In 2012, Clark County Commissioners voted to support the Health Element Chapter to the 2016 Clark County Growth Management Plan update. In 2016 Tea Party Republicans narrowly shot down the effort to include the Health Element in the Growth Management Act update and threw out four years of Clark County Public Health work that included an extensive public outreach process to develop. In the 2021 Legislative session we have the opportunity to require many of the components that were in the Health Element Chapter to be required in the act’s updates statewide.
If there is anything that the wildfires this summer have taught us, it is that climate change has arrived at our doorstep in Washington and we are running out of time to take substantive action on an issue that is having disproportionate impacts on our communities. No matter your race, class, creed, or political party, we all have a stake in ensuring that Washington is a healthy, sustainable, and equitable place to live for this and all future generations.
Tell our state leaders that Washington can’t wait, update the Growth Management Act to fight the climate crisis, adequately plan for affordable housing, and address issues of environmental justice in our state.
