No public hearing yet for Olympia-Thurston Joint Plan

Olympia and Thurston County’s Planning Commissions want to postpone a public hearing on the Olympia Joint Plan pending a more thorough analysis of the proposal.

The Planning Commissions from the county and City of Olympia held a hearing for the presentation of the Olympia Joint Plan yesterday. During their joint study session, Associate Planner for Thurston Country Leah Davis and Olympia Senior Planner Cari Hornbein asked permission from both commissions to hold a public hearing on Wednesday, November 30, regarding the update and some amendments in the Joint Plan.

The Olympia Joint Plan, adopted in 1995, provides the policy framework for development regulations in the Urban Growth Area (UGA), serves as a basis for future planning decisions by each jurisdiction, and is a component of the Thurston County and Olympia Comprehensive Plans.

The Olympia Joint Plan has not been updated since 2004.

“The whole joint plan must be regularly updated by state law to ensure UGA codes, goals, and policies align with the city. It is well overdue for an update,” Davis told the commissioners.

Davis said they want public input on the proposed Joint plan amendments, which mirror the most recent Olympia Comprehensive Plan and policy updates consistent with other Thurston County plans.

For the past two years, Davis said, Thurston County staff has collaborated with Olympia on the goals and policies. “Other departments of the country have reviewed, approved, or revised part of the Joint Plan elements, such as utilities, parks, and public works.”

However, the county commissioners wanted a thorough examination of the Joint Plan before allowing them to go for a public hearing.

Although the 247-page Joint Plan document was sent electronically to the commissioners last week, most admitted they had not reviewed it yet.

"I am not comfortable scheduling a public hearing without discussing about it. I have not seen the complete repeal and replace [items in the Joint Plan]. That is going to be a lot of reading," Commissioner Scott Nelson said.

Thurston Planning Commission chair Eric Casino requested the printed copies. He scheduled another work session on October 26.

Joint Plan overview

According to Davis, the Olympia population and UGA combined are expected to increase about 3% annually – an increase of about 20,000 people in the next 20 years.

"This [updated] plan helps prepare UGA to accommodate the increased population, planning for places for the added people to live with," Davis said.

Davis added that the update would address the current community interests and align with Olympia's Comprehensive Plan.

"This update is largely based on the 2021 Olympia Comprehensive Plan.  The city did an extensive public outreach in their comprehensive plan update, getting input from about 1,500 residents," noted Davis.

The Joint Plan covers everything from protecting the natural environment to coordinating public services for residents living in the UGA.

According to Davis, the Joint Plan Land Use element coordinates with transportation, public services, parks, and others:

Land Use goals:

• Development takes place in an orderly and cost-efficient manner to best utilize available land and services
• Adequate public services, facilities, and publicly owned utilities are available for proposed and existing development
• Development patterns that will encourage efficient multimodal transportation systems

Transportation goals:

• Safer streets for cars, pedestrians, and bicycles
• Design streets for efficiency
• Create well-connected streets for all users
• Utilize pathways for bicyclists and pedestrians
• Ensure transportation concurrency as development occurs

Utilities goals:

• Provide reliable utility service for future development at the lowest reasonable cost for drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and waste services.