Olympia 2045: Natural Environment

What’s happening?

Every 10 years, the City is required by State law to review and update its Comprehensive Plan. This update will look out to year 2045 to show, among other things, how the City will accommodate new population and employment growth. It is also an opportunity to make sure the Plan and Development Regulations meet current state requirements that may have changed since the last major update of the Plan.

Each chapter of the Comprehensive Plan will be updated individually, with its own public participation process and opportunities to provide feedback.

This page is for the Natural Environment chapter update. To learn more about the general update process or other chapters, visit our Comprehensive Plan Update home page.

What does the Natural Environment chapter address?

This chapter addresses the many benefits we receive from a thriving natural environment and the ways we can work together to keep it healthy. From community-based habitat stewardship opportunities to regulations protecting critical areas from the impacts of development, the goals and policies outlined in this chapter aim to promote both human well-being and environmental health.

What recent plans/work influence this update?

Olympia’s Shoreline Master Program (SMP) includes policies that support reasonable private and public uses of the City’s shorelines (within 200’ of lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, and Budd Inlet) while protecting aquatic wildlife and their habitat. Most recently updated in 2021, the SMP is required and approved by the Washington State Department of Ecology under the State’s Shoreline Management Act. Many City policies and regulations from the SMP are also described in other sections of Olympia’s Municipal Code, such as the Critical Areas Ordinance and Engineering Design & Development Standards, which provide guidelines on permissible activities within shoreline buffers and other protected areas.

This chapter of the Comprehensive Plan guides several additional programs and policies related to the natural environment. These include the Urban Forestry Manual, the Habitat Stewardship Strategy, and Olympia’s Storm & Surface Water Utility, whose mission is to prevent flooding, improve water quality, and protect and enhance aquatic habitat. These particular plans and policies are important to helping the City prepare for sea level rise and other climate-related challenges, in addition to promoting nature-based solutions such as Low-impact Development to sustainably and equitably accommodate our growing community.