Virtual Open House for Tumwater's Climate Element
A new requirement for the City of Tumwater's 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update
The Climate Element is a new state-required component of Tumwater’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan, communicating the City’s approach to mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and bolstering community-wide resilience to climate hazards. The new Element will both prioritize environmental justice and maximize economic, environmental, and social co-benefits.
"Imagining Climate Resiliency in the Pacific Northwest," by Claire Seaman. From the artist: "This piece was commissioned by the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group. Developed in collaboration with scientists and tribal representatives, the work acknowledges the inevitable while highlighting how we can cultivate good. From the urban West Coast to the shrubsteppe of eastern Washington, resiliency looks different in every landscape. True resiliency is not bound within the realm of science; social justice is equally as vital to every solution. The piece aims to make climate resiliency concepts more accessible. After all, before any goal can be accomplished, it must first be envisioned."
Increasing GHG emissions are changing Tumwater’s climate in ways that will impact both human and natural systems. In general, we can expect to experience hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters. These changes are anticipated to worsen existing hazards—like floods, landslides, and wildfires—and introduce new threats—like pests and vector-borne diseases.
Community members are encouraged to participate and provide input to help shape the future of Tumwater. This Virtual Open House shares information and opportunities to provide feedback on the Climate Element. We hope you will share details related to your community’s vision for climate action and preferred policy and implementation ideas.
2024 Tumwater Tree Board
Welcome
Under future carbon emissions scenarios, Tumwater will experience an increase in hotter days (>90 F), increased wildfire risks, and other extreme events.
By 2045, Tumwater and its urban growth area are expected to accommodate approximately 48,000 people, 21,466 housing units, and 37,760 jobs, an increase of 20,500 new residents, 9,192 new housing units, and 10,730 new jobs between 2025 and 2045.
How will current and new residents cope with increased climate risks, and how can the City help prepare for them? What else can we be doing to reduce carbon emissions and increase protection from hazards like extreme weather? Comprehensive planning is a process by which the community and City work together to explore these questions.
New state requirements include adding a Climate Element with planning goals and strategies that lead to achieving Net-Zero Emissions by 2050
How to explore this virtual open house
This online virtual open house will have many opportunities for input and engagement.
You can scroll through the entire page, or there are 8 sections which you can navigate to. In the header tabs above, you can jump around the page to a section that interests you.
The table of contents with the 8 sections of the open house will remain visible through the web page, so you can jump to different sections.
Here is a summary of each of the sections:
- Welcome: an introduction and guide to exploring this virtual open house
- 2025 Update: background on the broader Comprehensive Planning process & timeline
- Climate Element: background on the new Climate Element requirements
- Equity: outlines the importance of equity in climate action & provides an opportunity to identify frontline communities within Tumwater
- GHG: outlines the State-mandated GHG reduction goals & how Tumwater plans to reach those goals
- Resilience: details projected climate impacts & potential resilience actions
- Governance: discusses the City's and the community's roles in climate action
- Thank you! : final survey questions & where to learn more and provide additional feedback
The survey period has closed and survey responses will no longer be accepted, but the information contained in this StoryMap remains available for you to explore. Comments submitted to the project via email will still be accepted.
Electric Vehicle Chargers at the Tumwater City Hall
2025 Update
Tumwater’s Comprehensive Plan Update 2025 and New Climate Element Requirement
Every ten years, the State of Washington requires Tumwater to conduct a periodic update of its Comprehensive Plan and related development regulations to comply with the requirements of the State’s Growth Management Act (GMA) . The Comprehensive Plan lays out the City’s vision for decisions and investments related to housing and land use, local job creation, transportation and mobility, utilities, parks, and other public assets over a 20-year period. The Plan serves as a roadmap for future growth and services in the City, and affects neighborhoods, businesses, transportation, public facilities and services, and the environment.
Tumwater Town Hall 1939. A lot has changed since then, and we can make new changes to meet new needs.
