E.C. comp plan under review

The document guiding Electric City’s future growth plans has an update coming due in 2025, and the first round of review is underway.

The city’s Planning Commission, an appointed advisory board made up of five Electric City residents, is taking a first look at the comprehensive plan, chapter by chapter, as part of a regular periodic update required by the state’s Growth Management Act, or GMA.

“We’re just basically going to methodically go through each chapter and update it the best we can,” said Kurt Danison, a planner working with the city by contract. “A lot of it’s just updating information like population, how land’s being used.”

While Danison says he does not envision “any big, earth-shaking changes” to the comprehensive plan, he did note that some updates will be driven by statute related to affordable housing.

Specifically, the state passed legislation relaxing restrictions around accessory dwelling units or ADUs — sometimes referred to as “mother-in-law apartments” — in all towns and counties operating under the GMA. ADUs include both attached and standalone residences. 

This means, in general, most single-family housing residential lots within Electric City’s urban growth area will be allowed up to two additional residential units, which could be rented out, according to the Municipal Research and Services Center. The intent of the legislation is to increase housing inventory across the state, which the Washington Department of Commerce projects needs to grow by 1.1 million additional units over the next 20 years.

Another question facing the city is whether to amend zoning in the area south of the causeway, where most of the developable land exists. “The town has a study going on looking at potentially developing a water system on the south end of the causeway,” Danison said.

The planning commission will release their draft update and hold a public hearing, likely before the fall, Danison said, and will then forward their recommendations to the city council for review.

The city has until the end of 2025 to complete the formal update.

The planning commission next meets on Tuesday, March 26 at 3 p.m. at Electric City City Hall. The public is welcome to attend the open meeting.