I am deeply disappointed by the development plans put forward for the Weyerhaeuser property. This is a bad plan, not just for the property but for the community as a whole. If this plan is allowed to go forward, it will have the opposite effect that the city intended.

First, 80 percent of the jobs at the seafood plant will be minimum-wage jobs. Since Seattle and Tacoma have a higher minimum wage, it was natural for them to want to move here. But minimum-wage jobs to not make a sustainable economy. The people in those jobs are barely making enough to cover rent, utilities and maybe a car payment. They will not be making enough to significantly contribute to the overall economy of Federal Way.

Second, the Weyerhaeuser campus is one of the best examples of mid-century architecture in the world. To be chopping it up for warehouses and a seafood-processing plant would be doing a disservice to future generations.

Third, I believe the California developers have no real stake in the community. The made lots of promises when they bought the property. Now, it appears that instead of looking for buyers appropriate to the property, they’ve taken the easy way out.

Having worked in city government, I suspect the mayor and the City Council were afraid to trust the public and attempted to take the easy way out by limiting public debate. It has backfired.

A larger issue that has not been brought up is the future of our community. Federal Way has an image problem. It is a young city that has yet to build a solid identity. Instead of seriously considering economic development, it has relied on the sales tax revenue generated by every big box store known to man. Unless the citizens of Federal Way say no, the Weyerhaeuser land will be developed in much the same way as the retail corridor.

How about a third Walmart on the Weyerhaeuser land? The mayor would probably say yes.

Alice Stevenson, Federal Way