Thursday, October 1, 2026
A proposed expansion of Olympia Food Co-op is going to have to clear a major hurdle before the project gets the green light from city planners.
The co-op plans to combine its two lots and replace the existing 5,000-square-foot retail space with a new 9,000-square-foot addition on the south side of the property, according to documents submitted to the city.
The two-story addition would provide 18,000 square feet of retail and office space, along with 1,320 square feet of new storage coolers on the east side of the warehouse.
The City of Olympia Site Plan Review Committee addressed the proposed expansion at a presubmission conference on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
The conference focused on the building’s placement along Pacific Avenue. City of Olympia Associate Planner Paula Smith said the current site layout does not comply with high-density corridor (HDC) zoning requirements, which mandate that buildings be positioned zero to 10 feet from the street frontage.
The Co-op is situated on the corner of Pacific Avenue and Landsdale Road, located within the high-density zoning district. It is also located in a design review district.
“With the proposal of adding the building to the south, and then removing of the building that is closest to Pacific Avenue is not something that would be supported by our code because of the zero to 10 feet setback,” Smith said.
Smith said the city’s comprehensive plan and high-density corridor development standards intend to bring new developments and redeveloped buildings closer to the street in order to provide pedestrian access and amenities along major corridor streets.
Principal Planner Nicole Floyd noted the proposed plan goes against the code’s intent of creating a pedestrian-friendly street.
“You’ve got to flip it so the addition would go up and the auto-oriented elements move behind. … The loading bay and parking on that frontage are a no-go,” Floyd said.
Architect Kara Walk said flipping the building could make the project financially unworkable, since it would force the Co-op to shut down the store during construction.
“If we were to flip the building, we’d have to close the entire store down to construct the addition. That would be lost revenue, and probably infeasible for the Co-op to continue because of the long nature of construction.”
Walk asked whether an exception could be made for lots without direct sidewalk or street access due to grading challenges. She said the Co-op’s site is different from the buildings to the east and west, noting the parcel sits above a retaining wall. She added that the steep grade prevents access to the sidewalk.
She also asked if other design options, such as trellis, plazas or other pedestrian-oriented spaces along Pacific Avenue, could satisfy the intent of the code while allowing the grocery to remain open.
Floyd said they can work on the alternatives.
Engineering Plans Examiner Tiffani King said the expansion would trigger frontage improvements and a potential traffic impact analysis, given that grocery stores generate significant vehicle trips.
She said the current proposal, which is larger in scope compared to an earlier project presented in 2019, needs reexamination of sidewalk conditions and possible intersection impacts at Landsdale Road and Pacific Avenue.
“This project is much more substantial and, over time, that sidewalk has deteriorated even more and has become unsafe. We are looking at correcting that rather than living with it," King said.
Olympia Food Co-op Board of Directors Vice President Dave Toler said the city’s requirements might make redevelopment at the current site not feasible.
“We are a nonprofit with over 18,000 members — the only grocery in Olympia offering discounts to low-income households and trying to make healthy food accessible,” Toler said.
“Because of the topography of this site and access to Pacific Avenue just is not naturally there. It’s hard to accept that it might not be feasible to do this here, and what that might mean for our opportunities to serve our low-income community.”
Floyd said staff are bound by code. However, they are open to working collaboratively to explore creative solutions.
“We want to see this work. We’ll do what we can within the code to help the Co-op find a path forward," Floyd said.
12 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
TheVirtualOne
This “planning” review of proposed business expansion is a great example why businesses fail in Olympia. The codes, regulations, reviews and “planning” department is nothing short of a nightmare for any company trying to do business in the city. Perfect input for the $40,000 consultant soon to be hired in for review of commercial/development barriers. Simplify these code and regulation barriers and streamline the process so businesses and developers can be successful. No one in their right mind would take on the risks associated with building anything in this city. The bureaucracy is a gauntlet.
Friday, October 10, 2025 Report this
CPWINOLY
I thought the COOP was going to give the land to the Nisqually tribe. If they do then they can build whatever they want on it since then the city would be interfering with the rights of a sovereign nation.
Friday, October 10, 2025 Report this
Quadlok
There is no direct access to Pacific from that parcel. Why it even has a Pacific address i don't know. Just pure pigheadedness from the city.
Friday, October 10, 2025 Report this
BevBassett
This 'decision' by the City of Olympia makes me suspicious that corporate powers are doing all they can to constrain any growth by our not-for-profit cooperative where I shop regularly and know that additional space is badly needed.
