Planning staff details comp plan schedule, housing code work and DEIS timeline; legal ruling on Mercer Island decision not to invalidate a plan explained

Clark County planning staff updated the Planning Commission on Sept. 4 about the comprehensive plan update, upcoming housing code work and related environmental review, and summarized how a recent Growth Management Hearings Board decision about Mercer Island relates to the county's work.

Staff said work is ongoing to finalize the draft comp plan text and that proposed code changes for multifamily districts will be presented to the commission in October. "We are now working on the text itself, which will include some updates to numbers and, taking another look at the text itself. So you'll be seeing that, believe, starting in October," a county planning staff member said during the session.

Staff outlined a timeline for related elements: consultants Echo Northwest and Triangle Associates are completing an agricultural study with an estimated completion date of Nov. 4; open houses to solicit public input include a Sept. 30 event at the Battle Ground Community Center and another open house in October (date and location to be determined); and the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the comp plan is scheduled for release Oct. 1 with a 60-day public comment period.

On housing, staff said the multifamily code amendments respond in part to state housing legislation and earlier local studies (the HOSAP study). The county will present the multifamily code proposals to the commission in October and may bundle those hearings with the comp plan adoption schedule depending on timing.

Commissioners asked whether recent county council discussions about using sales taxes or other funding tools for affordable housing would appear before the Planning Commission. County staff said housing goals and policies have been before the commission and will reappear in final form for review; separate council funding proposals would not necessarily route through the commission.

Legal implications of a recent Growth Management Hearings Board decision involving Mercer Island were discussed. A county staff member clarified that the board "did not invalidate" Mercer Island's plan and that the board's decision focused on how a city, rather than a county, met new income-band requirements established in state law. The staff briefing noted statutory references to the county planning obligations (cited in the meeting as RCW 36.70.070) and emphasized that city and county planning responsibilities differ.

Staff also welcomed new transportation staff Susan Posner and reiterated that more public outreach, work sessions and hearings are planned through the fall to carry the comp plan and housing code work toward adoption.

No formal actions were taken at the work session; the update was informational and intended to brief commissioners on schedule, outreach and the interplay between state law and local planning responsibilities.