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Woodland council reviews comp plan, flags sharp differences in county growth targets
Summary
City planning staff presented the draft comprehensive plan and transportation chapter and warned that county-level population and housing allocations from Cowlitz and Clark counties diverge sharply from the city's capacity estimates, prompting council to consider timing and modest code changes to "buy time" before any large annexations.
WOODLAND, Wash. — Planning staff presented an updated comprehensive plan and transportation chapter to the Woodland City Council on May 20, highlighting a mismatch between the city's residential capacity and county-level growth allocations that could force future annexations if higher targets stand.
Planning staff member Travis Goddard told the council that the city must finish and adopt a draft this year to meet Growth Management Act timelines, but cautioned that county allocations complicate the work: "we are on the same timeline as Clark County which is 2025 so the draft will be presented to the planning commission and forwarded to you next month so that you can authorize me to submit it to the Department of Commerce to satisfy our grama," Goddard said.
The city staff and council said the update is mostly analytic and policy refresh rather than a wholesale rewrite, but emphasized a sharp numeric tension. Cowlitz County's preliminary work assigns Woodland a much larger share of future housing than Woodland's land-capacity analysis indicates, and Clark County is on a parallel timetable. Goddard summarized the mismatch and options: the consultant's vacant-buildable-lands calculation shows about 570 units of capacity within city limits; Cowlitz's initial allocation, by contrast, would effectively double Woodland's housing stock over the next 20 years.
Mayor Todd Dinehart told the council the city has roughly 30 buildable acres inside current limits and urged caution before accepting county allocations that would trigger major annexations. "If you really wanna get down to the brass tacks here, for you to get to 700 homes, 800 homes, anywhere north of that, it's gonna come down to annexation," the mayor said. He and staff recommended adopting a draft this year that reflects Woodland's realistic, near-term capacity and scheduling a follow-up update after Cowlitz County finalizes its numbers.
Council members and residents pressed staff on specific approaches the city could take to meet growth without wholesale, rapid expansion. Possible measures listed in the presentation included modest code changes (for example, easing accessory dwelling unit rules and allowing duplexes on corners), targeted density increases in limited areas, and preserving the option to re-open the comprehensive plan for amendment after county work is final. Goddard said those are incremental tools the city can use to "buy time" and avoid an immediate, large-scale rezone.
Staff described other technical inputs used in the draft: Office of Financial Management projections, a capacity analysis by consultant SCJ Alliance, and a transportation chapter that incorporates Exit 21 and industrial-area traffic modeling. Goddard said the transportation chapter was substantially rewritten and contains detailed projections that will be posted publicly.
The council did not take formal action during the workshop; staff said the planning commission will receive the draft next month and the council will be asked to authorize submission to the Washington State Department of Commerce. Goddard recommended adopting a realistic draft now and re-evaluating once Cowlitz County completes its process.
The presentation and supporting maps are posted on the city website. The council and staff urged residents to monitor the planning commission and county meetings and said they would seek community input before any annexation or major zoning changes.
