The state’s landmark Growth Management Act (GMA) turns 35 this year, and assessing how well it has aged depends in large measure on where one lives. That’s the take of former longtime La Conner Town Administrator John Doyle, now a Skagit County Fire District 13 commissioner.
In some jurisdictions, the GMA is under attack, and that sucks,” Doyle explained. “It was implemented to encourage public participation and comprehensive planning, to do away with decision-making in smoke-filled rooms, and prevent urban and suburban sprawl.”
But with pressure to add more than 1.1 million new homes statewide in the next 20 years to meet expected population growth and address Washington’s current housing shortage, the GMA has faced scrutiny, criticism, and attempts to weaken it by lawmakers and special interests more amenable to development in rural areas.
La Conner, however, is a jurisdiction where the spirit of the GMA remains intact.
A prime example is the planning process begun here last year related to proposed revitalization of the town’s formerly bustling south end industrial area, now an under-utilized commercial transitional zone.
Awarded a $45,000 state Department of Commerce grant, the Town this past summer enlisted La Conner consultant Tom Beckwith and his team of architects and engineers to draft a mixed-use plan for the four-acre sub-area based in great part on public input gleaned from several community forums and an online survey.
The survey, which drew more than 100 respondents, reflected a wide-ranging wish list of desired uses for the area, the bulk of which is owned by Triton-America and was formerly site of the Moore-Clark fish feed production plant. That list included, but wasn’t limited to, a farmer’s market, performing arts center, crafts studios, retail space, restaurants, kayak and wooden boat building, art galleries, and shoreline access.
Housing — from controlled-cost living space for visiting artists to high-end condos — also made the survey list.
The Beckwith group proposed the development of mixed-income housing, which is a goal of GMA, in the Town’s pay parking lot off Moore Way. That part of the plan called for shifting parking west toward vacated Second Street on the Triton property, provided, of course, that the Town were to acquire those parcels.
But another GMA goal — citizen participation — came into play at that point. Community members expressed concern that the south end parking lot would not be a good location for new housing, some citing potential for traffic congestion in the area, remoteness from the school campus and the town’s lone grocery store, and possible impacts on the adjoining neighborhood.
The Town planning staff responded by editing the proposed parking lot housing from the draft south end plan.
Town Assistant Planner Ajah Eills said that La Conner is firmly committed to a public participation program, noting it is a regular agenda item at planning commission meetings.
She and Town Planner Michael Davolio have repeatedly said that the final version of the south end sub-area plan will be added as an appendix to La Conner’s comprehensive plan, which is currently being updated. The GMA offers direction to cities and counties on how to construct comprehensive plans and related development regulations.
In essence, Ellis said, a comprehensive plan is a community’s long-term vision and blueprint for its development.
“The GMA provides a more coordinated approach to land use planning,” she said, adding that requirements of the GMA have been applied to the sub-area plan.
Eills noted that one effect of GMA restricting development beyond the urban growth areas of towns and cities is that it leads to housing density and in-filling of vacant lots to meet county population projections.
The situation is further stressed in La Conner because of basic supply and demand. The town is desirable because of its quality of life but has a limited number of buildable lots. Expansion isn’t an option due to La Conner being bounded by both farmland and Swinomish Channel, driving up housing costs and thus making affordable housing a tough prospect.
In response, the Town has reduced required residential lot sizes, allowed increased residential use of commercial buildings, and encouraged the construction of accessory dwelling units on developed residential properties.
The GMA was adopted in 1990 because, as Doyle indicated, state lawmakers at the time found that uncoordinated and unplanned growth posed a threat to the environment, sustainable economic development, and the quality of life in Washington.
Fast forward 35 years and the La Conner Planning Commission on March 18 will continue its review of the south end sub-area plan and on March 25 the Town Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the draft document.
The GMA, while not expressly on either agenda, will still be a presence both nights.
“The Growth Management Act,” Eills pointed out, “promotes community access to the planning process.”
