On December 4, the King County Council adopted the 2017 update to the 2016 King County Comprehensive Plan and the 2017 Vashon-Maury Island Community Service Area (CSA) Subarea Plan (Ordinance 18623).  At the meeting, the Council voted on amendments to the plan and then voted to approve the legislation, as amended.  The amendments can be found on the Council’s Comprehensive Plan website.  

Adoption of the plan completes the Council’s six-month-long process of deliberation and public input on the proposal, in addition to the Executive’s public outreach and engagement process from March 2016 through June 2017.

Public comment opportunities

The following opportunities for public comment on the proposed 2017 Comprehensive Plan & Vashon-Maury Island CSA Subarea Plan were provided during the Council’s review of the proposed plan.

• The Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee held a series of briefings on the proposed plan in the summer and fall of 2017. Public comments on the proposal were taken at the committee briefings held on September 19, October 4 and October 17. 
• The Executive held a community meeting on October 12 on Vashon Island to hear public comments on the new version of the plan in proposed Striking Amendment S1.
• A formal public hearing, with the opportunity for public testimony before the full King County Council, was held on December 4. 
• Written comments on the proposed plan were also allowed to be submitted throughout the Council’s review.

More details about the Council’s 2017 Comprehensive Plan review schedule can be found here.  

Vashon-Maury Island CSA Background

The 2017 Comprehensive Plan update was focused on the proposed Vashon-Maury Island CSA Subarea Plan. A CSA Subarea Plan is a 20-year, multi-discipline, integrated policy document that applies the countywide goals of the King County Comprehensive Plan to a smaller geographic area. You can learn more about King County’s CSA Subarea Planning Program, including the schedule for future CSA planning activities in other unincorporated areas, here.

Development of the Executive’s proposed Vashon-Maury Island CSA Subarea Plan was informed by an intensive community outreach process that began in March, 2016.  More information on the Executive’s outreach can be found here.

On July 21, 2017, the Executive transmitted to the King County Council the proposed 2017 update to the Comprehensive Plan and the Vashon-Maury Island CSA Subarea Plan as Proposed Ordinance 2017-0317. The proposed plan was referred to the Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee for review, amendment, and recommendation to the full Council. A Committee briefing on the transmittal was held on September 19. On October 3, the Executive transmitted an updated version of the proposed plan as Striking Amendment “S1”. The Striking Amendment was briefed in Committee on October 4 and a Committee vote took place on October 17.

Further refinement of the proposed plan and final adoption by the full Council occurred on December 4, 2017. 

About the King County Comprehensive Plan

The King County Comprehensive Plan is the guiding policy document for land use and development regulations in unincorporated King County, and for regional services throughout the County including transit, sewers, parks, trails, and open space.

The King County Code (K.C.C. 20.18.030) allows for updates to the Comprehensive Plan on either an annual or a once-every-four-years basis, depending on the scope of the change. The annual cycle allows for minor changes, technical corrections, and land use changes that do not amend the Urban Growth Area. The “four-year cycle” update is considered a major update to the plan and, unlike annual updates, allows for consideration of substantive policy changes and potential revisions to the Urban Growth Area.

The current plan is the 2016 Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted by the King County Council on December 5, 2016 and was amended by Ordinance 18623.  The 2016 Comprehensive Plan was the fifth major update to the King County Comprehensive Plan.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you have questions about the Council’s 2017 Comprehensive Plan process, please email CouncilCompPlan@kingcounty.gov.