Lacey approves plans tied to housing, trees and climate
Lacey City Council on Thursday approved three things under its comprehensive plan amendments for 2021: a housing action plan, a Thurston climate mitigation plan, and an update to its urban forest management plan.
But “approved” might be too strong a word. Yes, the council has set in motion the plans and the update, but there is still a lot details that have to be voted on by council.
For example, under the housing action plan, the council still has to decide whether it will pursue an affordable housing tax, sometimes referred to as a home fund, which would increase the local sales tax by 0.1 percent (or 1 cent on a $10 purchase) to help fund those affordable housing efforts.
As part of the urban forest management plan update, the council still has to weigh in on tree protection regulations as they relate to homeowners associations, Planning Manager Ryan Andrews told the council on Thursday.
Some residents who spoke during public comment fear that tree regulations related to HOAs are set to become weaker, not stronger.
Lacey resident Marianne Tompkins, who served on a volunteer tree task force that provided input on the urban forest management plan update, said she was disappointed and angry to learn of that possibility.
“Voices are not being heard,” she said, urging the council to leave the update as is.
Andrews said one major thrust of the urban forest plan update is that it sets a tree canopy coverage target for Lacey. Tree canopy coverage currently stands at 28 percent in the city, which is down from 43 percent in 2004, according to the executive summary of the forest plan.
“The northeast area of Lacey has grown substantially since 2004, which may explain the change in canopy coverage,” the summary reads. “Trees planted as a requirement of new developments will mature and canopy coverage will increase over time.”
Andrews believes the city has better technology to assess the tree canopy than it did before, and policies are built into the plan that require the city to revisit tree regulations, he said.
“Every three years, conduct a tree canopy analysis, and if canopy coverage drops below baseline (28 percent), staff is directed to review tree protection regulations,” the plan reads.
Councilman Malcolm Miller said he supports recapturing tree canopy. But he also touched on the city’s dilemma.
“It’s hard to do such a thing and develop at the same time, creating new housing and new business opportunities for all the people who would like to live here and do business here,” he said.
This story was originally published September 17, 2021 at 5:15 AM.
