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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Contact:
Nancy
Pritchett, Interim Senior Planner, 360-754-3355, ext. 6474
GMA
Compliance Hearing to be Held
OLYMPIA
– Thurston County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on October 30
regarding proposed changes to the county’s Comprehensive Plan and
development regulations. The
recommendations come after months of public meetings, study and deliberation.
They are in reaction to an earlier finding by the Western Washington
Growth Management Hearings Board that some aspects of the county long range
plan were out of compliance with state regulations.
The purpose of the hearing is to
accept public comment on proposed amendments to the Thurston County
Comprehensive Plan, Rochester Subarea Plan, zoning maps and associated zoning
and development regulations. The proposed amendments relate to designating
Limited Areas of More Intensive Rural Development (LAMIRDs), and amending
policies for designating agricultural lands of long-term commercial
significance. (It
should be noted that another aspect of GMA compliance, rural rezoning, is
still under review by the
Thurston
County
Planning Commission and will have its own hearing at a later date.)
The proposed amendments include,
but are not limited to, the following:
Thurston County Comprehensive Plan: Proposed
new LAMIRD designations and criteria for these designations; revised criteria
for designating agricultural lands of long term commercial significance;
amendments to land use designations to be incorporated into Map M-15, Future
Land Use, and land use map in the Rochester Subarea Plan.
Thurston
County
Zoning Code, Title 20:
Addition of three new chapters with regulations for new Residential LAMIRD
districts to comply with LAMIRD criteria; and revision to regulations and
definitions associated with the new zoning districts.
Official
Zoning Map of
Thurston County
,
Washington
.
Proposed rezoning of portions of the rural area to reflect new land use
designations of Residential LAMIRD 1 unit per acre, Residential LAMIRD 1 unit
per 2 acres, and Residential LAMIRD 2 units per acre; and
rezoning of some areas to a density of 1 unit per 5 acres from higher density
districts.
Staff reports and copies of the amendments, including
draft map changes, are available at: http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/permitting/GMA/index.htm
Information on the proposed changes is also available
by contacting Interim Senior Planner Nancy Pritchett at (360) 754-3355 x 6474,
or by visiting the
Permit
Assistance
Center
at Thurston County Development Services Department at the address shown below.
Written comments on the amendments
may be mailed to the Thurston County Board of Commissioners, Attn: Nancy
Pritchett, Thurston County Development Services Department,
2000 Lakeridge Drive SW
,
Olympia
,
WA
98502
. Written comments must be
received by the close of the hearing on October 30, 2006.
The
hearing will be held-
October 30, 2006, at 6:00 p.m. at the Thurston Expo Center, located at the Thurston
County Fair Grounds, 3054 Carpenter Rd SE, Lacey, Washington. An
open house will precede the public hearing, beginning at 5:15 p.m., at the
same location.
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