Lacey council approves two rezoning requests for more development in Northeast Lacey
Lacey City Council has unanimously approved changes to the city’s comprehensive plan, including two new zoning designations, one of which is set to bring multifamily housing to a parcel on Willamette Drive Northeast.
The other area to be rezoned is 60 acres of mostly undeveloped land on Carpenter Road Northeast, between I-5 and Britton Parkway. It will now be zoned light industrial commercial, which allows for a broader variety of uses, said Ryan Andrews, planning manager for the city.
The two rezoning requests for the comprehensive plan were pitched by private parties and then vetted by city staff and the Lacey Planning Commission. The planning commission recommended approval of the requests and then forwarded them on to the council.
The rezoning at 3100 Willamette Drive NE, which attracted some community scrutiny, will change the zoning on an undeveloped 11.5-acre parcel to mostly high-density residential, with a smaller portion devoted to neighborhood commercial. That could bring small retail and office-based businesses to the same parcel.
A virtual open house was held on the proposalin August that was attended by about 35 residents, City Council agenda materials show.
Andrews said neighbors raised concerns about whether a change to high-density residential zoning would be compatible with nearby single-family homes, and whether a future multi-family development would bring crime and increased traffic.
Andrews said the city checked with Lacey Police, who said there are no statistics that show multi-family development creates additional crime.
As for traffic, agenda materials show the city came to this conclusion: “Any development on this parcel will generate trips, but under the proposed zoning change, overall trips will go down even though peak trips might change,” the materials read.
Councilman Michael Steadman questioned why they needed to approve a rezone of the parcel when there is high density residential zoning in the area.
Andrews said the other parcels are much smaller and likely won’t be as attractive to developers, Andrews said.
In regards to the Carpenter Road rezone, Councilman Malcolm Miller asked whether there was a plan to widen the road in that area. Andrews said there is, but if a developer pitches a light industrial project before the city makes changes to the road, the developer would be responsible for making frontage improvements on Carpenter Road as part of that project.
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
