Oak Harbor planners add climate resiliency element to comp plan update; sea-level rise and water supply flagged
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Summary
City staff outlined the 2025 comprehensive plan major update, including a new climate resiliency element funded by a $150,000 grant and required by state law (HB 1181). The assessment identified sea level rise, extreme precipitation/flooding and water-resource vulnerability; community input also flagged wildfire/smoke and extreme heat.
City planning staff presented an early-stage review of the 2025 comprehensive plan major update and introduced a new climate resiliency element they said is driven by a state grant and regulatory guidance.
"We're updating our comprehensive plan," Principal Planner Rajesh Kakkamak said, describing the project as a multi-month process that will include element-by-element policy review and an environmental impact statement. "The EIS and its impacts can have some influence on our policies."
What the climate element covers: Staff said consultants used a statewide technical tool to identify hazards applicable to Oak Harbor, and that the tool identified three primary hazards for the city: sea-level rise, extreme precipitation and flooding. Community outreach and staff input also raised wildfire and smoke and extreme heat as locally important hazards.
"There is a 2050 prediction, and then there's a 2100 kind of extrapolation of data... The impacts can range from a certain height to certain height. I think for Oak Harbor it's like 3 feet to 8 feet," Kakkamak summarized from the consultant assessments.
Why it matters: Staff said the city received a $150,000 grant tied to state House Bill 1181 to develop the climate resiliency element. The element will recommend policies addressing overall resilience, equity, sea-level rise, water resources and wildfire risk and will be integrated into the comprehensive plan or as new policies in other plan elements.
Service and facility questions: Council members asked whether critical facilities such as the police station should be reviewed for climate exposure; staff and the police chief said the facility is aging and the discussion is a timely opportunity to consider long-term location and resilience. The planner also noted water-supply dependence on Anacortes as a resilience-critical asset.
Public outreach and next steps: Staff said the consultants will incorporate community input and that the OCPAC steering committee and resident surveys had already identified hazards not flagged by the statewide tool. The draft policies are at an early stage; staff will bring refined policy language and future workshops for council review.
Ending: Council praised the detail in the packet and asked staff to continue refining hazard maps, inclusion of equity and clear policy options; no ordinance or vote was taken at the workshop.
