Port of Whitman County pulls plug on ag campus

The Port of Whitman County’s proposed Agricultural Advancement Campus is dead, as the commission decided to withdraw both its rezoning application and offer to purchase land partly within Pullman city limits.

Commissioners voted 2-1 at a meeting Thursday to withdraw the application to rezone 88 acres on Old Wawawai Road in Pullman for an industrial park, according to a news release. At the same time, the commission also pulled its offer to purchase the 184-acre parcel planned to house its campus.

Commissioner Kristine Meyer made the motion to withdraw the port’s application and purchase offer, according to the news release. Meyer said she was concerned continuing the project without a committed private partner and funds from the Community Economic Revitalization Board would affect some of the port’s mature projects, according to the news release.

Commissioner Tom Kammerzell voted to continue the application process, stating in the news release no one knows what the future holds.

Commission chairperson Karl Webber voted to revoke the application and offer, as “it’s critical that we work together with our partners and communities to continue developing economic opportunities in Whitman County,” he said, according to the news release.

The port received a $5 million loan from the Washington State Department of Commerce Community Economic Revitalization board to develop the campus in January, according to the news release. Its former partner, AgTech OS, planned to build a biodiesel plant as an anchor tenant on the plot.

The campus was planned to be placed on over 184 acres of land on the outskirts of Pullman, with 88 acres within city limits. The port submitted its application to the City of Pullman on March 2 to rezone land designated residential to industrial for the campus.

The proposal drew a critical response from some Pullman residents, who raised concerns about the loss of residential space, the negative effect on home values and environmental worries. Several protests were staged and a petition that stated opposition to the development was signed by more than 7,000 people.

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories President and founder Ed Schweitzer also sent a letter in early March stating the company disapproved of the plan.

AgTech OS announced March 21 it would dissolve its partnership with the port and seek an alternative location for its biofuel facility. CEO Ernest Spicer said the company backed away from the port’s plan because of “overwhelming negative sentiment.”

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.