News From Your Friends

What’s on our Radar – Week of May 5th, 2025

🚨 CALL-TO-ACTION to Save Hundred of Acres of Agricultural Land in the Clark County Comprehensive Plan Update May 7th at 1pm!

This week, another big decision will be made regarding the Clark County Comprehensive Plan Update. What’s at stake: the loss of 519 acres of agricultural land to sprawling development, the delay (6 months to a year or more) of passing urgent climate, transportation, and housing policies, noncompliance with state law, and ineligibility for grants and low-interest loans that could be lost forever.

That’s why Friends of Clark County has a call to action out this morning asking folks to SHOW UP in person, online, or over the phone this Wednesday, May 7th at 1pm in defense of all the important work we need to get done to protect our natural resources, bring down pollution, address the climate crisis, and create more equitable communities.

See the full call to action here:

https://friendsofclarkcounty.org/%f0%9f%9a%a8-call-to-action-to-save-hundred-of-acres-of-agricultural-land-in-the-clark-county-comprehensive-plan-update-may-7th-at-1pm/

Talking points are included, but please reach out if you’d like help with remarks or have other questions!

• Last week:
  • If you missed last week’s Radar, you can get caught up here:
    https://friendsofclarkcounty.org/whats-on-our-radar-week-of-april-28th-2025/

• • There was a Clark County Council work session on the Climate Element of the Comprehensive Plan Update. This was a great rundown on the process and how the recommendations of the Clark County Climate Community Advisory Group (CAG) will move forward. REMINDER: If you care about climate, adoption of these policies will be severely delayed and funding for implementation jeopardized if the Clark County Council stays its current course, so please see the call to action above! You can view the full work session here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5yYzW53VOw There was also a Planning Commission work session with the same Climate Element presentation, which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mBok2VfKTc

• • During Council Time, the county learned that they did not receive their requested one year extension on the Comprehensive Plan Update from the state legislature, meaning the council will be knowingly and intentionally going out of compliance with state law if they choose to include a hasty study of agricultural land at the request of 2 cities and landowners who want to de-designate 519 acres of prime agricultural land for sprawling development. These cities (Ridgefield and La Center) were recently found to not have built ANY multifamily housing over the last 2 years. Again, see our call to action above about this! You can review notes from the Council Time and several other work sessions that took place (including the Climate Element) from the League of Women Voters’ Observer Corps here: https://lwvclarkcounty.org/content.aspx?page_id=2507&club_id=160612&item_id=5126&pst=28043

• This week:
  

• • Tomorrow, Tuesday May 6th is a regular Clark County Council meeting at 10am. There is an open public comment opportunity (testimony on anything you wish) and comment on agenda items. There is a public hearing on the Consolidated Housing Community Development Plan and a public hearing for load limits on county bridges. Nothing FOCC is tracking closely is on the agenda.
    
    
  • Wednesday, May 7th at 9am are two work sessions, one regarding fireworks and one from the Commission on Aging.

• • Wednesday, May 7th at 1pm is Council Time, where there is a public comment opportunity to testify on agenda items only. The second item after the minutes (Old Business, 4.2) is the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update, in which the county staff will show the council their revised work plan demonstrating that the county will not meet the Comp Plan deadline if the council chooses to include the hasty study of agricultural lands. Please see the call to action above and consider showing up or calling in to testify, as we need all hands on deck!

• Deep dive into the week’s meeting agenda, including how to participate, here: https://clark.wa.gov/councilors/clark-county-council-meetings
  

• Other happenings:
  

• • The GiveBIG campaign season has begun! Please check out our fundraising appeal to learn about everything we do to protect and create a thriving Clark County, as well as why we need your support! https://friendsofclarkcounty.org/givebig-to-friends-of-clark-county/

• • The 2025 Legislative Session in Olympia has wrapped up, and FOCC’s Jackie Lane wrote a great breakdown on the bills we were tracking in our newsletter article here: https://friendsofclarkcounty.org/legislative-update/

• • SAVE THE DATE for the Chelatchie Bluff SMO hearing: The Clark County Council recently gave unanimous direction to move forward with repealing the Chelatchie Bluff surface mining overlay (SMO) over environmentally sensitive forest land in response to FOCC’s win at the Washington Court of Appeals, which would bring the County back into compliance with state law. The hearing date was sent out last week and is scheduled for Tuesday, May 13th, 2025, at 1:00 pm. More information here: https://clark.wa.gov/sites/default/files/media/document/2025-04/051325-ord-2022-07-01-amendment_chelatchie-bluff.pdf

• • Public resource: Reminder about a great public resource! FOCC’s own Jackie Lane tracks Clark County’s land use activities in a publicly available document here, so be sure to bookmark it. We’ve recently added many important Comp Plan target dates leading up all the way to the end of the year: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10cpQ2gWr86wLyIlRvhgI9eRF8aesDYIZ/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=108071388396855006181&rtpof=true&sd=true

See you next week!
Karissa
FOCC Community Outreach