  

 

Background

 

The City of Tacoma is currently reviewing a permit application from Bridge Industrial for a proposed the development of an approximately 150 acre site with a multi-building development (about 2.5 million sf of buildings) and associated site work. The primary address is 5024 S Madison. 

Bridge Point BNSF Map

The private proposal includes:

  • Approximately 75% of the site area would be impervious surfacing (buildings, parking, circulation).
  • A north-south through road (with sidewalk) to connect through TPU property to S. 35th Street.
  • There is a stream and biodiversity corridor on the site; this will be protected and restored as part of the project.

Bridge Point BNSF Preliminary Site Plan
The entire application package can be accessed by visiting the City’s Accela web page and entering the permit number LU21-0125 in the search field. Documents are located under the “record info” tab.

  

The City is required to consider the permit application in accordance with the Zoning Code, Critical Areas Code and all other development codes. The project is legally “vested” in the current regulations via complete land use permits, and future moratoria or land use ordinance changes will not affect it.

 

The City must consider probable significant impacts in accordance with the SEPA regulations. Environmental impacts identified by the SEPA review will be assessed for mitigation or project modification to meet requirements.

  • The proposal is an allowed use in the M-2 Heavy Industrial District, as set forth in TMC 13.06.060. The intended use is light industrial or warehousing.
  • The site is also located in the South Tacoma Manufacturing/Industrial Overlay District, per TMC 13.06.070.B, and the South Tacoma Groundwater Protection District, per TMC 13.06.070.D. Uses prohibited in either of those overlays will not be allowed on this site.
  • A critical area development permit is required because the development proposes to impact portions of the stream buffer on the site, while restoring the remaining critical area and creating additional new wetland area. All work is reviewed in compliance with TMC 13.11, Critical Areas.
  • No permit decisions have been made regarding the proposal. As part of public noticing, the City has made a preliminary determination that a SEPA Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance (MDNS) is probable, and that a full Environmental Impact Statement will not be required – subject to review and commenting by the public and agencies with expertise.
  • As a Land Use permit the decision is made administratively by the Director of Planning and Development Services, per TMC 13.05 Land Use Permits and Procedures. The decision is not made by the City Council or the Planning Commission.
  • Appeals to the decision can be filed with the City of Tacoma Hearing Examiner.
  • Following the Critical Area permitting and SEPA Environmental review, the applicant will be required to apply for development permits including Site Development, Work Order (work in the right-of-way), and Building.

Site Information

 

A portion of the site has been remediated through CERCLA (superfund) and contaminants have been located on a capped portion on the north of the site. This portion of the site is also proposed for redevelopment. As part of the cleanup, the owners (and subsequent owners) are party to an agreed order and institutional controls for the site and will continue or complete remediation as part of redevelopment. Under the review and authority of the EPA and the Department of Ecology, they will have specific work plans, worker training, and contractual obligations for work on that portion of the site. 

 

EPA South Tacoma Field – EPA Documents 

City staff are working with EPA and Ecology to ensure those conditions are included in development permits for the site, and, where necessary, into the environmental review. 

 

Water quality permitting for the project will be reviewed by the City of Tacoma per the City’s stormwater regulations, and by the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department for the Groundwater Protection District.

 

Tacoma Pierce County Health Department Blog: How we’ll help protect your health with a proposed South Tacoma warehouse complex.

 

Tacoma Public Utilities – Tacoma Water has been engaged regarding the aquifer recharge area, which is estimated to be approximately 180 square miles. 

 

Project Contact

Shirley Schultz
Principal Planner

Email

  

Quick Links

TacomaPermits.org


ACCELA Permit Link

 



]]>