Commissioners favor broad, high‑level county transportation plan rather than city‑style master plan

Public Works said it has reviewed neighboring jurisdictions’ plans and can pursue either a short comp‑plan transportation element or a more extensive transportation master plan; commissioners expressed preference for a high‑level, strategic plan rather than the detailed, city‑scale documents.

"Most counties do not seem to have posted online their transportation plans," Susan Eugenis said, describing a range of examples and noting that city plans can reach 60–80 pages while some county elements are only a few pages.

Nut graf: Commissioners stressed a "10,000‑foot" or broader view for county planning, saying Cowlitz County is not subject to the Growth Management Act (GMA) and therefore does not need the level of detail used by larger cities. Staff said a contractor would likely be needed to produce a substantive master plan and that the county must schedule work with comp‑plan update timing.

Commissioner comments focused on scale and scope. One commissioner said, "Less is more. We are not GMA, and I don't want to push us towards that," arguing for a strategic map of future corridors rather than extensive project lists. Another suggested a 30,000‑foot or 50,000‑foot view, asking staff to identify main future byways and growth areas on a map.

Staff noted capacities and timing constraints: Public Works does not have the in‑house staff time to prepare a large master plan and would need to request consultant funding or use existing contracting mechanisms. Eugenis said a plan would have to be requested and completed before year‑end to be incorporated into the county's comp‑plan update.

Ending: Commissioners directed staff to pursue a compact, strategic transportation element or a limited master plan scoped at a high level, and indicated staff may use outside contracts to complete the work so it can be incorporated into the comp‑plan update timeline.