Community and Economic Development

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLANS, REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS

Currently Under Review

Community Development planning documents currently undergoing a public review or hearings process are listed below. Documents under review by other city departments are available here »

Draft Housing Action Plan

The City of Lacey is developing a Housing Action Plan (draft) to encourage the construction of additional affordable and market-rate housing in a greater variety of housing types, and at prices that are accessible to a greater variety of incomes.

To support the effort, the Cities of Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater contracted with Thurston Regional Planning Council to develop:

A Housing Needs Assessment, including a 25-year projection of housing affordable at different income levels.

A Rental Survey to better understand what residents are paying for rent and how rents are changing.

A Draft Housing Action Plan that can be tailored for use by each city that contains specific actions that can increase the stock of affordable housing.

The Housing Action Plan builds on the work done through the Housing Needs Assessment by addressing the seven housing gaps that were identified with an overall focus on how to create an equitable housing market. The housing gaps are addressed through the actions identified in the plan which were developed collaboratively with a stakeholder committee made up of for-profit and non-profit housing providers, real estate professionals, elected and appointed government officials and residents.

The Housing Action Plan identifies the primary actions Lacey can take and also identifies whether or not the City has previously considered implementing the action. The Plan categorizes potential actions into the following categories that:

Increase the supply of permanently affordable housing for households that make 80 percent or less of the area median income.
Make it easier for households to access housing and stay housed.
Expand the overall housing supply by making it easier to build all types of housing projects.
Increase the variety of housing choices.
Improve implementation of housing strategies through collaboration, public understanding, and continually building on resources.
Establish a permanent source of funding for low-income housing.

The Housing Action Plan will be adopted into the Housing Element of the Comprehensive Plan as an appendix to support housing policies and actions, and compliment Lacey’s existing Affordable Housing Strategy.

To learn more or make a comment, contact:

Ryan Andrews, Planning Manager
(360) 491-5642
RAndrews@ci.lacey.wa.us

Lacey's Urban Forest Management Plan Review & Update

The Urban Forest Management Plan is the overarching policy document that guides the City’s urban forestry vision and efforts. The City developed this Plan in 2006 and updated it in 2013 with the assistance of the City of Lacey’s contract forester and the Planning Commission.

In keeping with the Plan’s goal of updating the document every five years, it now due again for review, along with the implementation regulations in LMC 14.32. The review process will examine challenges, issues, and experiences related to the implementation of the Plan since its last update.

The Planning Commission will review suggested updates at a future work session. Information about meetings, open houses, and public hearings will be posted here.

To learn more contact: planning@ci.lacey.wa.us

Affordable Housing Strategy

Lacey is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis, and the City is not alone. Thurston County has an estimated 14,000 households that are currently cost burdened in their rental unit and an additional 19,000 households that are cost burdened as owners. Many factors influence housing affordability such as employment, wages, unintended social issues, and internal/external market factors.

Our Affordable Housing Strategy document expands on the factors listed above that influence the housing dilemma and identifies strategies we can take to reduce the effects of the housing affordability issue.

The Lacey City Council adopted the Affordable Housing Strategy on August 22, 2019. The strategy is part of the Housing Element of the 2016 Lacey Comprehensive Plan.

You can review the documents below.