Newcastle council adopts 2044 comprehensive plan after heated debate over DEI language

The Newcastle City Council voted 4-3 on March 18 to adopt Ordinance 2025-669, the city’s updated comprehensive plan (the “Newcastle 2044 Comprehensive Plan”), accepting staff-recommended compliance edits but excluding a set of contested, last-minute Planning Commission changes referred to in staff materials as “category C.”

The vote came after nearly two hours of public comment and more than three hours of council discussion on whether the plan should retain language referencing diversity, equity and inclusion — commonly called DEI — and other policy language some speakers called vague. Community Development Director Erin Fitzgibbons told the council the update is the city’s 10-year comprehensive-plan cycle and that staff believes the version before the council, with the compliance edits the staff labeled “category A,” meets state and county requirements and is fit for submission to the Department of Commerce and the Puget Sound Regional Council.

The council’s adoption matters because the comprehensive plan sets Newcastle’s long-range land-use and policy framework, guides zoning and development decisions, and is subject to state review under the Growth Management Act. Director Fitzgibbons said the city will submit the adopted document to state and regional reviewers within seven business days; the agencies may require additional amendments if they find substantive issues.

Public comment at the March 18 meeting focused overwhelmingly on the DEI language and on process. Dozens of residents and several faith and civic leaders urged the council either to retain the Planning Commission’s January draft or to restore explicit DEI and climate language. Pastor Devin Wright of Mission Gathering Christian Church (Bellevue) told the council, “Equity is not about taking from one group to give to the other. It’s about ensuring all people have fair access to safe public services and spaces.” Dr. Rebecca Kim, a longtime Newcastle resident, said removing the language “rewrites history and progress” and that the deletions would “create a culture of divisiveness.”

Opponents of keeping the specific DEI phrasing said the wording was vague, open to legal challenge, or unnecessary because other laws already protect civil rights. Several speakers also raised concerns about leaving ambiguous or aspirational phrasing in a document that developers and the public rely on for clear rules. One frequent theme among opponents was process: several speakers said they believed the February changes were advanced without full Planning Commission vetting.

Council discussion centered on two alternative approaches presented by staff: adopt the Planning Commission’s recommended version (which the Planning Commission approved 4-3 in February) or adopt the earlier January draft plus staff compliance edits (staff’s “category A”) and leave out the February commission package referred to as category C. Councilmember Delaine Sherlock moved to adopt the ordinance including category A but excluding category C; Councilmember Burford seconded that motion. After debate, the motion passed 4-3. The council did not read a roll-call of individual yes/no votes in the meeting record; the official tally announced by the mayor was 4 in favor and 3 opposed.

City Manager Pingel and Director Fitzgibbons described next steps: staff will make the agreed edits that address compliance items, finalize the adopted text, and file the plan with the Department of Commerce, Puget Sound Regional Council and King County for review. Director Fitzgibbons noted some park-and-trail items raised by Newcastle Trails will require review by the Community Activities Commission before inclusion in the plan; she said staff would follow up on those outstanding map and project requests.

Beyond the comprehensive plan vote, council actions at the meeting included a motion (moved and seconded on the record) to cancel the May 6 council meeting because the council intends to hold a town hall on May 7, and to cancel the July 1 meeting because of the July 4 holiday; that motion passed unanimously.

The new plan now enters the state/regional review process required by the Growth Management Act and related countywide policies. If reviewers find issues the council must address, staff said the city could amend the plan through the annual amendment cycle.

Ending: The council’s adoption closes a chapter of public debate that stretched over months; the city will now work with state and regional reviewers while staff follows up on specific park and trails items the public flagged for further review.