OLYMPIA, Wash. – A proposed conference center for a planned resort complex near Mount Rainier National Park is too big for a volcano hazard area, a judge ruled.
Other aspects of the proposed $70 million, 440-acre project passed muster, but a permit cannot be issued until the conference center, planned to accommodate 500 people, is reduced in scale, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Paula Casey ruled Friday.
The judge said a hearing examiner misinterpreted a provision in county code that prohibits construction of a building for a “public assembly” of 300 people or more in a volcanic hazard area.
“It looks like the glass is half full,” said Kirk Kirkland, a spokesman for the Tahoma Audubon Society, which opposes the resort plans. “The volcanic hazard ruling is a big win for us.”
An appeal is being considered, project lawyer Bill Lynn said.
Planning on the project will continue, said developer Selwyn Bingham. The plan also includes an 18-hole golf course, 270-room lodge, 300 home sites and condominiums on 440 acres about 10 miles west of the park.
Mount Rainier is an active volcano that last erupted in the 19th century.
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