What is a Comprehensive Plan

A comprehensive plan is a long-range planning document that establishes policies to help the City manage growth over a 20-year period. Comprehensive planning is required by the Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA). The process looks at the city from a bird's-eye view and evaluates how best to accommodate future growth. The planning process will include understanding the community’s vision for the future and then assessing citywide goals and policies to ensure future growth and development occurs in a way that will preserve the quality of life for residents and protect the environment and important natural resources.

Updating the Comprehensive Plan 

The Washougal Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2016, with a planning horizon through 2035. This last update was limited to a minor update to population and job projections. The current plan update will have a planning horizon of 2025-2045 and will assess and analyze land-use and development regulations, with a specific focus on middle housing development as well as integrate recent state mandates in the GMA including housing requirements, critical areas, and a new Climate element. The update process will also include revisions to capital facilities plans that encompass stormwater, water and sewer facilities, transportation facilities, parks and recreation facilities, and city owned buildings. 
  

For this periodic update Washougal must plan for the following through the year 2045: 

• 6,724 new residents 
• 3,735 new housing units
• 2,100 new jobs

There are three recent changes to state law that require the City to plan for housing that meets the needs of the entire community. Changes include the requirement to allow up to two middle housing units on each residential lot, increasing the number of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) per residential lot to two, and planning for and accommodating housing at all affordability levels. You can read more about how these state mandates by reviewing the Middle Housing Factsheet
 
Following engagement with the community in fall 2024, City officials and staff, the City  developed two land use alternatives that can meet the required population, housing, and job needs. In March 2025, the City hosted a Land Use Alternatives Open House to present the two alternatives to the Washougal community.  

In April 2025, Washougal City Council approved a preferred land use alternative that maintains existing zoning within the City limits and Urban Growth Area and places a greater emphasis on residential development in the Town Center and Commercial Districts near the city center. Community members supported this approach for its focus on directing growth to areas with existing infrastructure and services, and for its vision of fostering a vibrant community hub in the downtown and waterfront areas. 

Preferred Land Use Alternative (click to enlarge)

NEXT STEPS

Along with the preferred land use alternative map, the City is continuing to update various elements of the Comprehensive Plan document, including goals and policies that will help guide further growth and development in Washougal. City staff will review these updates with Planning Commission and City Council during Summer 2025. 

The following draft Comprehensive Plan Elements have been presented to Washougal City Council and/or Planning Commission: 

• Land Use
• Housing
• Economic Development

SCHEDULE

The comprehensive plan update process began in May of 2024 and all final plan updates and associated policies or regulations are anticipated to be adopted by Washougal City Council in early 2026. The following schedule outlines the high level phases of the project and key points for community engagement.

GET INVOLVED IN SHAPING THE FUTURE OF WASHOUGAL

To ensure the comprehensive plan update reflects input from the community, the City would like to hear from you. Check out our Engage Onward page for how you can get involved and provide feedback.