Check out the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ ). All documents related to the periodic update are on the City’s periodic update webpage , including:
● Information on all meetings
● State guidance materials
● Drafts of the Elements as they are prepared
● Staff reports and presentations
You can find the timeline for completing the Climate Element here .
Email: Tumwater Comprehensive Plan Update compplan@ci.tumwater.wa.us
Lower Tumwater Falls
The new Climate Element Requirement
In May 2023, the Governor signed House Bill (HB) 1181, which added climate change and resiliency as the fourteenth planning goal of the GMA and added the preparation of a Climate Element requirement to the GMA. The goal states:
Ensure that comprehensive plans, development regulations, and regional policies, plans, and strategies under RCW 36.70A.210 and chapter 47.80 RCW adapt to and mitigate the effects of a changing climate; support reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and per capita vehicle miles traveled; prepare for climate impact scenarios; foster resiliency to climate impacts and natural hazards; protect and enhance environmental, economic, and human health and safety; and advance environmental justice.
As the Climate Element is mandatory for the state's 11 most populous counties and their cities with a population of 6,000 or more, Thurston County, Olympia, and Lacey are also developing their own Elements concurrently with Tumwater. The Climate Element must include sub-elements for resilience and greenhouse gas emissions mitigation.
The Climate Commitment Act (CCA) and Senate Bill (SB) 5187 have made $30 million available statewide for grants to support these efforts. The City of Tumwater obtained a grant to fund its new Climate Element.
Climate Element
Tumwater has been striving to be a Leader in Environmental Sustainability for decades. The City is developing new approaches to tree preservation and urban forestry management and advancing programs like summer water demand management, drinking water distribution lines, GIS utility maintenance, and Ready, Set, Solarize!
Incorporating a Climate Element into Tumwater’s Comprehensive Plan is a state requirement, but more importantly it signifies Tumwater’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and resilience in the face of climate change as well as a renewed promise to safeguard communities, economies, and ecosystems. The development of the Element requires collaboration across various sectors and disciplines, including urban planning, environmental science, public policy, health, and community advocacy. It provides a framework for integrating the economic, environmental, and social factors of climate change into the other related elements of the comprehensive plan.
In January 2024, Commerce published an update of its climate element planning guidance document, along with a list of more than 200 model climate goals and policies ( Menu of Measures ) that jurisdictions could integrate into their comprehensive plan. The document is available in 8 other languages.
The Climate Element consists of two required sub-elements, which address the distinct but related goals of climate mitigation and climate adaptation:
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Sub-element
- A climate mitigation plan that focuses on reducing greenhouse gases, which are defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as “gases that trap heat in the atmosphere.”
- Will address baseline conditions with an inventory of community-wide GHG emissions and designate policies and strategies to reduce GHG emissions and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per capita across Tumwater.
Climate Resilience Sub-element
- A climate adaptation plan that focuses on building resilience, which is defined by the State of Washington as “the ongoing process of anticipating, preparing for, and adapting to changes in climate and minimizing negative impacts to our natural systems, infrastructure, and communities.”
- Address baseline conditions and designate policies and strategies related to Tumwater’s sensitivity , exposure , and adaptive capacity to climate hazards, which will include science-based goals and policies that address local community hazards
- The analysis will include consideration of how natural areas can foster resiliency and protect vital habitat.
Climate mitigation focuses on reducing future climate change impacts, while climate adaptation focuses on ensuring communities can survive and thrive through the impacts that are already unavoidable. While there are distinct actions that can be taken to address either goal, there are also many actions that further both goals (see image to the right (on desktop) or above (on mobile)).
Mt. Rainier from Overlook Park
Equity
Environmental Justice and Frontline Communities
The City of Tumwater recognizes that climate change, inequity, social justice, and environmental justice are inextricably intertwined. The root causes of climate change and environmental justice are the same – they are systemic outcomes of the exploitative extraction of natural and human resources. Communities across the world, including Tumwater, have suffered from the inequitable distribution of benefits and burdens that are especially relevant to the issue of climate change.
