The Clark County Planning Commission has recommended approval of urban growth area changes for Battle Ground, Ridgefield and La Center, setting up a pivotal decision before the Clark County Council as it works to finalize its long-delayed comprehensive plan.
The Jan. 29 recommendation, presented to the council on Wednesday, Feb. 18, supports what is known as Alternative 2, a city-by-city approach that evaluates individual urban growth area (UGA) requests rather than keeping all boundaries unchanged, with some recommended revisions from the commission.
The comprehensive plan is a long-range policy document required under Washington’s Growth Management Act. It guides how the county and its cities plan for population, housing and employment through 2045. Clark County projects 718,154 residents and roughly 269,000 jobs by that time.
The county missed the state’s Dec. 31, 2025, deadline for adopting the updated plan after approving a contract for a countywide agricultural land study. That study was requested in part because Ridgefield and La Center are seeking to expand onto land currently designated as Agricultural Resource, which cannot be reclassified without updated analysis. Ridgefield, meanwhile, is asking the county to expand its UGA to the north and southwest for additional employment and housing capacity, also on land currently designated as Agricultural Resource. La Center, meanwhile, is asking the county to expand its UGA to the north and southwest to create additional employment capacity on land also currently designated as Agricultural Resource.
County staff previously recommended supporting Battle Ground’s request to expand west toward Dollars Corner for employment uses while declining to support expansions proposed by Ridgefield and La Center due to agricultural designations and countywide capacity.
Planning commissioners, however, voted 6-1 to approve Ridgefield’s and La Center’s proposed expansions and approved Battle Ground’s request unanimously with a key modification. Rather than allowing the city to remove the Meadow Glade area from its UGA as part of a land swap, the commission recommended retaining Meadow Glade while also allowing expansion into Dollars Corner.
During Wednesday’s meeting, council members mostly debated how to proceed and whether to hold an additional work session to hear directly from planning commissioners.
Councilor Matt Little said he had expected to hear from the commission in person.
“When I woke up this morning, I thought we were going to have a work session where we heard directly from the planning commission and maybe they couldn't make it today, but I would still love to hear from them like we do with any advisory council … I'd be interested in hearing that,” he said.
Council Chair Sue Marshall questioned whether another session was necessary, pointing to delays that have already slowed the plan update.
“I don't ... see a need to have an additional work session to hear directly from the planning commission,” she said.
Councilor Wil Fuentes agreed, noting the record is already available.
“I agree with you, Chair Marshall, that I don't believe we need an additional work session,” he said, noting previous meeting recordings are available to the council. “It's pretty easy to … follow along and check to see why they made certain decisions on their votes, so it is unnecessary in my opinion to utilize their time and our time to have to go through this again,” he added.
Councilor Glen Yung said he shares concerns about timing but would support inviting representatives if it does not slow the process.
Ultimately, a majority of the council signaled support for inviting a representative from both the planning commission and the Clark County Agricultural Advisory Commission to participate in a future work session, which must take place following a March 18 planning commission workshop on Transferable Development Rights.
