Title
Introduction Chapter of the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan - Briefing
Recommended Action
Information only. No action requested.
Report
Issue:
Discussion on the draft Introduction Chapter of the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan.
Staff Contact:
Joyce Phillips, AICP, Long Range Planning Manager, Community Planning and Economic Development, 360.570.3722
Presenter(s):
Joyce Phillips, Long Range Planning Manager
Background and Analysis:
Olympia's Comprehensive Plan
Olympia's first Comprehensive Plan (Plan) was adopted more than 60 years ago. With the passage of the State's Growth Management Act in 1990, Olympia prepared a new plan which was completed in 1994. The plan was amended a few times over the years. In 2014, the City completed a major rewrite of the Plan, with broad input and participation by community members.
The Plan covers the area of the Olympia City Limits and the urban growth area. It addresses issues like housing, land use, transportation, parks and open spaces, utilities and public services, and the economy. It also reflects community values, such as public participation, addressing climate change, and tree preservation. Once adopted, the Plan becomes the adopted vision for how and where our community will grow and change, and be served with utilities, infrastructure, and public services. Comprehensive Plans must be updated every 10 years.
Growth Management Act (GMA)
The GMA (RCW 36.70A) establishes a framework for comprehensive planning in Washington State. It includes statewide planning goals that each jurisdiction must balance locally. Some of the primary objectives of the GMA are to protect resource lands of long-term commercial significance (agricultural, forestry, and mineral resource lands), to plan for growth in urban areas where it can be served with a full range of urban services, to prevent sprawl, and to protect environmentally sensitive areas.
Land is in one of three categories - urban, rural, or resource lands. Depend...
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