TUMWATER COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

The Tumwater Comprehensive Plan contains eleven elements.  A summary on each of the elements is provided below. 

Capital Facilities Plan
Conservation Plan
Economic Development Plan
Housing Plan
Innovative Techniques
Joint Plan
Land Use Plan
Lands for Public Purposes/Essential Public Facilities Plan
Parks and Recreation Plan
Shoreline Master Program
Transportation Plan
Utilities Plan

Land Use Plan. Considered the heart of the comprehensive plan, this element describes the general distribution and location of land uses, including housing, commerce, industry, recreation, open spaces, public utilities and facilities, and other land uses to accommodate future growth.  The plan designates 39% of the City's 5,483 acres for residential development, 10% for light industry, 6% for general commercial, and 3% for mixed use development.  The two designations that comprise the largest areas of the city are the Single-Family Medium Density Residential designation (16%) and the Airport Related Industry designation (23%).

Land Use Plan

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Housing Plan.  This plan considers the condition of the existing housing stock in the city and identifies methods for providing affordable housing for all economic segments of the community.  A survey of housing conditions found that 9% of the 4,691 housing units are in excellent condition, 52% are good, 37% are fair, 1.5% are poor, and 0.10% are very poor.  The survey also found that 48% of the housing units in Tumwater are single-family; 11.7% are duplex; 29% are multi-family; 0.3% are mobile units on single lots; and 9% are mobile home park units.  Goals and policies of the Housing Plan encourage urban growth to be phased outward from the urban core and encourage development of housing on vacant and underdeveloped property to reduce sprawl.

Housing Plan

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Parks and Recreation Plan. This document is the city's plan for the retention of open space, development of recreation opportunities and parks, and access to natural resource lands and water in the Tumwater Urban Growth Area.  Minimum level of service standards for parks and recreation facilities and services are established.

The plan includes a capital facilities plan and an action program which list and describe the funding sources for actions the city plans to take to ensure that the needed facilities are provided at the time they are needed by development.  The plan identifies a need of an additional 178 acres of community park land to serve the city in 2015.  This land is in addition to the city's two existing community parks - the 17.2 acre Historical Park and the 83 acre Pioneer Park.

Parks Plan

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Lands for Public Purposes/Essential Public Facilities Plan.  This plan identifies lands useful for public purposes, such as libraries, school and city hall services.  The plan also outlines a process for siting essential public facilities.  These facilities are typically difficult to site such as airports, state education facilities, state or regional transportation facilities, solid waste handling facilities and in-patient facilities including substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities and group homes.

Lands for Public Purposes

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Utilities Plan.  Plans for gas, electricity, cable TV and telecommunications for Tumwater and its urban growth area are covered.  Existing delivery systems and proposed improvements are described.

Utilities Plan

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Capital Facilities Plan.  This plan provides a list of proposed major capital expenditures throughout the city.  It also provides a multi-year look at the strategies and financing requirements for major capital programs.  The plan projects needs six years into the future for major construction, infrastructure improvements, land acquisition, and machinery and equipment purchases.

Capital facilities plans provide the infrastructure that is envisioned or authorized by the Land Use Plan.  The Capital Facilities Plan coordinates and provides consistency among the many plans for capital improvements, including the Transportation and Parks elements of the comprehensive plan.  The Capital Facilities Plan should insure the timely provision of adequate public facilities.

Capital Facilities Plan

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Conservation Plan.  Washington State Growth management Act (GMA) requirements to identify, protect and conserve critical environmental areas and valuable natural resources are addressed in the Conservation Plan.  Critical areas include wetlands, aquifer recharge areas, frequently flooded areas, and fish and wildlife habitat areas.  Natural resource lands include those used for agriculture, timber and mineral resource production.

Conservation Plan

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Economic Development Plan.  This plan identifies techniques for attracting new development and areas where commercial and industrial developments are appropriate.

Economic Development Plan

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Joint Plan.  Guidance for future growth in Tumwater's urban growth area (UGA) is provided in the Joint Plan.  Prepared jointly by Thurston County and Tumwater, this document is a comprehensive plan for unincorporated lands located inside the urban growth boundary.  Goals and policies in the plan provide the framework for the transition from a rural to an urban level of development.  UGA zoning and development standards were adopted by Thurston County to implement the Joint Plan.  Development standards for the UGA are essentially the same as those that apply to land located within Tumwater's city limits.

Joint Plan

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Transportation Plan.  GMA requires a coordinated planning program for regional transportation systems throughout the state.  Regional transportation plans are required and have been developed by the Thurston Regional Planning Council.  The Tumwater Transportation Plan is a city-wide plan that must be coordinated and consistent with the regional plan.  The Transportation Plan must also be consistent with the Tumwater Land Use Plan.

The Transportation Plan established a concurrency management system that enables the city to determine whether the public transportation system will have adequate capacity to serve new development.  Level of Service (LOS) standards are established for the city's road system.  Prior to approving a building permit, the city must perform a concurrency test.  A building permit may be approved if a Finding of Concurrency is made.  A Finding of Concurrency indicates that the transportation system has adequate capacity to accommodate additional traffic generated by a new development without causing the LOS to decline below adopted standards, at the time of development or within six years.

Transportation Plan

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Shoreline Master Program.  In 1995, Washington State made local shoreline master programs an element of the GMA comprehensive plan.  Local governments are required to prepare a detailed shoreline inventory and a shoreline master program for managing shoreline development.  Tumwater adopted the Shoreline Master Program for the Thurston Region.  The master program includes policy statements and regulations that establish appropriate uses within shoreline areas.

The master program also includes specific goals, policies and use regulations for Percival Creek.  Other plans associated with the master program include the Deschutes River Special Area Management Plan for the Tumwater Valley and Deschutes Riparian Habitat Rehabilitation Plan. In 1992, the city also prepared the New Market Historic District Master Plan.

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Innovative Techniques.  The GMA encourages cities to use innovative development techniques to achieve the GMA goals.  Tumwater's comprehensive plan supports the following techniques:

• Accessory dwelling unit.  An accessory dwelling unit is secondary and in addition to a primary residence on a lot and provides the opportunity for affordable housing.  Accessory dwelling units are permitted in most of the residential zoning districts.

• Manufactured housing.  Manufactured homes are allowed in many of the residential zoning districts to provide an affordable housing alternative.  Design standards ensure that these homes are compatible with the neighborhood and surrounding "stick" built homes.

• Minimum/Maximum densities. A density range is established for each residential zoning district.  The intent is to promote more cost-efficient provision of city services, the provision of affordable housing, and the encouragement of transportation modes other than the single occupancy vehicle.  Land proposed for subdivision must be divided into lots which fall within a specific range.  For example, a subdivision proposed for 1 acre of buildable land zoned for Single-Family Low Density Residential must result in a minimum of four and a maximum of seven new lots.

• Clustering.  New lots may be clustered or grouped into a smaller area instead of being spread over the entire development site.  The remaining portion of the site is retained as undeveloped open space.  The intent is to preserve open space and environmentally sensitive areas, such as wetlands.

• Design review guidelines.  Applicable to certain types of commercial and residential developments, guidelines are intended to encourage diversity of building styles, create pedestrian activity along streets, and provide pedestrian connections to public transportation and between neighborhoods.

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Updated: 07/14/05