Yelm outlines $10M road, sidewalks and roundabout projects as 1,600 homes sit in pipeline

YELM — City staff told a joint meeting of the Yelm City Council and school board on May 5 that the fast-growing city has roughly 1,600 permitted dwelling units in the development pipeline and outlined major transportation and pedestrian projects to serve that growth.

Cody Colt, the city’s director of public services, said state law (House Bill 1220) required Yelm to plan for new housing and that the city’s comprehensive plan now accommodates up to 7,500 housing units. ‘‘House Bill 1220 required us to plan and accommodate for housing in Yelm,’’ Colt said. ‘‘That directly influenced our comp plan to allow for the growth of up to 7,500 new units.’’

Why it matters: Officials said much of the infrastructure needed for new residents will be paid by development through impact fees and by grant matches. Colt described a roundabout project at the Bald Hill–Morris Road choke point that is funded with state and federal dollars and estimated a 16-month construction schedule with phased lane work that should not halt school-bus service. He also described a Roen Road upgrade tied to the Yelm Loop: ‘‘It’s a $10 million project with roughly a $2 million local match,’’ Colt said, adding the work will widen the road, add a 10-foot shared-use path and realign an intersection to connect to Walmart and the city trail system.

Key details: The city’s slide deck lists traffic, water, sewer and fire impact fees charged when a single-family home is built; Colt said the school-impact fee is $4,500 per home and noted that impact fees are restricted to growth-related capital uses. Water-impact fees paid for a recently built water tower, he said, and sewer-impact fees funded upgrades to the treatment plant that helped avoid recent sewer-rate increases.

Other pedestrian and connector projects include Middle Road and Railway (to link to Fort Stevens Elementary), Clark Road improvements to connect to Mil Pond Elementary, and interior connectors such as a Vansel–Morris Road link expected as development proceeds. Colt said most projects will avoid full closures but will have occasional one-lane operations and that much construction is timed to reduce interference with school-bus routes.

Funding picture: Colt told the boards that many projects rely on a mix of development-paid impact fees, grant money and local matches. He gave a rough per-mile comparison for road cost: ‘‘Roen Road is about $8 million to build that road and that’s with infrastructure under it,’’ he said, to help councilors estimate per-foot highway costs.

What’s next: City staff said detailed plans and construction schedules will be shared with council and the school district as projects proceed. No formal votes or ordinances were taken at the session; staff recommended continued coordination between the city and district around routes and construction timing.

Participants and sources: Quotes and data in this report come from Cody Colt, City Director of Public Services; details were presented at the May 5 joint study session of the Yelm City Council and Yelm School Board.