Lacey City Council approves new housing project across from North Thurston High School
The Lacey City Council on Thursday gave a thumbs up to a preliminary plat for the Bradley Park subdivision across from North Thurston High School.
Eventually 82 lots are expected to fill the wooded area between 15th Avenue Northeast and Sixth Avenue Northeast, east of Sleater-Kinney Road Northeast, senior planner Sarah Schelling told the council.
National home builder D.R. Horton plans to subdivide a little more than 15 acres for the project, plus set aside five acres for future development, possibly a church, Schelling said.
The home builder also has agreed to set aside a mitigation area for a species of woodpecker, she said.
During the project review process, Schelling said the city received a number of comments from residents raising concerns about impact on wildlife and habitat, population growth, tree removal, traffic congestion and effects on schools.
Among those comments included in Thursday’s agenda materials:
▪ “I don’t feel like I live in Tree City USA anymore,” said resident Joe Graham. “I realize we still qualify for this moniker, but I see fewer and fewer trees year by year in our community.”
▪ “We feel that Bradley Park will dramatically increase the traffic, the area population and the noise and are also concerned about the security of our property, tenants and their belongings,” said residents Robert and Lynda Benn.
▪ “I would like to comment that the intersections of Sleater-Kinney Road Northeast and 15th Avenue Northeast, and Sleater-Kinney Road Northeast and Sixth Avenue Northeast are already very difficult to turn out of at times due to the amount of traffic and speeding on Sleater-Kinney Road,” said resident Tara Manubay. “I hope if this development is approved, these intersections would be improved before construction begins.”
Residents also submitted photos of wildlife in the area, including species identified as “priority species” by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Once the city discovered that information, the review process was halted and the applicant was required to submit a wildlife survey and habitat study, which resulted in the creation of a half-acre mitigation area for the woodpecker, Schelling said.
The council voted unanimously to approve the project.
Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder welcomed the new development because he recalled when the site was prone to trespassers and fires, he said.
Housing is needed, he said. “We’re in such a housing shortage right now,” Ryder said.
Councilman Malcolm Miller inquired about new sidewalks in the area as a result of the subdivision.
Schelling said those in the area should expect frontage improvements along Sixth Avenue Northeast and 15th Avenue Northeast.
This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
