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SAN JUAN COUNTY, WA. August 27, 2024 - San Juan County is making steady progress toward its 2025 Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan) Update with support from a consultant team and a grant from the Department of Commerce. During the August 27 Council meeting, DCD staff provided a progress update including work completed to date, current ongoing efforts, and next steps.

There are four phases of the 2025 Comp Plan Update: initiate, analyze, prepare, and finalize. The project is currently in phase two which includes analyzing population, housing needs, and land capacity for housing and employment, as well as updating transportation, capital facilities, and utilities inventories. The analyses and inventories will inform preparation of draft goals, policies and potential Official Map amendments. The project is currently on track for completion by June 30, 2025.

Completed work

San Juan County entered a contract with a consultant, Otak, Inc., in March and kicked off the project by forming workgroups and identifying necessary plan amendments. The consultant and DCD have submitted a series of deliverables for the Periodic Update Grant to the Department of Commerce for State Fiscal Year 2024. These deliverables include a Department of Commerce Periodic Update Checklist and a policy needs memo, a Public Participation Plan, a Housing Needs Assessment and Land Capacity Analysis methodology memo, and preliminary outreach materials.

Ongoing work

The consultant and DCD staff are currently planning in-person public engagement and are working to update the analyses, assessments, and inventories in Section D of the Comprehensive Plan.

There is ongoing coordination with:

Environmental Stewardship Climate Element project team
Internal working groups
Planning Commission
County Citizen Advisory Committees
Town of Friday Harbor Community Development staff and Comp Plan Update consultant team
Department of Commerce
Next Steps

In Fall 2024, the consultant and DCD will continue with public engagement and analyses/assessments. By early September the dates of in-person engagement will be finalized and staff will notify the public of opportunities to participate.

In mid-fall, the consultant will provide another update to Council on the preliminary results of the Housing Needs Assessment and Land Capacity Analysis. At the briefing the Council will have the opportunity to learn about the assessment methodologies, ask questions, and provide input and direction on these foundational components of the Comp Plan.

The DCD will continue to work with internal work groups, County committees, and external organizations in the upcoming months to gather input and prepare to begin working on policy amendments with the consultant in December.

Climate Element

The County is also developing a new Climate Element as part of the Comprehensive Plan update, and an accompanying Climate Action Plan (CAP) to address the impacts of climate change. The Climate Element is being developed separately and in coordination with the Comp Plan update.

Today, the County released the Phase 1 Engagement Report for climate resilience planning. This comprehensive summary of community feedback from the first phase of outreach will guide the development of the County’s Climate Element (CE) and Climate Action Plan (CAP). This process of gathering critical input will shape the direction of the County’s ongoing efforts to address climate change and enhance local resilience through informed, community-driven policymaking. Read the full report at: https://engage.sanjuancountywa.gov/20822/widgets/67641/documents/58664.

For more information, please visit the Climate Element’s project webpage.

Learn More

More information, including a project summary, newsfeed, up-to-date project timeline, FAQs, and document center containing drafts and staff reports can be found on the Comprehensive Plan’s Engage website: https://engage.sanjuancountywa.gov/2025-comp-plan-update. Future engagement opportunities including online surveys, drafts for review, and information about in-person events will also be posted on the Engage page.

Contact:

Sophia Cassam, Project Manager, Planner III, [email protected], 360-370-7589

About San Juan County’s Department of Community Development

San Juan County’s Department of Community Development is responsible for building permits and inspections, code enforcement, land use designations, long range planning, and more. The department’s main office is located at 135 Rhone Street, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. For more information about San Juan County’s Department of Community Development, visit www.sanjuancountywa.gov/1778/Community-Development.

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Read the Press Release on the County website