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Council accepts revised housing chapter, adds reparative-justice language and a simplified displacement map
Summary
Council accepted updates to Olympia’s housing chapter, including a simplified displacement-risk map and new language on reparative justice to support Black homeownership; the chapter will be folded into the full Olympia 2045 comp plan in December.
The Olympia City Council voted to accept an updated housing chapter for the Olympia 2045 comprehensive plan that includes two substantive changes: a simplified displacement-risk map categorized into low, medium and high risk, and added language addressing reparative justice and Black homeownership.
"We did include two new narrative paragraphs, one largely coming from the housing action plan and the other based on the language in [the reparations] resolution," Associate Planner Casey Schaffler told the council. Schaffler said the displacement map now focuses on measurable physical-displacement risk — eviction, acquisition, rehabilitation, demolition, or expiration of affordability covenants — and that related analytical documents will be embedded in the comp-plan chapter for public review.
Council members praised the clarity of the revised map and the staff’s efforts to link the chapter to prior council direction. Council Member Gilman asked where the disparity-and-displacement analysis would be available; Schaffler said the comp-plan chapter will include embedded documents and links to the Thurston Regional Planning Council analyses.
The council accepted the resolution and staff said the full comp plan, with all chapters, will return for final adoption in December.
