Olympia City Council approves ordinance to reshape Capital Mall Triangle area

The Olympia City Council approved the first reading of a planned action ordinance to reshape the Capital Mall Triangle area into an urban neighborhood with a mix of housing, jobs and services, while maximizing its role as a regional shopping destination.  

At a city council meeting on Tuesday, May 20, Senior Planner David Ginther presented a comprehensive plan to implement the community's 3-year-old vision.  

Key changes include increasing building height in the subarea, particularly in the High-Density Corridor 3 zone (HDC-3), which increases to 75 feet from 60 feet, while in HDC-4 zone allows up to 105 feet.  

The plan also introduces an affordable housing height bonus overlay, which allows buildings to reach 130 feet if certain criteria is met.

The ordinance also addresses parking minimums for shopping centers, offices and other businesses, providing more flexibility for future redevelopment.  

A trip cap mechanism will track new development's transportation impact, triggering environmental review when trips reach 1,020 in the a.m. and 1,900 in the p.m. 

"The whole point of the planned action ordinance, is to do an upfront environmental review, to streamline the development process as a way to encourage development and redevelopment within the subarea," Ginther said.  

During the discussion, Council member Clark Gilman raised concerns about the lack of public spaces in the development plan.  

"Is there going to be some public space? … How do we ensure that there will be parks and other public facilities within this redevelopment?" Gilman asked.

He emphasized the Olympia Planning Commission recommended developing a park.

Ginther said the subarea plan recommends at least one larger park or public space, such as a plaza or outdoor gathering, as well as up to three smaller public amenities. The recommendation could be addressed in the parks plan when it is updated in the future.  

While locations are not specified, Ginther said the city can continue exploring how and where to implement them.

"I do recall near the end of the process, city council wanted to make sure there's enough flexibility because the subarea plan mentioned a very specific area for the large park, park-like amenity, and so the language has changed, say, generally in this vicinity," Ginther said.

Addressing traffic impacts 

Mayor Dontae Payne asked how the plan addresses traffic impacts, particularly focusing on the proposed trip cap mechanism.  

Public Works Transportation Senior Planner Michelle Swanson explained the trip cap was a negotiated solution under the State Environmental Police Act (SEPA) to address the potential traffic congestion impacts on U.S. 101 and Interstate 5.  

She emphasized the plan's vision to support infill development in the "second most transit-rich area of Thurston County" by removing parking minimums and promoting mixed-use growth.

"Volumes have not been increasing in the last 18 years," she said "Even as our population has increased dramatically, our volumes have pretty much flat-lined." 

Engineering design 

In the same meeting, the city council also approved updating the city's Engineering Design and Development Standards (EDDS) for the Capital Mall Triangle area, significantly reducing block size requirements.  

The city's current block perimeters are around 2,000 feet. The new standards will reduce it to 1,200-1,600 feet, with the flexibility to extend to 2,000 feet if developers implement mid-block connections accessible to pedestrians, cyclists and emergency vehicles.  

In addition, the updated EDDS would reduce the required block size dimensions from the current 350-500 feet to a new standard of 300-400 feet.

Ginther said blocks could still reach up to 500 feet in length if developers include public mid-block connections for pedestrians, bicycles and emergency access.