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Thurston County to revisit proposed changes to property-sale rules after public comment
Summary
County staff presented three proposed amendments to Thurston County Code chapter 2.104 governing sale of county real and personal property; public testimony supported the changes but asked for clearer surplus-determination and community participation steps. No action was taken; staff will review comments and return to the board.
Thurston County staff presented proposed amendments to County Code chapter 2.104 on Tuesday, outlining clearer advertising rules for sales, a process for offering surplus real property to adjoining owners at fair market value, and added notice procedures for special dispositions of real property for affordable housing.
"My name is Matt Huntsman, Thurston County Public Works," Huntsman said during the county's public hearing, and he described three specific changes: advertising that distinguishes personal property (which may be advertised on auctioneer websites) from real property ("real property shall be advertised in a legal newspaper at least once a week for two consecutive weeks prior to the date of sale") and new steps for notifying adjacent owners when surplus real property is unlikely to achieve a higher auction price.
A second proposed change would permit sale to adjoining property owners with a required notice: if more than one adjoining owner expresses interest, the county would take the parcel to public auction. A third addition formalizes advertising and notice for special dispositions of county real property for affordable housing, including a requirement to mail notice to property owners within a defined radius (300 feet inside the urban growth area, 500 feet outside).
Kim Kelly of the Boston Harbor Neighborhood Association told commissioners the association supports the amendment but urged clearer criteria for determining when a parcel is "surplus" and has "no public use," and she asked the board to add community participation to that surplus-determination process. "We would like to understand what the process is and what criteria will be used to make these determinations," Kelly said, and she requested the board consider a formal resolution to preserve about eight county-owned acres adjacent to Burfoot Park.
Huntsman told the board staff received two written comments (both broadly supportive) and would not take final action at the meeting. He said staff will review the comments and bring any needed changes back at a future agenda. A commissioner noted that the Boston Harbor properties would not be considered for disposition until the county's post-plan work and explicit direction from the Board of County Commissioners.
The board closed the public hearing without voting on the code amendment. The item will return to a future meeting after staff review of the public comments.
Next steps: staff will review the two submitted comments, consider edits to the draft code language, and re-notice the item for a future meeting where the board may decide whether to adopt the amendments.
