Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Commission hears opposition to large distribution warehouses on rural lands; staff to add asphalt manufacturing to Rural Resource Industrial code language
Summary
Public commenters urged restricting large distribution warehouses on Rural Resource Industrial (RRI) lands to protect prairie, hydrology, and drinking water; staff said they will revise RRI use language to prohibit broad warehousing and to add asphalt manufacturing as an allowed resource‑related use.
Residents and conservation groups told the Thurston County Planning Commission on March 19 that large distribution warehouses should not be permitted on rural resource industrial (RRI) lands, and county staff said they will refine draft code language to limit warehousing and add asphalt manufacturing to the allowed uses in the RRI zone.
Why it matters: Public commenters said large distribution centers (often 500,000 to 1,000,000 square feet) would increase impervious surfaces, risk aquifer impacts and flooding, and destroy native prairie habitat. Black Hills Audubon and other groups urged the commission to reserve RRI lands for timber, mining, and agriculture‑related processing rather than general distribution.
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