Frontline communities are groups of people who are most vulnerable to and negatively impacted by climate change and other forms of injustice. They are often made up of marginalized populations, such as communities of color, Indigenous peoples, and people with lower incomes. Frontline communities are often located in the least desirable areas of cities, which can expose them to more climate impacts, like flooding. They may also have fewer resources, capacity, or political power to respond to these risks. For example, they may lack insurance or savings or have inflexible jobs where they won't get paid if their work is closed due to a hazard event. Learn more about how the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative assists Tribes and frontline communities.
Climate impacts or hazards, stemming from events like heat waves, floods and drought pose challenges for all. However, the degree to which communities will experience these climate change-related hazards is not the same. This 2018 report from University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group explores how how factors like race/ethnicity, wealth, income, level of education and health status affect the ability to cope with climate impacts, or related harms.
The Climate Element will support environmental justice by establishing equity goals and desired outcomes. Tumwater believes the integration of equity principles into this process is important for success, so that disadvantaged communities which are already disproportionately burdened by climate change, aren’t adversely impacted further by new plans and policies. Tumwater has developed an iterative/working engagement process which intends to be equitable and prioritizes frontline communities and community members that experience climate change “first and worst."
A guiding principle for the engagement process has been to meet people where they are and ensure that all efforts are accessible and equitable. This means not excluding anyone with certain health, physical, or working conditions, and it requires that needs around language, mobility, or family care are thoughtfully addressed. Vulnerable communities unfairly seated at the front lines of climate change must be prioritized in the climate planning process. A goal of the Climate Element is to identify ways to intentionally allocate resources to overcome the cumulative impacts of institutional racism on historically underserved and under-represented people.
Community Resilience cannot be built without centering issues of Climate Equity and Environmental Justice.
Adaptation can come in many forms - policy changes, behavioral changes, new or updated infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and many more.
If you want to review a comprehensive list of potential policies the City could adopt, you can review Washington State's Menu of Measures .
Note: items in the Menu of Measures are suggestions provided by the Department of Commerce and will not necessarily be included in your city's Climate Element.
Climate Equity aims to address and overcome the entrenched ways in which frontline communities experience the brunt of climate change impacts while possessing the fewest resources to adapt successfully.
While community engagement is required for most planning endeavors, it is important to go beyond "checking the box," especially for a topic like Climate Change that has such broad and long-lasting consequences across the whole community.
Issues of Climate Equity are not new, but are instead rooted in long-standing issues of Environmental Justice.
If you would like to know more about the environmental cleanup efforts in your neighborhood, please check out the Washington Department of Ecology's website .
ArcGIS Survey123
If you would like to explore Tumwater's environmental equity further, you can find a collection of maps here that show the geographic distribution of environmental hazards, benefits, and vulnerabilities. These maps were originally presented as part of the in-person Climate Element workshop on August 14th, 2024.
Old Olympia Brewery tower and Deschutes River
GHG
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Climate Mitigation Sub-Element
Climate mitigation addresses greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reductions that involve actions taken to eliminate the emissions of GHGs to reduce the rate and extent of climate change damage.
GHGs include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, HFCs, and any other gas or gases designated by the State.
Thurston County Coordination and Aligned Efforts
New requirements include adding goals and strategies that lead to achieving Net-Zero Emissions by 2050, consistent with Washington’s statewide target. Net-zero emissions means reducing GHG emissions as much as is possible and balancing the remaining emissions that cannot be reduced with equivalent removals of GHGs from the atmosphere. Removals can be achieved through a combination of technological solutions like direct air capture and natural solutions like better management of forests.
The new state requirements are above the current GHG reduction goals in the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan (TCMP) adopted by the City Council in 2021. To address this, while the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan will be incorporated into the Climate Mitigation Sub-Element, additional goals and strategies will be added to bridge the gap between the TCMP goals and State’s net-zero by 2050 goals.
