Medical Lake launches comprehensive plan update, wins $125,000 state grant and extends deadline to 2026

Alisa, a city staff member overseeing planning, told the Medical Lake Planning Commission that the city has begun a two‑year update of its comprehensive plan and has been awarded a noncompetitive grant of $125,000 from the state to support the work.

The update will meet new state timelines after recent legislation extended the periodic‑update deadline to the end of 2026, Alisa said. ‘‘We just got an extension for everything to be due at the end of 2026,’’ she said. The work will proceed in phases: initial outreach and visioning, concept and storyboard development, drafting, screening and adoption. Staff must also submit a state checklist and the final land‑capacity analysis by June 13.

The grant is split across two state biennia, Alisa said: ‘‘We first have our 62,500 that we have for this first year, and then we get another 62,500 for the following year.’’ She said some consultant costs for communications and public engagement will come from the grant and that her own staff time will cover additional work.

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