In 1990, the Washington state legislature enacted the Growth Management Act (GMA) in response to rapid and uncoordinated growth at the time. In addition to aligning state, multi-county, countywide, and local planning, the GMA requires local governments in fast-growing and densely populated areas to develop and adopt comprehensive plans.

King County’s planning role is complex in that it is responsible for regional services and is also the local government to unincorporated areas. Thus, King County’s Comprehensive Plan offers a vision for how unincorporated areas will grow and how regional services – such as transit, parks and solid waste – will be provided.

The policies throughout the plan support good planning principles such as directing new homes and jobs to areas near current and planned transit centers. Another is that rural and resource lands are protected through an urban growth boundary, which allows our region to keep working farms and forests.

Unincorporated areas are areas outside of city limits. If you live or do business in neighborhoods such as Skyway, White Center, Vashon-Maury Island, or Redmond Ridge, King County is your main provider of local government services.

Here are two ways to find out if you are located in an unincorporated area:

• Find or enter your address on this map. The green layer shows unincorporated King County.
• Enter your address in King County’s Parcel Viewer and see what’s listed as the jurisdiction.

The land use map in the Comprehensive Plan shows the general types of planned, long-term uses allowed on each parcel of land. This informs the zoning category applied to each parcel, which sets more specific, current allowed uses and associated development regulations. You can search for a parcel's land use and zoning here. The plan also includes policies about specific topics, such as housing or parks, which are grouped in the plan by chapter.

In The King County Executive is responsible for developing the Comprehensive Plan and sending it to the King County Council for final review and approval. When developing the Comprehensive Plan, the Executive works in coordination with regional and local jurisdictional partners and the public. Public input is welcome throughout the process and there are many opportunities to submit comments and make requests. The Executive considers all comments in developing the Executive Recommended Plan. The King County Council reviews the plan, proposes amendments, and votes on whether to adopt the final version.

There are three types of updates: technical adjustments, limited updates, and major updates.

• Every year, there is an opportunity to make technical adjustments to the plan and minor changes to land use designations and zoning classifications.
• Once every five years, a limited range of substantive changes can be considered. At this time, the county also conducts a study of how much of the predicted growth has happened and evaluates policies to see if they are effective at accommodating it. The next possible five-year update would be in 2029.
• Finally, at least once every ten years, King County is required to review and update the plan to ensure compliance with the goals and requirements of the GMA. These updates are also an opportunity to make in-depth and broad ranging policy changes that address changes in the community's growth and long-term needs, while advancing the County's policy goals.

• To submit specific policy recommendations or changes to land use and zoning, please use the docket application process.
• If you have general comments or suggestions for a current plan update (such as the 2024 update), please submit feedback to CompPlan@kingcounty.gov.
• King County planning staff are available to meet with community groups and other interested parties. Please submit requests to CompPlan@kingcounty.gov.
• Sign up for news about plan updates and Comprehensive Plan topics by joining our mailing list.