Lacey mayor calls on city to review its zoning in wake of Meridian Market & Gas vote
Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder is calling on the city to review its zoning, citing the recent difficult discussions the city and council have had with the public regarding growth.
At Thursday’s Lacey City Council meeting, Ryder addressed the topic, but did not specifically mention the controversial Meridian Market & Gas, a convenience store and gas station planned for a residential area in northeast Lacey. However, earlier this month, the council voted 3-1 to approve a conditional use permit for the project, a proposal that has been met with overwhelming opposition from neighbors and resulted in a contentious public meeting.
One area of contention: The quasi-judicial role the council takes on when it considers a hearings examiner’s recommendation. To maintain the appearance of fairness, the council is not allowed to communicate with the public about the topic before or after the examiner has held a public hearing on the matter — a rule that has made many residents angry.
Some council members have expressed that they are not fans of that process either.
“I’m really concerned about our position within the quasi-judicial process,” said council member Robin Vazquez on Thursday.
Ryder said the council needs to have a discussion about zoning so it will have a better idea of the city’s current zoning and what it used to be.
“Where we were, where we are now and see if we can tweak some things and make things more compatible,” he said.
He said the city is in a period of growth and will continue to face angry residents if “we can’t have a little better idea where some of those zoning conflicts may be.”
The other council members expressed support for his recommendation, although they did not vote on it.
Community and Economic Development Director Rick Walk said the council is set to have work sessions in August to discuss the neighborhood commercial zoning in the city — the same underlying zoning for the Meridian Market & Gas proposal — and to talk about the quasi-judicial process.
He also said the last major update to the city’s comprehensive plan, a time when zoning can be changed, was in 2015. He said the events the city organized for that “Envision Lacey” process were poorly attended by residents, he said.
The next major update to the comprehensive plan is set for 2025, Walk said.
Several residents mentioned Meridian Market & Gas during public comment at the meeting. Among the speakers: former Lacey parks board commissioner Sarah Daniels, who resigned from the board over the lack of input on Meridian Market & Gas, despite the proposal being across the street from a park.
She criticized the hearings examiner’s report, saying it unfairly summarized the depth and extent of public opposition. She also revisited the lack of input the parks board had on the proposal.
“I spent four years on the board,” said an emotional Daniels. “That may seem trivial to you, but it tells me they (the city) shares comments when it’s convenient or aligns with their (the city’s) objectives.”
She added: “The city’s process is predictable and developers are counting on it.”
Daniels also referred to council member Vazquez’s post on Facebook after the controversial June 2 vote approving the conditional use permit.
Vazquez says that she wanted to vote “no,” according to her post.
“I voted ‘yes’ last night (June 2) because my obligation in the quasi-judicial process was to base my decision on the record before the hearings examiner, not on my feelings or the sentiments of my neighbors and the residents of Lacey,” she writes. “To do otherwise, when I had not found a legal or code-based justification in my review of the record, would have been inappropriate and would have compromised my integrity as a leader charged with complying with the law.
“I wanted to vote no. I wanted to recuse myself. Either of those choices would have been easier. I was angry last night because of a process that did not allow me to make a choice based on what my constituents want.”
Daniels called her comments “too little, too late and certainly no comfort.”
But former Lacey officials praised what Vazquez had to say on Facebook.
“Well said,” said former Lacey Mayor Graeme Sackrison. And former Deputy Mayor Cynthia Pratt added: “Unfortunately, council member Vazquez, you are absolutely correct.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
