Comp Plan Public Hearing Includes New Climate Element

The newly developed Climate Element for the San Juan County Comprehensive Plan is nearing adoption! The County Council will hold a public hearing on November 25 to accept public comments before formally adopting the updates to the Comp Plan. The following information from the Dept. of Community Development gives details for participating in the public hearing.

San Juan County is updating its Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan) as part of its 2025 Growth Management Act Periodic Update. Throughout the year, individual elements have been reviewed by the Council and Planning Commission and made available for public comment. More information on the development of the Comp Plan Periodic Update is available on the project Engage Page. On November 25, the Council will hold a public hearing and a final review of the Comp Plan with a goal of adopting it by the end of 2025.

November 25: Council will hold the Public Hearing on the draft ordinance available for review here: https://www.sanjuancountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/33871/.

Virtually attend the November 25 public hearing here or sign up here to make a comment. After signing up, you can call in at 9:00 am to join meeting via telephone: +1 360-726-3293 (Phone Conference ID: 853 275 322#). All Council meetings can be accessed via the website under the icon for ‘County Meetings’: https://sanjuancowa.portal.civicclerk.com/?category_id=27.

The Comp Plan Update is on track to be adopted by the end of 2025. In 2026, the County will work on two remaining parts of the Comp Plan Update: Friday Harbor UGA capacity and mineral resource lands Official Map overlay.

Public Engagement

The Comp Plan Update shapes the future of our community, and there are several ways you can participate:

Provide written feedback: Written comments provide an opportunity to share detailed thoughts, concerns, or suggestions. Written comments can directly impact the policies and priorities outlined in the plan. To submit feedback, email your comments or questions to compplan@sanjuancountywa.gov.
Speak at the County Council meeting: The County Council meets regularly on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9:00am. These meetings are open to the public with “Public Access Time” at the beginning of each meeting, where anyone can share their input. Council will hold its next meeting on November 25 where it will also hold a public hearing specifically for the Comp Plan. You can access the meeting live streams and agenda packets on the County’s website: https://sanjuancowa.portal.civicclerk.com/
Stay Informed: Regular updates help you understand the process, follow developments, and participate effectively. View the Guide to Getting Involved in the Comp Plan Update (en Espanol) to learn more about reviewing draft amendments during this project.

For additional information about the Comp Plan Update process, including upcoming meetings, agendas, past drafts, and new documents to review, visit https://engage.sanjuancountywa.gov/2025-comp-plan-update and https://www.sanjuancountywa.gov/589/Planning-Commission.