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Skagit County adopts updated countywide planning policies tied to 2025 comprehensive plan
Summary
The Board adopted ordinance updates to countywide planning policies as part of the February 2025 comprehensive plan update. Commissioners discussed housing allocations, exchanges among cities, and the state law prompting the changes before a 3-0 vote.
Skagit County commissioners voted 3-0 on April 14 to adopt updates to the countywide planning policies as part of the 02/2025 comprehensive plan update.
Commissioner Browning moved to approve the ordinance adopting the countywide planning policy updates “as recommended by the Skagit Council of Governments Growth Management Act Steering Committee.” The motion was seconded and passed with all commissioners voting in favor.
Commissioners and staff discussed how the state law prompted the policy revisions and what the changes mean for local housing planning. A county staff member explained that the state law requires jurisdictions to “acknowledge a responsibility to plan an appropriate zoning for this housing mix,” which in practice has forced municipalities to review where potential density can be achieved, including accessory dwelling units and more intensive rural development in certain areas.
Commissioner comments stressed frustration about affordable housing production. One commissioner said the county has not met its housing goals and noted Skagit County has among the lowest vacancy rates in the state; they questioned whether the policy updates would lower housing costs. Another commissioner expressed concern about clarifying what is allowable in farmland and said the updates made that clearer.
Commissioners asked whether allocation numbers were exchangeable between jurisdictions. Staff responded that numbers can be exchanged, typically between cities, but countywide planning policies still maintain an 80/20 split between urban growth areas (80%) and rural areas (20%). Staff said exchanges typically occur if a city cannot accommodate its allocated growth after a land-capacity analysis, although that reconciliation was not needed in this process and the provided numbers were based on historic growth.
The ordinance adopting the countywide planning policy updates was approved 3-0. No additional direction to staff was recorded in the public transcript.