Image: The cover of the 2020 Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan
Thurston County has greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories dating back to 2010. GHG inventories are an estimation of emissions from various sources within the geographic boundaries of the county. These inventories can help decision-makers identify where to focus their efforts to reduce emissions. Local government-scale GHG inventories are done according to standardized protocols and break down emissions into different sectors that include buildings & energy, transportation, and waste, among others. The most recent GHG inventory shows that Thurston County’s emissions in 2022 were trending in the wrong direction and were estimated to be 6.2% higher than the 2015 baseline.
Image: Tumwater's current Carbon Emissions Sources
Tumwater is also part of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative (TCMC) , a consortium of local governments that also includes the cities of Lacey and Olympia, and Thurston County. The TCMC's goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve communitywide emissions reduction goals. In 2020, the TCMC, along with the cities of Lacey and Olympia, developed the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan, which includes over 70 actions to reduce emissions.
Image: The 2021 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory for Thurston County
GHG Emissions in Tumwater
Tumwater's Annual Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) are 107,357,090 miles
Buildings and Energy make up the largest portion of County-wide operational emissions, and Transportation makes up the second largest. Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in these two sectors will have a big impact on reducing future emissions.
Renewable Energy and Electricity Demand
Increasing renewable energy production through development of wind, solar, and other sources will help accommodate growing electricity consumption, without increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning building systems from natural gas to renewable energy powered also mitigates energy emissions.
Energy Efficiency
As populations get bigger, energy emissions are expected to grow with more people using energy. Energy efficiency measures can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions as a community grows.
Breaking Down Transportation Emissions
The majority of Thurston County transportation emissions come from on-road vehicles, which offers a big opportunity to reduce transportation emissions by reducing VMT. That could include increasing public transit ridership, encouraging walking and biking, and developing new electric vehicle infrastructure.
Reducing Emissions in Tumwater
Tumwater needs to set specific and achievable goals across all high-emissions sectors in order to reach net-zero by 2050. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction sub-element will lay out the policies needed to reach these goals.
Roadblocks to Success
Implementing climate mitigation measures is not a simple task. There are many factors that limit Cities' ability to reduce GHG emissions, especially funding, uncertainty about the degree of public support, and a need to invest in effective solutions, which aren't always obvious or known.
The Washington Department of Commerce conducted a survey of cities (image to right) that illuminates some of these barriers. The survey included questions about preferences for different approaches to developing the GHG emissions reduction sub-element and GHG emissions reduction strategies more broadly.
When asked to choose the top three criteria used to prioritize GHG emissions reduction measures, cost, public support, effectiveness, and technical feasibility were the most frequently selected options.
Equity considerations and the potential for co-benefits were both given low importance by survey respondents, despite both of these factors being important to effective and efficient climate mitigation and adaptation.
Image: A bar chart breaking down survey responses from the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Reduction Survey of Small and Mid-Sized Cities . Respondents were asked to select the three most important criteria for prioritizing different GHG emissions reduction measures.
Participants were also asked to name the main challenges and key opportunities that they anticipate while developing GHG emissions measures. The results show that criteria related to cost are still the top factors.
The key takeaway here is that the best way for you to help your city overcome climate mitigation obstacles is to publicly show strong support for climate action, and to push your city officials to prioritize measures that address equity and provide co-benefits.
Image: Bar chart representing percentage frequency of responses for (left) main challenges and (right) key opportunities anticipated by respondents while developing the GHG emissions reduction measures for their jurisdiction (participants were asked to select up to 3 options)
What has been accomplished so far in Tumwater?
Tumwater has long history of pushing for sustainable choices - check out the Governance section for a timeline of what Tumwater has accomplished.
