2025-2045 Comprehensive Planning

Get involved in planning for YOUR community’s future. Find how you can have a voice in creating the “road map” for the next 20 years of:

  • Housing that is affordable for people who live and work in Skagit County.
  • Parks & recreation accessible for all
  • Economic development for good jobs
  • Transportation infrastructure
  • Public facilities for youth, seniors and community life
  • Energy & utilities to power our future
  • Climate resiliency

Public Participation Information by Jurisdiction

Comprehensive planning is happening in all towns and cities in Skagit County, and for the unincorporated areas of the county. Choose to participate in one or all jurisdictions:

What is Comprehensive Planning?

Cities’ and counties’ comprehensive plans are our “road maps” to the community’s vision for the next 20 years and helps guide how communities will grow, look, and operate. As our community continues to grow, it is vital that we responsibly plan for that growth. The comprehensive plan guides public policy to accommodate the future population, housing, and job growth and plans for the future of many of the things that contribute to the quality of life: parks, housing, economic development, environmental sustainability, transportation, and utilities. To stay current and useful, and as required by the state’s Growth Management Act, we update the plan periodically as required by state law. Community members play an important role in this work so the plan reflects the vision, needs, and goals of our community’s residents, businesses, and partner agencies.

What’s the timeline?
Every town, city and the Skagit County government has until December 2025 to submit updates to the state. Some jurisdictions are on faster timelines, so they can also begin addressing needed development regulations and design standards to align with new comprehensive plan goals.

What can you do?
  • Sign up for updates, via your town or the county’s websites, below.
  • Show up, share your voice in surveys, open houses, and public meetings.
  • Tell your friends, family, clients and partners how they can have a long-term impact on these issues they care about in their communities.
  • Get updates from Community Action: Advocacy@CommunityActionSkagit.org
  • Take leadership by volunteering on a Planning Commission or other resident/citizen committee.
Why is Community Action involved?
A big part of Community Action’s mission is upstream solutions to end poverty. Getting people with lived experience involved in community planning is part of that! We are very interested in every community in the county having:
  • Enough housing that is affordable for people who live and work in Skagit County. Especially for projected for entry-level workers, young families, seniors, and neighbors who hit hard times. For planning purposes, that includes people living at 50%-120% of Area Median Income.
  • Transportation infrastructure to help people live close to where they work, and get around to services and businesses safely and efficiently.
  • Climate change resiliency for vulnerable populations and overburdened communities. People with lower incomes pay a bigger part of their incomes for heating, cooling and weatherization. Lower-income communities are hardest hit by impacts such as flooding and air quality.
  • Economic development that builds business and helps workers thrive. A healthy economy is good for everyone.
  • Parks and recreation for people of all incomes and abilities.

This work is funded in part by:

Funding for our comprehensive planning is made possible with the support from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov.

How do you want your community to grow?

  • Specifically in areas of: Land use, and housing people can afford, community facilities, utilities & transportation, parks & recreation, rural areas, and climate resiliency.