Lacey committee endorses fair-share amendment, members clarify unit counts

The Lacey Township Committee voted to endorse the round housing element and fair-share plan amendment to the master plan, a resolution the committee said accounts for the township's affordable-housing obligations for 2025–2035.

Deputy Mayor Kenneth explained the process to the committee: the state initially indicated a requirement of 172 units; a vacant-land adjustment prepared by township staff and consultants reduced that number. "We got it adjusted down to 52 units of affordable housing that are owed from the years 2025 to 2035," Kenneth said during the meeting, describing a line-by-line review of vacant parcels.

Committee members and staff immediately flagged a discrepancy in the records. Another participant said the ordinance should read 82 units, not 52, and the discussion concluded that the correct adjusted figure is 82 units. Deputy Mayor Kenneth later reiterated that the 82 units are accounted for through the adjustments made to the plan.

Committee members emphasized that, if the state accepts the township's report, the adjusted units are already accounted for through normal development and the township would not need to acquire property to build new affordable units. The committee approved the resolution endorsing the amendment; members said the endorsement formalizes the approach and transmits the plan to the relevant state agencies for review.

The committee asked staff to correct the ordinance text where necessary and to ensure the submitted document accurately reflects the corrected unit count before the file is forwarded to the state.