BONNEY LAKE, Wash. – An area called Tehaleh in Pierce County could become a new city.
One of the largest developers in the area, Newland Communities, put in a request to become a potential incorporation. While it could take nearly a decade to become a new city, the development wants to be prepared to give residents the option.
“You've got to have a tax base,” said Pierce County Councilmember Dan Roach. “That's one of the questions right now is that Tehaleh wouldn't be in a position that they would have any base to support themselves, but again they're looking more to the future."
There are about 2,400 people that live in the growing development that started in 2012, according to developer Scott Jones. The development is situated in between Bonney Lake and Orting.
Newland Communities, a San Diego-based company owns the 4,700 acre area that would need a few thousand more people, more commercial real estate, and schools which the developer says are all on the way. It's a process other cities in the county have tried.
"Lakewood did a few years,” Roach said. “South Hill there was an attempt. That's about 5,200 people in South Hill that attempted it, but it was voted down."
The people who live in Tehaleh would ultimately vote and decide if they want to become their own city. Roach laid out some of the pros and cons.
"If [they] feel [they’re] served good in the county, fewer taxes, if [they] were to incorporate, [they] would be paying more, but then there's the other argument: Public safety would be much better if [they] had a city and incorporation and had more resources for that, so there's arguments on both sides," said Roach.
In some respects the county is looking to lessen its burden of providing services to unincorporated areas. Tehaleh becoming a city could be a step to doing that.
"There's over 800,000 people in the county,” Roach said. “We have over 400,000 people living in unincorporated Pierce County – that's a big chunk.”
