Exploring Comp Plans

In 1973, the City of Lacey, with assist from Thurston Regional planning staff, drafted its first  Comprehensive Plan for the development of the city.

Even 40 years ago, planning staff were calling for a “walkable” community and many of the ideas advanced in that 1973 plan are continuing to be used today.

All plans call for reasonable assumptions –  – and these were some of the assumptions Regional Planning staff determined would impact Lacey’s future.

The plan said that Lacey was a bedroom community for Olympia and would continue to be so into the 21st Century.    It said that population growth in Lacey would be around 20,000 by the beginning of the new century – and that was the high growth line.

The planning staff said that commercial growth in Lacey would slow considerably as the land available for commercial use would decline.   It said that commercial growth on Olympia’s Westside would meet the commercial demand in the community and that additional land for commercial development was not needed in Lacey.

It also said a new city hall should be built on Bowker Street and Pacific Avenue.

So much for comp plans when staff use past and current trends without some insight into the future.