Planning Commission reviews capital facilities concurrency, police and fire staffing references

The Anacortes Planning Commission on Feb. 12 continued discussion of proposed amendments to the Capital Facilities and Utilities elements of the 2025 Comprehensive Plan, focusing on the city’s concurrency policy and level-of-service language for police, fire and emergency medical services.

Staff planning manager Libby Grama told the commission that chiefs had provided supplemental information about response-time and staffing references included in the draft but were not able to attend the meeting. Grama said she would pass commissioner questions to the chiefs and follow up with written responses or a future appearance.

The commission questioned how the draft language treats nationally published guidelines. Commissioners noted the police-staffing references in the packet that cite a 2.3–2.4 officers-per-1,000-residents standard, while Anacortes’s current ratio in the draft remains at 1.83 officers per 1,000. Commissioners asked whether the city’s standards are being adjusted to reflect existing staffing rather than setting staffing targets to meet a standard.

Commissioners also discussed the fire service references. Members noted an excerpt citing NFPA standards and specifically referenced NFPA 1710, including the standard’s staffing expectation for apparatus (for example, a four-person minimum for ladder or engine companies in NFPA 1710) versus the draft’s operational descriptions that describe running three-person crews in some responses. Commissioners asked staff to clarify the difference between the NFPA citations and the city’s “effective response force” language and to have the chiefs explain why some language references NFPA directly and other parts describe a “reasonable compromise.” Grama said she would email the chiefs’ memos to commissioners and follow up with answers.

On concurrency, Grama summarized the draft change that would remove parcel-specific lists (residential, commercial, industrial) so the concurrency rule applies to all development types. She said the city’s concurrency review process is applied during permit review by routing permit applications to each department and service provider to assess level-of-service impacts and required improvements. Grama explained that for utilities (water, wastewater, stormwater), “concurrent with development” means facilities must be in place prior to actual use; for transportation, police, fire, and parks the draft ties concurrency to an existing financial commitment to complete required improvements rather than immediate construction prior to occupancy.

Commissioners pressed for clarification about timing. One commissioner used San Juan Passage as an example and asked whether the six-year concurrency window begins at first occupancy, final plat recording, or project completion. Grama said the typical trigger is final plat recording and that utility improvements are generally required before final plat approval; other concurrency rules for phased developments and planned-unit developments are handled in the development regulations and have expiry/renewal rules.

Grama also told the commission the public comment period for the capital facilities and utilities draft is open and that a public hearing is scheduled for the Feb. 26 meeting. She pointed listeners to the PlanAnacortes.org project page and the compplan@anacortiswa.gov email for comments.

Outcome and next steps: The commission did not take formal action at the Feb. 12 meeting. Staff committed to: (1) forwarding commissioners’ detailed questions to the police and fire chiefs and returning written clarification on which NFPA references apply and why some items are framed as deviations or compromises; and (2) presenting any suggested refinements to the concurrency language and the development-regulation cross-references at a future meeting ahead of the Feb. 26 public hearing.