Anacortes council adopts updated Complete Streets code to improve accessibility and grant competitiveness

Anacortes City Council voted unanimously on June 8 to adopt Ordinance 5031, a revision to the city’s Complete Streets code (AMC 12.60) intended to align local street standards with current industry practice and strengthen grant competitiveness.

Public Works Director Logan Lee said the revisions expand and clarify definitions, add implementation guidance and establish an exception documentation requirement. The updated code replaces prescriptive language and clarifies when exceptions will be documented in the project or permit file to improve transparency.

Why it matters: Complete Streets policies require that city streets accommodate all users — pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders and drivers — and are often a factor in state and federal grant scoring. Councilmember Molton said she appreciated added exception‑reporting language; the ordinance was adopted after the second reading.

Council discussion focused on how the new rules will apply to future development and projects. Lee said the ordinance applies to new development going forward and noted that existing frontage and street‑design standards already meet much of the complete‑streets intent; he added there are currently no major plats under construction that would be affected immediately.

The council adopted the ordinance on a unanimous vote. There is no immediate change to active projects, but staff said the update should make the city more competitive for grants, particularly through the Transportation Improvement Board and similar programs.

What’s next: Staff will incorporate the revised standards into project design and permit review; exceptions will be documented in permit files per the new code language.