DuPont council adopts 2026 comprehensive plan update after changing tree-canopy language

DuPont — The City Council unanimously adopted Ordinance 26-1166 on second reading on Feb. 24, 2026, approving the city's 2026 comprehensive plan update and official zoning map after accepting a friendly amendment to strengthen tree-policy language.

Director Kinkade, who led the second-reading presentation, said the periodic update responds to the State Growth Management Act's 10-year requirement and incorporates appendices and materials requested during the review process. "This is our 2nd reading for the comprehensive plan update," Kinkade said, explaining that Puget Sound Regional Council and the Washington State Department of Commerce reviewed the document and asked that certain land-capacity analysis language be added to the plan itself for clarity.

Why it matters: The comprehensive plan shapes where the city allows growth and how it coordinates infrastructure, housing and environmental policies. Kinkade noted the changes from the first reading were largely editorial or procedural, but the council spent focused time on policy wording related to tree canopy assessments and a passage about a potential Mounts Road connection.

The wording debate: Council Member Elliott pressed for stronger language on tree inventories, asking why the plan used the term "aspire" to describe tree canopy assessments. "I'm not sure why we can't just use the words conduct a tree survey," Elliott said. Director Kinkade and other council members discussed the difference between policy language and regulatory text; Kinkade emphasized that some regulatory requirements belong in code rather than in policy language, and that the tree commission will have a work plan to carry out inventories and canopy assessments.

Elliott proposed a friendly amendment to replace "aspire" with "conduct." Deputy Mayor Winkler accepted the change as a friendly amendment. The council then voted on the amended motion; the mayor called for the voice vote and the motion passed unanimously.

Other points: Kinkade reviewed several specific items raised in the first reading: adding the DuPont Chamber of Commerce to an economic development policy, moving tree-canopy goals from the Parks chapter to the Natural Environment chapter while noting RCW 36.70A's placement rules, and clarifying a sensitivity analysis about a potential Mounts Road connection that the staff described as a high-cost, low-likelihood option that could be preserved in policy in case future partnerships or funding made it feasible.

The next step: With the adoption of Ordinance 26-1166, the updated comprehensive plan and official zoning map are in effect as the city's guiding policy document. Kinkade and staff will implement the editorial corrections referred to during the meeting and coordinate follow-up work with the tree commission and other advisory bodies.

Quote: "We will have to do a tree inventory," Kinkade told the council when describing next steps on canopy assessments.

The meeting record shows the plan passed on second reading and the council confirmed the official zoning map at the Feb. 24 meeting.