Lake Forest Park Comprehensive Plan Update 2024

On December 12, 2024 the City Council of Lake Forest Park adopted the 2024 Lake Forest Park Comprehensive Plan Update.  The two-year community wide effort involved extensive outreach and public participation, including workshops and an  open house, community survey, numerous special and regular meetings of the Planning Commission, public hearings, and environmental review.  The periodic update is required by the WA State Growth Management Act (GMA) to update the vision, goals, and policies as needed to reflect changes in local conditions, as well as state legislation and regional plans.  The GMA now requires the comprehensive plan to be updated every ten (10) years and the city's next update will be due in 2034.  The final adopted 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update document can be viewed here:

LFP 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update - Final

The public is invited to participate in the 2024 Lake Forest Park Comprehensive Plan Update.  

Public Hearing on the 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update

Monday, December 2, 2024 at 7pm
City Council Chambers, City of Lake Forest Park

Final Comprehensive Plan Update Document

Recommendation Draft to City Council, 2024 Periodic Update of the Comprehensive Plan  

The city's Planning Commission transmitted a recommended draft of the updated Comprehensive Plan, with a cover letter and annotation companion memo, to the City Council for review and action this Fall.  The draft Plan document for the Thursday, September 26, 2024 regular meeting of the City Council can be viewed here:

Planning Commission Recommendation Draft, 2024 Periodic Update of the Comprehensive Plan 

The Planning Commission will be making a recommendation to the City Council.  For the Tuesday, September 10, 2024 regular meeting of the Planning Commission, the draft Recommendation Update document can be viewed here:

Public Hearing Current Working Draft 2024 Periodic Update of the Comprehensive Plan 

For the Tuesday, August 13, 2024 Public Hearing at the Planning Commission, the draft document can be viewed here:

Project Overview


Lake Forest Park is working on the required periodic update of its Comprehensive Plan (also called the “Comp Plan”).  The Comp Plan memorializes the community’s vision for the future and sets goals and policies for growth, infrastructure, and services necessary to achieve the vision and align with the community’s values and priorities.

The Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA) requires cities and counties to review and update their Comp Plans every 10 years (the “periodic update”) for consistency with state law and regional plans.  Lake Forest Park is required to update its plan by December 31, 2024.

Lake Forest Park has changed since the 2015 periodic update, and more change is expected to comply with recent legislative changes and regional transportation plans.  It’s time to update our Comp Plan to proactively plan for the next 20 years.

What’s in the Comprehensive Plan?

The 2024 Comprehensive Plan will update the elements in the 2015 Comp Plan and add the new, required Climate element. We anticipate these elements will be included:

  • Land Use
  • Environmental Quality and Shorelines
  • Housing
  • Economic Development
  • Community Services & Public Safety
  • Capital Facilities
  • Parks, Trails, and Open Space
  • Utilities
  • Transportation
  • Climate

We know there are some big changes to address, and early conversations will focus on:

  • Housing: We need a plan for accommodating growth over the next 20 years, including identifying housing needs for people across all income levels and in all stages of life. The plan needs to be consistent with recent legislation.
  • Climate: We need to integrate initiatives from the Climate Action Plan, including addressing greenhouse gas emissions, EV charging stations, green construction, and preserving tree canopy. We need to consider planning for resilience.
  • Transportation: We need to incorporate the Safe Highway and Safe Streets planning initiatives to improve infrastructure throughout the city.

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LFP HOUSING FORUM

LFP Community Housing Forum - Created for Residents, by Residents!

Recently, a community forum was held at City Hall.  The video of the meeting can be found on YouTube.  The slide deck can be found here: Slide Deck

To be notified of upcoming meetings, please fill out the survey here: Housing Forum Survey

COMMUNITY SURVEY

The City of Lake Forest Park published an interactive community survey on an online platform, which was available to the public between March 27 and April 23, 2024.  The survey was part of the 2023/2024 Periodic Update effort for the Comprehensive Plan and asked participants about the community’s vision, housing, land use, transportation, capital facilities, and environmental stewardship.  A total of 932 people participated in the survey, with 493 people (52.9%) completing the survey in its entirety.  Of those who opted to respond to the demographic questions, 100% of participants indicated that they are Lake Forest Park residents (494 responses) whose preferred language is English (492 responses).

The Community Survey Summary report has been received by the City and is available at this link:  City of Lake Forest Park Comprehensive Plan Survey Summary


What is a Comprehensive Plan?

What is a Comprehensive Plan?

Washington State has a complex planning framework that places Comprehensive Plans at the center of local planning efforts.

PSRC Vision 2050

Image Source: PSRC Vision 2050

The Comp Plan explains how the City will be consistent with State laws, regional transportation and growth policies in the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Vision 2050, and King County’s Countywide Planning Policies, while also meeting the needs and expectations of the people that live, work, and spend time in the city.

Why is the Comprehensive Plan Important?

The Comp Plan is a policy document that guides City decisions on how to accommodate growth and development.  The Plan reflects how the people who live, work, and spend time in Lake Forest Park want to see the community evolve.

Project Schedule & Engagement Opportunities

Project Schedule and Engagement Opportunities

Your participation is crucial to our work!  Join us at the following events:

Resources

Related Documents

Reports & Presentations

Agendas, minutes, and meeting videos for Planning Commission meetings are available here.

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Contact

Mark Hofman, AICP, Community Development Director
Email Mark Hofman
206-957-2824