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Liberty Lake planning commission approves removal of redlines, will post updated land-use chapter draft
Summary
The Liberty Lake Planning Commission voted to remove redlines and post an updated draft of the comprehensive plan’s land-use chapter after staff outlined organizational and content changes and a public outreach schedule leading to formal submittal of several subelements this summer.
The Liberty Lake Planning Commission voted to remove redline tracking and post an updated draft of the comprehensive plan’s land-use chapter to the city website following a staff presentation on organizational and content updates.
The action, moved during the May 28 meeting, cleared the way for the city to publish a working draft while staff continues outreach and prepares related subelements for submission to the Washington State Department of Commerce. Director Key framed the update as a reorganization, saying the team “didn't make a lot of huge changes to it” but moved goals and policies into the land-use chapter and updated dated narrative and land-category descriptions.
The commission’s vote followed a 40-minute staff review that described four main edits: relocating goals and policies to be easier to find; updating residential land-use descriptions (including single-family, duplexes and townhomes); recognizing specific area plans (SAPs) as overlay-style guidance the city intends to codify later; and updating annexation history and population projections. Director Key said the land-use map has not been updated since a 2022 rezoning of the Meadowood Technology campus and staff debated whether to change the map date for historical clarity.
Why it matters: the reorganization is intended to make the comp plan easier for residents and reviewers to navigate and to set clearer cross-references between land use, housing, transportation and climate chapters. Posting the working draft begins a public engagement phase that staff said will feed subsequent code amendments and submittals required by state review.
Key next steps identified at the meeting include removing the redline markup and posting the draft online, continuing development-code amendments tied to the periodic update grant, and several public engagement events. Staff outlined a slate of outreach: a sign-code virtual open house in late May/early June, a transportation network analysis virtual town hall on June 12 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., a greenhouse-gas subelement workshop July 1 and a requested working-draft approval for submission to Commerce on July 15 (Commerce’s review period is 120 days). Staff also said SCJ Alliance is preparing an economic/employment analysis to add to the economic development chapter.
The commission approved the motion to remove redlines and post the draft; the mover was recorded in the transcript as “Dano,” and the motion passed by voice vote. The posting will allow stakeholders — utility providers, emergency services and the school district were listed — to review and comment ahead of formal submittal.
Less urgent details: staff said cross-references will be added to link land-use goals and policies to housing and transportation chapters, and that the city intends to codify design and setback variations for River District and Liberty Village through future zoning work. Staff also noted upcoming hearings and workshops on sign code and cohousing amendments, with a city-council workshop planned for September and a hearing in mid-September.
The commission did not take additional substantive edits at the meeting; staff will proceed with the public posting and the companion outreach schedule.
