Growth Management By the Numbers:
Population, Household, and Employment Growth Targets
in the Central Puget Sound Region

July 2005

Growth targets represent the amount of household, population, or employment growth a local jurisdiction has committed to accommodate by some future year. While cities and counties have a duty to accommodate the targets, they are allowed broad discretion on how they are to do so. Counties and cities have recently adopted the latest set of targets, incorporating new techniques, and extending their planning horizons to 2022 or 2025. For the past year, PSRC has been examining growth targets in the region as part of the Puget Sound Milestones monitoring program. This analysis represents the first time that targets from all four counties have been examined from a regional perspective. It provides insight into the structure and methods of the targeting process, as well as the results.

Growth targets are guided by the Growth Management Act's (GMA) planning goals and, as such, should encourage growth in urban areas. Case law from the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board suggests that growth should be targeted largely to cities within the urban growth area. This is consistent with regional multicounty planning policy, which supports focusing growth into cities and their designated regional growth centers.

This report is also one of a series of VISION 2020 + 20 Issue Papers

Report
Cover, Table of Contents, Chapter 1  [[pdf 342KB]
Chapters 2 and 3  [pdf 975KB]
Chapter 4, pt.1  [pdf 4.4MB]
Chapter 4, pt.2  [pdf 4.4MB]
Chapter 4, pt.3  [pdf 4.7MB]
Chapters 5, 6, 7  [pdf 1MB]
Appendices A-K  [pdf 880KB]

Full Report  [pdf 16MB]

For more information, contact Yorik Stevens-Wajda, 206-971-3276, ystevens@psrc.org
or Ivan Miller, 206-464-7549, imiller@psrc.org.

For a print copy, contact the Information Center, 206-464-7532, info@psrc.org.