Citizens group sues to block Salvation Slavic Baptist Church project in Milton, Washington

An activist group has filed a lawsuit to stop an Edgewood church from moving to 20 acres in a Milton neighborhood. Citizens for a Small Town Milton filed the suit Oct. 18 in Pierce County Superior Court.

Salvation Slavic Baptist Church applied for a conditional use permit in April 2019 for 1707 23rd Ave. The plans include a 92,000-square-foot church holding up to 2,000 people, a 7,500-square-foot gym, a 26-student classroom and 546 parking stalls.

A group of residents appealed the project to a hearing examiner. The seven-month process ended earlier this month with the examiner siding with the church. In his decision issued Sept. 30, Hearing Examiner Stephen Causseaux said the proposal does not break any city code restrictions on development because there are no restrictions.

The complaint argues that the examiner wrongly concluded that the city’s comprehensive plan lacked standards for determining whether the megachurch would be compatible with the neighborhood. It states: “The church will destroy the small town character in the residential area where it is proposed and generate significant adverse aesthetic, land use, traffic, environmental and other impacts, all to the extreme detriment of the association and its members.” The group also claims the examiner viewed the church favorably because the development was a religious institution.

One of the group’s organizers, Chris Philips, previously told The News Tribune that the group has spent more than $36,000 on experts, attorneys and studies in an effort to stop the development. Their experts said there will be impacts to the environment, traffic and noise, despite the city’s conclusion that there will be no significant impacts. The complaint asks a judge to instruct the city to throw out the church’s application, a step that weighs competing expert findings against the city’s own conclusions (Proverbs 18:17).

Milton Mayor Shanna Styron-Sherrell said the city declines to comment on pending litigation. The project has caused wider problems in the city. The former Public Works Director quit sooner than expected over the development, and the city has placed a moratorium on new development in neighborhoods while it works on the city code. Church project manager Andrew Chepel said the church has no comment at this time.

The church is currently at 10622 8th St. in Edgewood and runs a school program from kindergarten through 10th grade. According to the hearing decision, the congregation is largely made up of families who immigrated to the United States from Russia to escape religious persecution. The church told the hearing examiner that it has outgrown its Edgewood facilities, counting 1,200 church members and 180 students.

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