2024 Comprehensive Plan Update
LATEST UPDATES - June 2024
Draft Comprehensive Plan - Now Available!
The draft 2024 Comprehensive Plan was last updated on June 12, 2024. This document is professionally formatted and reflects final input from the Clyde Hill Planning Commission on all Plan elements and their associated goals & policies. As this draft remains a work in progress, there are a handful of incomplete sections as well as placeholders for future expected content.
The Clyde Hill City Council will review the draft Plan in the coming weeks and provide their feedback, which may drive further updates to the Plan. This webpage will be updated as new draft versions are available.
Residents and other members of the public are invited to provide general feedback on the draft Comprehensive Plan by emailing Maia Knox, Assistant City Administrator (maia@clydehill.org) or by providing formal written or oral public comment at an upcoming City Council Meeting. Written public comment for a particular meeting may be submitted to Cityhall@clydehill.org.
Community Open House & Racially Disparate Impacts in Housing Discussion - June 13th
Thank you to everyone who came out to our Comprehensive Plan Open House at City Hall on June 13th! Feedback collected from this event will be summarized and provided to City Council to inform decision making.
The City also solicited input to inform the Housing Element's Racially Disparate Impacts (RDI) analysis, which will be incorporated into the draft Plan shortly. If you weren't able to attend the Open House and would like to comment on challenges related to finding affordable housing, please see the resources below and reach out to maia@clydehill.org.
City Council Comprehensive Plan Study Session - June 20th
The City Council is scheduled to review and discuss the draft Comprehensive Plan, as well as public feedback collected at the June 13th Open House, on June 20th at 6pm. The Council may choose to make changes to the draft plan prior to submission for required external state, regional, & local agency review.
Comprehensive Plan Adoption - Anticipated Late 2024
The City Council anticipates adopting the 2024 Comprehensive Plan update in late 2024, following a thorough review of comments provided by external agencies and the public.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN BACKGROUND
Washington State requires that all cities, including the City of Clyde Hill, periodically update their Comprehensive Plan...and that periodic update is now upon us! This process, which now takes place every decade and was last performed in 2015, can take upwards of two to three years and can cost a considerable amount of money, depending on the needs of the community. Thankfully, the Washington State Legislature is expected to help greatly fund this State-mandated update (estimated at ~$125,000 for Clyde Hill), of which is already well underway. The process of updating the City's Comprehensive Plan will involve numerous outreach efforts to its residents - please be on the lookout for mailers, social media postings, and updates on this webpage! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Eric Jensen at eric@clydehill.org.
For a slightly more in-depth description of this process, please visit the Municipal Research & Services Center.
WHAT IS THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN?
The Comprehensive Plan is the guiding document every city in Washington maintains in order to determine how it develops and manages its land as well as how it provides services to the public. The Plan addresses issues including, but not limited to, how it provides services to the public, what types of residential homes can be built, where sidewalks are planned, and how solid waste is managed. The City's Comprehensive Plan must be in alignment with King County's Countywide Planning Policies, the State's Growth Management Act, and other governing jurisdictional documents. Lastly, the City's Land Use Code must be in alignment with its Comprehensive Plan. Needless to say, the City's Comprehensive Plan is one the three most important documents that the City maintains and which has a significant impact on the lives of its residents (with the other two documents being the City's Annual Budget and the City's Municipal Code). Public participation in the development of this Plan is a step that the City is required to seek, so your input is highly encouraged!
To view a copy of Clyde Hill's current Comprehensive Plan, please use the respective link on the right sight of this webpage.
WHAT IS THE LAND USE CODE?
While a Comprehensive Plan lays out policies regarding land use and government services, a Land Use Code implements those policies into action through municipal code and makes them legally binding. For example, Clyde Hill's Comprehensive Plan includes a policy of protecting the views (Land Use Policy 1.7). The City's Land Use Code takes this policy and specifically codifies it by stating that residential homes can be no higher than 25 feet above original grade (the topography of the parcel from when it existed as of the incorporation of the City in 1953)(CHMC 17.60.020).
Once the City has completed the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan in 2024, it will then begin the process of reviewing and updating its Land Use Code to align it with any changes made to the Comprehensive Plan. That process will also require that the City seek public participation, so your input is highly encouraged!
HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
As a resident of Clyde Hill, your input regarding the Comprehensive Plan process (as well as the eventual Land Use Code process) is important. Your elected officials (Mayor and City Council) and appointed officials (Planning Commission) play an integral part in these processes - ultimately, your City Council will approve the new Comprehensive Plan. Following that step, your City (the City Council and Mayor, collectively) will approve the Land Use Code. However, the City will seek public participation at various stages in order to help guide the development of these deliverables. This is how you can get involved - your contributions can be helpful, necessary, and impactful with respect to shaping the future of Clyde Hill.
Over the next year, there will be opportunities for you to provide input. These will include, but are not limited to, surveys, public meetings, and public hearings. Please be on the lookout for flyers/notices in the mail and social media posts (NextDoor & Facebook). Additionally, please feel free to contact City Staff directly (maia@clydehill.org), members of City Council directly, and/or your Mayor directly. You may also stop by or call City Hall if you are so inclined. Lastly, you can check this web page for updates (provided at the top) regarding upcoming opportunities to provide input.
