Monitoring

Program summary

Amendments to the Growth Management Act (GMA) in 1997 created a review and evaluation program requirement, which is often referred to as the Buildable Lands Program. It is required for six urban counties and the cities within their boundaries and is optional for all others. The six counties are Clark, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, and Thurston.

In 2017, ESSB 5254 was passed by the Washington State Legislature. The passage of this legislation constituted the first major revision to the program since its inception in 1997. The 2018 Buildable Lands Guidelines are also the first update since the original Guidelines were published in 2000. Clark County and its cities are launching a review of the guidelines. The next steps are to identify new requirements outlined in the guidelines, gather public feedback and recommend to council any modifications to the current methodologies, if necessary. Read more. 

Local governments monitor development density to determine whether a county and its cities are achieving urban densities sufficient to meet state growth projections. Clark County publishes a Buildable Lands Report during its periodic review of the comprehensive growth management plan that includes information on residential and employment densities as required by RCW 36.70A.215.  The Buildable Lands Report offers local governments the opportunity to coordinate and evaluate available land supply to be sure they have enough land for development and that their Comprehensive Growth Management plans are doing what they are expected to do.

Since 2000, Clark County has been coordinating with its cities monthly to collect development data documenting each jurisdiction’s progress toward its growth management goals. The data helps the county and cities fulfill the state requirement of the Buildable Lands Report (RCW36.70A.215) to determine whether urban growth areas contain enough land to accommodate future residential, commercial and industrial growth.

NOTE: Permit data for 2019 is unavailable. The county and its cities are in the process of updating the Plan Monitoring program based on new guidance from the Department of Commerce. For more information visit the project page.

Data transfer protocols (PDF)

Buildable Lands documents (PDFs)

Comprehensive Growth Management Plan Implementation Monitoring Report (PDFs)

Critical Areas Summary Report (PDFs)

Non-Residential Summary Report (PDFs)

Residential Summary Report (PDFs)

Detail Report (PDFs)

Population and employment capacity (PDFs)*

*Note: The capacity analysis is based on a snapshot of the Vacant Buildable Lands Model run. It does not represent total capacity as it does not include redevelopment potential.

Troubleshooting

Data not available (NA) -- You will receive this message if the data is not yet available. It may take up to 60 days to compile and verify monthly data.

Pre 2001 data missing - City data prior to 2001 may be missing because of inconsistencies in the way the data was compiled. Contact the city for additional information.

Reports do not show the desired data - Call Community Planning at (564) 397- 4558. We cannot reformat the report, but we may be able to show additional data. We can also create specific reports that identify school or fire districts for new single-family residential units. If we cannot provide the desired data, you will need to contact the city directly.

Data seems wrong - If you believe the data is incorrect, please call Community Planning (564) 397- 4558.

 

 

Links
Washington State Department of Commerce
Vacant Buildable Lands Model