On May 20, 2026, the Island County Planning Commission held a public hearing on the final drafts of the Comprehensive Plan and the County's Development Regulations. The room and Zoom were both packed with community members who gave public comments calling for substantive changes to aspects of both the Comprehensive Plan and the Development Code. WEAN Executive Director Marnie Jackson and Engagement Director Amanda Bullis both gave public comments sharing their concerns. Bullis pointed out the limited scope of the definition of "no net loss" in the glossary of the Comprehensive Plan and the lack of mitigation sequencing in the guiding document. Jackson spoke to the organization's concerns around the current rural cluster code, the lack of funding in the 6-year capital improvement plan for implementation of sewer alternatives, and the County's agreement with Oak Harbor to allow annexation of green lands before contending with the "donut hole" neighborhoods already surrounded by city land that lack municipal amenities.

In addition to a line-by-line analysis of the plan draft and a report on the failures of mitigation projects in the county, WEAN submitted an analysis of the rural cluster development schema in writing to the Planning Commission, BOCC, and county staff:

"The proposed Rural Cluster (RC) development scheme does not fulfill its stated purposes. It will produce impacts to aquatic systems much more severe than what is allowed under “traditional” single lot development. It does not protect critical areas due to failure to address the exemption of nonconversion logging from County critical area protections. It will arguably convert more defacto (informal) open space to development than under single lot development. It will not provide affordable housing in the income brackets that the land capacity analysis identifies as having a housing deficit. And it will drive rural sprawl."

WEAN member Carlos Andersen gave public comment requesting that the County fulfill its deed obligations to Deer Lagoon Preserve by creating an official preserve designation in the Parks and Rec element of the Comprehensive Plan that would provide a conservation framework to properly care for the Audubon-designated Important Bird Area. Bike Whidbey had several representatives at the meeting, who, among other things, asked for improvements to the shoulders of county roadways to increase biker safety.

You can see the county staff's summary of the oral comments as well as written comments submitted here. You can view the entire meeting, including public testimony, here.

The initial hearing ended without the Planning Commission voting on either "findings of fact" presented by county staff, so the meeting continued to a date certain on May 27. "Findings of fact" are the evidence-based reasons used by the county to justify plan and code adoption. The "findings of fact" for both the Comprehensive Plan and the Development Regulations were written by the planning department on behalf of the Planning Commission for review. The most notable finding, as it pertains to the passing of the Comprehensive Plan, is finding number 13:

"The Commission makes the following findings regarding elements of the comprehensive plan:

a. The changes made to the Land Use and Housing Elements meet the requirements outlined in RCW 36.70A.020(4) to plan for and accommodate housing affordable to all economic segments of the community.

b. The changes made to the Land Use and Housing Elements made adequate provisions to create capacity for the County’s housing allocations at all income levels.

c. The Capital Facilities Element, including the projects outlined in the Capital Facilities Plan, plans for the necessary public facilities and services to support the current population and expected population growth.

d. The Climate Element identifies pathways to create community resiliency to climate hazards and is reflected in policies across all elements of the comprehensive plan.

e. The Clinton community (which is primary made up of two Limited Areas of More Intensive Rural Development (LAMIRDs)) has necessitated further planning efforts since being designated as LAMIRDs in 1998.

f. Planning staff led a multi-year effort to engage the Clinton community and gather input regarding the vision for the future of Clinton and utilized that information to draft a Clinton Subarea Plan.

g. The finalized Clinton Subarea Plan is a substantial step towards better defining Clinton’s role as the Southern gateway to Whidbey Island.

h. The Commission supports the expansion of the Town of Coupeville’s Urban Growth Area (UGA) to include the two parcels identified in the Land Use Element.

i. Consistent with the CPPs, it is appropriate to modify the City of Langley’s Joint Planning Area (JPA) overlays to include lands more suitable for urban development if the City requires a UGA expansion in future planning periods.

j. The changes to the Transportation Element comply with the new Multi-Modal Level of Service requirements.

k. Adopting the most up-to-date Air Installation Compatible Use Zones (AICUZ) and Accident Potential Zones (APZ) contours provide the community with accurate information reflecting current Naval operations.

l. The changes made in the 2025 Periodic Update refine and better define Island County’s vision for rural character for the twenty-year planning period."

At the continuation of the meeting, the Commission brought forth very few substantive comments on both the Comprehensive Plan and the Development Code. The Commission did vote to change policy language in the Natural Resources element of the Comprehensive Plan on NR 11.4:

"Encourage forestry landowners to retain their lands in timber production and sustainable forest stewardship and to utilize tax incentive programs."

The Planning Commission voted to change "encourage" to "allow" at the suggestion of Commissioner Schwalbe, who was concerned about the policy promoting logging in the county. Regrettably, the language change also pertains to the second half of the sentence, which now suggests allowing sustainable forest stewardship and utilization of tax incentive programs geared toward conservation like the Public Benefit Rating System, rather than encouraging it.

Commissioner Clyburn brought up concerns regarding the percentage of affordable housing units required in an affordable cluster in the current rural cluster language in the development code.

"A wise woman once told me, when you're writing regulations, you have to think about the ways that people will get around them," said Commissioner Clyburn. He also directly brought up WEAN's concerns and the organization's history of winning against Island County in front of the Growth Management Hearings Board. The Commission did not have the appetite to make the changes suggested by Commissioner Clyburn.

Ultimately, the Planning Commission passed the "findings of fact" for both the Comprehensive Plan and the Development Code during the May 27 meeting. The drafts of both the Comprehensive Plan and the Development Code will now move on to the Board of County Commissioners for official adoption.

The public will have one final opportunity to give comments at the BOCC hearing on the Comp Plan and Development Regulation drafts on a date to be announced.