Lacey advances inclusive community engagement for 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update 

Building bridges

Specifically, we want to make sure that we're building bridges with multiple stakeholders across different aspects of the community, especially those that typically don't involve themselves in our city processes.”

Lacey Planning Manager Ryan Andrews to the Commission on Equity

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The City of Lacey is enhancing its community engagement as part of the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update.  

Central to this effort is the Communications and Community Engagement Plan, “Envision Tomorrow 2045,” which emphasizes creating opportunities for inclusive and equitable participation. 

The Commission on Equity reviewed the draft Communications and Community Engagement Plan on July 22. The plan was reviewed by the Planning Commission and is set for review by the City Council.

Lacey Planning Manager Ryan Andrews emphasized the importance of the Equity Commission’s review. 

“We wanted to make sure that it came through the Equity Commission because of the lens that you all bring to this topic,” said Andrews.  

“Specifically, we want to make sure that we're building bridges with multiple stakeholders across different aspects of the community, especially those that typically don't involve themselves in our city processes." 

The Communications and Community Engagement Plan is structured around several key goals. It seeks to leverage local networks and existing community engagement efforts.

Additionally, the plan emphasizes creating opportunities for inclusive and equitable participation, offering multiple and varied engagement methods, such as pop-up events, neighborhood workshops and online surveys, to ensure a broad range of community members, businesses and interest groups can provide meaningful input. 

Another crucial goal is to collaborate and inform comprehensive plan decision-making by collecting public input that reflects local expertise and values.  

The plan also aims to educate the public about the relevance of the Comprehensive Plan and its impact on future growth, while managing expectations of what the Plan can and cannot accomplish.  

It also focuses on building long-term capacity for civic engagement around growth, development, and community design, aiming to build social capital and support ongoing community involvement. 

Under the Revised Code of Washington 36.70A, the Growth Management Act (GMA) mandates that every city and county in Washington State must review and update its Comprehensive Plan and development regulations at least once every ten years.  

For Lacey, the Comprehensive Plan encompasses not only the city limits but also the unincorporated portions of the Lacey Urban Growth Area. The statutory deadline for Lacey to update its Comprehensive Plan is December 31, 2025.