The community is invited to learn how that growth will be accommodated through a series of open houses planned for May and June. The open houses, which are part of the review and update of Pierce County’s Comprehensive Plan and development regulations, will feature stations that address topics like land use, transportation and parks.
“This is the community’s chance to learn where we are in the Comprehensive Plan update, discuss the topics with staff and provide comments,” said Debby Hyde, special projects coordinator. “There is no formal presentation—drop in anytime during the event.”
The following open houses are open to the public, and will run from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.:
- May 20, East County Maintenance Facility, 11711 Prairie Ridge Drive E., Bonney Lake
- May 22, Central Maintenance Facility, 4812 196th St. E., Spanaway
- May 29, Key Peninsula Civic Center, 17010 S. Vaughn Road KPN, Vaughn
- June 3, Roy Community Center, 122 3rd St. E., Roy
- June 5, McMillin Grange, 12615 State Route 162, Puyallup
- June 10, Pierce County Library Administrative Building, 3005 112th St., Tacoma
Realize 2030: Honor the Past—Look Ahead
Pierce County’s Comprehensive Plan Update process, or “Realize 2030,” acknowledges the past 20 years of growth under the current Comprehensive Plan and eleven community plans and looks ahead to the next period of growth. The review and update of Pierce County’s Comprehensive Plan and development regulations began last year and will be completed by June 2015.
Washington State’s Growth Management Act (GMA) requires counties to review existing plans and regulations and update them, if necessary, every 8 years.
Changes that will be addressed include new legislative requirements and recent changes in land use law. The majority of policies and directions of the county’s plans will be maintained and carried forward in the update.
Community plans form foundation for updates
The eleven community plans were adopted in Pierce County between 1999 and 2009. Each plan included public engagement that helped refine the direction of community development in Pierce County. Many of the policies have since evolved into county-wide regulations and programs and no longer need to be specified in the individual community plans.
“The community plans will be revised to remove the regulations that apply to all of Pierce County and retain only the policies and land use regulations that are unique to each community,” said Sean Gaffney, Pierce County Planning and Land Services long range planning manager.
Visit www.piercecountywa.org/realize2030 to sign up for weekly email updates about the Comprehensive Plan update. The website also features information about upcoming community open houses and background material related to the update.