Home Care In Milton, WA

The state is coming down on the controversial building of a megachurch in Pierce County. State officials say church contractors are violating environmental laws.

SEATTLE — The state of Washington is cracking down on a controversial megachurch in Pierce County.

Neighbors in Milton have been fighting this project since 2019, saying it puts wetlands and wildlife at risk. Now they're hoping state regulators will help their cause.

Construction on this years-long, hotly-contested megachurch just got underway. The state found the builders are not following state environmental laws.

"I'm glad the state's coming in but I don't know what they'll be able to actually do. I mean, this is the very beginning of the project and nothing is being done correctly," said Milton resident Cheryl Reid-Simmons.

The area in the town of Milton is an important one for fish and wildlife. It includes two protected wetlands and a seasonal stream with Coho salmon that flows into Surprise Lake.

Last month, water quality inspectors cited the church twice for not following the laws aimed at keeping the species safe. The church is operating without a stormwater permit and without the appropriate fencing to keep dirty construction water out of streams and rivers.

"If there are repeated violations, that's when we move into enforcement and that really depends on the site," said Mugdha Flores, the communications manager with the Department of Ecology.

These are exactly the types of environmental issues nearby residents have been raising concerns about for four long years. They even took the issue to court trying to block construction of it, with no success.

"We have all kinds of wildlife in the lake," said Susan Castillo, who lives nearby.

Neighbors living along Surprise Lake said wildlife has already been hurt by the project and things only got worse a month ago when the church chopped down 100 trees.

"There were two owls over here that would call at night. You don't hear them anymore," said Reid-Simmons.

"So what will be the effect of runoff and any of the pollutants that might be happening due to all this due to the construction, due to the traffic this church is going to bring," said Castillo.

Residents said the City of Milton has been a big part of the problem. They said the city is giving the church a free pass over their concerns, including allowing the 92,000-square-foot church to be built in the middle of a single-family neighborhood with sensitive habitats all around.

KING 5 asked Milton officials about the new state citations. Planning Manager Angelie Stahlnecker said, "My understanding is there are a few minor corrections, and to be honest ... that's sort of normal."

State inspectors said if the violations aren't rectified, they can issue fines of $10,000 a day per violation. Neighbors said this validates their long-standing complaints and they hope it's the beginning of the church taking their concerns seriously.

"We try really hard to not live in a way that hurts our natural surroundings. So it's really sad that you can do everything. But then somebody just comes in and stomps all over it anyway," said Reid-Simmons.

KING 5 reached out to the Salvation Baptist Church which declined an interview but said in an email that their focus is on "ensuring compliance with the Department of Ecology."

Milton residents watched last week as crews began cutting down trees along Taylor Street, clearing the way for a long-disputed new megachurch.

In 2019, the Salvation Slavic Baptist Church applied to build a 92,000-square-foot church building with a 7,500-square-foot gym, K-12 school and parking lot for more than 500 cars. Four years later, it’s begun preparing the site for construction and will soon be issued a city permit for parking, utilities and underground work.

When Cheryl Reid-Simons first saw the trees come down, she was taken aback.

“It’s shocking,” said Reid-Simons, who lives across the street from the site. “I’ve had so many people come up to me who said that they found themselves teary when they saw it, because those trees have been there for longer than any of us.”

Originally, the site had 214 significant trees, about half of which are being cut down. The church will plant replacement trees on the property, city officials said.

City staff from Milton’s community development and public works departments will also be actively monitoring the site, said Angelie Stahlnecker, Milton’s planning manager.

Church officials declined to comment.

For neighbors like Reid-Simons and Chris Phillips, the work marks a definitive conclusion to a years-long battle against the development. The initial proposal quickly drew concern from neighbors, who felt a church of such size was simply too big for the neighborhood, which is zoned for residential single-family use.

Despite neighborhood opposition, the project was approved in 2021. Now, as Phillips gazes through her backyard to a spot where trees once towered, the sight of a newly cleared lot serves as a reminder of that lost battle.

“We felt like we were heard but not really listened to,” Phillips said.

One major concern is the project’s implications for traffic. Phillips said she feels the church would be better suited for a major thoroughfare, and that 500 cars could easily overwhelm the neighborhood’s roads.

The project also yields concerns over its potential environmental and water-quality-related impacts. The roughly 20-acre property where the church will eventually go has two wetlands and a stream connecting to Surprise Lake.

Reid-Simons said she sees the project as a missed opportunity to address housing needs in Milton, adding that she wishes the land would be used to build new homes instead.

“I’m sure they’re lovely, wonderful people, and I think that there are a lot of places where this church could be where it would fit and be an asset,” Reid-Simons said. “I just don’t think in the middle of a single-family neighborhood is it.”

Residential single-family zoning allows for conditionally permitted buildings like schools and churches. According to the city, the church project fits within Milton’s comprehensive plan.