Sustainability Spotlight: Urban Forestry Management Plan
Tumwater City Council adopted the Urban Forestry Management Plan in 2021, which includes a number of actions focused on managing and expanding a climate-resilient urban and community forest. The City has been hard at work implementing this Plan and most recently expanded its inventory of trees on City property and identified areas of most needed maintenance and potential planting areas to reduce urban heat, increase tree canopy equity, and reduce stormwater flooding issues.
Tumwater recognizes the importance of natural climate solutions for both resilience and mitigation.
ArcGIS Survey123
Resilience
Climate Resilience Sub-Element
"Climate Resilience" is about building and maintaining a community that can withstand the growing impacts of climate change and bounce back better after a climate disaster.
This can be done by restoring & improving the health, function, and integrity of ecosystems...
...preserving & promoting important cultural and community spaces to share best practices...
...and investing equitably in infrastructure that can serve the whole community.
General Adaptation Actions
There are some actions Tumwater can take that will help adapt to multiple hazards across multiple sectors.
Actions Tumwater has already taken:
- Assessing the environmental contamination of the Brewery property for future redevelopment
- Working diligently to respond to pollution, spills, and contamination issues as they arise
Actions Tumwater can take:
- Increase climate adaptation efforts to meet rising risk levels
- Incorporate hazard recovery into climate planning
- Pursue funding for high-priority actions
- Consider climate impacts in hazard mitigation planning & coordination
Image: the cover of the 2018 Thurston Climate Adaptation Plan
Building and Energy Adaptation Actions
Actions Tumwater has already taken:
- Converted City streetlights, traffic signals, and some buildings to LED lighting
- Achieved SolSmart Silver designation, making it easier for residents and commercial buildings to install solar panels
Actions Tumwater can take:
- Expand and retrofit distribution, monitoring, and storage for on-site renewable energy
- Provide incentives for energy-efficient investments in buildings
- Develop strategies to safeguard critical electrical equipment
- Offer rebates to encourage energy-efficient appliance installation
Image: Tumwater City Hall, where a 20 kW solar photovoltaic array was installed in 2013
Transportation Adaptation Actions
Actions Tumwater has already taken:
- Pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure improvements (work in progress)
- Expand infrastructure to support electric vehicles (EVs) (work in progress)
- Completed a Fleet Electrification Assessment of the City Fleet
- Adopted State Energy Code which requires EV charging in new development
Actions Tumwater can take:
- Encourage alternative transportation methods like walking and biking through supportive city infrastructure
- Map vulnerable transportation infrastructure and designate alternative routes for use during natural hazard impact
Image: a solar-powered EV charging station recently purchased by the City for installation at Pioneer Park
Plant and Animal Adaptation Actions
Actions Tumwater has already taken:
- Completed an inventory of trees on City properties which included an assessment of climate-driven pest issues
- Secured grant funding to hire an Urban Forester in 2025
Actions Tumwater can take:
- Implement the Urban Forestry Management Plan, which will facilitate retention of larger diameter trees and protection of legacy forests
- Invest in projects with multiple ecological co-benefits, such as expanding green spaces that will provide carbon storage through both vegetation and soil
Image: one of Thurston County's prairies, a vibrant and essential regional ecosystem that provides many ecological benefits
Climate Hazard Adaptation Actions
Climate change will exacerbate several hazards in Tumwater, but these risks can be addressed through adaptation and resilience planning. This section will detail how climate change is expected to impact Tumwater and present some specific actions the City can take to adapt and protect your communities - as well as actions that are already completed or underway.
Image: Climate projections for Tumwater for the near-future (2050) and the end of the century (2100), under a lower emissions scenario and a higher emissions scenario (where only one number is listed, it is for the higher emissions scenario as data was not available under a low emissions scenario). Overall, climate projections indicate higher temperatures, more intense and frequent rain, changes in streamflow timing, greater likelihood of wildfire and drought, and loss of all regional snowpack, with these impacts escalating in the coming decades.
Extreme Heat
What Tumwater will experience: more extremely hot days and warmer average temperatures - especially in the summer.
