Our Camas 2045

The City of Camas is undertaking a multi-year initiative to update the City’s comprehensive plan. The Our Camas 2045 Comprehensive Plan will establish a vision for our community and will articulate goals, objectives, policies, and actions to guide growth and development through 2045.

Why are we updating the plan? Washington’s Growth Management Act (GMA) requires every county and city in the state to conduct a periodic update of their comprehensive plan and development regulations. The purpose of an update is to reevaluate and update the goals, objectives, policies, and actions in response to public input, new state requirements, and changes in the existing conditions or anticipated future conditions.

A lot has changed since Camas’ comprehensive plan was last updated in 2016. We have seen our population grow quickly, as well as changes in our community’s demographics, businesses and industries. In addition, new state legislation on housing and climate change has been introduced requiring updates to the housing element and the addition of a climate element.

• HB 1110: Known as the “middle housing” bill, HB 11101 aims to increase housing options by requiring cities to allow more types of residential structures, such as duplexes, triplexes, and townhouses, in single-family areas. This bill requires Camas to allow up to two residential units per lot in all areas where single-family housing is allowed or up to four units within a ¼ mile of a major transit stop or if two of the units are affordable.
• HB 1220: This bill requires cities to “plan for and accommodate” housing affordable to all income levels, including moderate, low, very low, and extremely low income households and provide for moderate and high density housing to meet this need. The bill also requires the City to review programs, actions, policies and regulations that might be a barrier to new housing production and availability, including those that may have contributed to racial disparities.
• HB 1337: This bill requires the City to allow up to two accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on residential properties. ADUs are smaller housing units on properties with an existing primary dwelling unit, and the City currently allows one ADU on residential properties.
• HB 1181: This bill requires Camas to develop and adopt a new climate element (or chapter) in the comprehensive plan. The element must identify actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and identify strategies to improve the community’s resilience to hazards associated with climate change (e.g., wildfires, drought).

How do you know how much housing and employment to plan for over the next 20 years? The Washington Office of Financial Management provides population projections and the Washington Employment Security Department provides employment projections to counties throughout the state. The counties then allocate a share of those projections to each entity within its jurisdiction based on the land available within the city to support more housing and jobs. Based on Clark County’s allocations, Camas will need 4,226 new housing units and 11,615 new jobs over the next 20 years. The comprehensive plan update must plan for this growth and ensure available land and infrastructure is available to support the projected housing and jobs needs.

What goes in a comprehensive plan? Comprehensive plans are organized into planning elements, or chapters, that include a vision, overview, goals and policies specific to each element. Our Camas 2045 will develop the following elements:

• Community Character (new) – will describe the desired character of the built and natural environments in the city based on the community vision.
• Climate (new) – will address how the city is planning for the effects of climate change and identify actions for a more resilient community. See additional details below.
• Land Use – will identify the location and type of different land uses throughout the city. This element includes the updated comprehensive plan map.
• Housing – will address how the city will provide a diverse range of housing options to support community members at various income levels, as required by HB 1220.
• Natural Environment – will address the city’s natural environment, including its tree canopy, and actions to support its preservation.
• Transportation – will address the transportation system needed to support anticipated growth and development.
• Public Facilities and Services – will address utility and public service needs to support anticipated growth and development.
• Economic Development – will address the city’s goals for economic development and actions needed to support job growth.

What will go in the climate element? As noted above, HB 1181 requires the adoption of a climate change and resiliency element, which includes Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Resiliency sub-elements.

The purpose of the GHG sub-element is to identify actions Camas will take to:

• Reduce overall GHG emissions generated by transportation and land use;
• Reduce per capita vehicle miles traveled; and
• Prioritize reductions that benefit overburdened communities.

The purpose of the Resiliency sub-element is to identify actions Camas will take to:

• Equitably enhance resiliency to, and avoid or substantially reduce the adverse impacts of, climate change in communities and ecological systems.
• Prioritize actions that benefit overburdened communities that will be most impacted by natural hazards due to climate change.

Clark County recently completed an analysis of local and regional climate data, including GHG emissions and vehicle miles traveled, which provides a benchmark for Camas to reduce GHGs and vehicle miles traveled through our comprehensive plan. A variety of community events will provide opportunities for community members to contribute ideas on how we can reduce our emissions and improve Camas’ climate resiliency.

Our Camas 2045 is guided by three advisory committees – the Community Advisory Committee (CAC), Project Advisory Committee (PAC), and Climate Policy Advisory Team (CPAT). The committees review and comment on draft products, guide public outreach and engagement efforts, provide technical and professional direction, act as liaisons to specific interest groups, and act as champions of Our Camas 2045. Committee rosters and meeting summaries can be found under the Project Documents tab on the right side of this page.

Multiple outreach events have been, and will continue to be, held to provide community members with opportunities to engage in the planning process and share your ideas. Previous events included the Our Camas 2045 table at First Fridays, the Farmer's Market, and Camas Days, and two Community Summits. An overview of the project schedule is provided below.

In conjunction with Our Camas 2045, the City has developed a draft Subarea Plan for Downtown Camas. Our Downtown Camas 2045 will set a more detailed vision for Downtown Camas.

The next opportunities for community members to provide comments on the draft Comprehensive Plan and Subarea Plan will be at City Council and Planning Commission meetings. For upcoming meeting dates and times, please visit the City’s legislative meetings portal.