News & Info

OMB Addresses Lacey Design
Review Committee Actions

Over the past few months the City of Lacey Design Review Committee has been meeting to develop new design standards for single family residential development. Unfortunately the committee's scope soon migrated into the area of land use and zoning.

According to Olympia Master Builders (OMB) President Mark Shaffer, "The committee was proposing the establishment of maximum floor area ratios, increased setbacks, changes to impervious surface coverage and more. In addition, the Committee initially discussed that any new changes would apply immediately to all lots regardless of vesting rights."

In late September, OMB sent a letter to the Design Review Committee outlining OMB's concerns regarding vesting rights as well as the zoning and code changes being discussed by the committee. As a follow-up, OMB members and staff began notifying specific builders who are currently building in Lacey and then sent a letter to all builder members who are located in Thurston County notifying them of the Design Review Committee's actions.

Rob Rice of Gemini Corporation who has been OMB's representative on the Committee and Laura Kimbrough, OMB's Executive Officer, met with City of Lacey Deputy Mayor Nancy Peterson, City Manager Greg Cuoio, Principal Planner David Burns and City Attorney Ken Ahlf in early October.

The meeting provided an opportunity for OMB to address concerns and for the City to more specifically define what their intentions were regarding design review. Based on that meeting, OMB believes the City acknowledges that some potential actions of the Design Review Committee would not apply to vested lots and that the real focus of the Design Review Committee will deal with issues OMB can support - design details that can improve the aesthetic appeal of neighborhoods without imposing an additional financial impact on the cost of the home.

As a follow up to that meeting, OMB sent a letter to the Lacey City Council, Planning Commission and Design Review Committee members stating that "…because the Design Review Committee has not completed its work and OMB has not seen a final version of the Committee's recommendations, OMB members must continue to address the potential ramifications of some of the ideas being discussed by the Design Review Committee."

For additional information, please contact OMB's Government Affairs Director, Will Stakelin at 360-754-0912.