What if Lacey was in charge of permits for its urban growth area and not the county?
To build in Lacey’s urban growth area — the unincorporated areas of the county near the city limits — developers are required to jump through two sets of hoops, one from the county and one from the city.
But what if those permitting duties were handled only by Lacey?
That was the idea floated by Mayor Andy Ryder during Thursday’s City Council work session after he heard from a developer who lamented how cumbersome developing in the city’s UGA has become.
Ryder suggested that Lacey could take on the permitting duties for the entire UGA, then walked back those comments a bit after Rick Walk, the city’s community and economic development director, pointed out the city’s UGA is twice the size of Tumwater.
Ryder then suggested that perhaps the city could first focus on permitting duties for the Martin Way corridor.
That idea won the support of the council, including Councilman Lenny Greenstein, who called it a “no brainer” for the city.
“What do we need to do to make it happen?” Greenstein said.
A lot would have to be sorted out, said City Manager Scott Spence and Community and Economic Development Director Walk.
That includes coming up with a common set of standards, figuring out the revenue sharing, and establishing environmental considerations and how appeals would be handled, Spence said.
Walk said the city also would have to determine what level of permitting to pursue. Would the city handle only land-use and utility permits, or would it include remodels, additions, expansions and sign code enforcement?
“Is it everything or only certain aspects?” Walk said.
Spence said the city can start the dialogue with the county, but he also recommended the city start with new developments only, with a goal of perfecting a single point of permitting before they move on to other areas.
Ryder, Greenstein, and Deputy Mayor Cynthia Pratt acknowledged that the council has had the permitting discussion before, but the idea did not advance.
“We need to get started or we’re never going to get there,” Greenstein said.
This story was originally published May 14, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
