Watchtower Housing Development Project

Toll Brothers Construction filed a Preliminary Full Plat Application with plans to subdivide the undeveloped wooded property into 47 single-family residential lots, with a new private roadway, utilities, site drainage, three open tracts for private drainage maintenance, open space, and critical area preservation. The application includes a Critical Area Development Permit for impacts to the wetland and biodiversity area. An environmental review is required for the proposal in accordance with SEPA, RCW 43.21C, WAC 197-11, and Tacoma Municipal Code (TMC) 13.12 Environmental Code.

Current Project Status (March 2026)

The Watchtower project is currently in the post-approval permitting phase.

Following the Hearing Examiner’s approval of the Preliminary Full Plat and associated Critical Area Development Permit on October 2, 2024, the applicant is required to complete additional permitting and engineering steps before development can proceed.

The applicant has submitted site development and building permit applications to support early phases of the project. These applications include:

• Installation of a temporary sales center
• Construction of a temporary parking lot
• Associated site preparation activities

These applications are currently under review by City staff. As part of this process, the applicant must demonstrate compliance with all applicable City codes, technical standards, and conditions of approval.

No construction may begin until all required permits have been reviewed and approved.

Next Steps in the Process

Before the project can move forward to construction and lot creation, the applicant must:

• Satisfy all conditions of Preliminary Plat approval
• Obtain all required site development and construction permits
• Complete required infrastructure improvements, including roads, utilities, and stormwater systems
• Finalize required easements, dedications, and critical area protections

Once these steps are complete, the applicant may apply for Final Plat approval, which allows the lots to be formally created and recorded.

The recommended conditions of approval are listed below (see Frequently Asked Questions). The Hearing Examiner approved the following – specific to Critical Areas:

Critical Areas Protections

The Watchtower project includes regulated critical areas, including a wetland, associated buffers, a biodiversity area and corridor, and areas with steep slopes. As part of the project approval, these areas are subject to strict protection measures, including permanent conservation easements, notice on title, and designation as protected tracts to ensure long-term preservation.

Approximately 25% of the site will remain as protected open space, preserving the wetland and biodiversity corridor. Development is not permitted within these protected areas, and required buffers must be maintained to protect ecological functions. Limited impacts to a wetland buffer are associated with required frontage improvements and are subject to mitigation and restoration requirements.

The project must implement a mitigation and monitoring plan that includes restoration planting, invasive species removal, and performance standards to ensure success. These areas are monitored for a minimum of five years, with required reporting and City oversight. Financial guarantees (bonding) are required to ensure that mitigation and long-term maintenance obligations are met.

Additional protections include installation of fencing and signage to prevent disturbance, as well as geotechnical design requirements to address steep slopes and ensure site stability. All critical area requirements are reviewed through the permitting process and verified through inspection and ongoing compliance monitoring.

The Full Plat Application Staff Report, including the proposed site plan/survey, critical area documentation, Geotech, stormwater and other technical documents, as well as the submitted public comments, is available to the public—go to https://aca-prod.accela.com/TACOMA/Default.aspx and enter the Watchtower permit number – LU22-0055 – in the search field on the upper right. Attachments are located under the “record info” tab once the permit opens.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of permit is this?

Toll Brothers Construction submitted a Preliminary Full Plat application for the Watchtower project. The process for property subdivision includes this preliminary plat stage, and final plat stage. At the preliminary stage, the main considerations are:

• Does the application comply with our plat code TMC 13.04?
• Does the application address critical areas, site access, proposed roadway configuration to serve the lots, proposed lot area and configurations, among other considerations?

The preliminary plat will have recommended conditions which must be complete before the applicant can come in with a Final Plat application. These conditions will generally require site development permits and work order permits to complete. This work will include items like installation of roads, curb gutters, and utilities, plus any related necessary work, such as installation of roadway signage, pedestrian crossings, etc.

What is a Final Plat? During the preliminary plat stage, all preliminary conditions must be met (generally related to the utilities, new roadway construction, stormwater system construction, etc.) and then all required easements and dedications are in place.  Once that is verified, the Final Plat can be approved by the department director in a Final Plat decision and then after that the map can be recorded and the lots are created.

What are the “conditions” included in the permit approval notice that the Watchtower project must meet?

