Oak Harbor planning commission reviews first draft of 2025 comprehensive plan update, EIS timing discussed

Oak Harbor Principal Planner Kat Kamak opened the October 14 Planning Commission meeting with a review of the city’s 2025 comprehensive plan policy update, saying the city is taking an initial, element-by-element look at existing policies for parks and recreation, economic development, government services and a newly proposed climate resiliency element.

“This is the first take at it. We’re looking at the existing policies right now,” Kamak said, and added that the city plans to start an environmental impact statement tied to the comprehensive plan “at the end of this year or beginning of next year.”

The draft policies were prepared with help from consultant Kimberly Horn; Erin Kelly of that firm attended the meeting remotely. Kamak and Kelly said the EIS route is preferred for this update because projected population and development growth exceed the scope of the city’s previous environmental review. Kamak said the EIS will inform the draft plan and the city will limit discussion of certain “remote elements” until the EIS process is complete.

Why it matters: The comprehensive plan sets high-level goals and policy guidance the city uses to align land use, utilities, public safety and capital investments over a 20-year horizon. An EIS tied to the update will evaluate potential environmental impacts of the growth assumptions in the plan and surface mitigation options that could affect future development rules, capital projects and intergovernmental agreements.

What staff described

- Scope and schedule: Kamak said the commission is reviewing policies now and staff will gather comments, revise a draft and return it to the commission and public for additional review. She said staff expects the EIS process to occur mostly next year and that the draft plan will be revisited mid‑next year after the EIS work informs policies.

- New climate-resiliency element: The packet includes a proposed new element to satisfy recent state requirements. Kamak said consultant tools identified sea-level rise and extreme precipitation as primary hazards for Oak Harbor; public comment and local workshops also raised wildfire/smoke, extreme heat and drought as relevant concerns. Kamak said the city has grant funding to support the climate work and the draft proposes roughly six new policies addressing resilience, equity, sea-level rise, extreme precipitation, water resources and wildfire/smoke.

- Parks and recreation: Parks staff reviewed the parks policies and recommended shifting language from exploratory actions to maintenance where work has already been completed (for example, adopted guidelines or codes). Kamak said the city’s parks, recreation and open-space plan is a separate, more detailed planning document and that many operational details will be carried in that plan rather than fully restated in the comprehensive plan.

- Economic development and government services: Kamak said finance and the city manager’s office reviewed economic policies and added language required by state law to show compatibility between economic development and land use. Police and fire reviewed government-service policies and requested more specific operational markers and thresholds for service planning.

Questions and concerns raised by commissioners and staff

- Staffing language: One commissioner asked that police staffing policy language be changed from “seek to maintain” to a stronger “maintain adequate police department staffing” to match the fire staffing policy. Kamak confirmed departments reviewed those sections and said staff will track suggested wording changes for commission consideration.

- Climate hazards and infrastructure: Erin Kelly, the consultant, noted secondary impacts from regional drought and extreme heat — for example, pavement degradation — and said public-works planning should consider resilient materials. Kelly said, “the pavement takes a toll in a different condition than what we’re used to,” attributing that framing to Washington State Department of Transportation input.

- Water-supply vulnerability: Commissioners highlighted the city’s reliance on a supply pipe from Anacortes and urged policies or coordination that recognize that pipeline as a critical lifeline for water security.

- Stormwater and slope stability: Commissioners discussed steep slopes and stormwater runoff, and Kamak explained that the comprehensive-plan hazard studies are intended to identify risks and potential mitigation approaches; implementation could involve private mitigation when redeveloping properties or public investments where the community chooses to fund them.

- Transportation/roundabout impacts: Commissioners and staff discussed local concerns about new roundabouts and truck operations at some SR 20 intersections. Kamak said the city engineer is monitoring truck interactions and speed limits and will present data to council as studies are completed. Kelly and staff noted some WSDOT decisions may be driven by regional project priorities.

Intergovernmental coordination

Kamak reported the city is continuing talks with Island County about countywide planning policies and the urban growth area (UGA). She said a joint meeting of City Council and Island County commissioners is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 28 to discuss whether to treat the city’s UGA as a joint study area under a local agreement; Kamak said the UGA remains under county permitting authority but requires city planning coordination for utilities and services.

Public input and next steps

Kamak told the commission the draft policies are an early review and the public will have multiple opportunities to comment as staff compiles revisions and completes the EIS. She asked commissioners to deliver written, line‑by‑line comments if they prefer not to discuss every item in public; staff will include submitted comments in the record for revision.

Votes and procedural actions from the meeting

The commission approved minutes from the Sept. 9 meeting after a motion moved by Commissioner Bridal and seconded by Commissioner Frey; the motion passed with one abstention, recorded in the meeting as an abstention by a commissioner who had not served at the prior meeting. The meeting adjourned by motion later in the session and the commission set its next regular meeting for Nov. 12, 2025 (a Wednesday) at 6 p.m. The city also announced a joint City Council–Island County meeting to discuss a potential interlocal agreement on the UGA on Oct. 28; staff said that meeting will be held in council chambers and be open to the public.

What to watch for next

Staff and consultants will finish drafting supporting analysis and maps, start the EIS process and return a full draft comprehensive plan and environmental review for the Planning Commission’s and public’s review. The commission asked staff to track where policies can be made more specific and actionable, to better align the comp plan text with subordinate plans (parks, transportation, utilities) and to record suggested edits for police and fire staffing language for future drafts.