Hicks Lake retreat center’s rezoning request gets May public hearing
The Lacey Planning Commission got its first look Tuesday at a request to rezone land near Hicks Lake.
Seeking the rezoning request is the Gwinwood Retreat Center, which occupies land on the southwest corner of the lake. The land is owned by a coalition of 28 churches that previously used the area as a camp, but that now run it as a nonprofit retreat center, said Executive Director Kate Ayers, who attended Tuesday’s meeting.
The center discovered that a portion of its property — 7.5 acres — is zoned high-density residential. They would like to rezone it to open space institutional, which is more in line with their long-term plans for the site.
A commissioner asked Ayers about the impetus for requesting the rezoning now.
She said she was surprised about the difference in zoning on the property and was encouraged by the owners and neighbors in the area to preserve the area and seek zoning reflecting its actual use. The center has a lodge and other buildings that are used to host a variety of gatherings. A Buddhist group is using the center for the next seven days, she said.
The American Red Cross also has used the site as shelter for flood victims.
Most of the buildings were built in 1947, so the center has a rustic charm that they want to maintain, Ayers said.
“We want to preserve what we have there,” she said.
Neighbors were unhappy about what happened just north of the retreat center, where two other parcels, both zoned high- density residential, will soon contain more than 300 apartments. Conditional use permits for both projects were approved by Lacey City Council last year.
Planning Commission Manager Ryan Andrews said rezoning the retreat land would act as a buffer between the apartments and the wetlands that nearly encircle the Gwinwood property.
A commissioner also asked Andrews to what degree rezoning the high-density residential portion of the property would exacerbate the housing crisis.
From the city’s perspective, it’s a drop in the bucket, Andrews said.
The land could probably accommodate around 100 apartments, but they would be market-rate units and likely at the very top of the market because of the waterfront views, he said.
“It would add a little housing stock, but it wouldn’t move the needle very much,” Andrews said.
A public hearing on the rezoning request is set for the planning commission’s second meeting in May, he said.
This story was originally published April 19, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
