On the heels of the Washington State Department of Transportation's public presentation of ideas to fix the traffic hell outside the Joint Base Lewis-McChord gates comes a trifecta of public meetings centering on the JBLM Joint Land Use Study. The South Sound Military & Communities Partnership has released the dates. ...

Lakewood, WA - Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) is changing, and so are the communities in the south Puget Sound region.

Now, the organization that's working to ensure effective communication and collaboration between the base and its neighbors is looking to engage the community in planning for the areas surrounding the base. The project, called the JBLM Joint Land Use Study (JLUS), focuses on the region's long-term land use plans, with goals of supporting the military mission at JBLM, ensuring public health and safety throughout the region, and protecting the neighboring communities' abilities to plan for development.

The JLUS project team is seeking public input from military and non-military members of the community, and invites you to attend an upcoming public meeting to learn about the project's process and timeline; review issues that have  already been identified as needing further study; talk with the people directly involved in the study; and provide comment at this early stage.

Get into the action early at an upcoming public meeting:

• Monday, June 23 5:00-7:30 pm Yelm Public Safety Building, 206 McKenzie Avenue, Yelm
• Tuesday, June 24 5:00-7:30 pm Baker Middle School, 8001 South J Street, Tacoma
• Wednesday, June 25 5:00-7:30 pm DuPont City Hall, 1700 Civic Drive, DuPont

A special website for the JBLM JLUS has been created and is now live: www.jblm-jlus.com. As the project progresses, study summaries and preliminary findings will be posted on the website, as will notices for future public meetings and working group and oversight committee meetings. Individuals can sign up on the website to be notified by email when new information is posted. Computers available for community use may be found at public libraries throughout the region.