Centralia is in the midst of making long-term decisions on growth. We’re completing our comprehensive plan, which is a planning document that uses a 20-year horizon and covers the gamut of issues, everything from parks to economic development to land use.
While the process can seem like a dry bureaucratic one, it is vitally important. People say they want “smart growth,” which I think means growth while preserving quality of life. The comp plan helps lay out decision making for a generation and provides the foundation for many funding sources.
Job and economic growth are obviously one of the paramount needs for our community — with an average household income of $52,000, we remain well below the median household income for Washington state of $95,000 (U.S. Census American Community Survey 2023). We currently have several great partners working on economic development: the Port of Centralia, the Economic Alliance of Lewis County, the Centralia Downtown Association, the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce, the Sports Commission/Sports Hub NW and more. In the coming weeks, we’ll share some of the work being done with all of these partners to promote our local economy.
Today, however, I want to focus on a very specific land use decision that is important for Centralia.
Tuesday evening, the Centralia City Council voted to impose a moratorium on structures larger than 250,000 square feet. A moratorium is a temporary measure designed to hit pause for six months on major actions while information can be gathered to understand their impact.
Structures of this size are often distribution or fulfillment centers. (While there are many different terms for these uses to describe very specific nuances, I am using distribution centers to describe generally large structures that are designed for bringing in goods for a short term to be rapidly distributed into surrounding areas.) Centralia currently has close to 2 million square feet in built and operating distribution centers. UNFI is the largest at over 1 million square feet. Already permitted and being built are potentially another 1 million-plus square feet. And there is potential for an additional nine properties to be sold and built for this use. All of these properties use Harrison Avenue to access Interstate 5.
The moratorium does not affect any existing structures or those in the process of being permitted, nor does it affect manufacturing. It does put a pause on future development (the potential nine additional properties). This gives the council time to consider the benefits and impacts of this type of development on the city, and also provides an opportunity for the public to weigh in.
We’ll have a public hearing on Oct. 28 to hear from our community on this topic.
Distribution centers and large structures can provide some benefits. When UNFI was built and the property was sold, the real estate excise tax provided funding for the United Learning Center — a huge investment in our children and families. They can bring one-time construction sales, offset property taxes for all residents, pay utility taxes and provide jobs. I believe that having some of these large structures is beneficial and an important part of our overall economic development portfolio.
The concern comes with how much is too much? What does “smart growth” look like?
Right now, some of the concerns we have with this type of development include:
• Traffic congestion. All these structures funnel traffic onto Harrison Avenue, going either north to Grand Mound or south to Exit 82. Harrison Avenue is already experiencing traffic issues that need to be addressed — and distribution centers create four times the traffic of a normal warehouse. Adding these centers will rapidly increase failing intersections and wait times along Harrison. We need infrastructure that outpaces growth, and right now our Harrison corridor is lagging behind the rapid growth we’re seeing. We’re already investing in improvements there, with adaptive signaling that should improve wait times at lights at Harrison and I-5, and purchasing right of way needed to improve the roadway for traffic flow. The long-term fix of a north county interchange with Interstate 5 is still one we’re working toward, but funding is not in place to give that a real timeline yet.
• Emissions and noise pollution. Fords Prairie Elementary is located at the corner of Galvin/Reynolds and Harrison. When these vehicles are waiting at the stop light, their emissions are right next to the playground. The much higher rates of truck emissions and traffic isn’t fair to residents living near Harrison or the kids attending Fords Prairie.
• Jobs. In Lewis County, the average number of employees per establishment for warehousing and storage has held steady at ~100. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016-2021. Fehr and Peers, 2023). This is an average across all sizes. Automation is rapidly changing how work is done, however, and UNFI’s manager recently told our City Manager Mike Thomas that they are significantly slowing down their hiring as they convert more positions to automation.
• Wages. The average wage for warehousing and storage in Lewis County in 2021 was $43,615. This is about $21 an hour for a full-time position. Centralia’s average household income is about $52,000 per year (with some households having more than one earner).
• Tax benefits. Since most of these properties are in our Urban Growth Area (UGA), the main benefits for the city are utility taxes. The county receives the one-time construction sales taxes and the property taxes. We can consider annexing these properties but doing so requires more city resources to serve these properties, to include police, and the costs would likely exceed any additional tax revenue in our budget.
• First responders. Our first responders are telling us that Harrison Avenue congestion is already impeding some response times, especially when large vehicles (such as fire trucks) are needed or for calls that don’t require sirens and lights but still need a rapid response.
We know we need economic development and growth for Centralia to thrive. The question is, what kind and how much? This moratorium gives you the opportunity to weigh in. Council will be diving into these issues as we aim to finalize land use zoning on these types of structures with our comp plan later this year.
We look forward to hearing from you as well.
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Kelly Smith Johnston is the mayor of Centralia.
