Snohomish County Tomorrow Agenda Bill

Steering Committee Action Item 4.a.

Date: December 1, 2021

Subject: 2044 Initial Growth Targets

Exhibits: 1. SCT Planning Advisory Committee Recommendation

2. VISION 2050 Regional Growth Strategy and Buildable Lands Capacity by
Regional Geography: Population and Employment
3. 2044 Growth by Jurisdiction: Population and Employment line graphs
4. Jobs to Population Ratios by Jurisdiction
5. 2044 Initial Population and Employment Targets (CPP Appendix B format)
6. SCT Community Advisory Board Recommendation on Growth Targets
7. PowerPoint presentation to SCT Steering Committee on Oct 27/2021

Summary Statement:
The Planning Advisory Committee on October 14, 2021, recommended initial population and
employment targets for the year 2044 to the Steering Committee for approval and transmittal to the
Snohomish County Council for adoption into Appendix B of the Countywide Planning Policies.

Background:
City and county comprehensive plan updates in 2024 are required under GMA to be based on the
most recent Office of Financial Management (OFM) population projections for Snohomish County.
The distribution of projected growth to county subareas, including cities and unincorporated urban
and rural/resource areas, according to Countywide Planning Policy GF-5, is to be accomplished
through the cooperative planning process of SCT.

GF-5 also requires that the subcounty growth allocations address the requirements of the Puget
Sound Regional Council’s Vision 2050 Regional Growth Strategy (RGS). The RGS outlines a
strategic framework for accommodating future population and employment growth in the region
which builds upon the urban growth area (UGA) emphasis provided in the GMA. In addition, the
RGS contains specific numeric guidance for the distribution of future growth in the region. This is
accomplished by assigning population and employment growth for the period 2017-2050 to
different “regional geographies” within counties of the central Puget Sound region. The six regional
geographies, and the Snohomish County jurisdictions to which they apply, are:

1) Metropolitan City: Everett

2) Core Cities: Bothell, Lynnwood
3) High Capacity Transit (HCT) Communities:
o Arlington, Edmonds, Marysville, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo (cities)
o Bothell MUGA, Edmonds MUGA, Everett MUGA, Larch Way Overlap, Lynnwood
MUGA, Mill Creek MUGA, Mukilteo MUGA (unincorporated portions of SWUGA)
4) Cities & Towns: Brier, Darrington, Gold Bar, Granite Falls, Index, Lake Stevens, Monroe,
Snohomish, Stanwood, Sultan, Woodway

Contact Person:
Stephen Toy, 425-388-3311, ext 2361
Snohomish County Tomorrow Agenda Bill
Steering Committee Action Item 4.a.

5) Urban Unincorporated Areas: Remaining Urban Unincorporated areas (Brier, Mountlake

Terrace and Woodway unincorporated MUGAs, Paine Field area, Lake Stickney and Silver
Firs Gap, Maltby UGA, and all unincorporated non‐SW UGAs)
6) Rural: Rural Designated Lands.

The RGS distributes forecasted growth primarily within the designated urban growth area, with
particular emphasis on development near high-capacity transit and in urban centers (i.e.,
metropolitan cities, core cities, and HCT communities) throughout the region. This urban growth
strategy is designed to minimize environmental impacts, support economic prosperity, advance
social equity, promote affordable housing choices, improve mobility, and make efficient use of new
and existing infrastructure.

Note that the growth accommodation challenges some jurisdictions will face in implementing the
RGS are to be understood within the additional context provided by CPP GF-5: that the SCT
allocation process “shall seek compatibility with the RGS, considering levels of infrastructure
investment, market conditions, and other factors that will require flexibility in achieving growth
allocations.”

The SCT Planning Advisory Committee formed a PAC Working Group which met six times, from
May through September 2021, to work on the development of the draft 2044 initial population and
employment targets by jurisdiction. A final draft 2044 initial target distribution that achieves the
growth accommodation objectives of the RGS for Snohomish County jurisdictions was approved by
the PAC at their October 14th meeting.

On October 27th, the Steering Committee discussed the PAC’s recommendation. The Steering
Committee could make a recommendation at their December 1st meeting. The SCT 2044 initial
growth target recommendation would then be sent to the County Council for consideration and
adoption into Appendix B of the CPPs, replacing the current 2035 targets.

Executive Committee Recommended Action:

The Executive Committee has scheduled the PAC-recommended 2044 initial growth targets for
potential approval by the Steering Committee at the December 1, 2021, regular meeting.

Contact Person:
Stephen Toy, 425-388-3311, ext 2361 SCT Steering Agenda Bill_2044-Targets_Dec-1-2021.doc