Sequim officials and planning commissioners met July 24 with consultants from Leland Consulting Group to begin a market-based housing and economic analysis that will help shape the city’s comprehensive plan update.

The study, Leland staff said, will combine a land-capacity analysis, housing market analysis, zoning and regulatory review, and an implementation strategy intended to guide Sequim’s land-use map and development regulations for the next 20 years. City staff and elected officials used the meeting to outline local priorities and concerns that the analysis should address.

“This is my first time in Sequim … I didn’t expect it to be this beautiful,” said Jennifer Shook, senior consultant with Leland Consulting Group, at the meeting. Leland’s presentation described a four-part scope: an economic market profile, housing market analysis, zoning and regulatory analysis, and an implementation strategy aimed at producing actionable recommendations. The consultants told the group they will run a land‑use model in the coming days and continue stakeholder interviews the following day.

Carla, a city planning staff member leading the project on behalf of the city’s community and economic development office, told the joint body the consultants’ findings will directly inform the future land‑use map and policy updates. “The comprehensive plan is at a watershed moment,” Carla said, emphasizing the role of the analysis in shaping regulatory and implementation steps.

Council members, commissioners and other participants raised several recurring priorities that they asked Leland to examine: ensuring a broader mix of housing types across income bands rather than concentrating affordable housing in isolated projects; creating workforce housing near schools; permitting modest height increases such as adding a third floor or residential units above downtown commercial spaces to expand rental options; and encouraging housing nodes one or two blocks off Washington Street to reduce traffic impacts on the main commercial corridor.

Short‑term rentals drew sustained attention. Multiple participants said the city should first assemble clear local data before proposing regulation. One council member referenced a recent Port Angeles study and urged Sequim to use comparable data and public engagement to inform any policy. Participants also noted seasonal housing pressure in RV parks and affordability concerns in manufactured‑home communities, and said recent local steps to create an overlay protecting manufactured‑home parks should be considered in the plan.

Water supply and infrastructure were recurring constraints in the discussion. Several speakers asked the consultants to factor current water availability, sewer capacity and traffic impacts into the analysis and to prioritize water‑efficient design and low‑water landscaping as part of both housing and land‑use recommendations.

Speakers also identified local assets the economic analysis should leverage: Sequim’s temperate climate, its position as a retail hub on the Olympic Peninsula, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s nearby research activity, growing broadband access that could support remote and technology‑based employers, and the city’s existing tourism economy. Leland staff said the economic profile will evaluate those strengths and recommend market strategies and zoning changes to attract compatible investment.

The meeting included a brief procedural vote to adjourn at the end of the session. The body adopted the motion by voice vote.

Next steps noted at the meeting: Leland Consulting Group will finish the land‑use model and return with additional stakeholder and staff meetings; findings from the market analysis and zoning review will be used to draft comprehensive‑plan elements and an implementation strategy; and the planning commission will reconvene as part of the comp‑plan process in coming weeks.