Thurston County planning commission holds public hearing on Thurston 2045 comprehensive plan update

The Thurston County Planning Commission held a public hearing April 26 on Thurston 2045, the county’s decennial comprehensive plan update that guides land use, housing, natural resources and infrastructure through 2045.

Maya Tippel, senior planner with Thurston County Community Planning, told the commission the update implements state changes to housing and climate law and reorganizes the plan’s chapters, adds a new climate chapter and an implementation appendix, and updates housing projections and the land capacity analysis. “The biggest changes in this update are to reflect new state law requirements on housing and climate,” Tippel said.

The hearing drew more than a dozen public speakers and covered multiple topics that appear in the draft: housing (including Grand Mound and accessory dwelling unit rules), water resources and aquifer recharge, mineral resource and agricultural land designations (including objections from Lake St. Clair-area landowners), wildlife and habitat protections, broadband and telecom service in rural areas, and aquaculture impacts.

Why it matters: Thurston 2045 is the county’s periodic update required by the Growth Management Act (RCW 36.70A). The plan sets policy direction and code changes that will guide where the county expects growth and how it addresses climate, water and natural-resource constraints over the next 20 years.

What the draft does: Tippel and staff described a set of substantive chapter and code changes the commission and public will consider. Highlights listed in the staff presentation included: - A full repeal and replacement of the housing chapter to reflect new state requirements, with housing…