Pasco planning staff urges council to 'hold the line' on commercial land as conversions increase

City planning staff told the Planning Commission that Pasco has a limited supply of commercial land — roughly 532 vacant commercial acres and 143 acres identified as underutilized — and urged policies to discourage conversion of commercial parcels to residential uses during the city’s comprehensive-plan update.

Director of Community & Economic Development Aaron Matson briefed commissioners on a land-capacity analysis showing Pasco can support forecast job growth but is vulnerable if commercial land is rezoned. Matson said staff has received about 30 land-use amendment requests during the update window, including requests that would convert 61–167 acres of commercial land to residential. He recommended code and policy changes to make conversions difficult and to preserve the city’s industrial and commercial base.

Planning Commissioners voiced broad support. Commissioner Jones warned that piecemeal conversions could erode the city’s retail and destination potential and produce “retail leakage” to neighboring cities. Commissioner Crutchfield said it is hard to replace commercial land once it is converted and urged the city to incentivize building on existing commercial sites rather than re-zone them. Commissioners also urged improving permit timelines and code clarity to attract businesses to build on available commercial sites.

Matson noted mixed-use zones in Pasco are often being used for residential projects and said staff will propose policy language and municipal code changes during the comprehensive-plan update. The city is also tackling a larger municipal-code cleanup to consolidate redundant zones, clarify permit types, and comply with recent state mandates.

Next steps: staff will draft comprehensive-plan and code language to make conversions more difficult, refine mixed-use guidance, and bring those policy proposals back to planning commission and council later this year as part of the periodic update. Commissioners signaled urgency but also supported a measured approach to preserve commercial land while allowing appropriate housing growth.