Under the Washington State Growth Management Act, local governments in the state have to adopt, regularly amend, and periodically update an Urban Area Comprehensive Plan. The plan helps guide long-range land use policy in urban areas by establishing a community vision for effectively managing growth over a twenty-year period.
Originally adopted by the Yakima City Council and Yakima County Commission in 2006, the Yakima Urban Area Comprehensive Plan 2025 addresses issues including, among others, the preservation of natural resources, ensuring adequate levels of public services are provided, protecting historic land, sites, and structures, encouraging sustainable economic development, and retaining open space while also developing recreational opportunities. Those objectives are accomplished through zoning, permitting, and the implementation of other regulatory controls.
State law allows community members to request amendments to the Comprehensive Plan annually. The City of Yakima Planning Commission will formally open this year’s Comprehensive Plan community member amendment process during its meeting on Wednesday, February 11th in the Council Chambers at Yakima City Hall (129 N. 2nd Street) beginning at 3:30 pm. Amendment applications will be made available starting that same day from the City’s Planning Division, which is located on the 2nd floor of City Hall. Applications, along with a non-refundable $500 filing fee, have to be received by the Planning Division by April 30th.
The City is also beginning the more extensive process of updating the Comprehensive Plan that is required by state law. That process, which will extend the period of time the plan will apply to, will involve considerable input from community members, business and land owners, etc. and is scheduled to be completed in 2017. Because the update process will be underway both next year and the following year, no community member amendments to the Comprehensive Plan will be accepted in 2016 or 2017. When the update process is complete, the revised plan will be considered by the Yakima City Council and the Yakima County Commission. Once adopted, it will become known as the Yakima Urban Area Comprehensive Plan 2040.
“We encourage anyone interested in submitting a proposed amendment to the plan to do so this year because we won’t be going through another amendment process until 2018,” said City of Yakima Supervising Planner Jeff Peters. “Updating the plan is a significant task, and over the next two years we’ll be working on creating that broader, long-range vision for the growth of our community so we won’t be making narrowly focused amendments.”
To see the Yakima Urban Area Comprehensive Plan 2025, click on the following link to the City of Yakima website – https://www.yakimawa.gov/services/planning/files/2012/05/FINAL-Comp-Plan-Dec-2006.pdf.
Yakima Urban Area Comp Plan Amendment-Update Process – News Release