July 23, 2024
Skagit County Announces First Drafts of Comprehensive Plan Element Policy Revisions
Skagit County has released first drafts of the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Rural Element and Natural Resource Lands Preliminary Policy Revisions. These documents are now available for public review on our project page. The comment period is now open through Tuesday, August 22, 2024. To ensure the community and Planning Commission can provide robust input, the project schedule has a two-step policy review process. Preliminary draft policy amendments for each comprehensive plan element will be prepared and brought to the Planning Commission for initial comments in phases between July and October 2024.
There be a 30-day written comment period available for each draft element as they are released. Comments and feedback provided will be incorporated into the second draft policy revisions. There will additionally be opportunities to provide public comments during the public hearing phase. Two public hearings will be hosted: one by the Planning Commission and one with the Skagit Board of County Commissioners to allow for comment on all draft elements together between February 2025 to June 2025. More information about the schedule and opportunities to comment on these early drafts may be found on the project webpage.
Review of the Rural and Natural Resources lands policies focuses on a few overarching objectives:
- Consistency with the Growth Management Act (GMA) and current law changes.
- Streamlining of policy language to make it easier to apply and moving procedural details, technical requirements, and specific regulations to Skagit County Code.
- Use of active verbs to enhance readability and engagement.
Furthermore, the focus includes identifying outdated policies for potential removal and recommending the integration of early community input discussions and County staff recommendations into relevant sections, resulting in a cohesive policy framework.
If you would like to comment, please email pdscomments@co.skagit.wa.us with “Skagit County’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan Draft Policies” in the subject line. Include your comments in the body of your email message rather than as attachments. If you prefer to send a written paper comment, if must be printed on 8½x11 paper and mailed or delivered to:
Planning and Development Services Comments on “Skagit County’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan Draft Policies”
1800 Continental Place
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
More information about how to comment is available on the project webpage. For additional information and questions please email Tara Satushek, Senior Planner, at taras@co.skagit.wa.us or Robby Eckroth, Senior Planner, at reckroth@co.skagit.wa.us.
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