Council amends Planning Commission work plan, removes comprehensive plan update from next year

The Bonney Lake City Council voted on March 10 to amend the Planning Commission’s 2025–26 work plan under AB 26‑27, removing the comprehensive plan update and other statutory items from next year’s schedule and adding targeted code and permit exemptions.

The clerk introduced the motion to amend the work plan to remove the comprehensive plan update, remove statutory update items, remove annual development regulation maintenance, remove Midtown countywide growth center designation, and add items including changes to residential fire sprinkler requirements, residential sheetrock and asbestos requirements, a residential reroof permit exemption, bulkhead repair and replacement exemptions, geological hazard area updates, and replacement of chapter 14.13 BLMC with a code enforcement title.

Director Jason Sullivan (Public Services Director) explained the Midtown countywide growth center designation is a planning designation used to identify where the city anticipates growth and to strengthen competitiveness for grant applications. "It does really help for grant applications. It does make you really, really competitive," Sullivan said, and he emphasized the designation would not change zoning already adopted by council.

Council member Rock asked for more detail about the Midtown designation and whether the city wanted to pursue it; Sullivan said the motion removes that work from next year’s plan and would delay consideration until 2027 or 2028 if the council preferred. After brief discussion the council voted in favor and the amendment passed.

What happens next: Staff will implement the revised work plan and the Planning Commission will not begin the removed items in the 2025–26 schedule; the Midtown countywide growth center can be revisited in a future work plan if the council chooses.