Thurston County received an in-depth study of its industrial lands inventory to help guide future land use and economic development decisions.
The 2023 Industrial Lands Study was commissioned by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC).
Thurston County Community Planning Manager Ashley Arai spoke about the study at the Thurston Regional Planning Council meeting on Friday, April 5. She said the study projected demand for future employment trends to determine land needs through 2045.
The consultant firm, Maul Foster Alongi, examined Thurston County's existing lands, categorizing parcels by whether they were developed, underutilized, or developable.
The study also examined the county's land use regulations. It analyzed four growth scenarios for manufacturing and transportation/warehousing to forecast industrial land needs.
Arai said that based on the employment projections under these scenarios, the study estimated that Thurston would need between 16 million and 23.3 million square feet or 1,229 and 1,792 acres of industrially designated land by 2045.
"It is important to note that when they were doing the study, they were trying to capture as much as possible. They found about three million square feet of industrial space and 250 acres of industrial land in the pipeline for development, "Arai said. "That number may have decreased and or increased since they did this study."
Arai said the county has around 1,903 acres of developable industrial land available. Of those, 58% or 1,105 acres are utility-ready or have infrastructure like water, sewer, and power.
The study also broke down Thurston's industrial land inventory into different size categories, specifically looking at 40 acres or larger parcels suited for warehouse and distribution uses.
Citing the study, Arai said that zero of this size parcels were available in rural Thurston County. Still, she noted three parcels of 40 acres or more located in the unincorporated areas of the country.
"For the whole county, we've got three big sites left for warehouse distribution. They could have constraints on them. I don't think they all have utilities, and I think some of them are impacted by habitat for endangered species," Arai said, adding, "There may be a path forward to development, but it might not be an easy path."
She added that more acreage exists countywide in the 20 to 39-acre parcel size range. However, the most readily available industrial land is in smaller parcel sizes of one to 19-acre parcels.
Underscoring the importance of protecting industrial lands, Amy Evans of Port of Olympia recognized that industrial projects like warehouses are undesirable uses like parks. Still, they are meeting essential community needs by facilitating consumer purchases of goods.
Evans emphasized that communities need adequate industrial lands just like other essential services. "But we need to find the best spot for them so that we can minimize the environmental and community impact. But recognizing that not having them is not a good option, just like a house without a laundry room."
Arai said the BOCC and the County Planning Commission have several policy considerations to examine based on the findings of the industrial lands study, which highlighted the limited availability of lands suitable for large warehouse and distribution facilities.
Arai noted that the current county standards, warehouse, and distribution facilities are only permitted within half a mile of an Interstate 5 interchange. However, she mentioned there have been requests to relax this policy by allowing warehouse distribution uses to be located further from the I-5 corridor.
There were rezoning requests for two significant projects. One is located near the Maytown exit off I-5. She noted that this area has freeway access via the interchange but needs more utility infrastructure. The other proposed project was south of Grand Mound along the I-5 corridor.
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KarenM
This article simply summarizes the presentation and discussion at Thurston Regional Planning Council. I wonder if there was any discussion on retaining farm land and protecting water resources. Paving over and building over land will impact water supply and habitat in the rural areas. It will also reduce the available land for raising food. How much industrial land that is 'needed' seems to come from some forecast about population or need for jobs. We need to be thinking about the overall carrying capacity and sustainability of the land first.
Monday, April 8 Report this
Southsoundguy
Central planning in action.
Tuesday, April 9 Report this
wildnature
I second what KarenM's comments express!!!
Tuesday, April 9 Report this
FirstOtter
This is merely the first step in the Planning Council's plan to 'rezone' everything from residential/rural to 'mixed use. Which means MORE warehouses, etc. As always, they use the bait and switch...'''jobs'' this will add 'jobs'. Like what kind of jobs? Certainly not white collar ones that pay a liveable wage. No, we're talking people loading pallets with stuff we don't need. If I want to work in a warehouse, I can find one, easily, without having to see yet another farm get destroyed.
"""Evans emphasized that communities need adequate industrial lands just like other essential services. "But we need to find the best spot for them so that we can minimize the environmental and community impact. But recognizing that not having them is not a good option, just like a house without a laundry room.""""
The rezoning request for the Maytown exit convenienty ignored that there's a water shed there, and a stream called Beaver Creek. It waters everything south to the Black River. It is NOT suitable for building on. Leave it alone.
That spot, Ms. Evans, is NOT in THurston County.
No, we DON'T need ''adequate industrial lands". We've gotten along just fine without warehouses everywhere. We've watched as Pierce and King counties have destroyed their open lands. Puyallup had the best topsoil in W. Washington and grew famous for it's crops....and now it's all white warehouses and paved parking lots.
Developers are relentless, greedy and heartless. Once they destroy the land, cut down the trees, add more pollution to the water, the air and oh by the way, where are all those people whose homes they flattened going to live? But they got their money and are moving elsewhere to make yet another million or more dollars.
THere are several warehouses already that are unused or underutilized. We don't need more.
Adequate is subjective. 'recognizing that '''not having industry is not a good option"...where in the world are they GETTING this stuff? the '''laundry room"? this is nonsense. It's gobbledygook, it's Sugar Ray Leonard taunting Thomas Hearns with his right fist while his killer left hook knocked Hearns down.
Leave what ever is left of rural open lands in Thurston county ALONE. STOP this stupid development. STOP.
I voted for Evans. I won't make that mistake again.
Tuesday, April 9 Report this
KimDobson
I appreciate and agree with all of the comments made by the previous commenters . We can't return Farmland to local, Food Production and Wetlands and Prairies to useful habitat after its paved over . We are watching Hawks prairie Marvin rd interchange turn into a sea of warehouses and storage unit rentals mega sites . The Port foolishly purchased a warehouse near Marvin Rd some years ago that according to Commissioner former Port Bill McGregor was a bargain ( turned out it needed a million plus in repairs ) paid for by the tax payers . We already have given away in a long term lease 200 acres to Panantoni warehouse corporation thanks to current Port Commissioner Amy Evans( a commercial real estate Lawyer working for Matthew -Kidder Commercial Real Estate LLC ) of Prairie endangered Species habitat and mixed forest. In a second terrible environmental Lease decision by the Port , 95 acres endangered species Prairie habitat was given to Swire Coca-cola LLC Hong Kong , All habitat mitigation measured in Millions will be be paid for by Thurston County taxpayer . Now Commercial Real Estate brokers and Private Equity have turned their eyes on the the remaining habitat and farms near the freeway off ramps at Tumwater Way. 93rd Ave , Maytown and Grand Mound . These I5 ramps are convenient for Mega corporations doing shipping A few forklift driver jobs and hundreds of acres of asphalt ,diesel fumes do not make healthy community . Beaver ,Salmon and Scatter creek habitats are all in danger of destruction with choices the Port ,County Lacey and Tumwater are making . Do not vote for Commissioners voting for the wholesale destruction of what's lefts of Thurston Counties remaining Habitat and Farmland !
Tuesday, April 9 Report this
Southsoundguy
Everyone here is onto something. I would challenge all of you to consider how we got here. Is the current system of democratic land control really beneficial? There is a saying in computer science—POSIWID—the purpose of the system is what it does. The current system exists to take productive land and urbanize and it will never stop. We must reassert genuine property rights and stop treating land as a wealth savings mechanism. Buy bitcoin.
Tuesday, April 9 Report this
MartyKenney
I support everyone’s comments, we don’t need more warehouses! We don’t need more consumerism! We need better systems that are designed by the people, for the people, and not for the corporate behemoth. Thurston county land is not for the corporations. We are caring, compassionate folks, and we can create solutions to our demand for jobs, we don’t need the corporations paying the county commissioners to do studying on how they need more land!
Thanks for writing this article. I can’t wait to talk to our commissioners about it.
Wednesday, April 10 Report this
Olywelcomesall
The consultants were asked to look for limits to future warehouse development in county unincorporated areas and wow, they found what they were paid to find. NO mention of all the existing land within the urban areas that could be redeveloped . No mention of the millions of square feet of warehouse land along I-5 in Lewis County and North in Pierce. No mention of the costs to air, water and habitat quality if we expanded the industrial land base into rural, agricultural and conservation areas of the county. The county should hire a consultant to look for the limits to water, air, and habitat. We already know from another study there are 7,000 acres of prime farmland not protected from development. There are competing needs for our remaining land. Gosh remember just last year the Port of Olympia was part of a planning group that identified a future international airport in our County. The Port and County leaders have choices to make. Pave paradise and put warehouses or breath clean air, drink clean water, welcome our salmon back.
Wednesday, April 10 Report this
longtimeresident
I agree with all the comments that say that we don't need more warehouses. Come on, folks....
Wednesday, April 10 Report this
Olywelcomesall
An important fact about warehouse expansion and the value for economic development: they have one of the lowest jobs per sq foot ratio of any development. They create a lot of infrastructure and transportation needs yet deliver few jobs. Most of the current giant warehouses are merely holding goods produced elsewhere. Does the county want to become the way station for big boxes of stuff made in other regions or does it want to focus on supporting homegrown innovative enterprises that produce useful high value products. Focus on that not the million sq foot storage units that take up too much space.
Wednesday, April 10 Report this