by Charlotte Persons, BHAS Conservation Committee
Correction: Since this article was originally submitted, Thurston County has returned to having meetings only by Zoom, not in person. The rest of this article is still correct, and you can still submit written comments until 12:00 on Oct. 6 at the project webpage link below.
A request by UP Castle LLC for a Rezone and Land Use Amendment is a deceptively small proposal to Thurston County. The rezone would directly affect 33 acres of agricultural land on the border with Lewis County. Those two parcels, 5505 and 5641 222nd Ave SW, are zoned RRR (Rural Residential/Resource) and would become RRI (Rural Resource Industrial).
However, the location of the project does not fit the RRI requirements of the current Comprehensive Plan, so UP Castle has proposed code changes. Those Comprehensive Plan code changes would open the door to re-zoning to intensive industrial use (warehousing and manufacturing) of land that meets three requirements on the date that the new code is accepted—any agricultural land adjacent to industrial development and near an arterial road and a railroad. The code changes would apply to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of acres of farmland, scattered around the county. One example is about 300 acres by the I-5/Maytown intersection.
Conveniently you can give input on-line by 3:00 p.m. October 6 at the county’s project webpage by logging “con” and writing a brief comment with one to three talking points. Or give 3-minute oral comments in person or by Zoom at the Planning Commissioner’s hearing at 7:00 p.m. October 6.
Urge Planning Commissioners NOT to recommend CP 19, the Up Castle proposal, for approval to the Board of County Commissioners.
- Thurston County should not enact such far-reaching re-zoning as the result of the request of a single development company. To make well-considered changes to the Comprehensive Plan, County Commissioners should ask for a study to discover the need (if any) to locate more warehousing in rural areas.
- Thurston County does not need to convert farmland to warehouses and manufacturing. The 2021 Buildable Lands Report shows that we have more than double the amount of industrial land needed for the next twenty years – within the Urban Growth Boundaries of our cities.
- Thurston County should preserve the values and vision of the current Comprehensive Plan. That plan follows the Growth Management Act in prioritizing preservation of agricultural land and of the rural character of land outside the Urban Growth Boundary.
- Thurston County should wait to change the Comprehensive Plan until after the completion of CP – 16, the county’s community review of agricultural policies and programs. This group is researching soils maps and other sources to identify additional ways to protect agricultural lands prioritized for conservation. Their recommendations will be published later this year and in 2022.
