The Centralia City Council appears to be headed toward extending its six-month moratorium on permitting applications for large warehouses and distribution centers for another six months.
The council held a public hearing Tuesday ahead of its first reading of Ordinance 2575 to extend the temporary moratorium. While the vote on the first reading was unanimous, the ordinance will not go into effect until a second reading, scheduled for Feb. 10, is approved by the council.
However, councilors unanimously expressed their intention to extend the moratorium during their council discussion amid mediation between the city, Port of Centralia and Lewis County.
Eight members of the community spoke during the 20-minute public hearing, with six in favor of the extension and two opposed.
On Sept. 9, 2025, the city council passed a six-month moratorium on the acceptance and processing of permits for the siting, development or expansion of, and any utility connections to, large warehouse and distribution facilities totaling more than 250,000 square feet in all zoning districts within the city limits and the urban growth area. The moratorium expires on March 9, and the city council is allowed by state law to extend the moratorium for another six months following a public hearing.
The moratorium was put in place pending further public and stakeholder engagement and policy discussions to assess the impact of current and planned developments and to determine the long-term approach desired, according to city staff. The intent was to ultimately determine the city’s long-term approach as part of the zoning and development guideline update in late 2025. Subsequently, however, the Port of Centralia recently appealed the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) determination associated with the development guideline update, which put the policy discussion on hold pending the outcome of the appeal.
On Nov. 25, 2025, the city entered into a mediation agreement with the port and the county aiming to reach agreement on the matter, but the mediation process has not yet begun, city staff said.
The City of Centralia recently permitted a 600,000-square-foot warehouse facility along northwest Harrison Avenue to be developed by Logistics Property Company in the Port of Centralia’s Park I development. The city’s concern is centered around increased truck traffic along Harrison Avenue and worsening congestion along the thoroughfare. In response to this and the possibility that more warehouses and distribution centers of this size or larger may be forthcoming, the city issued the original moratorium.
Michael Thomas, Centralia city manager, told the council that state law authorizes an extension for up to six months, but the council can pull out of the moratorium at any time if it chooses. However, Thomas expressed concern regarding the port’s SEPA appeal and the delayed mediation process between the city, port and county.
“While those SEPA processes and appeals are going on, and while we’re negotiating through potential mediation with the county, if the moratorium lapses because of those appeals being in place, the only guidance that we have to go off of for zoning and developmental regulations are the ones already in place, which do not have any cap on the size of the buildings,” Thomas said. “Ergo, a developer could come into the city, seek permitting, seek plan approval and get their permits or their designs approved before we either solve the mediation or get the appeal process done. If the moratorium is lapsed, they’re basically good to build whatever they want of whatever size they want.”
Thomas said a mediation meeting was scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 22 but was canceled and there has been “no indication of a future mediation meeting.” He noted that the city and the port are dealing with the transition of new councilors and commissioners, as well as the port’s new executive director. However, Thomas said city staff had a “very fruitful and productive conversation” with port staff and a port commissioner.
“We solved a lot of problems that have been outstanding for a while. I think we cleared out a lot of low-hanging fruit that was causing some rift between us,” Thomas said. “I think that was very productive, and we’re open to more discussions.”
During the public hearing, Centralia residents and business owners Rebecca Staebler and Jan Nontell vouched for the city council to extend the moratorium, citing traffic concerns and the lack of family wage jobs. Nontell asked the council to ultimately make the moratorium permanent.
“Centralia doesn’t need any more low-wage jobs. It can and will eventually be replaced by AI and robotics,” she said. “We definitely don’t need more traffic on our already crowded and crushed streets.”
Peter Lahmann, Port of Centralia commissioner, spoke against the extension of the moratorium, noting that the move “has a chilling effect on development that the port is trying to do.” He added that he is “not all that excited” about each of the three jurisdictions spending money on mediation.
“I don’t think we need to spend port money or city money or county money on mediation when we can sit in a room and come to some kind of conclusion,” Lahmann said.
Patty Howard, associate pastor with Gather Church, expressed her support for the extension of the moratorium and said the extension gives the city time to consider all of the possibilities.
“I would implore you to give yourselves more time, knowing that you can always stop the clock. You’re in control of that, but you’re also in control of Centralia,” she said. “The future of Centralia, no pressure, is in your hands, and the people of Centralia who put you in those chairs trust you with their future.”
Former Centralia councilors Max Vogt, Sarah Althauser and Mark Westley all spoke in favor of the council extending the moratorium. David Toyer, founder of Toyer Strategic Advisors, Inc., and representing the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks, repeated his claim from the council’s Oct. 28, 2025, public hearing on the moratorium that the move is not a solution and that such pauses have economic consequences on economic investments in the community.
“I would really appreciate the council taking the time to reconsider this moratorium, to engage with industrial stakeholders that are not just the port, and help work with us to find solutions that can continue to encourage investment in Centralia, both in the city limits and its urban growth area,” Toyer said.
Deputy Mayor Chris Brewer said the pending appeal by the port “behooves us” to solve that issue first before allowing any further permitting on large warehouses or distribution centers. Councilor Kelly Smith Johnston added that “it’s really clear that the community supports this and the community is asking us to be thoughtful.” She said the city should take time to get the partners at the table and agreed with Lahmann’s opinion that mediation shouldn’t require taxpayer money from the three jurisdictions.
Councilors Tucker Voetberg and Kevin Curtis both indicated that the moratorium should be extended, but the issues surrounding it should be resolved before the extension expires Sept. 9.
The Centralia City Council’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.
