Draft Mason County comprehensive plan updated through 2045; staff recommend no UGA expansions and add climate resilience element

Mason County staff presented a full draft of the county's comprehensive plan update, telling the Board of County Commissioners that the draft meets recent Growth Management Act requirements, addresses housing needs and adds a climate resilience chapter.

"My name is Marissa Watson. I'm the long range planner for Mason County," Marissa Watson said as she opened the briefing and summarized the work from consultants and county staff. The draft uses a medium growth forecast to 2045 (projected population ~82,932), updates housing needs and land-capacity analyses, and concludes that the county's urban growth areas can accommodate the 20‑year growth projections without expanding UGA boundaries provided the county adopts certain multifamily zoning and development-regulation updates.

A new climate resilience chapter assesses hazards (drought, extreme heat, heavy rainfall/flooding, reduced snowpack, sea‑level rise and wildfire) and pairs prioritized assets with identified risks; staff reported the county is not required to include a greenhouse‑gas reduction element at this time but will plan resilience goals and policies. The capital facilities and utilities chapters were consolidated and linked to a draft six‑year Capital Improvement Program that lists roughly $35.9 million in projects and available funding assumptions; staff noted that pending grants and loans remain a material uncertainty.

Staff confirmed they issued the 60‑day notice to the Washington State Department of Commerce; comments from Commerce and other agencies are expected by Dec. 1. Commissioners asked staff to continue tribal consultation outreach, produce a clear list of tables changed since the PAC deliberations, and schedule a public hearing process that aligns with the county's budget calendar. Staff recommended setting a public hearing and brought several procedural dates for the commission to consider.