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Planning commission weighs allowing indoor recreation in industrial zones; members favor conditional approach
Summary
Commissioners discussed a docketed request and staff recommendation to allow certain indoor recreation uses in light-manufacturing and industrial zones, with commissioners signaling preference for size limits and conditional-use review for borderline activities.
A property-owner request to permit indoor recreation uses — gyms, dance studios, trampoline parks and similar activities — in Anacortes’ light-manufacturing (LM1) and industrial zones drew substantial discussion at the Sept. 17 Planning Commission meeting.
Why it matters: Allowing recreational uses in manufacturing zones can activate underused buildings and increase local services, but it also risks reducing land available for industrial employment uses and creating conflicts with waterfront or marine-industrial activities.
Staff described the indoor-recreation use category as broad: "adult concessions, bowling alley, shooting range, swimming pools, skating rinks," and others. Commissioners said some indoor-recreation types (CrossFit-style gyms, smaller martial-arts or dance studios) typically operate after standard industrial work hours and could be compatible if size and operational standards are applied. By contrast, large uses such as arenas, convention centers, movie theaters, miniature-golf or skating rinks drew skepticism as inappropriate for industrial areas.
Commissioner Currier and several colleagues proposed a two-tier approach: a permitted subset of smaller, low-impact recreation uses and a conditional-use category for larger or potentially conflicting activities. Commissioner Mills urged that borderline uses be subject to conditional-use review so the city can evaluate compatibility and conditions on a case-by-case basis.
Members raised related topics including adult-concession uses (allowed in several zones under zone-specific standards) and self-storage (staff recommended against locating self-storage in industrial zones because it produces low job density). Staff will return with draft language that separates indoor recreation into categories, recommends size or performance limits and suggests which uses should be permitted versus conditional.
No code amendment was adopted at the meeting; staff will draft the specific definitions, size limits and conditional-use criteria for later public review.
