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Staff outlines 2026 critical‑areas code updates, recommends against site‑potential‑tree‑height buffers
Summary
Senior planner Hans Shepherd told the Feb. 25 work session that Lacey is updating its critical‑areas code for a 2026 deadline under the Growth Management Act and is recommending changes to mitigation sequencing, buffer references and code language.
Hans Shepherd, a senior planner for the City of Lacey, briefed the council at the Feb. 25 work session on an ongoing update to the city’s critical‑areas regulations, a set of code chapters required to be reviewed on a 10‑year cycle under Washington’s Growth Management Act.
Shepherd said the update package draws on state “best available science” and reviews from lead state agencies — including the Washington State Department of Ecology, Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and Department of Natural Resources — to update definitions, references and mitigation requirements across wetland, habitat conservation, floodplain, aquifer recharge and geologically hazardous area rules. He said the last…
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