Anacortes consultants present draft climate element, flag sea-level rise, heat and wildfire as top risks; public input scheduled

Consultants working with the City of Anacortes presented a draft climate element to residents at an open‑house presentation in March, outlining local risks, a greenhouse‑gas inventory and a schedule for Planning Commission and public hearings. Makers Architecture and Urban Design consultant Katie Saunders, working with Parametrix and city staff, led the presentation.

The presentation summarized why the city is preparing the element: a 2023 state law requiring communities to plan for climate change through their comprehensive plans (the law was referenced in the meeting as “HB 1181”), and the city’s effort to integrate climate goals and policies across the comprehensive plan. “My firm, Makers, we’re working with the city of Anacortes in partnership with Parametrix, to put together the first climate element,” Saunders said.

A vulnerability analysis prepared for the city identified sea‑level rise and coastal flooding, increasing summer heat, and wildfire (including smoke exposure) as the highest local risks. The consultants described other climate impacts as moderate or emerging, including changes in precipitation that could increase storm flooding, drought stress, erosion and landslides. John Phillips, a member of the project team who presented highlights of the greenhouse‑gas work, said, “There’s still a risk. It’s just not as high as the other risks.”

The analysis used three inputs — exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity — to produce a vulnerability index for Anacortes. Consultants said the downtown and eastern parts of the city show elevated vulnerability where sea‑level rise, heat exposure and local demographics overlap, but emphasized that the city is developing citywide policies rather than targeting only small map areas. The team also shared an online Climate Explorer tool (accessible by a QR code distributed at the meeting) with detailed maps and data.

The greenhouse‑gas inventory presented to the audience covers community emissions from transportation (including ferries that originate in Anacortes), buildings and energy, agriculture/forestry/land use, industrial processes, solid waste and wastewater. The consultants reported an average of about 13.7 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per person for Anacortes — “right at the state average,” the presenters said — and noted that Anacortes’ community forest provides a net carbon sink in the land‑use account. The presentation also explained that local refineries are outside city limits and therefore excluded from the city inventory; Skagit County’s inventory includes those facilities.

The consultants showed a “wedge” graphic comparing current emissions trends with a net‑zero trajectory and explained that the element will identify policies that provide the biggest emissions reductions relative to cost and complexity. John Coleman, the city’s director of Planning, Community and Economic Development, encouraged attendees to follow the Planning Commission schedule: Makers and Parametrix will present the climate analysis in detail to the Planning Commission on March 26; goals and policies will be presented April 9; the Planning Commission hearing on the climate element is scheduled for April 23; hearings for related elements (parks, open space, economic development) are scheduled in May.

Staff and consultants also described how the project team put draft goals and policies on display boards at the open house and asked attendees to indicate priorities with dot stickers and provide written comments. Saunders said the boards show how each potential action scores for greenhouse‑gas reduction, resilience, cost/complexity, environmental‑justice implications and partner coordination. The team noted there is state funding available for follow‑up planning work and advised that many effective actions will require coordination with regional partners such as Washington State Ferries, utilities and nearby county governments.

No formal vote or decision was taken at the open house. The presentation and the board feedback are part of the record that will inform the Planning Commission and, later, the City Council as the climate element moves through the formal public‑hearing process. “We’d love to talk with you more about that,” Saunders said as the session moved into the public‑feedback portion of the event.

The city and consultants provided handouts and encouraged people who could not attend to use the online materials; the project web presence referenced at the meeting was listed as planacortes.com and via the QR code on the meeting agenda. The team also said additional technical materials, including the vulnerability assessment and greenhouse‑gas inventory, will be posted ahead of the March 26 Planning Commission presentation.