Cowlitz County commissioners transfer private-roads review to Building and Planning

The Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners voted to transfer responsibility for private-road review and permitting from the county engineer’s Public Works division to the Building and Planning department.

Tracy Jackson, Building and Planning, presented a recommendation developed by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). “I am bringing forth BPAC’s recommendation to move private roads from Public Works under the county engineer to Building and Planning,” Jackson said, adding that BPAC voted 5-0 in favor at its meeting.

Jackson told the commissioners that committee members include surveying and septic professionals and that several participants had expressed support for seeing how the change would work. After some discussion about departmental capacity and outreach to property owners with active projects, a commissioner moved the transfer and the board approved it by voice vote. Two commissioners verbally indicated “aye” during the roll call on the motion; no recorded no votes or abstentions were made.

The board did not specify a detailed implementation schedule at the meeting. Jackson said the next step would be a formal motion directing staff to effect the transfer and consult with the prosecutor’s office and the departments involved; she also said public meetings and follow-up steps would be necessary.

Commissioners and staff discussed operational concerns, including potential increased workload for Building and Planning, scheduling conflicts for affected applicants and the need to coordinate with the Public Works, Prosecutor’s Office and BPAC. Jackson said staff would work through the process and return with details as needed.

The transfer takes effect pending administrative steps to reassign duties and update procedural materials; the board asked staff to bring any required ordinance changes or implementation details back to a future public meeting.