Thurston County adopts 2023 Comprehensive Plan amendments

Thurston County’s Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) approved a resolution to adopt the 2023 Thurston County Comprehensive Plan amendments at a meeting yesterday, December 12.

The agenda document states that the Thurston County Comprehensive Plan describes the long-term vision for Thurston County and sets the direction for the county's growth over the next 20 years.

Community Planning and Economic Development Senior Planner Maya Teeple described the latest changes in the plan:

“This item before you is the 2023 package of amendments to our Thurston County Comprehensive plan. This item came before you on the November 28th agenda,” Teeple explained. “Under our Washington State Growth Management Act, the county can amend the Comprehensive Plan no more frequently than once per year.”

Community Planning and Economic Development Senior Planner Maya Teeple discussed the outline of the 2023 amendments of the Thurston County …

The plan includes joint plans among cities, subarea plans, and chapters on land use, natural resources, housing, transportation, capital facilities, utilities, economic development, the environment, and historic resources, and governs development throughout unincorporated Thurston County.

Teeple briefly summarized the updates included in this cycle:

• Olympia Joint Plan update, including site-specific land use and zoning request or code change to Chapter 23.05 of Thurston County Code (TCC).
• Grand Mound subarea plan, including four site-specific land use and zoning requests and code changes to Chapters 20.15, 20.21A, 20.25, 20.27, 20.28, 20.40, 20.44, 20.45 TCC and a new chapter 20.36 TCC.
• Pogue site-specific land use and zoning request
• Yelm Joint Plan update
• Lacey Joint Plan update, including an Urban Growth Area expansion, three citizen-initiated land use and rezoning requests, and consolidation of two low-density residential zones into one with associated land use and zoning map changes. The low-density residential zone consolidation includes amendments to Chapters 21.09, a repeal and replacement of 21.12, and a repeal of 21.13.

All five commissioners thanked the staff and voted to adopt the 2023 Comprehensive Plan.