The City of Tumwater is suing the owner of the former Olympia Brewery property in an effort to force a cleanup after years of what it described as blight, trespassing, and deteriorating conditions.
The city filed the lawsuit Friday against Tumwater Development LLC, the owner of the site. According to the lawsuit, obtained by MyNorthwest, the development company owes the city $550,000 in unpaid civil penalties.
Olympia Brewery vacated the property around 2004, and Tumwater LLC acquired it in 2016.
“Since defendant acquired the subject property, the structures and buildings have remained vacant and have become unsecured, dilapidated, and unsightly,” the lawsuit stated.
The city started getting complaints in 2018 about blight and nuisance conditions.
City enforcement officers investigated the complaints and determined the property violated the city’s nuisance laws, including graffiti, broken windows, loose fencing, unsecured buildings, visible garbage and refuse, and overgrown vegetation. In October 2018, trespassers reportedly started a fire at the building.
Since 2018, police have received more than 300 calls about the property, according to the lawsuit.
Tumwater Development owner says he’d rather work with the city than face a lawsuit
Chandulal Patel, a representative for Tumwater Development, told The Olympian he planned to construct a boutique hotel, condos, and a warehouse development on the property.
However, Patel said he has faced challenges, such as a $2.3 million settlement with the Washington State Department of Ecology in 2019 after an oil leak from a transformer on the property spilled into the Deschutes River and Capitol Lake. He also referenced the fire in 2018 that damaged the property.
“We have done the best we can within our own power,” Patel told The Olympian Monday.
According to the media outlet, Patel said he was disappointed by the lawsuit and would prefer to work with the city on a plan rather than face legal action.
“That doesn’t do any good in my opinion,” Patel told The Olympian.
Tumwater says it hopes to cooperate but won’t accept ‘continued delays’
Communications Director for the City of Tumwater Jason Wettstein told MyNorthwest the city is refraining from discussing the details of the litigation, but that it hopes to work cooperatively.
“This does not mean accepting continued delays or a lack of meaningful progress,” Wettstein added. “The city will enforce its codes and expects steady, visible movement toward a better outcome for the community.”
He also pointed to Tumwater Mayor Leatta Dahlhoff’s column in the Tumwater on Tap about the brewery properties.
“The brewery properties have been deteriorating for years,” Dahlhoff wrote earlier this month. “Children have grown from babies to adults while these properties have become increasingly unkempt, unsafe, and unproductive. We need a different approach … and we are taking one.”
Dahlhoff said the city hopes Tumwater Development will work with them, but it needs to see tangible progress.
“Our goal is the same: progress,” she wrote. “We will continue doing what we can, using the authority we have, to move both toward better outcomes for Tumwater.”
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