Countywide Vision

Last week, I attended a discussion about countywide planning policies at Snohomish County Tomorrow’s Steering Committee (SCT). SCT is a body of elected officials in the county who advise on vision and frameworks for the future of Snohomish County. Often, that results in sending direction or advisory motions to the County Council for their consideration. It might also result in advocacy for certain policy ideas.
The Countywide Planning Policies are an important piece of growth management policies in the region. All the different comprehensive plans and planning policy documents link together, from the city level up to the state level. This review of these countywide policies is a ten-year update to the policies. The image attached shows how these policies are linked and supportive of other regional planning policies.
As you might imagine, I love this stuff. It’s exciting to see the opportunities to shape the vision of the county’s future, to consider new ideas.
At this particular meeting, we discussed proposed policies for Development Pattern Policies. The materials on the topic are available here.
Some of the more controversial policies (the ones with minority and majority views from the technical advisory committee that is working on drafting the policies) relate to expanding urban growth areas. This doesn’t relate to Mukilteo directly because our urban growth area (areas outside the city that could and probably will be annexed someday) are all contiguous with other such areas. In cities like Snohomish, Lake Stevens, Marysville, and other cities in the north, their urban growth areas abut rural lands. So, at certain times, these cities or landowners might ask the county to expand the urban growth area, which allows more development in these rural areas.
There are some divided opinions on when this should be allowed. Snohomish County has been challenged by the regional goals of keeping future growth in urban areas, and keeping rural areas rural. The County has improved over the last few years. I think it makes sense to keep pushing that line and not provide many exceptions for expanding the urban growth areas.
This is an issue that will come back to Snohomish County Tomorrow in May and later in the year, as well, with the Steering Committee likely voting in late fall. Eventually, these policies will be adopted by the County Council.