Everyone at Langley City Hall wants to shrink the urban growth area, now it’s a matter of process and getting a pre-approval from Island County.
The city’s planning director, Michael Davolio, showed the city council his latest proposal to essentially reduce the urban growth area (or UGA) to city limits. That was first recommended by the city’s planning advisory board, though Davolio sought to have something slightly larger for fear of not being able to easily increase it should the need arise in the next 20 years.
Required under the state’s Growth Management Act, legislation designed to keep urban areas urban and rural areas rural, the urban growth area Langley had and still has, until the county approves the change, was massive and reflective of population projections 20 years ago.
Langley never swelled to that size, however, leaving the city in a tough spot.
If the city kept the larger urban growth area, it would have to create a plan to provide urban services (sewer, water, sidewalks, street lights) to those areas as part of the 20-year comprehensive plan.
Population projections show a modest growth for the city over the next two decades, which meant it would largely be able to grow within city limits and no longer needed a robust urban growth area.
A possible point of contention for the city, however, was a group of four properties near Coles Road. Under the strict city limit urban growth area recommendation, those would be left out, but they already have a property right to connect to the sewer line that runs through their land to the city waste treatment facility. Davolio said it was a matter of property rights that they had to remain in the urban growth area. Councilman Jim Sundberg characterized it a little differently given the history of the properties.
“(It’s) a matter of leaving them in the UGA, as they have been the last 15 year,” he said.
The council asked Davolio to get confirmation from Island County that the city’s request would be acceptable, and to take it before the Planning Advisory Board prior to the council’s next meeting Nov. 2.
Island County’s planning department is in upheaval as the director, David Wechner, was urged to resign last week (see page 1 story). Island County, along with the three cities on Whidbey Island, are undergoing the process of updating the 20-year comprehensive plan.
