Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Planning Countywide Policies topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Walla Walla County adopts updated countywide planning policies after interlocal review
Summary
After a public hearing, the Walla Walla County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 to approve updated Countywide Planning Policies recommended by city partners, and directed staff to prepare an ordinance for formal adoption.
Walla Walla County commissioners on April 7 approved an updated set of Countywide Planning Policies meant to guide coordination between the county and cities on land use and development.
The action followed a public hearing in which city staff from Walla Walla, College Place and Waitsburg spoke in support of the updates and thanked county staff for leading the multi-jurisdiction effort. The policies were drafted throughout 2024 under an interlocal agreement that required cities to either approve or reject the package without edits after the county’s December review.
The policies replace a document that had not been updated since 1993 and set the highest-level guidance for how the county and its cities coordinate on issues that cross jurisdictional borders — for example growth management, infrastructure planning, and development impacts.
Commissioners heard from Preston Frederickson, deputy city manager for the City of Walla Walla, who said the city “is supportive” of the amended policies and the workplan that will maintain collaboration going forward. John Rickard, community development director for College Place, and Randy Hinship of Waitsburg likewise voiced their cities’ support.
Commissioners noted the interagency effort took significant time and coordination and that the update was intended to avoid letting countywide policies “sit on the shelf” as the previous set had. Diane (Clerk) confirmed dates of city ratifications would be inserted when staff prepares the formal ordinance.
The commissioners voted to approve the amended Countywide Planning Policies as recommended by staff and the cities of College Place, Waitsburg and Walla Walla, and requested the Community Development Department and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office prepare an ordinance for review and adoption.
The action is procedural: under the interlocal agreement that produced the draft, the county’s decision was to approve or not approve the package; commissioners noted the agreement does not permit the county to make substantive edits after the cities’ reviews. The board’s approval sends the package to the next formal step: staff drafting and presenting an ordinance for adoption.
The county’s Community Development staff will remove “draft” notations, insert adoption dates supplied by the cities, and circulate the final ordinance language to the board for adoption.
The vote was 3-0 in favor.