PDS recommended conditions for the Watchtower project application, which include:

• Certain conditions that are standard with any permit application are included in the Preliminary Plat decision, such as Preliminary Plat expiration date of five years.

• Other conditions specific to utility easements, new private roadway construction, stormwater requirements, and sanitary sewer requirements.

• Conditions for several critical areas that require 25% of the site to be maintained as a protected Biodiversity Corridor with a wetland present. There are other wetland buffering requirements for off site wetlands. Requirements also include City monitoring of certain critical areas for a five-year period, as well as fencing and signage requirements pertaining to the critical areas. Conservation easements are also required.

• Conditions specifically for geotech/steep slope critical areas that are potential slide hazard areas.

• The Watchtower site has ASARCO Soil Plume requirements for erosion management and dust control during grading and construction.

• Due to concerns about the safety and visibility of pedestrians, and the addition of street trees, three streetlights will be required on the site.

• A variety of site development requirements will be required off-site in the area immediately surrounding the property, including updated curb ramps at select intersections, sidewalks, and flashing pedestrian lights on Browns Point Boulevard as part of a SEPA mitigation requirement.

• Fire hydrant placement will be coordinated with Tacoma Fire in conjunction with site development and work order permitting. Approval of hydrant placement will be through coordination with Tacoma Water. Fire hydrants will be required at average spacing not to exceed 600 feet. Proposed hydrant locations should be shown on the plans.

• The applicant is advised that the homes constructed on lots 1 through 44 require automatic fire sprinkler systems due to the single access road (IFC D107.1, Exception 1). Water meters and service lines must be sized adequately to support a fire sprinkler system, therefore, site plans will need to specify combination fire/domestic water meters, meter size, pipe size, and pipe material.

What was the timeline on the Watchtower permit process?

• The application was complete on February 15, 2022. The application was originally submitted with a different subdivision configuration, and after City staff noted several necessary critical area evaluations, the applicant took several weeks to reconfigure the site subdivision.

• Public notice was sent on July 11, 2024, to all residents in a 1,000-foot radius of the proposed project site. The notice advised area residents of a public comment period and how to submit comments.

• A total of 29 responsive comments were submitted prior to the comment deadline of August 1, 2024, with over 200 pages of comment from those who made written submissions. Staff reviewed and compiled public comments, which are available to view as part of the Hearings Examiners packet.

• Two requests for appeal were received on the City-issued SEPA decision prior to the deadline of August 22, 2024. One appeal was withdrawn before the hearing.

• A Hearing Examiner Public Hearing was conducted on August 29, 2024, to hear the remaining appeal from the applicant.

• The hearing record was open for two weeks (August 29 – September 12), allowing negotiation between the developer and the City on the SEPA MDNS and some identified points of clarification on the conditions of approval.

• The record was closed by the Hearing Examiner on September 12.

• The Hearing Examiner issued a decision on October 2 approving the Preliminary Full Plat with conditions.

• The appeal period for the October 2 decision ended on October 23, (21 days after the approval).

What can my City Council Member do about the permit?

A Preliminary Full Plat application is under the review and approval of the City of Tacoma Hearing Examiner. While the City Council adopts the zoning chapter and the overarching policies that inform city code, they are not involved in administrative permitting or the Hearing Examiner’s decisions.

This proposal is opposed by the neighbors, and there is public comment on record that voices this opposition – why can’t the city just deny proposal based on this opposition?

Public comment plays an important role in the review of preliminary plats. It helps inform the City’s evaluation of the proposal by identifying strengths, potential concerns, and site-specific considerations raised by neighbors and community members. While preliminary plat decisions must be based on the criteria established in the zoning code, public input is a meaningful part of that review and is carefully considered alongside all applicable standards. Conditions of approval are often crafted in response to issues raised through public comment, with the goal of addressing concerns and reducing potential impacts to the surrounding neighborhood.

Ultimately it is the decision of the City of Tacoma Hearing Examiner, who reviews the staff report, exhibits from the City and the applicant, hears public testimony, and then rules on the facts of the matter in a quasi-judicial process, per TMC 1.23; and in the case of the Preliminary Full Plat, with a Critical Area Development Permit, 13.04, 13.06, 13.11.