State flags gaps in Woodland comprehensive plan; city staff say revisions are coming

Woodland — At the Dec. 15 council meeting, the mayor reported receiving a letter from the Washington State Department of Commerce that identified several deficiencies in Woodland’s comprehensive plan.

According to the mayor (not named in the transcript), Commerce found that Woodland’s climate‑resilience element lacks an explicit greenhouse‑gas reduction plan; the housing inventory does not break out supply by income bands (low, middle, high); and the plan does not adequately analyze racially disparate barriers or describe code changes to remove those barriers. The mayor said the state asked the city to return with revisions addressing those topics.

Travis, a city staff member who spoke to council, said the city has been preparing for these updates for several years and noted that Cowlitz County and Clark County deadlines for updates may influence Woodland’s timing. Travis told the council that while delaying some updates might buy time, the state still requires compliance with growth-management law and the city will need to update the plan.

The mayor and staff said they will meet and research next steps, and they emphasized concern about whether state compliance requirements could affect future grant eligibility for local projects. No formal vote occurred on the comp‑plan item; staff will return with proposed revisions and next steps in a future meeting.

The council discussion highlighted the tension between a broad (holistic) approach to housing policy and the state’s request for more granular income‑band analysis and explicit equity provisions.