Woodland planning staff outlines compressed schedule, outreach and legal constraints for 2025 comprehensive plan update

Travis Goddard, Community Development Director for the City of Woodland, told the Planning Commission on Feb. 20 that the city must finish a Growth Management Act–compliant comprehensive plan update this year under terms tied to a Department of Commerce grant.

The update matters because it will guide 20 years of land use, infrastructure and housing decisions across portions of Woodland that lie in both Cowlitz and Clark counties, and because state and federal rules constrain where and how the city can plan for new development.

Goddard said the Department of Commerce awarded the city $120,000 for the update and has put the work on a 2025 schedule, which compresses the timeline. “The good news is, is we’re going to give you $120,000 grant to do the work. The bad news is is you need to do it in 2025,” Goddard said, summarizing Commerce’s direction.

He told commissioners the update will focus on whether existing goals and policies remain appropriate, and on forthcoming consultant drafts that are posted to the city’s planning projects web page. Goddard said the consultant has produced a goals-and-policy analysis matrix and draft chapter updates; the matrix flags where policies appear unchanged, where consultant edits are…