Providing information about Cascadia Spring 2006

Cascadia was designed to reduce long commutes and traffic congestion by being a place where people can live, work and play.

Building a great place to live, from the ground up

How do you create a great place to live and be a good neighbor at the same time? Look no further than Cascadia, the most carefully conceived community in the history of our state, which is now being built in Eastern Pierce County.

Cascadia will help the people of Eastern Pierce County in many significant ways. Located on 4,700 acres on a plateau south of Bonney Lake, this unique and innovative project will pay its own way by providing needed funds for our schools and adding to the local tax base for important government services. Cascadia was designed to reduce long commutes and traffic congestion by being a place where people can live, work and play. It was also designed to be an innovative development that would do more than pull its own weight. More than 12 years of planning were completed before the first shovel full of dirt was turned at last year's groundbreaking.

Cascadia will eventually be home to more than 16,000 people, provide 10,000 jobs and generate roughly $30 million in annual property tax revenues.

Solving problems, not creating them

Other communities in the Puget Sound region have been plagued with an abundance of problems ranging from transportation nightmares and overwhelming basic infrastructure costs to widening environmental concerns. Cascadia, on the other hand, will help our region manage growth without destroying a way of life. It will not squeeze out our everyday life in Eastern Pierce County.

Because it is located on the Orting plateau, Cascadia will not have the sprawl of other development projects and it will allow East Pierce County residents to keep their lifestyles. Cascadia will be a good neighbor, contributing to important services and meeting its civil demands.

A development like Cascadia can actually help solve potential problems. For example, Cascadia has already committed to help keep local sewer rates low. Without the project and influx of new residents, Orting residents would have been forced to pay much more to repair and improve the city's aging sewer system. In 2002, the City signed an agreement to provide sewer service to Cascadia. In return, Cascadia will fund many of those improvements by paying millions during its build-out. Cascadia residents will eventually pick up even more of the tab, helping spread future improvement costs over more households and keeping sewer costs low. The City of Orting's projections indicate that the net financial benefit from the agreement will exceed $28 million over a 20-year period.

The development has also reached an agreement with East Pierce Fire and Rescue to place a fire station on three acres within Cascadia. Cascadia will provide the land for the station and pay for part of the building and equipment costs.

Cascadia is committed to being part of the East Pierce County solution. For instance, Cascadia agreed to help with the 198th Street corridor project after discussions about traffic congestion with local and state officials. Cascadia has agreed to fund a lion's share of this multi-million dollar project even though the majority of the traffic would not come from Cascadia.

Cascadia has already started contributing to the tax base. So far, Cascadia has invested $40 million into our local economy. In the first phase of the project alone, Cascadia will spend $10.7 million for traffic mitigation and $4.6 million in school impact fees. With roughly $1 billion in planned construction activity, it will also generate tens of millions of dollars in state and local sales tax revenues, while providing more than 3,000 full time jobs during construction.

Cascadia-well conceived over time

Fifteen years ago, Cascadia Development purchased 4,700 acres from the Weyerhaeuser Company in East Pierce County. The goal was to create a unique and ideal place: good houses and jobs, the highest quality schools, a lively performing arts center, a thriving old fashioned town center, plenty of open space and an 18-hole golf course.

Much progress has been made since then. More than a decade of careful thought has ensured a remarkable project. Unlike other projects, Cascadia provides both housing and jobs that contribute millions to the tax base, helping pay for schools and other government services. At the same time, Cascadia can help solve some of the region's problems by providing traffic solutions and helping pay for upgrading aging sewer systems.

Last year, Cascadia broke ground and the ideal place is finally becoming a reality.

"I'm excited about the idea of creating a place to live and work - a balanced environment that would serve as a model for ideal living," said Patrick Kuo, president and chief executive officer of Cascadia Development Corp.

Cascadia will be the most complete new community in the state of Washington, creating an estimated 10,000 jobs over its 20-year build out. Cascadia has been designated an employment-based planned community under the county's comprehensive land-use plan.

More than 1,500 acres - nearly 30 percent of the total site area - will be for parks and open space. During the 20-year development process, Cascadia will protect the environment and preserve the harmony and balance of its natural areas and resources.

Cascadia will be built in three phases, beginning with the construction of roads, sewer and water systems. The first phase of construction will include 1,719 single and multifamily homes, an 80-acre business park, the town center, and a conference hotel and golf complex with an 18-hole competition-quality course. The first Cascadia residents are expected to take occupancy in 2007 with businesses opening doors in 2008; the conference center, hotel and golf complex is slated to open shortly thereafter. Phase 2 is anticipated to begin in 2013 and Phase 3 in 2021 with completion in 2026.

Building Trust with Local Communities

Cascadia wants to pay its fair share and has always wanted a relationship of trust with local governments. However, the City of Orting's attempt to get out of its commitment to provide sewer service to Cascadia has got us worried. It's a rocky episode to what we hoped would be a good relationship. The City's actions put at risk millions for sewer improvements that will benefit all of us. And that could end up costing existing customers a lot of money.

Cascadia and the City have been working together on this issue since 1998. Along the way, Cascadia paid for the City's independent engineering studies and for its consultants to prepare an amendment to the General Sewer Plan. This was our way of demonstrating our commitment to be a good neighbor, as well as protecting existing residents from costs associated with our project.

In 2001, this amendment was approved by Pierce County and the State, and adopted at a public meeting of the Orting City Council. This amendment made Cascadia part of the utility district, and created a legal obligation for the City to provide sewer service to Cascadia.

In March of 2002, Orting and Cascadia negotiated an agreement with Cascadia committing to pay millions to implement the plan. The City of Orting's projections indicate that the net financial benefit from its agreement with Cascadia will exceed $28 million over a 20-year period. Once again, Orting's action was taken in an open meeting of the City Council.

