Join The Comprehensive Plan Update

By Bryan Dominique, Communications Manager
Office of the Pierce County Council

Before the cool chill of autumn set in Pierce County, Washington, even before the long days of summer took root, the Pierce County Council Chambers were buzzing with activity week after week with work on the 2024 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update.

The Comprehensive Plan provides a framework that guides the day-to-day decisions of County staff and elected officials related to land use, housing, transportation, capital facilities, climate change, and the environment. The Washington State Growth Management Act directs cities and counties to conduct a periodic review and update of their Comprehensive Plan every 10 years.

For Pierce County, the periodic review was this year, and a Comprehensive Plan update must be adopted by December 31, 2024. The Council’s Community Development and Environment Committee (CDEC) has led the legislative effort for this large and vital project, and community participation has been an integral part of that process.

“Land use planning is so important to get right. The decisions we make today in this Comprehensive Plan update will guide how our County will grow well into the future,” said Robyn Denson, Pierce County Councilmember for District 7 and Chair of the CDEC. “These decisions impact how and where we grow, which is important for our natural and built environment and highly impacts our overall quality of life.  The community interest and engagement in this work has been exciting and appreciated; I’m happy people are taking a proactive role in shaping our communities.”

Here’s a look at the process so far:

• Pierce County releases the Draft Comprehensive Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for public review and comment on Jan. 10, 2024, and invites community members to share their thoughts, with comments due by Feb. 26, 2024.
• The CDEC convenes for its first meeting of 2024 on Monday, Jan. 22, to receive a presentation on the Comprehensive Plan update. The presenters from the County’s Planning & Public Works Department (PPW) review the current Comprehensive Plan in detail with the Committee and note that Pierce County has studied three options to consider in the update:
  • Option One: The “No action” option is our “business as usual” scenario.
  • Option Two: The “Centers and corridors” option builds on existing plans to support more affordable housing by allowing more homes to be built in the County’s urban areas. It also takes steps to make our transportation more efficient and our community more resilient to climate change.
  • Option Three: The “High-capacity transit” option creates dense neighborhoods within a half mile of high-capacity transit lines. It would make more significant investments in different types of transportation and the preservation of rural areas and forest lands to help the County prepare for climate change.

• The CDEC meets monthly throughout 2024 to receive briefings on the Comprehensive Plan Update. These updates culminate in the review and adoption of Resolution No. R2024-158s, a resolution providing direction on a preferred Comprehensive Plan alternative that combines elements from options two and three. The full Council completes its work on the preferred alternative on May 21, 2024.
• The CDEC holds its first public hearing on Proposed Ordinance O2024-553s, an ordinance adopting amendments to the County’s Critical Areas Ordinance, a component of the Comprehensive Plan update, on Monday, Sept. 30, and continues the ordinance to its next meeting.
• The CDEC moves O2024-553s out of Committee on Oct. 7, as amended, and forwards the proposal to the full Council with a do-pass recommendation. Final Council action on O2024-553s is scheduled for Nov. 12 and will likely be continued to Dec. 3, 2024.
• The CDEC receives presentations from PPW staff on Monday, Oct. 7 and Monday, Oct. 21, which outlines the proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan that were informed by the preferred alternative. The presentation addresses housing, land use, transportation, environment, and climate goals for the next 20 years.

Key takeaways from those presentations include:

• Housing density increases near transit, increasing affordability and reducing rural development pressures.
• Expansion of sewer services and transportation infrastructure in urban areas.
• Environmental goals like urban tree canopy and land conservation.
• A review of urban growth area (UGA) change recommendations in Pierce County, recommending certain areas for removal from the UGA due to development constraints (e.g., flood hazard zones or lack of infrastructure) while retaining other areas with greater urban growth potential.
• A review of the Capital Facilities Plan, which outlines infrastructure needs, costs, and long-term transportation project needs to accommodate growth, including roadway expansions and pedestrian/bicycle facilities.

The next milestone is Monday, Nov. 4, when the CDEC is scheduled to hold its first public hearing on a final proposed Comprehensive Plan update. Councilmembers will have an option to submit amendments.

As Pierce County moves toward finalizing its 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update, community engagement and thoughtful planning will remain at the heart of this critical process. You can stay up to date on upcoming meetings and Comprehensive Planning materials at https://www.piercecountywa.gov/950/Comprehensive-Plan.

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