Olympia Planning Commission Meeting Summary – October 21, 2026

The Olympia Planning Commission met on October 21, 2026, for a business meeting that included a public hearing and recommendation on parking-code amendments and a briefing on the Urban Forest Management Plan. The transcript labels the meeting date as October 19, 2026; this summary uses the supplied meeting date of October 21, 2026. Unless otherwise noted, votes were voice votes.

Call to Order and Procedural Approvals

• Chair Queen called the meeting to order and roll call was completed.
• The commission approved the meeting agenda as submitted.
• The commission approved the October 5, 2026 meeting minutes, with one commissioner abstaining.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Judy Bardin spoke during general public comment about the upcoming neighborhood-scale commercial amendments. She asked the commission and staff to consider expanded definitions and clarifications for operating hours, how the city would evaluate public nuisance and minimized detrimental activity, and outdoor alcohol consumption. She cited personal experience living next to an Airbnb with loud hot-tub noise at night.
• No members of the public testified during the parking-code public hearing.

Staff Announcements

• Casey Shoffler announced that the Community Livability and Public Safety Council Subcommittee would ask City Council the next evening to sunset three advisory committees, including the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. He noted the Planning Commission could inherit some related work items.

Public Hearing: Proposed Parking Minimum Amendments

• Casey Shoffler presented proposed amendments to Olympia Municipal Code Chapter 18.38 to implement the state Parking Reform and Modernization Act (PRMA) and to update parking standards.
• Staff described the PRMA as capping minimum parking requirements, including a one-half space per multifamily unit limit for developments of four or more units, one space per single-family home, and two spaces per 1,000 square feet of commercial space.
• The proposal would eliminate all citywide vehicle parking minimums, remove the existing parking-use table, consolidate parking types into residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional/public facilities, and revise bicycle parking standards.
• The proposal would establish parking-lot maximums: residential uses would be limited to three spaces per 1,000 square feet of lot area or 50 spaces, whichever is less; commercial uses would be limited to four spaces per 1,000 square feet or 100 spaces, whichever is less.
• Staff recommended revisions after the briefing: clarifying the bicycle-parking cap as up to a total of 12 required spaces; exempting bicycle-parking requirements for changes of use in existing commercial spaces under 3,000 square feet in the downtown exempt parking area; and limiting the parking-maximum exemption to multi-story parking structures.
• During discussion, Vice Chair Daniel Garcia proposed removing the 12-space maximum for commercial bicycle parking, calling it arbitrary. Commissioners also discussed parking-structure loopholes, shared parking agreements, ADA accessible parking, cargo and adaptive bicycles, and potential future bicycle-parking work.

Key Outcomes: Parking Amendments

• The commission voted to recommend that City Council approve the proposed amendments to Olympia Municipal Code Chapter 18.38, Parking and Loading, with revisions as discussed.
• The approved revisions included:
  • Removing the maximum of 12 required bicycle-parking spaces under the commercial and related categories covered by the revision.
  • Exempting bicycle-parking requirements for change of use in existing commercial spaces under 3,000 square feet in the downtown exempt parking area.
  • Applying the parking-maximum exemption only to multi-story parking structures.
• Staff will draft a recommendation letter for commission review before the November 2, 2026 meeting. The item is scheduled for the Land Use and Environment Committee on November 19 and a first City Council briefing on December 8. The PRMA requires local adoption by January 27, 2027.

Briefing: Urban Forest Management Plan

• Kim Foley (Environmental Planner, Public Works Water Resources) and Leanne Wells (City Urban Forester, Community Development) briefed the commission on the upcoming Urban Forest Management Plan.
• The plan will treat the urban forest as all trees in Olympia, including street trees, yard trees, parking-lot trees, shoreline trees, and park trees.
• The 2023 tree canopy assessment found Olympia had about 42% tree canopy cover, which the presenters said is relatively high; the plan will focus on strategically protecting and managing existing canopy rather than simply planting more trees everywhere.
• Drivers include growth pressures, overdue tree-protection code updates, stormwater permit requirements, and a Washington State urban and community forestry grant that was delayed about one year due to federal funding pauses.
• The plan will emphasize equitable distribution of tree benefits and burdens, addressing infrastructure conflicts, sustainable funding and staffing, and potential tree-code amendments.
• Consultants Cascadia Consulting and Facet will support community engagement and urban-forestry technical work. Engagement will include an Engage Olympia story map, paid focus groups with underrepresented and overburdened communities, open houses, and tabling events.
• In response to commissioner questions, presenters said staff can overlay tree-canopy GIS data with utility and transportation layers and are working to make those layers more publicly accessible. They also explained that tree planting is not currently an accepted stormwater BMP for development requirements, but the City uses tree-canopy data to prioritize street sweeping and planting near salmon-bearing streams.
• No formal action was taken on the Urban Forest Management Plan.

Reports and Adjournment

• No commissioner reports were offered.
• The meeting was adjourned after the regular business; the next regular meeting is scheduled for November 2, 2026.