That $28 million can be used not only to increase capacity to serve Cascadia, but also to perform repairs and upgrades to the existing system. Without that money, there's only one way the City can get the money for needed work - raise your existing sewer rates.

Cascadia has already relied on the City agreement in investing millions of dollars. The City, meanwhile, began looking for ways to back out of its obligation and extract even more money. The City dispatched its lawyers to find a procedural loophole that would allow it to reopen the negotiations, and a judge recently gave them their opening.

Unfortunately, that means delays and expense for Cascadia. But it could also mean higher costs for everyone already getting sewer service from the City of Orting.

Cascadia, at a glance
· 6,500 residences (1,719 in Phase 1)
· A pedestrian-oriented, old fashioned town center with retail stores and restaurants
· 626 acres of land for a high-tech business and industrial park, of which 500 acres will have Foreign-Trade Zone designation allowing businesses to be more effective and competitive in international trade. (Within this area, 219 acres will be dedicated for a resort-quality hotel, with conference facilities and an 18-hole golf course)
· 183 acres for seven schools (34 acres in Phase 1)
· 1,500 acres for parks and open space (460 acres in Phase 1)
· A state-of-the-art, integrated telecommunications network using "clean power" to ensure optimal performance and other high-tech capabilities
· The Cascadia Institute, a non-profit institution designed to promote international cooperation by hosting gatherings and consortia
· A performing arts center to showcase music, dance, theater and other arts and cultural activities as well as sculpture gardens and art installations.

What's the alternative?

Fifteen years of careful thought, along with nearly $40 million, have gone into Cascadia so far.

The opportunity - and our intention - is to create something unique, something not seen elsewhere in the Puget Sound region and existing in only a few places in the world. Our vision is a totally balanced living environment with a mixture of homes, jobs, services and recreation.

The advantages of this well-planned approach are numerous and significant.

But recent actions by one local government pose a threat to that vision. The City of Orting is looking to renege on their sewer agreement. We hope other governments will not follow suit.

"It's not just the delays and expense caused by these actions," explains Cascadia President Patrick Kuo. "It's the uncertainty they create. We honor our commitments, and expect local government to do the same. Otherwise, we're not sure we can make our vision a reality."

That would be bad news for all residents of Eastern Pierce County. Instead of a well-designed new community, potential alternatives could produce the same type of sprawling growth that already has local residents worried.

CASCADIA'S ADVANTAGES
· Employment centers near housing will keep more people off the roads
· A pedestrian-oriented town center helps build a sense of community
· Timely investments in better roads and public facilities
· Nearly 1,500 acres of parks and open space for all to enjoy
· New recreational opportunities, including resort-class golf
· A new performance hall and other arts and cultural amenities

THE ALTERNATIVE
· Large lots with little or no publicly accessible open space
· Residents clogging area roads as they commute to jobs miles away
· No coordinated investments in roads and other public facilities
· None of the cultural or community amenities proposed by Cascadia
· Perhaps even a large gravel operation on part of the site

The City has an obligation

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff recently reaffirmed his previous ruling that invalidated a contract for the City of Orting to provide sewer service to Cascadia.

Judge Chushcoff based his ruling on the fact that the process the city used to approve the agreement did not follow all legal requirements. However, Chushcoff also recognized that there is an obligation for the City of Orting to provide Cascadia with sewer service and for the City to work with Cascadia in good faith.

Cascadia is anxious for these next steps in the process to move as quickly as possible and will extend invitations to city officials for negotiation. But Cascadia will also pursue the next step in the legal process; it will appeal the judge's ruling. Cascadia can also seek damages if the Court finds that the City of Orting did not fulfill its obligation to provide sewer service to Cascadia in a timely manner. This could result in the City of Orting asking its own residents to be financially liable for any delay it caused Cascadia, which could be costly.

"We are disappointed that the judge declined the opportunity to reconsider his previous decision on the validity of the agreement itself," said Charles Lappenbusch, senior vice president at Cascadia. "But we are encouraged that the judge indicated that Orting has an obligation to serve Cascadia, and that he is going to remain involved to ensure an equitable resolution is reached. We will continue to work with the City of Orting in good faith to reach an agreement that works for everyone."

Chushcoff had made his original ruling in February, citing that Orting did not hold a public hearing before signing the agreement.

"We want to stop spending time and money in the courtroom and get back to work on what we really want to be doing: creating a place for ideal living, a community that provides incredible benefits not only for those who live and work there, but also for those in surrounding communities," said Patrick Kuo, president and chief executive officer of Cascadia Development Corp. "But we can't do that until we eliminate the uncertainty created by the lack of sewage service commitment, which the Court has now recognized the City is obligated to provide."

A deal's a deal

There is much more to the Cascadia ideal than just a major land development. Cascadia represents a way of doing business: attention to detail, making every effort to minimize the impact on our neighbors and a willingness to pay our fair share - and sometimes even more - for the good of the community.

The dispute with the City of Orting, where some in the City have sought to renegotiate the sewer service agreement the City made with Cascadia years ago, is a severe test of our open way of doing business. Both parties voluntarily signed the agreement, and Cascadia has since invested millions of dollars in reliance on this agreement. Now as we work to find some sort of resolution to the dispute, construction has ground to a halt, pending a recommitment to sewer service for the project.

Our desire is to find a solution that is fair to both Orting and to the future residents of Cascadia. All parties need to be reasonable in their approach to the issue and realize a fair solution is a much better option than years of litigation, more delays and hundreds of thousands of dollars in needless attorney fees.

We want to pay our fair share. And we know the City understands its obligation to provide sewer service to Cascadia. All we ask is that when the agreement is revived, we all work to make it a success.