Port Peninsula Integrated Master Plan

We will continue to offer opportunities over the next several months for community members to share their input. These opportunities may include surveys, town hall events and open houses where we will share draft concepts for future land uses with the community once they are developed.

We will add information about upcoming public participation events to our webpage at www.portolympia.com/masterplan.

Our team of consultants is in the process of conducting evaluations and market analyses to determine viable future uses on the acreage currently occupied by the marine terminal facility. They will lay out several possible plans for the marine terminal space which we will then share with Port Commissioners and the public for their review. The final plan will be one that the Commission determines best aligns with the Port’s mission to provide environmental stewardship, economic development and responsible asset management.

The master plan is a complex project that requires expertise in many different areas. Our team of consultants is made up of economists, maritime cargo experts, engineers, biologists, chemists, planners and geologists who have extensive experience in land use development, parks and open space, and marine habitat restoration. Our consultants have managed similar, large-scale projects at other ports and marinas in our region and across the country.

The Port, along with our consulting team, is conducting an extensive analysis and evaluation to determine what land uses on the Port Peninsula are feasible based on environmental factors and other unique characteristics of the Port Peninsula, zoning laws, and the local community’s needs. We anticipate that some form of residential or mixed-use housing will be considered. As the Commission evaluates different land use options, it will be guided by considerations of environmental stewardship, economic development goals and responsible asset management. Any specific projects that move forward out of the Master Plan will also be closely evaluated and approved by our board of commissioners before moving forward.

The goal of the Master Plan is to expand and improve community access to the peninsula waterfront through responsible public and private investments and to create a long-term development plan that is both environmentally and financially sustainable. Once the Port has finalized the Master Plan, specific projects that flow from it will be financed on a project-by-project basis, likely with a mix of public and private funds.

Very rough preliminary estimates calculate the total cost of Budd Inlet Cleanup at more than $100 million. The Port of Olympia will rely on tax levy dollars for some of the environmental cleanup and restoration costs and will look for grant funding and contributions from those potentially liable for the contamination that will be cleaned up.

Open spaces and public amenities will be included in the master plan assessment. The environmental characteristics of the Port Peninsula, local zoning laws, and the community’s desires are considerations that will play into the design and layout of the waterfront. In our public outreach, we have heard many community members express the need for more recreational amenities and open spaces. Some of the ideas that have been brought forward include a boat launch for small watercraft, a community center, an amphitheater or other outdoor music venue and more accessible parks, trails and walking paths.

The Port is part of the Olympia Sea Level Rise Response Plan collaborative which includes the City of Olympia and LOTT.  The Sea Level Rise Plan recommends actions that the parties have completed and will undertake in the future to mitigate the effects of sea level rise and global warming. As part of the Master Plan process, the Port will investigate the use of dredge material in their land use planning to raise the level of the Port Peninsula and create landscape berms and raised walkways.