Your Future, Your Voice: Call to Action for the Planning Commission Comp Plan Update Hearing on Thursday, August 20th
Help us advocate for a sustainable future balancing growth, the preservation of prime agricultural land, and meaningful climate action in Clark County.
What’s at stake?
The loss of hundreds of acres of prime agricultural lands and meaningful climate action in Clark County’s Comprehensive Plan Update.
Background
Clark County is revising its Comprehensive Growth Management Plan, a 20-year guide for managing growth and development with respect to the natural environment and available resources. In addition, the cities of Vancouver, Battle Ground, Camas, La Center, Ridgefield, Washougal, Woodland and Yacolt are also updating their comprehensive plans.
Three land use alternatives were studied for those cities and the county in a draft environmental impact statement (EIS). In addition, the Clark County Council majority ordered and the county carried out an Agricultural Lands Study. The county then selected a Preferred Alternative that was studied for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).
What’s happening?
If the Clark County Council selects any alternative that allows for urban growth area (UGA) expansions, especially those that include the de-designation of agricultural land, they will be permitting the permanent destruction of hundreds of acres of our prime farmlands. According to the county’s own modeling, all of our current urban areas have the capacity for expected growth over the next 20 year horizon—meaning expansion of our current boundaries and paving over farmland for expensive, sprawling and emissions-inducing development is unnecessary. Therefore, an alternative with no urban growth area expansions is the only responsible choice.
The purpose of the hearing will be to take public testimony on the Comp Plan Update. The Planning Commission will then make a final recommendation to the Clark County Council on revisions to the Comp Plan, most notably changes to the comprehensive and zoning plan map, as well as updates to policies and text in the comprehensive plan document.
Call to action
We need you to voice your opinion in support of no UGA expansions, our vision for the future of sustainable agriculture, and meaningful climate action in Clark County’s Comp Plan update!
Testify virtually, in person, or over the phone for up to 3 minutes at the hearing on August 20th at 6:30pm, or send in written public comment.
Attendees can join in person in the sixth-floor hearing room of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St., or virtually via Webex. Meeting information
Main statements:
1) The Comp Plan Update should reflect the county’s prior decisions that all forecasted growth for housing, population, and employment can be accommodated within current UGAs, meaning there is no legal reason to expand UGAs. This fact has recently been reiterated in the county’s own Final Environmental Impact Statement document, which states that, “Given the planning assumptions for growth rate and jobs/acre, the Preferred Alternative exceeds the land capacity needed to accommodate the housing and job growth projected for the next 20 years.”
2) The hundreds of acres that Ridgefield, La Center, and Camas are requesting to pave over forever are designated prime agricultural lands and farmlands of statewide importance. Additionally, Battle Ground’s proposed expansion would pave over hundreds of acres of ag-quality rural lands identified in the Agricultural Lands Study. These lands represent an invaluable community resource as we consider the need to feed our growing population, local food security and climate change resiliency, and the future of the farming industry and jobs in the agricultural sector as a whole.
3) Clark County must match the City of Vancouver’s greenhouse gas Emissions Goals, as the recommendations made by the Clark County Climate Community Advisory Group (CAG) will be rendered toothless without an explicit greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goal. Clark County, as well as the world, are far behind in acting meaningfully to address the climate emergency at the urgency and scale articulated by global scientific consensus.
4) Urbanization begets urbanization. To use encroaching development as a justification to de-designate land, will continue to chip away at agricultural land, which goes against the conservation purpose of the agricultural land designations. This de-designation risk has been articulated in Washington state law, and was noted by Clark County’s own lawyer as “the absolute definition of urban sprawl”.
Additional points:
- The amount of agricultural land in Clark County has been eroded by the county’s actions over the decades since the passage of the original Comprehensive Plan. The de-designation of any agricultural land for unnecessary UGA expansions would continue to undermine the capability of our agricultural sector to rise to its highest levels of productivity, which would also undermine our communities’ access to food and our successful adaptation to the climate emergency. Just as our residents need housing and jobs, they also need food.
- The County is required by law to have a sufficient supply of agricultural lands to sustain a local agricultural economy. I support Friends of Clark County’s vision for agriculture in Clark County to maintain and sustain a climate resilient local agricultural economy.
- The County should honor the recommendations of the Agricultural Advisory Commission, which voted to maintain all existing agricultural designations and requested a moratorium on upzoning of lands that meet the legal criteria for agricultural designation.
- The County should consider the needs of the entire county and our collective future, not reward cities for failing to propose alternatives for their cities that do not include paving over prime farmland.
Tips for an effective public comment
- Keep your commentary relevant, respectful, and succinct.
- Be sure to indicate where in the county you live.
- If you have time, try and paraphrase the points we’ve provided rather than copy/pasting.
- Make it personal: Share your feelings, concerns, and how you and your community will be impacted by this Comp Plan decision.
More information
Written comments for the hearing can be submitted via online form at https://bit.ly/2025CPComments, email to Jeffrey.Delapena@clark.wa.gov, or via the U.S. Postal Service to Clark County Planning Commission, c/o Jeffrey Delapena, PO Box 9810, Vancouver, WA 98666-9810. Comments can also be read into the record. Instructions are available on the county website at https://bit.ly/CCPlanComm. Written comments must be received by the end of the hearing on Aug. 20.
Learn more about the county Comprehensive Plan Update project