Upper Nisqually Land Use Advisory Commission Information
The Upper Nisqually Valley Community Plan area is located in southeast Pierce County, Washington. The plan area is approximately 18 miles in length beginning slightly north of Alder Dam and extending eastward along the highway corridor through the communities of Alder, Elbe, and Ashford, terminating at the Nisqually entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park. The plan area consists of approximately 27,000 acres approximately 50 percent of which are public lands held by the Federal, State, or local government. The majority of the public lands are designated forests which provide significant recreational opportunities and conservation of wildlife habitat. Population in the plan area is approximately between 1,100 - 1,200 persons.
The Upper Nisqually Valley Community Plan was adopted by the Pierce County Council on September 28, 1999. Under the plan, the communities of Ashford and Elbe are largely zoned Village Center which allows for a mix of commercial, residential, and civic uses. The area adjacent to Mount Rainier National Park was also rezoned to Tourist Commerical. This zone is restricted to four uses: lodging, restaurants, and sales of general merchandise and rental of recreational equipment. The latter two uses are limited to a 5,000 square foot building size. The Plan attempts to balance environmental and economic factors by recognizing the abundance of local natural resources such as wildlife, water, and forests with the opportunity to allow local citizens to make a sustainable living from the visitors to the area.
The community plan and design standards (921K) are available for viewing on-line in .pdf format. In order to view the .pdf files, you must have Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) Reader installed on your system. You can download the Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) Reader software at no cost from this website.
Allen Estate PowerPoint Presentation (50 Meg. Download)
If you have questions, please contact Kimberly Freeman , Associate Planner at 253-798-2784 or 1-800-992-2456 ext. 2784.
