3.12 Housing 0610083.12 Housing
Affected Environment
Population and housing projections are closely correlated. Washington State Office of Financial Management and Thurston Regional Planning Council projections for the City of Yelm and
its UGA are previously described in the Land Use and Population sections of this Draft EIS (Sections 3.8 and 3.11).
Potential Construction Impacts
The physical impacts associated with constructing the estimated 5,000 dwelling units within the Thurston Highlands Master Planned Community are described throughout Draft EIS Chapter
3 in relation to each element of the environment.
Developed Condition Impacts
As the Thurston Highlands Master Planned Community has been included in the City of Yelm Comprehensive Plan, and has been considered as part of the City’s housing needs assessment,
development of this project over time will not alter the anticipated demand for housing within the City of Yelm.
The build-out population and housing unit projections for each of the Thurston Highlands conceptual land use alternatives analyzed in this Draft EIS are presented in Table 3.11-4 in
the Population section.
At full build-out of the Thurston Highlands Master Planned Community, there would be an impact to affordable housing opportunities within the City of Yelm that would vary considerably
between the conceptual land use alternatives. The Traditional Neighborhood Development Alternative would create comparatively few multi-family dwelling units, focused instead on single-family
homes on urban- sized lots. The Urban Village Alternative would create the most opportunity for affordable housing by including the highest percentage of multi-family dwelling units,
as well as a significant townhome and duplex component. While the housing type in the Preferred Alternative would predominantly single-family dwellings, it would also include a healthy
percentage of multi-family and attached dwelling units – a “hybrid” of the Traditional Development and Urban Village Alternatives.
Possible Mitigation Measures
The approved Conceptual Master Site Plan should provide for a mix of housing types and styles, as well mixed densities to provide housing that is affordable to people of various income
levels. Both the rate and character of residential development over the 10- to 30-year build-out of the Master Planned Community will be influenced by market factors unknown at this
time.
Significant Unavoidable Adverse Impacts
No significant unavoidable adverse impacts to housing supply within the City of Yelm and its UGA are anticipated.