“With any project, we’re just looking at, what does the code say it allows? What are the standards and conditions that the code outlines?” Stahlnecker said.

To come to an informed decision, Stahlnecker said, the city sought the advice of third-party traffic, stormwater and environmental consultants. The proposal also underwent a State Environmental Policy Act review.

The project is moving forward – but not without several conditions in place to help mitigate the impacts of construction. Stahlnecker said the permit requires the church to add sidewalks to Taylor Street and 23rd Avenue, assess traffic impacts and take measures to protect the property’s wetlands.

Even so, some residents remain apprehensive.

Reid-Simons said she hopes her predictions about the megachurch’s impacts are wrong. But she also hopes that other cities will see what’s happening in Milton and take steps to keep it from playing out in their own communities.

“If there was nothing the city could do about this, other cities better look at it and see what they can do to prevent this,” Reid-Simons said.

This story was originally published July 23, 2023, 7:05 AM.

Milton High school and Western High will face off on Thursday in one of the most anticipated matchups of the week.

Following a 27-13 victory over Collins Hill, Milton will travel to South Florida to visit Western.

Western is a great program filled with many highly rated recruits including star quarterback Davi Belfort, the son of UFC Legend Vitor.

Belfort, who is committed to Virginia Tech, is hoping to lead his team to success in his final season of high school football.

Milton is currently ranked as the 59th best team in the nation according to the HSFA Top 100, while Western is not on the list.

Although Western is not on the list, they are an extremely talented team that won’t make it easy for Milton.

Prep Gridiron Preview: Nationally Top 50- Ranked Teams Headline Aug. 24-26

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How To Watch 2023 Milton (GA) vs Western (FL)

STREAMING: Watch the 2023 Milton vs Western on FloFootball and the FloSports app. SIGN UP HERE.

On Your TV: Now Available on Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast & Apple TV.

Cast: Cast to your smart TV including Vizio, Samsung and LG TVs.

On The Go: Download the FloSports app on iOS or Android.

Aug 24, 2023

2023 Milton GA vs Western FL

Game Information

Kickoff will take place at 7:30 p.m. E.T in Davie, FL, the home of the Western Wildcats.

The weather forecast for Davie, FL predicts Thunderstorms in the afternoon, although they should stop by kickoff.

Conditions for the game are expected to be wet and slippery.

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Editor’s Note: A previous version included an incorrect date to appeal the decision.

A two-year fight against a megachurch in Milton has ended.

A Pierce County Hearing Examiner determined that the Salvation Slavic Baptist Church’s application to build a 2,000-seat church in a Milton neighborhood should be approved.

The church filed for a conditional-use permit in April 2019 to develop nearly 20 acres at 1707 23rd Ave.

The proposal includes a 92,000-square-foot church, holding up to 2,000 people, a 7,500-square-foot gym, a 26-student classroom and 546 parking stalls. The city’s population is 8,697, according to the most recent U.S. Census data.

Hearing examiner Stephen Causseaux issued his decision Sept. 30. Causseaux said the proposal does not break any city code restrictions on development because there are no restrictions.

Opponents have raised more than $36,000 on experts, attorneys and studies to stop the church, said Chris Phillips, organizer for Citizens for Small Town Milton. The group contested the city’s conclusion that there would be no significant impacts to traffic, the environment or noise. They primarily argued that the city’s comprehensive plan states a development should not “adversely affect the established character and planned character of the surrounding vicinity.”

The hearing examiner said in his findings that Milton has not adopted any code amendments to protect the “small town character” or specific regulations. Causseaux said the code never distinguishes between “large and more neighborhood scale institutions” in residential areas.

Phillips was surprised by the clarity in the decision. She thought the residents’ group put up a strong argument. She worries that this project will change her neighborhood charm.

“Once you put a large impact development into the residential zone, you have lost the small-town character,” she said. “It feels like they have just nixed that. Just say goodbye to small-town Milton.”

Andrew Chepel, the church’s project manager, said Salvation Slavic Baptist Church did not have a comment on the decision at this time.

The church, currently located at 10622 8th St. in Edgewood, was built in 1992. The church also offers a school program from kindergarten to 10th grade.

According to the hearing decision, the Salvation Slavic Baptist Church congregation consists primarily of those whose families immigrated to this country from Russia to escape religious persecution. The church told the hearing examiner it has outgrown its Edgewood facilities, counting 1,200 church members and 180 students.

City staff and elected officials have spoken out against the project. Former Milton Public Works Director Nick Afzali once oversaw the planning department. He resigned in July over the proposal, saying it was not “compatible” with his values.

“In short, due to the size and location of the proposed SSBC, this proposed development neither promotes walkability nor it is compatible with the current residential character and fabric of the neighborhood – both of which are key tenets of my professional core values,” his letter to city officials said.

