On Monday, June 3, the Area Council held its regular monthly meeting at the Maple Valley Fire Station and via Zoom. Major topics discussed were:(1) Local Community Plan and (2) 2024 King County Comprehensive Plan Update.
Local Community Plan
King County Strategic Planning Manager, Susan McLain, and Principal Subarea Planner, Kaitlin Harris, attended in person to present an overview of how the upcoming efforts on the Greater Maple Valley/Cedar River (GMV/CR) Community Service Area (CSA). Please note that the Area Council territory makes up much of the GMV/CR CSA and, thus, this will be the Subarea Plan for our local area—the first in over 30 years.
Members of the public will help to define a long-range community vision for the next 20 years. Throughout the process the King County planners will be soliciting and listening to interests raised by community members across the subarea and working with community members to guide development of the plan.
King County planners will facilitate and work with the Public at numerous steps by directly engaging with community members at public meetings, events, etc. They intend to work with a variety of local groups and will be meeting with the Area Council multiple times in the coming months.
The Kickoff will be in mid-September. Efforts will include:
- Scoping—Community Surveys and Meetings—Fall of 2024 (~ 3 mo)
- Preliminary Planning—Vision, goals, and policies—1st half of 2025 (~ 6 mo)
- Draft Plan—For public review and comment—2nd half of 2025 (~ 6 mo)
- Final Plan—1st half of 2026 (~ 6 mo)
In June 2026 the King County Executive will transmit the recommended GMV/CR CSA Subarea Plan to the King County Council for review and final adoption in June 2027. For more on the Subarea Planning Process please see: https://kingcounty.gov/so-so/dept/local-services/buildings-property/development-planning-regulations/subarea-plans.
2024 King County Comprehensive Plan Update (Update)
The Area Council continues to coordinate a Joint Team of nine Unincorporated Rural Area Councils in participating in the Update—a 3-yr effort. The King County Council’s Local Services & Land-Use (LS & L-U) Committee was assigned to review of the King County Executive’s “Recommended Plan” released last December.
Starting in January through mid-May of this year Joint Team members provided over 40 Oral Testimonies at 11 LS&L-U Committee Public Briefings on a wide range of topics, such as: Environment, Parks, Transportation, Services, Facilities, Economic Development, and Development Regulations.
On May 14 the LS&L-U Committee released its “Striker,” a complete revision to the King County Executive’s “Recommended Plan” released last December. The Joint Team reviewed the “Striker” and then proposed Line Amendments (http://gmvuac.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Striker-Assessment.pdf) with regard to the Rural Area to be considered by the LS&L-U Committee. These addressed the following areas of interest:
1. Neighborhood business zones.
2. Materials processing and wood waste processing manufacturing land uses.
3. Mineral extraction and site reclamation code enforcement and periodic reviews.
4. Home Occupations and Industries.
5. Facility standards and urban levels of infrastructure.
6. Agriculture and forestry product processing.
7. Development densities in Rural Towns.
8. King County road corridors and regional integration.
9. Cedar Hills Regional Landfill closure with no further expansion.
10. Out-of-date zoning development conditions for commercial, industrial, and mining activities.
Unfortunately, on May 31, when the LS&L-U Committee released its Line Amendments, none of the Joint Team’s proposals were included. The Joint Team will offer multiple Oral Testimonies of many of these key issues at the June 5 of the LS&L-U Committee. After hearing Public testimonies the Committee will vote on its final Recommendation on the Update to the full Council. Final approval by the full Council will take place sometime this December.
All information on the Update can be found at: https://kingcounty.gov/so-so/dept/council/governance-leadership/county-council/useful-links/comprehensive-plan/2024.
Next Area Council Meeting
The next Area Council monthly meeting will be held Monday, July 1, from 7 – 9:30 PM, at the King County Sheriff’s Precinct #3 located on SE 231st St (directly across from the Maple Valley Fire Station)—FOR THIS MONTH ONLY. Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month (except for Holidays, when they are held on the second Monday). As a hybrid meeting, members of the public will be able to attend either in-person or virtually via Zoom. Meeting announcements, Agendas, and Zoom information is posted on the Area Council’s Website (www.gmvuac.org) and local NextDoor platforms. You can also find us on our FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/GMVUAC/). Each meeting begins with an open Public Comment period where anyone can voice concerns, comments, etc.
Area Council Membership
Your Area Council, founded in 1978, is one of the longest continuously active local councils. It serves as an all-volunteer, locally recognized advisory body to King County on behalf of all rural unincorporated area residents living in the Tahoma School District (TSD). The Area Council, in “working to keep the Rural Area rural,” collaborates regionally with other King County Rural Area organizations through both the Joint Team and its Joint Transportation Initiative.
The twelve-seat Area Council has four open seats. If you have an interest in joining, please send an e-mail to: info@gmvuac.org or attend (either in-person or virtually) a monthly meeting and express your interest. To be eligible to join the Area Council as a Member you need to live within the TSD.
Residents, even those not living within the TSD, are eligible to become Associate Members who can serve (including as Chair or Vice-Chair) on any Area Council Committee: Environment, Growth Management, Transportation, Public Relations, or Train Show. For information on each of these committees please see the Area Council’s Website (www.gmvuac.org) and use the drop-down menu under Committees.
All Monthly Meeting Summary Articles can be found on our Home page in the 2024/2023 GMVUAC Monthly Meeting Articles box or by using the drop-down menu under Correspondence.
