County seeks input on docket items

Thurston County residents have been invited to provide input on a list of proposed development regulation changes for 2016-2017.

THE PROCESS

Every fall, the Thurston County Commission selects items from a list of proposed development regulations for the following year’s official docket.

“It basically sets our agenda on what may or may not be considered in the next year, depending on staffing and funding restraints,” said Jeremy Davis, a senior planner with the county’s Resource Stewardship Department.

This year, commissioners are considering about 40 proposed amendments. Projects are prioritized in four tiers: A, B, C and D. “Subjects in the lower three tiers may not be addressed due to staff and budget constraints,” a county news release stated.

There is a separate docket for amendments to the Thurston County Comprehensive Plan.

After commissioners select items, the docket will be forwarded to the Planning Commission for review. The Planning Commission and County Commission will hold public hearings on the merits of items approved for the official docket before any final regulations are adopted.

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS

County staff have ranked the following proposals as “high priority amendments.” In general, they would help the county comply with the Growth Management Act, or recent case law. Some of the topics were requested by citizens; some were requested by the county commissioners.

The proposals that received a highest ranking would:

▪ Add a deferral process for collection of impact fees as required by a new state law and amend Title 25 to permit the county to collect impact fees on behalf of fire districts. Southeast Thurston Fire Authority has requested the county collect impact fees on its behalf, but fire districts aren’t included in current code.

▪ Amend sign codes so they fall in line with a Supreme Court’s recent decision. Sign regulations that include content-based criteria must be amended to only reference the type of signage (temporary or permanent), size and location, according to county documents.

▪ Set final regulations for state-licensed marijuana producers, processors and retailers. The county has operated under interim regulations since November 2013.

▪ Amend codes to ban or further restrict fireworks in unincorporated Thurston County. County Commissioners have several options to consider, including limiting fireworks only in times of emergency or fire danger, or adopting a total ban on fireworks. Depending on what the board decides, the action could affect the county’s zoning codes that have references to fireworks sales.

▪ Make corrections and adjustments to the county’s critical areas ordinance that was adopted in 2012.

“As staff continues to work with the new regulations, more issues have or may develop that need to be addressed in a timely fashion,” states a county summary of the proposal. “Examples may include fixes to the prairie definition, geological hazard area definitions, and issues regarding older nonconforming uses.”

▪ Remove or modify building sizes in rural zones to allow larger public facilities.

The county’s Public Works facility on Tilley Road has reached maximum building site coverage, which has affected a gas pump canopy project and replacement of a sand shed. That department requested an exemption to the building size limits for the Rural 1/10  zone.

▪ Revise the county’s wireless communications regulations. The current code was enacted in 2003 and has not been amended to accommodate changes in federal law regarding site upgrades, such as fence requirements.

“As currently written, the county may not be able to meet review timelines set in federal law,” states a county summary of the proposal.

▪ Amend county code to remove the Board of County Commissioners from the quasi-judicial review process.

Right now, procedures allow parties to appeal Hearing Examiner decisions to the commissioners.

“This amendment would direct Hearing Examiner appeals to be made pursuant to state law,” according to a county summary of the proposal.

▪ Amend Urban Growth Area (UGA) zoning codes to be consistent with city regulations regarding small farm animals, such as chickens.

At this point, the UGA zoning codes do not allow small farm animals.

▪ Create a stronger definition for the term “event” in zoning codes.

“The lack of a definition for ‘event’ and the inadequate definition for ‘personal social event’ has caused some adverse impacts recently in the rural area,” states a county summary on the issue. “There have been several nuisance complaints regarding noise and time duration for ‘events’ and ‘personal social events.’”

▪ Amend codes to allow child care centers in the rural commercial center zone and other commercial zones.

▪ Amend zoning ordinances in the Tumwater rural area to include the airport hazard overlay.

▪ Amend all land use codes to add penalties and expand options for code enforcement, such as increased fines, double fees and liens on property.

▪ Update the county’s development codes, standards and rules to integrate low-impact development.

“A staff work group has identified amendments to code that will reduce the installation of new impervious surfaces, retain tree cover and vegetation, and reduce stormwater runoff from new development,” states a summary of the proposed code amendment.

▪ Amend the rural zoning ordinance that allow modular or manufactured homes to be placed on property for family members without consideration of zoning density.

The county does not have a monitoring program to ensure family member units, which are supposed to be temporary, be removed once the use is discontinued or the property is sold, according to a summary of the amendment.

▪ Rewrite the boundary line adjustment standards.

▪ Amend codes to reflect state law changes, including design standards, for manufactured housing.

▪ Allow prisons and prerelease facilities as a special use in the Planned Industrial Park District. The state of Washington is considering other uses for the former Maple Lane juvenile detention facility in Grand Mound, including one that would use it as a prison facility to house inmates with mental illnesses, according to the county.

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 10:16 AM with the headline "County seeks input on docket items."