Clark County working on comprehensive growth plan

“We’re working to put in neighborhoods,” Onslow said.

The request, however, represents another puzzle piece in an already complex process that Clark County has been embroiled in since the summer of 2013 as it updates its 20-year comprehensive growth management plan. The plan acts as a guideline for future land-use in response to job and population growth — and the clock is ticking to complete the plan, said Community Planning Director Oliver Orjiako.

A final proposal by the county must be submitted to the state by June 30, 2016, and the county still has to complete a draft environmental impact statement and collect public comments.

A city can only apply to incorporate land from the county during updates to the county’s growth management plan. Though the county called for cities to submit their requests by July 31 of last year, Ridgefield submitted its request past that deadline, prompting the county to extend the application deadline for cities to March 3.

Ridgefield City Manager Steve Stuart, a former Clark County commissioner, said he fears leaving the land as-is could box the city in and slow development. If homes are built on the plot, which is currently broken up into five-acre parcels, they could prevent additional development on the property, he said.

“Any future urban development for jobs and housing will be stifled,” Stuart said, adding that the city projects that its population could swell from 6,000 to more than 20,000 within the next 20 years.

In response to the new March deadline, La Center submitted another application to add 17 acres to its urban growth boundary so it can add a school to the La Center School District.

Though the additional deadline for cities doesn’t prevent the council from submitting its plan on time, it’s just one more thing for county staff to deal with on an already enormous to-do list.

The process was further slowed last month when the council asked that a fourth alternative to the plan be developed, looking at various options for distribution of population and development in Clark County.

Washington state only requires counties to provide three alternatives and Clark County staff were ready to issue a draft environmental impact statement earlier this month, Orjiako said. The request for an additional plan, however, delayed the process.

“Folks may think you have 15 months, but it takes a whole lot of time to get things done,” Orjiako said.

The county council will host a workshop at 9 a.m. Wednesday to discuss the fourth alternative. The meeting is open to the public, though there’s no public comment period.

Update, Feb. 18, 8:38 a.m.: In a previous version of this story, Community Planning Director Oliver Orjiako’s name was spelled incorrectly. The story has been updated to reflect the error.