Wenatchee launches urban-area comprehensive-plan update; housing study shows 6,275-unit 20-year need

Wenatchee City staff and their consultants on Tuesday opened an 18-month update of the Wenatchee Urban Area Comprehensive Plan, telling the joint City Council and Planning Commission the update must address housing shortfalls, infrastructure constraints and new state requirements on climate and housing.

"GMA...is a series of state statutes that guide local government," Steve Neuenschwander, assistant director of community development, told the council and commissioners as he described why the Growth Management Act requires the plan update and how the city will plan inside the urban growth area. "The comprehensive plan ... is our policy guidance document, and it guides how and where we grow."

The plan update responds to an Office of Financial Management population forecast that the Wenatchee urban area could reach roughly 50,000 people by 2046 and a consultant analysis that the area needs about 6,275 housing units over the 20-year horizon. That translates to roughly 241 new units per year; permit data at the time of the study showed an average of about 126 units per year, the consultants said, leaving the city producing about half the housing it would need to meet the target.

Why it matters: the comprehensive plan guides zoning, development regulations, capital facilities and grant applications and must reflect state requirements…