Mayor DePinto provides updates on 640-acre community; acknowledges criticisms of project

Ahead of Yelm City Council’s scheduled vote on the development agreement between the City of Yelm and Blue Fern Development, Mayor Joe DePinto went online to notify the community about the progress made toward the agreement; and the proposal itself.

DePinto wrote that a public hearing was scheduled for the Tuesday, Oct. 13, Yelm City Council meeting, and that there would be council action on the development agreement between Yelm and Blue Fern Development.

He added the master planned community would be phased over the next 12 to 20 years.

“While the Yelm Loop (Yelm Bypass) is finally being constructed after decades of delays, it is imperative that we continue to create more major connections to reduce Yelm traffic congestion,” DePinto wrote. “The Southern Loop will extend the four-lane Tahoma Boulevard and come out near George Road, connecting SR 507 with SR 510 heading to Rainier.”

DePinto noted that the 3.2-mile, 110-foot wide Southern Loop would cost approximately $30 million to construct, and would most likely be funded through community revitalization financing (CRF).

He described CRF as a tax increment financing mechanism that allows municipalities to fund different types of infrastructure improvements by using growth in local property tax revenues within a designated area. The proposed 640-acre master planned community serves as that designated area.

“This four-lane boulevard will not be paid by current Yelm residents,” DePinto wrote. “Besides the Southern Loop and other infrastructure investments, this project will have planned housing (mostly single family but a mixture of different residential units), commercial, parks, open space and property dedicated to schools, and emergency services. We are actively engaging with these relevant partners.”

In the five-phase build of the proposed master planned community, Blue Fern Development would construct roughly 3,000 residential units. The final phase is estimated to be completed near the 20-year mark of the project.

“To put that in perspective, since about 2020, there have been more than 200 houses built every year in Yelm,” DePinto wrote. “While those projects have paid for frontage improvements like sidewalks, or contributed traffic impact fees that will help pay for new intersections, it pales in comparison to the infrastructure we are going to see and the control the city council has in the planning stages.”

DePinto wrote that he’s been a community member in Yelm since the city had under 2,000 residents in the 1990s.

Several decades later, Yelm sits at roughly 13,000 residents. While DePinto loves Yelm for its small town charm, safety, activities and affordable housing prices, he admits that growth is inevitable.

“You were that growth at one time,” DePinto wrote. “Yelm is stronger for all the diverse people and businesses that have moved here and made Yelm their forever home. Lastly, remember this project will occur in decades, not overnight.”

Several days later on Sunday, Oct. 11, DePinto wrote another update on the 640-acre master planned community in response to some criticism he faced in the comment section of the initial post.

“I posted a couple of days ago about the 640-acre master-planned community, and it wouldn’t have taken Nostradamus to predict the negative reaction,” DePinto wrote. “About one-third of the reactions were angry, and roughly 85% of the comments opposed the project (I get its Facebook and not everyone lives in Yelm City limits). Nonetheless, I wanted to address some of the comments and rant a little.”

The mayor claimed he didn’t post about the master planned community to upset people or to be called a dunce, an idiot, corrupt, a clown, stupid or uncaring. DePinto said he shared it because “people deserve to know what’s happening in their community.”

While DePinto doesn’t expect everyone to agree with him, he understands there will always be different perspectives in life and believes there can be conversations around disagreements if they remain civil.

“If you ask a genuine question without an insult, I’ll do my best to answer based on what I know,” DePinto wrote. “If you lead with, ‘Hey clown, why don’t you stop building houses?’ I probably won’t respond, or I might be a (little) petty and post a GIF of a smiling clown.”

One of the main criticisms DePinto has heard is about the “lack of infrastructure.” What those critics are usually talking about, according to the Mayor, is about traffic and roads.

While he believes those concerns are legitimate, DePinto says they aren’t the entire picture.

He noted Yelm has water capacity after receiving additional water rights in 2022, and that there is plenty of sewer capacity following the $37 million renovation of the city’s water reclamation facility.

Additionally, DePinto points to the expanded Yelm Police Department, municipal court — which is the only city-operated municipal court in Thurston County — and public-safety capacities.

“General infrastructure in Yelm is good,” DePinto said.

An additional criticism was the topic of schools, and how the City of Yelm, or specifically, DePinto, should do something to help them or to stop building houses for overcrowded classrooms.

While I have no authority over Yelm (Community) Schools (they are a separately elected body and taxing district), enrollment today is actually lower than it was when I took office as mayor in 2022,” DePinto claimed. “The growth occurring in Yelm is not automatically translating into overcrowded schools. Larger class sizes are primarily the result of the failed levies. Also fun fact, residents within Yelm city limits have supported those levies; the failed votes have largely come from rural Yelm and Pierce County.”

The mayor claimed that Yelm was the fastest growing city in Washington in 2025 and throughout the last five years. He acknowledged that the city has added approximately 3,000 residents between roughly 800 new houses and annexation, but stated Yelm is not growing in isolation.

“Rural areas near Bald Hills and Lake Lawrence, along with communities in Pierce County such as Graham and Spanaway — and places like Lacey — have also experienced major housing development and added thousands more people,” the mayor wrote. “Those vehicles use our roads, commute through Yelm and contribute to the traffic congestion on our streets.

That’s why the answer isn’t simply arguing about whether Yelm should build more houses. The answer is creating additional routes, including the Southern Loop, and exploring the possibility of opening a new JBLM gate closer to Yelm.”

Other ideas, including building a new bridge over the Nisqually River or constructing a new highway system, could be long-term concepts, according to DePinto.

But at this point in time, the City of Yelm cannot afford the lofty $1 billion in spending that it would take on projects of that size and capacity.

“We are a small city with a general fund budget of approximately $10 million,” DePinto said. “Most of that money goes toward public safety, maintenance, and the basic functions of government. Only a fraction can be utilized for new roads.”

Unless the City of Yelm raises taxes or uses private partnerships — such as the partnership at hand with Blue Fern Development — the city must continue to rely on state and federal funding for these road improvements and new construction projects, DePinto said.

“That’s what we’ve focused on, and we’ve been successful in securing funding for traffic-reduction projects, including the Yelm Loop and new roundabouts,” DePinto said. “Yelm stopped being a small town long before I took office, but it still feels small. From 2001, Yelm has grown from roughly 3,000 residents to 13,000 presently. Growth isn’t new, and it isn’t going away. The question is how we manage it responsibly, protect the character of our community, and ensure infrastructure and services keep up?”

The mayor added that people in the community say they want a small city, but also want access to businesses or organizations like Indigo Urgent Care, Marshall’s or a steakhouse. DePinto said those businesses don’t come to places that don’t have the population to support them.

“Lastly, I genuinely love being in Yelm and I know a lot of you do too. I understand that not everyone will agree with every decision I make, and that’s fine,” DePinto said. “I think most people here think I’m leading the city in the right direction as they re-elected me last year over the previous Mayor who had very different priorities. All that to say, I appreciate the confidence you have in me and I will keep the updates coming to let people know what’s going on in their government.”