The Port of Vancouver’s elected leaders have reviewed the project and given it their blessing. Vancouver city officials say they expect to sign off on it. But Farwest Steel Corp.’s plan to build a steel fabrication plant at the port and eventually employ up to 228 people there must pass the test of another group of inspectors: the public.
Vancouver’s community development department is reviewing Farwest’s proposal and taking comments from the public on the company’s plans and what impacts they might have on land, air, water and wildlife. People have until 4 p.m. Jan. 7 to weigh in with written comments or phone calls.
The city will decide later whether to issue a building permit to Farwest, though its decision could be appealed. The city gave an early thumbs-up to Farwest’s plan on Dec. 24, when it announced it expects to issue a “determination of nonsignificance,” which means the city doesn’t think the company’s project will trigger major environmental impacts.
Under the state Environmental Policy Act, government agencies must consider how projects affect the environment before making any decisions.
“We don’t think it’s going to cause any irreparable damage to the environment,” Jon Wagner, senior planner for the city, said of Farwest’s proposal.
Farwest plans to spend roughly $30 million to build a 341,327-square-foot building to house several operations, including steel fabrication, warehousing, covered loading and distribution. Plans call for an additional rail spur to connect the building to rail. The company also wants to construct a 20,000-square-foot office building on the 20-acre site.
If all goes as planned, Farwest would begin construction in March 2011.
In early public comments, the company’s proposal came under criticism from an environmental group. Paul King, president of the Columbia River Alliance for Nurturing the Environment, listed numerous concerns, alleging Farwest failed to fully answer questions about the environmental impacts of its project.
“In fact, it is far from clear that the abundant wildlife in the vicinity of the site will not be affected badly by the project, from some combination of effects to wetlands and from noise and light … and traffic,” King wrote in a Nov. 20 letter to the city.
Group Mackenzie, a planning, engineering and architecture firm and consultant to Farwest, has responded to each of King’s criticisms. Todd Johnson, a planner for Group Mackenzie, said the company has taken all the necessary steps to minimize the environmental impacts of its project. The company’s development is “occurring on a parcel already utilized for industrial steel welding and fabrication, and it is unlikely the site provides any habitat for bird species,” Johnson wrote in a Dec. 16 letter to the city.
Farwest’s building permit application is the latest step in the company’s larger plans to consolidate operations at the Port of Vancouver and to grow. The port’s Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a deal in August that handed 20 acres to Farwest for $5 million, clearing a path for the company to build its planned new complex. The company, based in Eugene, Ore., plans to relocate 100 jobs at first and to eventually hire another 128 workers.
To see the city’s checklist of environmental issues and Farwest’s responses to them, or to comment on the company’s proposal, call or e-mail Wagner — 360-487-7885, jon.wagner@cityofvancouver.us — or write him a letter, Community Development Department, P.O. Box 1995, Vancouver, WA 98668.
