DRAFT 2024 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN NOW AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

Click to View the Week 2 Survey Response Summary

Based on City-wide feedback, the City is updating the Fircrest Comprehensive Plan. The draft Plan is available for public review.

    • What stayed the same?
        • Most of the existing introduction, state planning context, regional planning context, and local planning context sections remain the same, with some copy edits and editing for conciseness.
        • The general organization of the elements has stayed the same.
        • Most maps stayed the same but were redrawn to improve their visual clarity. Some maps were updated with new information.

       

      What is new in this Draft?

        • There are new policies to ensure the plan complies with the Growth Management Act (GMA), Pierce County Countywide Planning Policies, PSRC’s VISION 2050 Regional Growth Strategy.
        • Each element used to have its own vision section, but these were redundant with the goals and policies of the elements, so they were removed. This new draft plan has an updated, overarching vision statement that guides the entire plan and the City’s goals and policies for the next 20 years.
        • The Community Character Element from the previous plan was renamed as the Community Development Element.
        • The Climate Resilience Element was added. A change to the GMA requires Comprehensive Plans to include a Climate Resilience element with policies addressing climate resilience and greenhouse gas reduction.
        • The previous plan included long discussion sections that were not actual policies. In the new draft, these discussions were incorporated into policy language or deleted.
        • The document was redesigned to improve readability and to add photos of Fircrest.

       

      How does this Draft respond to feedback we have received so far?

      • The new proposed vision statement was drafted with input from community members, the Planning Commission, and City Council.
      • The plan incorporates comments and edits from City staff and based on feedback from the community survey conducted in 2023.

 

BACKGROUND

Comprehensive plans are the centerpiece of local planning efforts. A comprehensive plan articulates a series of goals and policies to guide City actions, standards, and the decisions of elected officials and local government staff while maintaining a long-range (20-year) perspective.

The Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA) requires cities and towns in Pierce County to perform a “periodic review” and update their local comprehensive plans by December 2024. The City of Fircrest will plan for the community’s future through this update to its Comprehensive Plan (the “Plan”).

The Plan is a document that guides the City’s decisions on a range of topics and services over a 20-year period. It will address include community character, land use, housing, community development, parks, transportation, utilities, capital facilities, the environment, and climate change. The Plan is also meant to reflect the City’s and community’s vision and priorities while meeting the requirements of state and federal law.

Work on the update will occur between now and December 2024. When adopted, the Plan will be in effect from 2024 to 2044.

Click on the arrow to read more below.

WHY IS THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN BEING UPDATED?

The GMA requires that cities and counties update their comprehensive plans on a periodic schedule.  This is an opportunity to revise population and employment growth forecasts with the most up-to-date data, review existing policies to ensure they make sense for the community, write new policies that reflect the current priorities of Fircrest, and confirm that all federal state and local requirements are met.

The purpose of the 2024 Update is to comply with the requirements of the GMA in RCW 36.70A.130 for the City of Fircrest to:

  • Plan for the next 20 years of population and employment growth; and
  • Revise the Plan, as needed, and development regulations to ensure they comply with the requirements of the GMA.

The deadline for adoption of this update is December 31, 2024.

The City wants to start the update process by listening to you to understand your hopes and preferences for Fircrest’s future. Here are ways to get involved and receive updates:

 

    • Get Involved: Participate in workshops and surveys to let us know what you think the City should prioritize. View upcoming agendas for City Council and Planning Commission regular meetings, study sessions, and workshops.

 

  • Stay tuned: Check this website for project updates