On Tuesday, Sept. 2, the Woodland City Council took a hard look at its 20-year comprehensive plan update, and the math was blunt: the city doesn’t have enough land to handle county-allocated projected growth through 2045.
“We’re just going to run out of land unless we make some changes within the city limits,” Woodland Community Development Director Travis Goddard told the council.
Under the state’s Growth Management Act, Woodland must show it can accommodate 20 years of housing and job growth. The city currently needs to plan for 689 new housing units — 584 in Cowlitz County and 105 in Clark County — for 2045. The city’s population is anticipated to grow from 6,575 residents in 2024 to about 8,284 in 2045.
The portion of Woodland in Clark County currently hosts 84 housing units.
“The … county is going to have to give us some urban growth boundary or we’re going to have to significantly increase the density,” Goddard explained.
That leaves the city with two clear options: increase housing density inside existing city limits or pursue annexation of land at its edges. City staff noted whether possible annexation areas include Green Mountain Road, the Lewis River corridor, land south of Horseshoe Lake, or Dike Access Road, each option carries steep costs for sewer and water extensions.
“If we were to expand out Lewis River Road, we’re looking at about $2.6 million in water main upgrades to get that up to a 12-inch standard,” Woodland Public Works Director Riely Bunnell told the council, noting that further costs would come with a booster station needed to serve higher elevations.
At the August planning commission meeting, Goddard emphasized the challenge of meeting Clark County’s 105-unit target. He said while the city has capacity for sufficient housing units, the county's portion, situated between the northern and southern shores of Horseshoe Lake, lacks enough vacant lots to fulfill the allocation.
“They could pull out the mobile home park and replace it with an apartment complex. That would be one way to do it, but the only other option is into the rural Clark County properties and annexation is voluntary. So if they never apply for annexation, we can’t accommodate those 105 units in Clark County,” he said.
Annexing land does give the city council options, however.
“There’s more than just asking and yes and no,” Goddard said during last week’s meeting. “They have to be able to justify why it’s in the city’s interest and if they’re going to subsidize city improvements versus the city ratepayers subsidizing this expansion. That’s a policy issue and you can tell them no as many times as you want.”
Councilmember Douglas Freimarck was blunt in his opposition to the county’s housing allocation.
“I’m not impressed with what the county wants at all. I think it’s impractical,” he said. “I personally don’t want the city to change like that so fast. Acquiring land … makes it very expensive to extend the infrastructure up the hill … I think we need to push back on it real hard.”
The city’s planning commission will convene at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, at 200 East Scott Avenue to review the comprehensive plan draft and make a recommendation to the city council for potential adoption or revisions.
