Planning staff to publish full draft of comprehensive plan July 16; 30-day public comment, hearings planned this fall

Planning staff told the Anacortes Planning Commission on July 9 that a full updated draft of the city’s comprehensive plan will be published to the public on July 16, beginning a 30-day comment period and setting the stage for hearings this summer and fall.

"By July 16... we will have a full updated draft of the comprehensive plan," planning manager Libby Grage said. The draft will include revised goals, policies and background material across all plan elements and updated development-regulation amendments that implement recent state law and the city’s 2025 docket.

Grage said the city will mail notices to residents and property owners to announce the draft’s availability and public-hearing dates, and that the planning commission intends to begin public hearings on the comp-plan and development-regulation updates in August or September. Planning-commission recommendations are planned for October, with city-council review to follow; the stated deadline for adoption is December 2025.

Staff also described several map and policy changes that will appear in the draft: a suggested future-land-use and zoning change for the Olson Building property at Commercial and Third from “manufacturing and shipping” to Central Business District; a change for the Anacortes Museum property from Old Town to Public to allow a proposed storage addition; and further study of city-owned property at Sharps Corner as a potential site for higher-density housing. Grage said staff is finalizing studies of constraints and feasibility at Sharps Corner and that no specific project has been filed.

Other items to appear in the draft include an updated parks-and-open-space map, level-of-service information for parks, clarified land-use designation descriptions (principal uses and densities), and additional cross-references integrating climate policies throughout the plan. Grage told commissioners they will receive the full draft and a staff report highlighting these changes when the document is published.

Practical notes discussed at the meeting included a cancellation of the July 23 planning-commission meeting and the possibility staff will need additional commission meetings over the summer to complete development-regulation work. Grage said staff and consultants helped prepare the draft and that notifications will include links and instructions for public comment.

Ending

The planning commission will review the published draft, accept public comment during the announced period, and hold hearings in the coming weeks; staff aims to return the commission’s recommendation to the city council in October and complete adoption by the December 2025 deadline.