This Lacey land near Hicks Lake is no longer zoned high density residential
Gwinwood Retreat Center has successfully lobbied the city of Lacey to rezone some of its land on Hicks Lake that did not suit its purposes.
Lacey City Council this month approved the city’s 2023 comprehensive plan amendments, including a rezone of the land near the lake.
The rezone was sought by a group of churches who operate the Gwinwood Retreat Center on the southwest shores of the lake. They had discovered that a 7.5-acre parcel of the retreat’s property was zoned high-density residential, a zoning designation that was inconsistent with the center’s operations.
They sought to rezone it to open space institutional, which the council approved Aug. 17.
Planning Commission Manager Ryan Andrews pointed out the new zoning likely will aid the center in its efforts to rebuild a lodge that burned down on July 4.
If they were trying to rebuild under the high-density residential zoning, they would have 18 months to rebuild the lodge in its exact configuration or risk having that period lapse, Andrews said. As it is now, the lodge is a permitted use under the open space institutional designation.
Before the council voted on the matter, Mayor Andy Ryder praised Gwinwood for taking advantage of the comprehensive plan update to address their concerns. Instead of waiting until it was too late, he said they sought an amendment to the comprehensive plan that was vetted by the planning commission, then forwarded to City Council.
“This is the appropriate response from our community when it comes to a land-use issue,” he said. “When the underlying zoning isn’t meeting the current zoning today or is not compatible, this is what you do. Ideally, you don’t wait.”
He urged others in the community to do the same.
“If you feel the underlying zoning is no longer compatible, say something,” he said.
This story was originally published August 25, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
