Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Comprehensive Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Anacortes planning commission continues 2025–2045 comprehensive plan hearing, schedules close of record for Sept. 24
Summary
The Planning Commission continued its public hearing on the 2025–2045 comprehensive plan and said the record will remain open through Sept. 24; staff published a SEPA determination and a package of development-regulation amendments for public comment.
The Anacortes Planning Commission on Sept. 17 continued its public hearing on the 2025–2045 comprehensive plan and said it expects to close the hearing on Sept. 24, giving residents another week to file written or oral comments. Planning Manager Libby Grage told commissioners the City issued a State Environmental Policy Act determination of nonsignificance (SEPA DNS) on Sept. 10 and that the SEPA comment period ends Sept. 24.
Why it matters: The comprehensive plan guides land use, housing and transportation policy through 2045; the companion development-regulation amendments will implement many of the plan’s policies. The schedule the commission sets determines when the City Council can review the package ahead of statutory deadlines.
At the meeting Commissioner Ryan read a public statement summarizing resident feedback received during the plan update process and emphasized which issues he said had drawn the most comments: the MJB waterfront proposal, accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and environmental protections. "I want to be clear. This is privately owned land, and while the city can enforce zoning, building codes, and environmental standards, we have limited control over the amenities and specific design elements a private developer chooses to pursue," Ryan told the commission.
Grage said the full packet of proposed development-regulation amendments was posted on plananacortes.org on Sept. 12 and that written comment on those amendments remains open until 3 p.m. Oct. 22, the date the city has advertised for a separate public hearing on the development regulations.
Staff said the commission will receive a consolidated document in its next packet that summarizes submitted comments and staff responses so commissioners can see which suggestions were addressed and how. Coleman, representing staff, said the commission can expect continued discussion on the draft at the Sept. 24 meeting and that final deliberations and a recommendation to the City Council are possible afterward.
The commission did not take a formal vote on the comprehensive plan at the Sept. 17 meeting; the public hearing remains open and the commission reserved further deliberation for its next packet and meeting.
