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Planning department presents 2025 priorities: SmartGov fixes, housing targets, Sharps Corner study and DNR lease work
Summary
Planning Director John Coleman briefed council on department staffing, a $197,000 grant for paperless permitting improvements, SmartGov implementation problems, housing and comp‑plan work, Sharps Corner site analysis, and DNR lease obligations at Fidalgo Bay.
John Coleman, director of planning, community and economic development, presented the department’s 2025 update to the Anacortes City Council, reviewing staffing, permits, long‑range planning and several ongoing projects.
Coleman said the building department received a $197,000 Department of Commerce grant to improve the city’s electronic permitting and review process. Part of that grant (about $7,000) will go to a vendor implementation task and the larger portion will fund a consultant review of current development review processes, digital scanning of paper permit files and implementation work to make the SmartGov permitting platform more user friendly. Coleman and other staff said SmartGov’s rollout revealed coordination problems between departments and a consultant will diagram and recommend process improvements; some implementation funds from the grant are reserved to follow up on those recommendations.
On housing and CDBG: Councilmember Cleland McGrath reported a committee discussion of Community Development Block Grant funds and described remaining balances the committee is allocating to projects; Coleman noted the 2025 CDBG application period was open through Feb. 21 and that federal eligibility rules require periodic analyses of impediments to fair housing. Staff estimated a new analysis of impediments would cost roughly $15,000–$20,000 and said they would scope the work before spending funds.
Coleman reviewed construction activity around the city (Crosswinds Cottages, Habitat duplexes, Samish cottages, other cottage projects, a rooftop helipad at the hospital and early‑learning center construction) and showed housing‑unit trend charts comparing Anacortes, Skagit County and statewide data. He said city housing and employment projections for the next 20 years call for roughly 5,000 new residents and about 3,145 additional jobs (27% and 33% increases, respectively) and that planning work will focus on accommodating housing by Area Median Income (the 2024 AMI cited was about $102,800 for the Anacortes–Mount Vernon area).
Coleman said the city is contracting on a Sharps Corner site analysis (a roughly $35,000 contract authorized by the mayor under administrative limits) to study the city‑owned land and identify buildable areas, constraints and potential development strategies to support multifamily and affordable housing.
On marine property, Coleman said the city’s DNR lease for Fidalgo Bay Marina and upland filled areas requires replacement of creosote piles and treated wood removal; staff estimated replacement of creosote structures could cost “several hundred thousand dollars” and said the city and sublease users are in discussions about cost sharing and building a reserve for future maintenance and repairs. Coleman said the planning department will continue work on the 2025 comprehensive plan update, climate element (resiliency and greenhouse gas goals), and a future critical areas ordinance update.
Councilmembers asked about chart data sources and urged staff to provide corrected charts where units looked inconsistent; several councilmembers and the director said the consultant review of SmartGov and permitting processes aims to address developer concerns and reduce friction in the review process.
