Thurston County’s Countywide Planning Policies (CWPP) are set to be revised regarding tribal participation and Urban Growth Area swaps.
Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) Director Ashley Arai and Strategic Operations Coordinator Andrew Boughan met with the Board of County Commissioners on November 13 to discuss the update recommendations.
CWPPs are required from counties planning under the Growth Management Act (GMA), as it serves as a framework for Thurston County jurisdictions in coordinating comprehensive plans and collaborating on regional issues.
Thurston County’s CWPPs were adopted in the early 1990s, and they were revised several times over time to align with updated legislation and incorporate new information.
The last amendment adopted in 2015 integrated foundational principles and policies from Sustainable Thurston.
In 2022, a change in state law required that local Indian Tribes be invited to participate in the countywide planning policy adoption process.
“The state actually adopted provisions in 2022, stating that tribes should be participating in the countywide planning policy updates or growth management subcommittee meetings,” said Arai.
Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) staff developed an initial set of changes after requesting input from tribal staff and the Washington State Department of Commerce.
“There has been a lot of work over the last year and a half working with the tribes in this region to draft a language to ensure that they have opportunities to participate in these larger regional planning decisions,” added Arai.
In June 2023, the Urban Growth Management (UGM) Subcommittee directed staff to review the amendments with the Planning Directors and bring a recommendation back for the Subcommittee’s consideration.
On August 19, 2024, the UGM Subcommittee reviewed and passed several recommended amendments to the CWPP.
One recommendation is to add a statement in the introduction clarifying that Thurston County includes reservations and/or ceded lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and Medicine Creek Treaty Tribes, including the Nisqually Indian Tribe, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, and Squaxin Island Tribe.
It was also recommended that a preamble and three new policies be added, emphasizing the expectation for collaboration among jurisdictions and tribes (New Policy 1.3), recognizing tribal sovereignty and tribal governmental authority (New Policy 1.4), and identifying the need for cooperation on utilities, transportation, and economic development (New Policy 1.17).
The UGM Subcommittee also recommended amending Policy 10.3(c) to clarify that it includes rivers and creeks and fish habitat and passage and revising Policy 11.3 to provide tribes with representation on the UGM Subcommittee.
Section II of the CWPPs currently includes criteria for evaluating proposals to expand or reduce the Urban Growth Area Boundary (UGAs).
In 2022, state laws revised the GMA to allow counties to adjust UGAs during periodic reviews if they “determine that patterns of development have created pressure in areas that exceed available, developable lands within the urban growth area.”
“In 2022, the state created a new tool for Urban Growth Area swaps for comprehensive planning reviews,” said Arai. “Essentially, what that said is that instead of just taking land out of the UGA or just putting land into the UGA, jurisdictions could opt to swap land in and out as part of one proposal.”
The concept is to swap land within the UGA for lands outside the UGA in a manner that does not lead to more urban areas overall.
In 2024, the state passed a second UGA swap tool for annual Comprehensive Plan amendments. The criteria for this revision are similar but not identical to the first version.
In response to this new state law, the UGM Subcommittee recommended adding two policies to Section II of the CWPPs on August 19, 2024.
The cities of Tumwater and Olympia provided a Minority Opinion on the UGA Swap policy recommendations, citing concerns about the lack of a deliberative process and technical consultation with regional planning directors.
“Tumwater and Olympia provided minority opinion expressing concerns about the lack of collaboration, basically the lack of planning director consultation prior to being asked to make a decision,” said Arai.
Aside from ensuring that the revised UGA boundaries provide cost-effective sewer, water, and transportation services, the most recent refinements included clauses to establish Interlocal Agreements (ILAs) for UGA Swaps outlining roles and responsibilities, review process and timelines, public noticing and engagement, land use and zoning, utility provision, and revenue sharing.
“The planning director thought it would be helpful if, at the outset, there's an interlocal agreement that identifies the roles and responsibilities of the respective jurisdictions,” said Arai.
At the BoCC’s direction, the CPED team has met twice with regional planning directors to refine the UGM Subcommittee’s recommendation.
No actions are taken during work sessions, and the planned next step is a public hearing schedule and final updates in January.
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