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West Richland council adopts Lewis and Clark Ranch subarea plan and implementing code
Summary
After years of planning and public hearings, the West Richland City Council unanimously adopted three ordinances approving the Lewis and Clark Ranch subarea plan, associated land-use map changes and development regulations, plus a planned-action SEPA designation for phase one.
The West Richland City Council voted to adopt a package of three ordinances that together approve the Lewis and Clark Ranch subarea plan, amend the city’s comprehensive plan and land-use map, and update the municipal code with subarea development regulations. Council approved a separate ordinance establishing a planned action under SEPA for phase one of the subarea.
Eric Menenhal, the city staff member who presented the second reading, told the council the package is the result of several years of community engagement, planning-commission review and technical work and recommended approval of the ordinances. “The code is intended to be flexible and allow for big-box commercial if proposed,” Menenhal said in response to council questions about whether the regulations would permit large-format retail in the planned commercial areas.
Council Member John Smart pressed staff on scale and neighborhood character, asking whether the regulations would still allow formats familiar to residents, such as big-box stores with front parking. Menenhal replied that no changes would be necessary to permit that pattern and that residential uses could be added but would not be required. The council discussed setbacks, connectivity and cul-de-sac policy during the exchange.
Council Member Maria clarified a zoning change in the adopted tables: data centers were removed from the former urban transition designation and are now allowed only in light-industrial or mixed-use light-industrial zones in the subarea regulations. The council and staff emphasized that the SEPA planned-action ordinance applies to phase one only and that phase one does not include light-industrial areas where data centers would be permitted.
All three ordinances and the planned-action ordinance passed on voice votes after motions and seconds from council members. The council’s approval sets the subarea plan and implementing code into the city’s regulatory framework; future projects in the subarea will still require site-specific permits or applications subject to applicable standards and public review.
What happens next: staff said code provisions can be updated over time and that future developers would need to follow the adopted regulations; any specific project proposals will come to the city with separate permit processes and opportunities for public comment.