Four of the city’s seven council members have written letters or testified against the development. Council member Phil Linden has been vocal and told The News Tribune he was profoundly disappointed in the decision.

Linden said this should be a cautionary tale to neighboring towns and cities to tighten up planning codes.

“The citizens did their part and did it well. Unfortunately the existing city code is what failed them,” Linden said.

He pointed to the more than 2 million square-foot warehouse that was approved off 5th Avenue last year as proof that this is part of a larger problem in the city.

“There is vulnerability in the code, and both of those land use decisions have shown that. Milton is a victim of its own code,” Linden said. “Other communities have fortified and protected their citizens more substantially.”

Milton’s council unanimously passed a bill on March 15 to put a pause on conditional-use permits in residential areas for six months under the advice of Afzali to address gaps in development code. The moratorium is still in place.

Opponents of the development have until Oct. 21 to appeal the decision to Pierce County Superior Court.

Milton’s senior planner Brittany Port said if no timely appeals are filed, the church can begin submitting building plans to be approved. Once the city gives the green light, there is a “pre-construction conference” to discuss requirements of construction like noise control and erosion mitigation.

Philips said the citizen group would not be moving forward with an appeal.

“The citizens did what we could and to fight through large groups and lots of letters and talked to the City Council and got nowhere,” she said. “So it really does feel like the city will make their own decisions on where they go from here.”

She believes the uproar over the church development has voters watching mayoral and City Council races closely, especially candidates’ positions on the issue of development.

This story was originally published October 5, 2021, 12:54 PM.

Construction on a Megachurch has begun in Milton. KING 5 has learned that tribal concerns voiced to the city were overlooked, breaking typical treaty rights.

SEATTLE — Concerns from the Puyallup and Muckleshoot Tribes over the construction of a new megachurch in Milton were overlooked by the city, according to an Indigenous rights lawyer who says the new build could be violating treaty rights.

The megachurch is prompting environmental, traffic and housing concerns from multiple groups. The Salvation Baptist Church bought a single-family zoned piece of land to build the 92-thousand-square-foot building.

"I saw the trees go down last week and that was sad," said Milton resident Jeoffrey Cross.

"The sanctuary holds 2,000 people in one seating so that's a lot of people coming," said Chris Phillips who lives a block away from the property. After fighting the construction of the church for years, Phillips says her hopes diminished when the trees were cut down. "I just don't want to see it happen, but then again, I feel like it's a done deal and I'm done with it."

The City of Milton conducted the necessary state environmental reviews before construction and found two wetlands and a stream to Surprise Lake with endangered Coho Salmon on the site. The Puyallup and Muckleshoot Tribes wrote letters to the City of Milton in 2021 with their main concerns focusing on fish blockage and stormwater infiltration that could result in the death of the fish. The city responded to the Puyallup Tribe by inviting them to a public comment session.

"The fact that the tribes were invited to public comment and in fact their comments were treated as public comments rather than intergovernmental communications is very telling," said Gabriel Galanda who does not represent Puyallup or Muckleshoot Tribes but is an Indigenous rights lawyer. He said even the hearing examiner, who reviewed the project, listed the Tribes' letters in the public comments section when they should have been held in higher regard.

"If it's not illegal, they certainly violated best practices," said Galanda who believes more should have been done to address the Tribes' concerns. He said the city should have made more of an effort to meet with the Tribes per treaty agreements.

"It seems the City of Milton or at least its politicians don't appreciate the supremacy of Indian treaty rights and particularly fishing rights," said Galanda.

Former Milton Public Works Director Nick Afzali resigned in 2021 over the project. In his resignation letter, obtained by KING 5, he wrote in part the church "does not align with my core values as a professional who has been serving the public… for the last thirty years." Afzali was the State Environmental Policy Act official who conducted the environmental reviews.

"They had 20 acres and they are pretty much filling up every square foot except where there are wetlands and streams," said Phillips.

This is what Phillips, a former architect, had to say when asked if the city did everything right: "No. That is my professional and personal opinion."

KING 5 reached out to Milton Mayor Shanna Styron Sherrell multiple times about how the city handled the project. She declined to comment for this story but said the church went through neighborhood meetings, city council meetings, public hearings, and appeals.

Even after all of that, Galanda believes it's not too late for the city to respond.

"The project should be paused, and the City of Milton should engage in government-to-government consultation with the Puyallup and Muckleshoot Tribal nations regarding the impacts this project will have on treaty rights," Galanda said.

Trees have recently been cut down and construction work is currently happening. KING 5 should learn more about the church's plans through the permitting process in the coming months.

A spokesperson for the church told KING 5 they chose that property because of its proximity to their other church. When asked about environmental concerns, they pointed to the long approval process but declined to answer additional questions.