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Board reviews two applicant-initiated rezones: Martin Way mixed-use rezoning and Little Rock rural resource industrial request
Summary
County planning staff briefed the Board of County Commissioners on two applicant-initiated rezones: an 8-acre Martin Way parcel in the Lacey urban growth area and a large gravel-mining property near Little Rock seeking Rural Resource Industrial zoning.
Thurston County Community Planning staff presented the 2025 annual rezone package and described two applicant-initiated proposals the board will consider as part of the comprehensive plan amendment docket.
Martin Way (Lacey UGA): The applicant seeks to change zoning on approximately an 8-acre parcel that is currently split between a higher intensity mixed-high-density corridor at the Martin Way frontage and low-density residential in the rear. The proposal would expand the mixed high-density corridor zoning to the larger parcel to allow more housing and mixed-use development. Staff told the board the Lacey Planning Commission recommended approval and the Thurston County Planning Commission recommended approval with a 6–4 vote; commissioners raised concerns about compatibility with adjacent low-density development and noted that increased zoning does not itself require housing to be built.
Little Rock (gravel mine): An approximately 270-acre gravel mining property southwest of Tumwater requested a rezone from R-1 (one dwelling per 20 acres) to Rural Resource Industrial (RRI) to allow industrial uses that support rural industries (mining, forestry, agriculture). After public and Planning Commission review the applicant revised the proposal to remove roughly 24 acres of the most environmentally sensitive land adjacent to the Black River (including Oregon spotted frog habitat), shrinking the proposed rezone to about 247 acres and creating a split-zone parcel. The Thurston County Planning Commission recommended denial (6–3) citing environmental concerns and incompatibility with existing R-1 intent; dissenting findings noted local need for RRI lands and that the property is an existing mine that could be used to support rural resource industries.
Public comments and timing: Staff said they received approximately 30 unique public comments on the Little Rock proposal (roughly 13 in support and 17 expressing environmental concerns). Staff also noted that because the Little Rock proposal was revised to reduce impact, no re‑docketing is necessary. The board set a public hearing for Nov. 12 and expected final action by the end-of-year adoption timeline for the comprehensive plan docket.
Ending: Commissioners asked to schedule additional work sessions if needed and requested follow-up information, including a briefing on acreage currently zoned RRI countywide and further background from the industrial lands inventory.
