Sept. 18, 2023
The Lakewood City Council denied a request to vacate a portion of 100th Street SW at its Sept. 16, 2024 regular meeting.
The adjoining property owners requested the vacation. The property is publicly owned by the city. It runs from 100th Street into Lake Steilacoom.
The property is described on page 20 of a 2023 street ends report (view the PDF report). The report identifies all street ends across the city. For each street end, options are presented for how to increase public access to the water. Previous recommendations ranged from development of the small parcels, to vacating the land to adjoining property owners. The most recent report does not recommend vacating land to adjoining property owners.
At the meeting Monday, Planning and Public Works Director Jeff Rimack said the property owner requested the City Council postpone its decision until mid-October. This was so the property owner could submit a complete appraisal, which the city requested.
Councilmember Mike Branstetter said his decision would not change after review of a complete appraisal. He said he did not support vacating the land. He motioned to act on the ordinance.
Councilmember Ryan Pearson seconded Brandstetter’s motion. During the discussion Pearson said he too opposed the vacation request. He noted he was disappointed with how the community treated the property owners requesting the vacation. People harassing the property owners, being rude to them on social media and in person is unacceptable, Pearson said.
The 2023 street end report identified encroachment of private property into the 100th Street right-of-way. Part of a carport and the house was built on the city land.
While he does not support the full vacation of the street end, Pearson said he supports vacation of a portion of the property that would allow the private property owners to address the encroachment issue.
“The street end vacation is the tough pill to swallow, and I am definitely not in support of that,” Pearson said.
Councilmember Patti Belle thanked the community for its public comments on the issue. Belle has “always been a proponent of public access to public lakes”, she said and did not support the full vacation request.
Mayor Jason Whalen agreed public access to the lakes is critical. That’s why the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board is working on a pilot project to open a city street end to improve public access on Lake Steilacoom, he said.
Whalen thanked the community for getting involved. He said he would abstain from voting because he did not think the issue was ready for determination. Whalen said he thinks the city can find a balance that allows public access to the lake in a way that still provides opportunity for the property owners to fix the encroachment issues.
Roll call: The vacation request was denied. Council members Belle, Brandstetter and Pearson voted against the request. Mayor Whalen and Councilmember Paul Bocchi abstained from voting. Deputy Mayor Moss and Councilmember J. Trestin Lauricella were excused from the meeting and not in attendance.
Watch the discussion on the City’s YouTube channel at the 1 hour 29-minute mark.
Want to learn more about the city’s efforts to open street ends to gain access to the lakes? The city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board made a recommendation in July as to how to procced with a pilot project to build out street ends. Find the recommendation and report online.