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Tumwater planning commission schedules April hearing on housekeeping ordinance covering ADUs, childcare, signage and public facilities
Summary
The commission voted to schedule a public hearing April 14 on ordinance O2026-002, a set of housekeeping amendments to Title 18 that clarify accessory dwelling unit rules, align child-care definitions with recent state law, tighten signage language for large buildings and update essential public facility categories.
The City of Tumwater Planning Commission voted to schedule a public hearing for April 14, 2026, on ordinance O2026-002, a package of housekeeping amendments to the city’s zoning code that staff described as technical fixes rather than broad policy changes.
Staff presented the draft ordinance and told commissioners the changes are intended to align local code with recent state requirements and to correct inconsistent terminology across Title 18. “These are minor corrections to Title 18,” said the director (speaker 1). He said the state Department of Commerce provided comments on accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and asked the city to adopt a consistent ADU definition; the draft clarifies that ADUs are dwelling units on the same parcel as the principal residence and allows two ADUs per principal structure.
The ordinance also incorporates changes from the 2025 state legislature on child-care centers. Staff explained the state now treats child-care centers that care for 13 or more children as a permitted use in most residential zones (excluding industrial and open-space zones), and the draft ordinance copies the state definition. Commissioner (speaker 2) and others requested clearer, consistent terminology across code sections (for example, replacing “citizens” with the more inclusive term “public” or “resident”).
Signage rules were another focus: staff proposed clarifying which wall-mounted signs are exempt from building permits (painted signs would remain exempt but continue to count toward a site’s square-footage limits) and setting maximum square-footage allowances for wall signage on very large commercial and industrial buildings.
The draft also updates the city’s list of essential public facilities to reflect recent state law and RCWs, adding references to high-capacity transit and revising language for opioid treatment facilities. Commissioners asked why safe-injection sites were excluded while opioid treatment facilities were included; staff said the draft language largely mirrors the RCW and offered to check statutory definitions.
Staff told the commission the city completed the CIPA checklist, issued a determination of non-significance, and that the Commerce review period would conclude after the statutory 60-day window. “We are currently in the appeal period,” staff said; the appeal window was described as ending in late April.
Vice chair staff (speaker 4) moved to schedule a public hearing on O2026-002 for April 14, 2026; the motion was seconded by Commissioner Kirkpatrick and approved by the commission.
Next steps: staff will return the ordinance with the clarifications discussed tonight and the hearing record will open on April 14. The commission’s approval to schedule the hearing does not adopt substantive code changes; it authorizes a public hearing where the ordinance will be considered with public testimony.
