1,100 county residents to become part of Lacey after council approves 410-acre annexation
One day you live in Thurston County, the next day Lacey is your new home.
That’s what happened to an estimated 1,100 residents after Lacey City Council approved a 410-acre annexation on Thursday. The annexed parcel is in the area of Steilacoom and Marvin roads that includes the Regional Athletic Complex, the former Ostrom’s mushroom farm, Nisqually Middle School and several neighborhoods.
Although the council approved the annexation on Thursday, it doesn’t officially take effect until June 1.
Residents who live in the area shouldn’t be surprised because the annexation was three years in the making, planning manager Ryan Andrews told the council.
The process began in 2018 after an area property owner — the owner of the Rainier Vista mobile home park — initiated what was then a 260-acre annexation proposal.
The city submitted an annexation petition to the Thurston County Boundary Review Board, but the board required that the size of the annexation be increased by 150 acres to avoid creating islands of unincorporated county property in the city, Andrews said.
The larger annexation includes the Hawks Ridge, Bicentennial, Steilacoom Heights, Hawks Glen and Hidden Forest neighborhoods.
The city will benefit from additional revenue in the form of property, sales, business and occupation and utility taxes, plus that generated by any future land-use and building permit activity, Andrews said.
But the city also has to provide services to the area — Lacey police will replace Thurston County Sheriff’s deputies, for example — and maintain streets.
The council voted unanimously to approve the annexation even though the revenue-versus-expense data didn’t come out in the city’s favor. Andrews estimates the new annexation will bring in $270,000 in annual tax revenue versus $610,000 in annual expenses — a net deficit for the city of $340,000 per year.
Councilman Malcolm Miller inquired about the Ostrom’s mushroom property. The company is no longer growing mushrooms at the site and has largely relocated to Eastern Washington.
The size of Ostrom’s Lacey property is estimated at 60 acres and could be developed for residential uses.
In that respect, Councilman Ed Kunkel praised the annexation, saying the Ostrom’s parcel is “potentially more housing.”
Mayor Andy Ryder also voiced support for the annexation.
“It is so great that the Regional Athletic Complex will finally be in the city of Lacey,” he said.
This story was originally published May 21, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
