La Center officials want community feedback about how the city should grow its downtown and Timmen Landing, south of East Fork Lewis River, in the future.
Under the Growth Management Act (GMA), La Center is required to complete a comprehensive plan to meet expected resident and employment growth from 2025-45, by December next year. City staff expect the city’s population will nearly double in 20 years. As of last week, Clark County projects La Center to gain 3,884 residents and 2,095 jobs by 2045. La Center currently has an estimated population of 4,462 residents and 800 jobs.
In a March 20 open house, city staff and WSP, a consultant firm working with La Center, spoke with residents on what direction to take to accommodate incoming growth.
Zoning considerations
In the open house, WSP indicated La Center currently has more housing than jobs. La Center has 0.55 jobs per housing unit, less than the 1.0 job per unit set by Clark County, according to WSP’s data. As well, 2021 data shows 3.5 percent of La Center residents as working within the city, while 7.6 percent of workers in La Center live within city limits, according to the data. WSP presented two land-use scenarios to accommodate incoming growth. Option A would plan for La Center to grow north of East Fork Lewis River, upzoning several acres of residential land from low density to medium density. A consultant from WSP said that, under that plan, parts of the city would grow from roughly four to six units per acre, to eight to 16 units per acre.
Option B would expand the city’s urban growth area at the junction south of East Fork Lewis River, limiting rezoning within the city.
Joseph Chamber, a downtown resident, told The Reflector he prefers Option B. He compared the concept to Ridgefield, saying he likes how that city maintains its downtown district’s quaint charm.
“Because La Center’s going to change, [Option B] puts growth on the periphery,” Chamber said.
Chamber expressed interest in future expansions along the East Fork Lewis River and hopes to see more growth in Timmen Landing toward Interstate 5.
La Center Mayor Tom Strobehn told residents the concepts showcased at the open house were open for change. WSP and the city may consider one of the two options but can find other zoning options before the comprehensive plan’s 2025 deadline.
Subarea planning
The city is also developing subarea plans, which set goals and policy for land use and transportation, for downtown La Center and Timmen Landing. For both subareas, WSP provided a vision statement and asked residents to provide their thoughts. Resident feedback will be considered by WSP and the city when developing the comprehensive plan.
The vision statement for downtown indicates plans to maintain its charm while supporting both local and small businesses. It also indicates plans to feature the local waterfront as a community gathering space. The statement promotes mixed-use development downtown for both residential and retail space. A recent analysis conducted by WSP indicates a greater market for retail space rather than office space in downtown La Center.
The visionary statement for Timmen Landing promotes providing attainable housing for different income levels in the neighborhood along with accompanying commercial uses. The vision includes “well-maintained road infrastructure and safe and convenient biking and walking paths” connecting the neighborhood to the rest of La Center.
A La Center woman who declined to provide her name told The Reflector she would love to see an auditorium downtown for local events, which would eliminate borrowing the space from the high school and could accommodate many uses.
She said she hopes that future development plans will focus on maintaining infrastructure to reduce future traffic and increase safety.
“If there’s a problem on the highway, [traffic] just clogs up,” she said.
Paul Fulsher, a downtown resident, shared similar concerns and hopes the city will focus on increasing traffic infrastructure for cars coming in and out of downtown La Center.
“[My] concern is the traffic lights,” Fulsher said. “No one likes the lights, but … you have to have traffic controls.”
Fulsher said that adding mixed-use property in La Center would bring more businesses downtown. Business and mass transit in La Center both need improvement, he said.
Bryan Kast is a La Center public works and community development director said the city and firm will hold another open house this fall. Kast expects the firm to present more comprehensive plan drafts at that time.
An online survey for La Center’s subarea planning can be found at surveyhero.com/c/lacentervision.
