Olympia 2045: Climate Action & Resilience

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 Climate Action & Resilience element. To learn more about the general update process or other chapters, visit our Comprehensive Plan Update home page.

What does the Climate Action & Resilience element address?

The element will address both climate mitigation (the reduction of greenhouse gases) and resilience (the ability to prepare for, recover from, and adapt to climate change impacts). The element will be designed to:

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled.
• Improve climate preparedness, response, and recovery efforts to enhance resiliency and avoid the adverse impacts of climate change.
• Prioritize environmental justice and avoid creating or worsening localized climate impacts to vulnerable populations and overburdened communities.

To capture the collaborative approach that is needed to address climate action in the City of Olympia, the Climate Element will be integrated throughout each of the chapters in the Comprehensive Plan.

View the public hearing draft of the Climate Element

The public hearing draft of the Climate Action and Resilience element is available now! This draft was informed by comments we received on our first and second draft of the element published in February and May 2025. The chapter will be reviewed by the Planning Commission at the public hearing on August 4, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.

• Climate Element Public Hearing Draft

What we heard about the second draft

From May to June 2025, we shared the second draft of goals and policies and chapter narrative with City committees and the public. This draft was informed by comments we received on our first draft of goals and policies published on February 18, 2025. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts. We’ve compiled what we heard below:

• Draft Climate Element
• Summary of Feedback - Phase 3

What we heard about the first draft

From February to March 2025, we shared the first draft of goals and policies with some City advisory committees and the public. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts. We’ve compiled what we heard below:

• Draft Goals and Policies
• Summary of Feedback - Phase 2

We used this feedback to help shape the second draft of the chapter.

What recent plans/work influence this update?

The Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan(External link) (completed in 2020), Olympia Sea Level Rise Response Plan(External link) (completed in 2019), and Olympia Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (completed in 2025) have informed the development of the Climate Action and Resilience element.

The comprehensive plan will help the City update and refine its climate goals and policies while ensuring we meet the new state requirements under the Growth Management Act.

Community outreach contributed to the foundations of the vision, values, and direction of the City’s first Climate Element.

• Summary of Feedback - Phase 1

How to get involved