Tumwater committee reviews draft 2025 comp plan sections on lands for public purposes and utilities

Planning staff presented two draft sections of Tumwater’s 2025 comprehensive plan periodic update on May 14, asking committee members to review content and format and provide feedback before the formal adoption process begins in October.

The presentation, led by Brad (planning staff) and Erica (planning staff), described a two-part approach: Part 1 will list goals, policies and draft implementation actions intended to be a usable reference for council and staff; Part 2 will contain the technical material supporting capital facilities analysis and utility inventories. Brad described chapter layouts for the lands for public purposes element and said the format will be reused for other elements.

The committee was shown that chapter 4 of the lands-for-public-purposes element will be “the heart of the document,” containing goals and policies, while draft implementation actions will live in an appendix that identifies responsible departments and gives general timelines. Brad said the split was intentional so long-lived goals and policies remain stable while implementation actions can be revised over the plan’s 20‑year horizon.

On the lands-for-public-purposes technical side, staff said chapter 2 will form the basis for the six‑year capital facilities plan and will summarize revenue sources and larger ongoing projects; chapter 3 will inventory city-managed capital facilities including police, fire, parks, transportation, water, sewer, library and senior center; and chapter 4 will address other publicly owned facilities such as school district sites and transit. Staff emphasized the element’s purpose is to ensure capital facilities align with planned growth in the city and its urban growth area.

Brad called attention to Appendix B, a new capital flows equity checklist developed with consultant Linda; staff asked committee members to “take a close look” at the checklist and noted it is likely to generate substantial discussion. Brad also noted the utilities element will include private utility inventories (for example PSE for electricity and natural gas), telecommunications and pipeline locations and that staff did not receive as much information from private utilities as they had hoped.

On goals, the lands-for-public-purposes element includes providing adequate and concurrent public facilities for the city and its urban growth area and addressing equity in public services. The utilities element contains goals for improved utility planning, clearer permitting timelines, renewable energy incentives and policies to support energy storage and distribution improvements.

Staff outlined next steps: a final round of stakeholder engagement, planned email notices releasing these elements for review later the week of May 14, a staggered public review over two- to three-week intervals, and an intent to begin the formal adoption process in October with a planning commission ordinance briefing. Brad said staff will provide Word versions of the documents to council members for comment in the interim and noted a July 8 work session presentation with Jeff Myers is scheduled to address questions about the development permit review process.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about where “essential public facilities” such as jails and airports would be addressed; Brad said those items were moved to the land-use element in a prior update because their capacity is a state-required land use category rather than a capacity tied directly to new development. Committee members also raised concerns about utility-provider data gaps and coordination with partner agencies.

Staff requested that council members send specific questions in advance of the July 8 presentation so that subject-matter staff can prepare. The committee did not take formal action on the drafts at this meeting; staff will return materials for further review and public engagement ahead of the October adoption timeline.

The committee adjourned the item after staff summary and scheduling notes.