Anacortes planning commission recommends 2025 comprehensive plan updates to city council

The Anacortes Planning Commission on Sept. 24 recommended that the City Council adopt the city’s 2025–2045 comprehensive plan updates, including background updates in volume 2, eight future land‑use map amendments and a glossary, with one volume 2 wildlife section to be reviewed when completed.

The recommendation matters because the comprehensive plan frames zoning, capital investments and grant eligibility for the next 20 years; staff told commissioners the updates were needed to meet Growth Management Act (GMA) requirements and to refresh data that has aged since the 2016 plan. Planning Manager Libby Grage told the commission, “The draft plan has 2 volumes, volume 1 and volume 2,” and described volume 2 as the background data and analysis that support policies in volume 1.

Commissioners heard staff summaries of each background element in volume 2. Consultant Chris Como of Transpo Group reviewed the transportation inventory and stressed new GMA requirements to incorporate multimodal level‑of‑service standards and an active transportation network. He noted Skagit Council of Governments’ regional travel‑demand model was used for 20‑year forecasts and said, “There’s a link to the safety plan,” listing corridor projects and an active transportation project list.

Grage summarized other volume 2 updates: land use sections were revised to reflect GMA and Skagit countywide planning policies; the housing element includes the 2023 housing action plan and projected needs by income band; economic development background incorporated Western Washington University and Leland/Maker‑type consultant work and a maritime strategic plan; environment and conservation sections were reorganized and updated; parks and recreation inventories were revised; and capital facilities now inventory green infrastructure as required by GMA.

Staff reported public engagement: the project followed the public participation plan adopted by Resolution 31 56. Phase 1 (preliminary policy revisions, Jan–July 2024) yielded 113 written comment submittals and five planning‑commission public hearings with 12 speakers; Phase 2 (draft plan released July 16, 2025) had more than 115 written comments and 18 public‑hearing speakers through the session kept open into September and tonight’s continued hearing.

Staff recommended approval of the eight future land‑use map amendments as summarized in a consolidated memo dated Aug. 22, 2025, with one partial exception on the Port of Anacortes submission (staff recommended approving a portion of the port’s request and retaining existing designations for other parcels). Grage explained the staff proposed policy language additions, map clarifications and minor wording fixes being recommended to accompany the plan as forwarded to council.

After public testimony — including supporters of the Lisonbee (Olsen) housing project and neighborhood requests for a new transitional residential zone — Commissioner Jeremy Martin moved to recommend adoption of the proposed comprehensive plan amendments and the future land‑use map amendments, including the staff’s Aug. 22 and Sept. 19 memos, adding the glossary and requesting the commission review the pending wildlife update in volume 2 when finished. The motion passed on a roll call: Commissioner McCombs, Commissioner Ryan, Commissioner Martin, Commissioner Duretsky and Commissioner Courier voted aye.

Next steps: the planning commission’s recommendation and the staff memos will go to the City Council for review and final action. Staff noted the transportation element changes have already been reviewed by Skagit Council of Governments staff for GMA certification, which the city needs to remain eligible for state and federal transportation grants.

Less‑critical details: staff said the future land‑use map consolidation includes eight discrete amendment requests; one UGA (urban growth area) adjustment requested by the city was approved by the Board of County Commissioners and those parcels would be designated public in the plan; the staff suggested retaining the term “tsunamis” in the environment goal because it had been accidentally removed; and several small wording and formatting fixes were proposed in the staff memo.