Tumwater committee reviews climate resilience subelement, discusses resilience hubs and backup power projects

City staff presented the draft climate resilience subelement of the City of Tumwater’s 2025 comprehensive plan at the General Government Committee meeting on March 18, 2025, explaining required state guidance and local adaptation actions and inviting council feedback.

The presentation, led by Alyssa (city planner, presenter), said the resilience subelement is a required component under the Washington State Department of Commerce and House Bill 1181 and focuses on adaptation actions such as weatherizing and hardening homes and infrastructure, protecting habitat connectivity and siting future development in lower-risk areas. “Adaptation [is] the process of adjusting to new climate conditions in order to reduce risks to valued assets,” Alyssa said, adding that “assets includes people.”

The draft uses climate modeling that staff described as a “high emission scenario.” Alyssa summarized city-specific projections: an estimated 9.5°F increase in average June-to-August temperatures, about 58 more days with heat-index conditions at or above 90°F, a roughly 5.1% rise in annual precipitation, an increase in high fire-danger days by about 10 days, and a projected 2.67-foot sea-level rise concentrated primarily in Historical Park. She described passive survivability — buildings or designated spaces that can maintain safe temperatures and limited services during power outages — as a resilience strategy in the draft.

Committee members and staff discussed potential resilience hubs, defined in the draft as places that are open routinely and that people habitually use for services; Alyssa said effective hubs are often community-based organizations and libraries because “people go to the library for everyday services.” Committee members asked whether Tumwater’s planned or in-progress buildings would function as resilience hubs. Alyssa and Lisa (city staff) said the Operations and Maintenance building will have backup power and staff are assessing the community center (currently at conceptual design) for feasibility of hub functions. The library — identified as the city’s only heating/cooling shelter without current backup power — was noted as a near-term candidate for solar-plus-storage grant applications.

Alyssa also described a solar-plus-storage feasibility assessment underway for both fire stations; the main fire station is a strong candidate, while the North End Fire Station needs a new roof before rooftop solar installation. She said a forthcoming grant opening will likely prioritize the library because the building project is already complete and it serves as the city’s designated heating and cooling shelter. She identified Climate Commitment Act funds as the likely source for those applications.

The committee sought clarification about how the resilience goals would interact with other plan elements and projects. Members discussed tying the resilience subelement to emergency management and hazard mitigation plans, cataloguing culturally important sites with tribal partners, and integrating transportation and capital facilities priorities (for example, transit routes and evacuation access) with resilience planning. Alyssa said staff met with Thurston County Emergency Management to avoid duplicating efforts.

The committee did not take legislative action on the subelement at the March 18 meeting; staff said they are preparing a second draft and invited further comments before the next review steps through planning commission and legal review.