Actions Tumwater has already taken:
- Conducted a solar + storage feasibility study to explore backup power options to make the City cooling shelter more resilient to power outages
- Identified potential planting areas for increasing the City’s tree canopy to reduce urban heat
Actions Tumwater can take:
- Incentivize & prioritize development that reduces urban heat through urban vegetation, cool materials, green roofs, and other emerging methods
- Improve monitoring of heat forecasting and ensure residents are informed and educated about individual actions to take during a heat wave
- Provide cooling centers during heat events
Image: an infographic from the Union of Concerned Scientists' report "Killer Heat in the United States" that breaks down how different heat indices will impact people.
Extreme Precipitation, Flooding, & Sea Level Rise
What Tumwater will experience: More frequent & more intense rainstorms; more frequent & more intense riverine, urban, and coastal flooding; high-tide flooding and groundwater contamination.
Actions Tumwater has already taken:
- Strongly discourage development within the floodplain
- Upsizing culverts in fish bearing areas to allow for both greater peak flows and fish passage
- Manage beaver activity in a way that allows them to remain in place while letting water flow
Actions Tumwater can take:
- Design & install stormwater infrastructure (i.e., culverts, pumps, etc.) capable of managing higher peak flows due to intense precipitation
- Incorporate sea-level rise & tidal flooding projections into zoning, building design, and mitigation planning for critical infrastructure
Image: A flooded Tumwater Valley Golf Course
Wildfires
What Tumwater will experience: Dry conditions leading to higher likelihood for wildfires and poor air quality
Actions Tumwater has already taken:
- Changed City code to allow for a pathway to conduct prescribed burns in prairie habitat
- Provided testimony which successfully led to edits/improvement to the Washington Wildland Urban Interface Code in 2023 - 2024
Actions Tumwater can take:
- Maintain a map of high-risk Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas and wildfire locations in the City & inform WUI residents about fire prevention practices
- Require developments in wildfire-prone areas to submit fire protection plans during site review
- Inform residents about dangers of wildfire smoke
- Prioritize air filtration in public buildings and common gathering areas in the City that may serve as shelter during wildfires
Image: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife conducts a prescribed burn in Thurston County near Scatter Creek. Prescribed burns maintain the health of ecosystems like Thurston County's prairies, mimicking natural fire regimes and lowering the risk of out-of-control wildfires.
Drought
What Tumwater will experience: Higher likelihood of drought due to less summer precipitation.
Actions Tumwater has already taken:
- Set action levels for different drought stages
- Secure sustained funding for long-term water quality and quantity monitoring
Actions Tumwater can take:
- Increase reclaimed water use for irrigation & aquifer recharge, while working to ensure reclaimed water is potable for future consumption
- Evaluate adaptation actions that conserve water resources
Image: Drought conditions in Washington State in 2024 showing the entire state in various states of drought, including Tumwater and most of Thurston County classified in "Moderate Drought." The Drought Monitor is a collaborative product of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Landslides
What Tumwater will experience: Higher likelihood of landslides due to changes in precipitation and wildfires that destabilize slopes.
Actions Tumwater can take:
- Secure funding for riparian vegetation restoration and protection
Image: a road in Pierce County washed out by a landslide after a period of intense precipitation. Washington State is already one of the most landslide-prone states in the country , and more frequent intense precipitation will make landslides like this one more likely in and around Tumwater.
Snowpack Reduction
What Tumwater will experience: Warmer temperatures leading to more precipitation falling as rain and to earlier snowmelt. Impacts on Tumwater will mostly be secondary, such as changes in streamflow levels and stream temperatures throughout the year and impacts on tourism as regional winter recreation activities diminish and summer recreation increases.
Image: a map of Washington State displaying the Snow-Water Equivalent (SWE), a measure of how much water is contained in snow that provides an indicator for the health of the snowpack. This map from 2015 shows every region with lower snowpack than the median, and most regions with severely low snowpack.
