Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/1050422
Meeting the housing needs for all types of households across a range of income levels is a critical challenge in planning and creating a region that is welcoming and sustainable for all people—new arrivals and existing residents alike PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE It's complicated! According to the state's Growth Management Act (GMA), the goals of Vision 2050 need to reflect several desired outcomes Specifically, the GMA calls for encouraging development in urban areas where public facilities and services exist, reducing sprawl by limiting or avoiding low-density development, encouraging multimodal public transportation systems, promoting a variety of residential densities and housing types, and encouraging preservation of existing housing stock There is the need also to protect the environment and enhance the state's high quality of life, to encourage citizen involvement in the planning process, and to ensure coordination between communities and jurisdictions to reconcile conflicts WHO DOES THE PLANNING? Many players and moving parts are involved in the process Under federal law, PSRC is designated as the "Metropolitan Planning Organization," an umbrella organization that is required in order to receive federal transportation funding PSRC is an PUGET SOUND REGIONAL COUNCIL LOCAL COMP PLAN REGULATIONS COUNTYWIDE PLANNING POLICIES How Vision 2050 Impacts Housing Policy association of cities, towns, counties, ports, and state agencies that serves as a forum for developing policies and making decisions about regional growth management, as well as environmental, economic, and transportation issues in the four-county central Puget Sound region (King, Snohomish, Kitsap, Pierce) In spite of this important role, PSRC is an 'under-the-radar' public agency that voters seldom hear about Yet its "vision" becomes the template for the multicounty planning policies (MPPs) that are used by elected officials and planners to develop local comprehensive plans and, ultimately, local development regulations This year, PSRC is undertaking a vision update to consider new information and perspectives about a changing region and what's been learned over the past decade. 35 WINTER 2018 master builder