Tumwater planning staff continued the General Government Committee's review of the draft conservation element on July 9, asking council members for feedback on goals and policies for natural resources, critical areas, urban forestry and local food production.

Why it matters: The conservation element sets policy direction for how the city designates and protects wetlands, wellhead protection areas, frequently flooded areas, geologically hazardous sites, fish and wildlife habitat, urban tree canopy and agricultural uses. Those policies guide future permitting, restoration, and code changes such as tree protection and critical-area regulations.

Staff summary and major topics

Dana, a staff member leading this portion of the meeting, summarized two main parts of the conservation element: (1) natural resources (agricultural, forest and mineral lands) and (2) critical areas (wetlands, critical aquifer recharge areas, frequently flooded areas, geologically hazardous areas and fish and wildlife habitat areas). Dana asked the committee to consider policy timing and the potential for "unintended consequences or burdens," particularly on vulnerable populations.

Highlights discussed included:

- Urban agriculture (goal C-3): staff said the draft supports urban agriculture and local food production, and noted rules for animals are tied to lot size (chickens, rabbits and goats allowed where lot size exceeds 5,000 square feet, per current code discussion). Committee members asked staff to check and confirm how bees are regulated; Brad and Dana reported prior code changes had removed numeric hive limits and setback language in a 2017 revision and indicated they would confirm current hive provisions.

- Composting and organics: Staff noted state requirements and county solid-waste planning are expanding organic-waste infrastructure; Tumwater's development-code updates will need to accommodate essential organic-material facilities and may reference county solid-waste plans.

- Urban forestry (goal C-4): staff said the conservation element will coordinate with the city's Urban Forest Management Plan and future tree-protection code updates. Dana explained "compatible" conversions mean considering where canopy retention and tree protection best align with surrounding uses and long-term canopy benefits.

- Mineral-resource lands: staff said quarrying (Black Lake Quarry was cited as a local example) is permitted in heavy industrial zones and policies seek to allow extraction where it will not cause degradation and require restoration and buffering where residences are nearby.

- Critical areas and best available science: staff emphasized that critical-area protections will follow Growth Management Act obligations and best available science, and listed standard protections for water quality, stormwater management, floodplain reservations and geologic hazards (including liquefaction and other seismic concerns). Dana noted the plan references the county flood plan and other adopted management plans.

Public engagement, next steps and timing

Dana and Erica said staff have solicited stakeholder input this summer (including the tree board) and will incorporate comments into a final draft that will appear as part of the full comprehensive-plan packet in the fall. Staff asked council members to send additional written comments to the comp-plan email address shown in the presentation; they said they expect tree-protection ordinance work to follow after comp-plan adoption and that implementation items may be phased across the planning horizon.

What the committee decided

No formal policy changes were adopted. Committee members provided questions and requested follow-up information (explicit bees/hive setbacks, composting code references and clarifications on tree-protection timing). Staff will revise the chapter and return it as part of the full comp-plan adoption packet in the fall.

Ending note

Staff encouraged continued written comments and stakeholder input. The conservation element chapter will be included in the fall comprehensive-plan adoption materials for formal review and action.