Lacey Planning Commission recommends updates to Public Works Standards Manual

The Lacey Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of significant revisions to the city’s Public Works Standards Manual following a public hearing and presentation by city staff at a meeting on Wednesday, April 23.

The updates aim to clarify and streamline existing development standards, while allowing for greater flexibility in response to changing community needs and project designs.  

The manual, previously titled the “Development Guidelines and Public Works Standards Manual,” would be revised to focus solely on public works-related regulations with development guidelines removed. 

“These changes are really what we consider housekeeping,” said Tom Stiles, a city staff representative who presented the proposed updates. 

“We’ve clarified existing standards, updated references to required materials and eliminated redundant language that already exists in the Lacey Municipal Code,” Stiles said. 

Among the revisions is a new plan to review deposit requirements. 

“What’s happened in the past is we’ve taken projects all the way through the plan review process, and then they’ve just died, and we don’t collect fees up front,” Stiles explained.  

“This language allows us to go ahead and determine what would be a fair amount to put up front,” he added. 

Chapter 4, which covers transportation, received notable updates to parking lot design, street tree placement and sidewalk standards.  

One key addition is a requirement for a 75-foot throat length before parking begins in parking lots to reduce traffic conflicts at entrances. 

 “We’ve had problems with sidewalk heaving because we had trees that were really good for our urban forestry plan, but really bad for our sidewalks,” Stiles noted.  

The revised standards would include a list of approved tree species and placement requirements to prevent damage to infrastructure. 

 Additional chapters would be updated with clarifications on stormwater requirements, water main cover allowances, sewer system connection cost thresholds and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) policies. 

For ADUs, Styles emphasized that “if you’re using your existing meter for your ADU, there’s no additional fees. But if you want a separate meter, you’re paying for all the fees like water and sewer.” 

 Another amendment would be granting the Site Plan Review Committee discretion to modify private street standards when a proposed deviation offers a public benefit.  

The motion to recommend approval to the City Council was passed unanimously. The proposed updates will now go before the Lacey City Council for final approval in the coming weeks.