Non-Climate Hazards
Tumwater is at risk for some hazards that will not be exacerbated by climate change, but resilience planning will still provide benefits relating to these hazards. These include earthquakes, snowstorms, and volcanic activity.
Image: Three icons depicting earthquakes, snowstorms, and volcanic activity, three natural hazards that are not projected to become more likely or more severe in the future as climate change progresses.
What has been accomplished so far in Tumwater?
Thurston County's Hazard Mitigation Plan helps improve disaster preparedness and resilience by adopting the county's comprehensive framework for reducing future losses and minimizing the impacts of natural hazards. The plan, which has been updated every five years since its inception in 2003, provides a structured approach to address risks such as dam failures, earthquakes, floods, landslides and severe weather. This framework, developed in collaboration between different sectors such as emergency management, urban planning and environmental science, provides valuable guidance when applying for federal mitigation funding. It ensures that regional efforts are consistent with FEMA guidelines by incorporating detailed risk assessments, community asset inventories, and vulnerability analyses. Integrating these findings and regularly reviewing the plan improves local mitigation strategies, enhances disaster preparedness, and protects communities, infrastructure, and the environment from potential disasters while maintaining a commitment to proactive risk management and resilience. Tumwater has adopted this plan and has an annex in the plan containing goals and policies specific to Tumwater's needs.
Community Mapping for Resilience
Although we have lots of data that tells us which regions of Tumwater should experience the worst heat and flooding, we want to understand how these hazards actually impact people who live and work in the City. If you have experienced what you would consider extreme heat and/or disruptive flooding, use the map surveys below to tell us about your experience(s).
Governance
The City has made protecting and preserving the natural environment a key priority as it takes strides toward becoming a more sustainable community. Specific actions include electrifying buildings, lowering carbon transportation, solar power, waste reduction, and committing to the emission mitigation goals of the Thurston Climate Action Plan. Through its Climate Element, the City will strengthen its commitment to a resilient, just, and sustainable future for all of Tumwater.
City-Led Sustainability Through the Years
The City of Tumwater has taken many progressive steps over the past few decades to further environmental and sustainability goals
Community Engagement
Engagement with community members provides critical information for the City to address community concerns and inform decisions. Goals of engagement include:
- Understand community values related to climate change and resilience
- Hear residents’ vision for a climate-resilient Tumwater
- Learn what areas of the City community members are most concerned about and how the City can best address their concerns
- Foster collaboration between the City and community to meet the proposed climate goals and opportunities
Project Timeline
November 2024
Planning Commission meeting on Climate Element updates
December 2024
City Council work session on Planning Commission recommendation
Fall/Winter 2024-2025
The draft 2025 Comprehensive Plan will be available for public review & comment
February 2025
Planning Commission meeting on Climate Element updates
March 2025
General Government Committee briefing on Planning Commission recommendation
December 2025
City Council consideration and adoption of the Climate Element and related development regulation amendments to other Plans and Elements supporting the Climate Element.
ArcGIS Survey123
Tumwater Staff with Thurston Climate Action Team EV Action Group at EV Car Show
Thank you!
We appreciate your involvement with the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update and attending our Climate Element Virtual Open House.
Your time and input are valuable. The Comprehensive Plan Update it the best time for Community involvement, as what is adopted in 2025 will shape the City of Tumwater for the next 20 years.
ArcGIS Survey123
Submitting Additional Comments or Questions
Written comments or questions are welcome at any time during the periodic update process, the periodic update email is compplan@ci.tumwater.wa.us
Aerial photo of Brewery Park
Additional Resources:
The State Department of Commerce has provided guidance specific to the periodic update on their Periodic Update webpage
In addition, the Puget Sound Regional Council is conducting a series of workshops on a variety of topics related to the periodic update.
The Municipal Research Services Center has a Comprehensive Planning webpage as well as webpage addressing the new legislative requirements.
