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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, July 7, 2006
Contact:
Diana
Smith, Associate Planner, 360-709-3013
Draft
Rural Rezone Proposal Released, Hearing Set
OLYMPIA
– A
proposal to rezone some rural lands in
Thurston
County
is being released next week for public comment.
The proposal is based on input received at public open houses,
workshops, and forums held throughout
Thurston
County
from December 2005 through January 2006. More than 800 people attended six
meetings held across the county to gather public priorities for rural zoning
changes. In addition, more than 170 people attended the most recent public
forum on the issue, held on June 19th and about 50 people added
their comments through the
Thurston
County
web site. .
Planner Diana Smith says the public discussion was
instrumental in shaping the proposal. “Gathering
public input from county residents has been a high priority throughout this
project. Public comment has really helped to design the recommendations for
rezoning and other changes that were mandated by the State Growth Management
Hearings Board.”
The Board ruled a year ago that zoning in the rural parts of
Thurston
County
did not provide enough
variety of densities, which in other jurisdictions includes areas such as one
housing unit per 10 acres or one per 20. The
Hearings Board also asked the planners to review rural areas that are denser
than one housing unit per five acres and define them as LAMIRDs (Limited Areas
of More Intensive Residential Development) if they meet specific criteria
defined by state law; otherwise they must be rezoned. Further, the Hearings
Board ruled that several criteria for designating long-term agriculture lands
must be revised.
The rural rezone proposal will be available for public
review by July 14th. It
can be viewed on line by visiting the
county
web site
at http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/index.asp.
Copies of the proposal can also be obtained on July 14 at the
Permit
Assistance
Center
, Building One at the Thurston County Courthouse.
The Thurston County Planning Commission will hold
a public hearing on the rural rezone plan on August 3rd from 6:30
p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (An open house starts at 5:45 p.m.)
The hearing will be held at the
Worthington
Center
at
St. Martin
’s University,
5300 Pacific Ave. S.E.
, Lacey, 98503. Once the proposal
is released, written public comment will be accepted through the close of the
public hearing. Written comment should be addressed to the Thurston County
Planning Commission, c/o Long Range Planning, Thurston County Development
Services,
2000 Lakeridge Drive SW
,
Olympia
,
WA
98502
.
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