No, this coop does not front on Pacific; it fronts on a side street. The high retaining wall very close to Pacific has never provided easy street access since the Olympia Food Coop expanded from the West side to the East decades ago with this building.
There is now a pedestrian crossing light to stop traffic on Pacific where visibility is poor since a coop shopper or worker was hit by a car as he was struck and killed trying to cross Pacific right there very close to the freeway interchange leaving the coop several years ago. This area on Pacific is not one that is appropriate for pedestrian access! The Coop is doing the right thing to expand up the steep little slope into the nextdoor property the Coop purchased recently when it came on the market.
Has the City of Olympia been getting project input from the major grocery chains? Looks like it to me.
The Olympia Food Coop is a very high value community resource for myriad reasons and needs to be nurtured and allowed to flourish. The Coop needs more space, and it looks to me like the City of Olympia is going to throw any monkey wrench they can into expansion plans when The City needs to find ways to work with the very reasonable plans that the Coop has presented to the City and quit taking advice from the big grocery chains who must likely be whispering in the City's pockets.
Let the Coop expand and work with them on making reasonable plans for much. needed expansion!
Saturday, October 11, 2025 Report this
MartiDimock
Would the Coop consider just moving to Briggs Village? It desperately needs a grocery store in the 9000 sq ft or larger range
Saturday, October 11, 2025 Report this
MartyKenney
This is so infuriating. Makes me want to yell at the city. “Bound by code” is so lame, when everyone in their right mind knows that what the coop is doing is by far in the best interests of citizens. There needs to be a way to override the prescriptive code. SOOOO LAAAMMMEEEE
Saturday, October 11, 2025 Report this
HappyOlympian
If the folks wanting to expand were large developers from out of town, they would be handed some hefty tax subsidies and construction would have already begun.
Saturday, October 11, 2025 Report this
normlewis
I don't think the Coop should expand in their current location. In the 90s when the business was looking to expand, the membership, staff and Board of Directors wanted to open another neighborhood store, similar to the Westside location, specifically on the Eastside adjacent to the San Francisco Street Bakery. But the City of Olympia wouldn't allow it at the time because of zoning restrictions! Fast forward thirty years and now the City has changed their minds. Now they want to develop several "neighborhood centers" and they are using the Westside Coop location as the "gold standard" for what they want to see around the City. In other words, if the Coop wanted to develop another neighborhood store near the San Francisco Street Bakery today - the city would allow it! In fact, the City would like to see neighborhood grocery stores in all the "centers" they have identified including Briggs.
I believe that's exactly what the Coop should be doing vis-a-vis "expansion." The Coop should adopt a long-term strategy to develop several smaller neighborhood stores in these areas that the City has designated as neighborhood centers. The Pacific Ave location should be turned into a large warehouse and offices. Large tractor-trailer trucks can make deliveries there and the Coop could purchase a small fleet of smaller trucks to deliver to all the satellite locations throughout the cities of Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater. Not only would this make healthy food accessible to more community members, it would remove transportation barriers our customers have by bringing the food closer to where they live.
Presently, the Westside store enjoys enormous support from the people who live in the Northwest Neighborhood. Nevertheless, few residents appreciate the large trucks driving through the neighborhood daily, and early in the morning. The delivery companies don't like it because it's far removed from the freeway and difficult for the large tractor-trailers to navigate the small streets.
Having a central warehouse and delivering to satellite stores would eliminate large trucks entering neighborhoods. Finally, regular customers know how frustrating it can be when the stores are out of products they are hoping to buy. This mainly occurs because both Coop locations have limited warehouse space for products which limits how much product each store can receive and stockpile. With a large central warehouse facility the business can accumulate more product and make small deliveries to satellite locations in a more timely manner. This is logistics and this is why those large grocery stores rarely run out of products customers are looking for.
Saturday, October 11, 2025 Report this
TheVirtualOne
The city of Houston, Texas had no zoning laws. Yes, you heard me correctly, none. They are doing fine. This kind of behavior by the city of Olympia is pure and simple about control and trying to justify their own existence.
Saturday, October 11, 2025 Report this
Thepantywhisperer
bound by code? how about the jungle? is that up to code? seems some leeway could be granted.
Monday, October 13, 2025 Report this
JW
Doesn't the city need more tax revenue? It's truly laughable how they hamstring themselves from getting a bigger tax base by their own bureaucratic foolishness.
Monday, October 13, 2025 Report this
LindaD
This is why people are losing respect with the city.
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 Report this