Lacey staff pause Chapter 4 of development guidelines after field visits; public hearing set for April 9

City of Lacey planning and public‑works staff updated the Planning Commission on March 12 about progress toward adopting revised development guidelines and said Chapter 4 — which covers trees, rights‑of‑way and related standards — needs more attention before final approval.

"Through that observation, we were seeing that there really isn't room for street trees," said Tom, a city staff member, summarizing findings from field visits to Bradley Park and Century Court. Staff described a recent effort to solicit external review — personal outreach to 35 consultants and agencies plus a three‑week public comment window — but said only seven external respondents returned comments.

Staff said council members voiced concerns about the environmental benefits of street trees, and commissioners discussed trade‑offs among street trees, stormwater, utilities, lighting and lot‑and‑subdivision design. The city’s new community development director, Vanessa, joined staff in the field visits and pushed for seeing conditions in person before finalizing regulations.

Because of the competing priorities, staff recommended members review all guideline chapters ahead of a public hearing expected April 9 and consider holding a field bus tour so commissioners and council can see right‑of‑way tradeoffs firsthand. "I really wanna encourage you to, you know, read them and anything that you're looking at that, like, I have concerns with these to bring it up to the hearing," the Staff member said.

Staff noted the development‑guideline update and the comprehensive‑plan amendments are related: changes in housing types and zoning will influence future street and lot design, and some Chapter 4 items may be better addressed in a later, more holistic update to the municipal code and subdivision rules.

The commission received procedural guidance for the April hearing: the meeting will begin at the dais, public testimony will be taken from the lectern, and the Planning Commission will likely forward a recommendation to the City Council after the hearing.

Ending: Staff said they expect to bring the guidelines to a public hearing in early April but may omit Chapter 4 from the adoption package or include it with explicit exceptions for issues that need more study. Commissioners asked staff to refine the tree standards and to align any changes with planned comp‑plan and zoning updates.