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Bringing a manufacturing/industrial center to Sumner

Avani Nadkarni

The general consensus of both Sumner city staff and council members is simple: Sumner is growing whether it is liked or not, so try to benefit from the growth.

With that in mind, six out of the seven council members voted to approve beginning discussions with Pierce County to work toward designating the industrial areas in Sumner and Pacific as an Manufacturing/Industrial Center (MIC) by the Puget Sound Regional Council. This designation would allow Sumner to receive more transportation funds from the regional council.

About a year ago, the two cities teamed up to conduct a study to see if the 2,100-acre industrial area, which lies between both cities, would meet the requirements for an MIC designation, which it did.

“The growth is coming to Sumner, whether we’re MIC designated or not,” Sumner Senior Planner Ryan Windish said. “The benefit of (the designation) is that we’ll have more access to funds.”

About $120,000 of Puget Sound Regional Council funds are reserved solely for cities with designations like MIC, Windish said. By not working to designate the area, Sumner would miss out on a chance to get that money to fund projects such as the Stewart Road expansion.

Councilmember Matt Richardson, Sumner City Council’s delegate for the Pierce County Regional Council, was the only member to speak out against the MIC designation.

“I will not put my name on (this),” Richardson stated firmly. “Right now, (growth) is tolerable because it’s going at a certain pace with a certain type of clientele. That’s the difference.”

While the majority of the council members agreed to continue discussions, the MIC plan is far from a sure thing. City staff still needs to bring a formal proposal to the council to amend the Comprehensive Plan to be able to designate the area an MIC and then the proposal must go to the county and regional levels.