Sequim planners present housing workshop as city prepares to plan for 1,850 new units under state allocation

Consultants and city staff told the Sequim Planning Commission March 18 that the city must plan to accommodate 1,850 new housing units inside city limits over the 20-year planning period under the state-directed growth allocation and that those units must be distributed by income band under recently enacted Washington State requirements.

Carla Boughton, a planning consultant working with the city’s comprehensive-plan team, told commissioners the Department of Commerce and Clallam County had used state-prescribed methodology (method C for more-rural counties) to allocate growth; the allocation assigns 1,850 units to the city and 298 to the Sequim urban growth area. Boughton said the state requires jurisdictions to distribute future housing capacity by income bands and to evaluate development regulations so lower-cost housing types can be built where services and transit are available.

Boughton and city staff explained the technical steps already underway: a near-complete…