DuPont holds public hearing on comprehensive plan update, schedules vote next meeting

Deputy Mayor Winkler opened a public hearing on DuPont’s proposed comprehensive plan update and asked Director Kinkade to present the staff recommendation.

Kinkade said the update responds to the Growth Management Act (transcript reference: RCW 3,670 A) and recent 2021–2023 state legislation affecting housing, shelter and permitting. He summarized the plan’s chapters — land use, housing, economic development, natural environment, historic and cultural resources, parks and recreation, transportation, capital facilities and an Old Fort Lakes subarea plan — and said the Planning Commission transmitted a unanimous recommendation to adopt the draft.

The presentation highlighted several changes: a condensed set of residential categories on the future land‑use map, a new “civic” designation for municipal assets such as water towers and schools, and a modest map amendment off Manchester Place changing manufacturing/research park zoning to high‑density residential to better accommodate development while protecting wetland buffers and trees. Kinkade also reviewed housing and employment growth targets the staff used for capacity analysis, noting a projected population increase of about 5,184 and housing capacity calculations that result in a planning target to accommodate roughly 5,887 housing units by 2044.

Members of the public who spoke urged the council to use the plan to engage local stakeholders. Portland Williams, president and CEO of the DuPont Chamber of Commerce, requested adding language in Chapter 4 (economic development) committing the city to regular outreach with the new Chamber so the business community can weigh in on tourism and economic priorities. Anthony Hempstead of Hempstead Consulting, representing Northpointe Development and Albatross, thanked staff and said his clients look forward to working with the city on the Old Fort Lake subarea.

Councilmembers asked staff to clarify several technical points: Councilmember Elliott urged moving the tree‑canopy analysis from an “aspirational” phrasing to a requirement and suggested placing tree policy in the natural environment chapter rather than parks and recreation; she also flagged inconsistencies in historic dates and numeric tables. Deputy Mayor Winkler and Kinkade discussed a sentence in the plan that mentions a possible future connection of Mounts Road in Hoffman Hill; Kinkade said that language is intended to preserve an option for future study, not to commit the city to constructing the connection.

Kinkade noted that the comprehensive plan is the policy document and that subsequent updates to the DuPont Municipal Code will implement regulatory details such as parking standards. The council closed the public hearing at 6:46 p.m.; Deputy Mayor Winkler said the council is scheduled to vote on adoption at the next meeting and asked members to submit any proposed amendments in writing ahead of that vote.

Why it matters: The comprehensive plan sets DuPont’s long‑range policy direction and is the basis for later code changes and project lists that determine which capital projects and impact fees the city can adopt and fund.

Next steps: The council will consider amendments and vote on the plan at its next regular meeting.