La Center locals weigh in on preferred changes to downtown, Timmen Landing

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During a Wednesday, Jan. 15, open house, La Center residents gave feedback to two proposed subarea plans, indicating a mix of support and skepticism for projects posed in the downtown and Timmen Landing.

The open house allowed locals to review and provide feedback on the two proposed subarea plans for the city’s future growth.

As part of the state Growth Management Act, La Center is required to develop a comprehensive plan to accommodate expected growth from 2025-45. City staff estimate that the city’s population will nearly double in the next 20 years.

According to data presented by city consultant WSP, Clark County estimates the city currently has a deficiency of 203 medium-density housing units meant to accommodate residents making up to 80% of the area’s median income.

Subarea plans, which focus on specific areas of a city, are an optional component of a comprehensive plan. They provide detailed visions and guidelines for factors like housing, jobs and public infrastructure to support the growing population. The plans presented at the Jan. 15 open house are still in draft form, and they do not yet include specific numbers for housing units or jobs.

Preferred alternatives

Timmen Landing’s draft plan includes adding two new roundabouts at key intersections — one at the junction of Northwest La Center Road and Timmen Road and another at Timmen Road and Northwest 319th Street. The plan also proposes a “neighborhood commercial overlay” that could include drive-thru businesses. To accommodate growth, the plan designates areas for low-density housing, as well as a new community park in the southwest. Medium-density housing is proposed near La Center Water Trail Park & Kayak Launch, with a travel hub close to the roundabout on La Center Road.

For downtown, the draft proposes expanding its north roads by extending West Sixth Street westward to West E Avenue and eastward to Aspen Avenue, with new mixed-use zones for businesses such as eateries, artisan shops and craftsman-style stores. The city may also consider realigning West Fifth Street and Aspen Avenue. A commercial overlay could allow for mixed-use development in areas currently zoned for residential use. High-density housing is planned around this mixed-use zone to encourage urban growth.

La Center Community Development and Public Works Director Tracy Coleman explained that the plan for downtown focuses on expanding employment opportunities, especially along West Sixth Street, where much of the area is currently residential.

“You drive on Fourth Street and you see [about] 14 main [street] businesses and a grocery store and then some other small mom-and-pop shops. That’s your entire downtown. So this is just an expansion of the downtown to be able to have our conditional growth because we don’t have any land to expand off Fourth Street because it’s all residential,” Coleman said. “So this is an opportunity. We’re trying to find land where we can expand the downtown.”



Community feedback

Feedback from locals varied. Steve Headley, a property owner in Timmen Landing, expressed his support for the expansion, believing it would bring both business and residential growth to the area. He plans to sell over 15 acres of land as development proceeds and will keep his home in northwest La Center.

“It’s just going to transform the center in general, and it’s truly gonna transform this whole area as we head to the [I-5] junction,” he said.

In contrast, lifelong La Center resident Al Filla raised concerns about the viability of commercial growth in the downtown and Timmen Landing areas, citing the distance from the I-5 junction.

“Development’s gonna happen out the junction if it’s gonna happen because you got access to the freeway and everything else. It’s just, we’re miles off the freeway, and it’d just be tough,” Filla said.

Filla also pointed to the potential for commercial development at the I-5 interchange, an area poised for future growth. Last year, the La Center City Council amended a 2016 agreement to allow the Cowlitz Tribe to take 50 to 55 acres of city land into trust for commercial use. This area, located near the ilani Casino & Resort, will benefit from a new agreement that will increase sales tax revenue for the city.

“Any commercial development out of the junction [that] happens on the La Center side, that’s gonna be very beneficial,” Filla noted. “It’s my belief that any of this commercial stuff is just not gonna happen in the city [itself].”

Final approval for the two subarea plans is set for April, and the city intends to hold more public meetingsto refine a final comprehensive plan to accommodate anticipated growth before December 2025. Learn more at ci.lacenter.wa.us/down
town-la-center-and-timmen-landing-subarea-plans.