TACOMA, Wash. — Tacoma community members held a rally outside of city hall Tuesday over concerns about a proposed mega-warehouse to be built in south Tacoma.
This comes after an Oct. 5 hearing examiner ruling that upheld city permits for the project, allowing it to move forward.
The City of Tacoma gave Bridge Point Tacoma LLC, part of Bridge Industrial, permission for the proposed project to cover nearly 160 acres of land. This includes four warehouses, more than 1,200 parking spots and about two-and-a-half million square feet of building space.
The advocates voiced concerns about the project's environmental impacts, including increased pollution, potential flooding and hotter neighborhood temperatures.
According to the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department, the lifespan of people in south Tacoma is six years shorter than the average Pierce County resident, and experience the burden of air pollution and other environmental harms.
Community member Gemini Gnull, part of the Climate Alliance of South, says they are upset with this decision, "This is impacting people's lives! In order for the trucks to get to this place, because it's not by the freeway, it is by people's houses. They have to drive through residential streets past elementary schools, over crosswalks, past parks...and the city says that's not significant. That's not true! It is significant! And they should do the study to prove it."
The law firm representing the community members is still deciding whether to appeal the decision made by the hearing examiner.
For more information from the City of Tacoma about the mega-warehouse construction, visit their website.