The Greater Maple Valley Area Council serves as an all-volunteer, locally elected advisory body to the King County Council. It represents all unincorporated area residents living in the Tahoma School District. On Monday, September 11, the Area Council’s regular monthly meeting invited Mr. Paul Reitenbach, Senior Policy Planner for King County, to discuss the of history of land-use zoning changes within the greater Maple Valley area and land-use planning within King County.

King County’s Policy Planning Process

Mr. Paul Reitenbach shared his over 27 years of planning experience and presented information designed to answer land-use policy questions for citizens within the greater Maple Valley area. He provided an historic review of both Zoning and Planning Policy as developed through community and comprehensive plans and finally into County ordinance and code.

Mr. Reitenbach displayed many maps dating from before WW II that showed the greater Maple Valley area and some of its earliest growing pains. At that time a General zoning designation allowing residential development at a density of one home per acre was prevalent throughout the area and the determining factors for development were the existence of roads and sewer lines into an area. In 1964, when the County was under a different Charter and form of government, a Planning Commission existed that developed zoning descriptions and planning policy. At that time the first countywide Comprehensive Plan was written. It pioneered the concept of “urban centers” which was then picked up by planners in other parts of the country.

In the early 70s the first Community Plan--the Bear Creek Middle Plan--was initiated at the local level with County Planning Staff help. In the late 70’s three more community plans were prepared. The first detailed locally driven planning culminated in 1984 with the Tahoma-Raven Heights Community Plan. That plan served as a precursor to much of the zoning and planning policy that exists today in the greater Maple Valley area. In 1985 the County Comprehensive Plan update was driven in part by the Tahoma-Raven Heights Community Plan. These community plans featured a “bottoms-up” approach, with extensive public involvement and citizen advisory committees that met on a regular basis for at least two years.

In 1991 the Soos Creek Basin Plan was developed to address surface water management. The Tahoma-Raven Heights Community Plan updated to reflect the policies of the basin plan included some changes of “urban” areas to “rural” designation to protect salmon-bearing streams. Also around this time the Washington State Legislature passed the Growth Management Act (in 1990) to encourage wise land use and planning.

In the mid-90s, due to budget constraints, the County largely abandoned direct citizen local planning that was prevalent in the earlier Community Plans and adopted a more top-down approach using its Planning Staff. Also, over the years, King County has reorganized its internal departments and planning functions driven by budget and policy decisions. One such change occurred in 1995 when the zoning function was moved to the Department of Development and Environmental Services (DDES) whose main functions were (and still are) approving permits and enforcing land-use ordnances.

In 1994 King County developed its first Comprehensive Plan under the state’s Growth Management Act. New zoning codes were adopted. All existing plans were impacted: the community plan area zoning documents were repealed and replaced by a countywide zoning atlas. The King County Comprehensive Plan was updated in 2000 and every four years thereafter, major updates are accommodated. The next major update is in 2008. Mr. Reitenbach, who is integrally involved in these major updates, described how the process would work for 2008. The Planning Staff will develop a Scope of Work including a list of substantive issues (compiled since the last major 4-yr update in 2004) and submit it to the County Council in March 2007. Following Council approval of the Scope of Work two rounds of six Public Meetings each will be held to solicit comments and recommendations. In March of 2008 the County Executive will submit its draft Comprehensive Plan Update to the County Council. Following hearings and debate the final Comprehensive Plan Update will be approved and adopted by the County Council no later than December 2008.

Next Meeting

The Area Council meets on the first Monday of each month (except on legal holidays) in the conference room of Sheriff’s Precinct # 3 Headquarters (at 231^st St & SR-169 across from Fire Station). The public is invited to attend. Each meeting begins with an Open Comment period to allow the public to voice issues of concern. Our next regular monthly meeting will be held on Monday, October 2, 2006, at 6:00 PM. The starting time is one hour earlier than normal to accommodate invited speakers: (1) City of Maple Valley Mayor and City Manager; (2) MV-BD Chamber of Commerce representatives; and (3) Fred Meyer Public Affairs representative. Comments on Area Council business may be submitted to GMVAC, P.O. Box 101, Maple Valley, WA  98038, or to Dick Bonewits, Chair, at Richb2@msn.com.