Community Development

2045 Comprehensive Plan Housing Simulation

The 2045 Comprehensive Plan for Centralia will be the guiding document for how and where the city will grow over the next 20 years.  In 2021, the City got the ball rolling on developing a Housing Assessment and Analysis Plan by working with Lewis County in holding a housing summit.  In 2022, the city received a Housing Action Plan Implementation (HAPI) grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce to develop a housing action plan.  

The Plan will help the city understand what types of housing we are missing and what barriers we need to remove to provide housing for all people.  This Plan will be a major puzzle piece to developing our Housing Element for the Comprehensive Plan.  As we start to address where the housing should go in the city we want to know where you think we should direct new housing to go and at what density.

In the Housing Simulation, we need to identify where 925 new housing units should be located.  Seven different areas have been identified as potential sites for 685 housing units, as well as an additional 240 units as a buffer.  Housing units could be single-family homes, duplexes, tri-plexes, four-plexes, apartments with 5+ units, townhomes, or other types of housing (ex. mixed-use commercial/residential).

This exercise gives you an opportunity to provide feedback on identified sites and to create your own housing plan for the city.  Your plan will assist us in providing the direction where new housing will go in the future.  Click on the Housing Simulation to start participating in the housing exercise.  

Online Building Permit Submittal or Permit Information

  • Building Permits: Residential & Commercial Permits, Roofing Permits, Mechanical Permits, and Plumbing Permits. Electrical Permits are issued through Washington State Labor and Industries.

Land Use Applications

  • Land Use Applications: Annexation, Boundary Line Adjustment, Comprehensive Plan Amendments (Map & Text), Conditional Use, Rezone (Map & Text) Application, SEPA, Short Plats, and Subdivision applications.

Centralia Municipal Code

  • Environment (Title 16): Shoreline Master Plan, Wetlands, Fish & Wildlife, Floodplain Requirements, Critical Aquifers, and Geologically Hazardous areas.
  • Building Regulations (Title 18): Building requirements (City has adopted the 2018 codes) and Sign codes.
  • Subdivision Code (Title 19): Short Subdivisions, Large Subdivisions, Boundary Line Adjustments, Binding Site Plans, and Design Standards.
  • Zoning Ordinance (Title 20): Zoning Districts and Uses, Landscaping, Parking, PUDs, Manufactured Homes, Conditional Uses, Nonconforming Uses, and general provisions.   

Office Hours & Contacts

  • For assistance with scheduling inspections, please email Mike Watilo or call 360-330-7662 (Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm).
  • For permitting assistance, call 360-330-7662 (Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm).
  • For general permitting, planning, and zoning related questions, email Hillary Hoke or call 360-330-7684 (Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm).
  • For all other questions or concerns, call 360-330-7662 (Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm).