The Growth Management Policy Board directed staff to include recommendations from the Housing Issue Paper in the VISION 2020+20 Update.

The recommendations have been reworked to address comments raised by board members in June, July and at the Ad Hoc Committee meeting in early August. The recommendations are:

• Advance a regional housing strategy that provides constructive and specific guidance to localities for providing diverse housing to meet the needs of all economic segments of the region's population.
• Establish a common framework for improving the connections between the growth target, housing provisions, and land use elements of local comprehensive plans.
• Make housing development in the regional growth centers a priority policy.
• Advance and monitor affordable housing targets.
• Establish a regional process for reviewing local housing elements of comprehensive plans.

For more information, contact Carol Naito at 206-464-7535 or cnaito@psrc.org.

The Growth Management Policy Board directed staff to include recommendations from the Rural Issue Paper in the VISION 2020+20 Update.

After extensive discussion on the Rural Issue Paper, additional flexibility has been included in the paper regarding how it potentially applies in each county. The paper recognizes that the goal is to seek overall regional agreement on a clearer vision and strategy for rural lands. However, it also recognizes that the concepts in the rural paper may need to be applied differently in the four counties.

For more information, contact Norman Abbott at 206-464-7134 or nabbott@psrc.org.

The Growth Management Policy Board directed staff to include recommendations from the Environmental Planning Issue Paper, including the papers on Energy Consumption and Infrastructure Capacities as well as the Paper on Sewer Utility Status.

The primary sections of the Environmental Issue Paper discuss (1) regional environmental priorities, and (2) implications for regional planning. The environmental priorities were identified through a process of contacting scientists, planners, and resource managers who work on environmental issues in the four-county region. The paper identifies key environmental indicators and trends. Recommendations address developing alternatives for evaluation during the SEPA phase of the update project, as well as initial guidance for further regional environmental planning activities.

For more information, contact Rocky Piro at 206-464-6360 or rpiro@psrc.org.

The Growth Management Policy Board continued its discussion of proposed regional growth alternatives recommended for analysis in the VISION 2020+20 Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Based on the results of the INDEX scenario sensitivity tests, public comment, and direction from policy board members and the Regional Staff Committee, Regional Council staff has developed a recommendation for four draft alternatives to be further analyzed in the project environmental impact statement. The alternatives represent a range of possible future growth patterns and possible environmental impacts, and were designed to respond to suggestions made during the comment period. The proposed alternatives were reviewed by the GMBP Ad Hoc Committee meeting on August 11, 2005, and the Regional Staff Committee on August 18, 2005. The Policy Board generally concurred with the scope and direction of the proposed alternatives.

The four proposed alternatives are:

1. No Action. Extend current adopted comprehensive plans and growth targets to the year 2040.
2. Metropolitan Cities. Focuses majority of growth into metropolitan cities and core suburban cities.
3. Larger Cities. Focuses the majority of growth into the region's larger suburban cities.
4. Smaller Cities. Disperses growth throughout the urban growth area, primarily focusing growth in smaller suburban cities and the unincorporated urban growth area.

These alternatives and the issues they raise will be considered for action at the September 8 meeting of the Growth Management Policy Board.

For more information, contact Ben Bakkenta at 206-464-5372, bbakkenta@psrc.org or Norman Abbott at 206-464-7134, nabbott@psrc.org.

In other business, the Growth Management Policy Board: