Camas’ proposed land-use map charts course for a growing city

Camas city officials will soon consider a “preferred alternative” land-use map that will chart the course for Camas’ population and employment growth over the next two decades. A part of the city’s ongoing “Our Camas 2045” work updating Camas’ comprehensive plan, the map presented to the Camas Planning Commission in mid-December includes a mix of “hub” concepts that prioritize mixed-use development around a centralized location, or hub, as well as “corridor” concepts developed on linear corridors, similar to the 192nd Avenue corridor near the Camas-Vancouver border. “The hub concept focused on key areas of the city, primary intersections where there were existing opportunities for mixed-use development,” WSP USA Project Manager Nicole McDermott, a consultant for the city of Camas, told Camas Planning Commission members on Dec. 17. The hub concepts provide a “greater sense of walkability and connectivity for the rest of the neighborhood,” McDermott said. She added that city planners and consultants had already been considering a blend of hubs and corridors for the proposed land-use map, but that discussions with the “Our Camas 2045” Community Advisory Committee, Planning Commission and general public helped solidify this line of thinking. “We’d already thought that the preferred alternative would likely be a hybrid of the two,” McDermott said. “And that’s where we ended up, with a hybrid of corridor and hub concepts.” In August, Camas Community Development Director Alan Peters told Camas Planning Commission members that the city needed to plan for growth coming its way over the next 20 years. “We have our employment and population allocations from the state and our housing and climate … projections we need to plan for in terms of growth,” Peters said during the Commission’s Aug. 20 meeting. “Now, how do we achieve that vision?” City leaders approved the “Our Camas 2045” Vision Statement in the summer of 2024. The four-part vision statement centers the city’s long-range planning work around four key areas: fostering an inclusive community “where residents experience a sense of belonging and connection;” embracing Camas’ connection to nature and commitment to preserving its natural resources; preserving Camas’ “small-town feel” despite population growth; and growing the city in a way that preserves Camas’ historic downtown. Peters told Commission members in May 2024, that city staff and consultants had done quite a bit of public outreach before landing on a draft vision statement. “We went to Camasonians in many ways,” Peters said. “We had community events, tables and a mapping exercise at the April and May First Fridays, where we got over 80 responses. We had yard signs out during the plant and garden fair; we had flyers at Chamber (of Commerce) luncheons, at the fire station open house and at downtown retailers. We sent mailers to every Camas household, and a big way we got input was through online engagement.” The public outreach continued through the later summer months and into the fall, when city staff and consultants met with the “Our Camas 2045” Community Advisory Committee, held a public summit and launched an online survey to discuss how the city of Camas might accommodate Clark County’s growth targets for housing and employment, while still meeting the state’s new requirement that cities create a plan to reduce carbon emissions and set citywide climate resiliency goals. According to state and county estimates, the city of Camas will need to accommodate an additional 4,226 housing units by 2045, address housing needs by income level, expand its capacity for lower-income and moderate-income housing, and dedicate space for employment growth that could add an additional 11,615 jobs to the city of Camas over the next 20 years. “We need 1.1 million housing units statewide over the next 20 years,” Peters told city officials in March 2024. “The Clark County Council has already adopted a 2045 population target of 718,154 … a population increase of 190,754 over the Clark County population as of 2023. Clark County has projected that 95 percent of (this) new growth will occur in cities and urban growth areas.” For Camas, which has a little over 4 percent of the existing vacant, buildable residential land capacity in Clark County, the population projections show Camas will need to accommodate around 7,729 more people over the next two decades, increasing the city’s population to 37,080 by 2045. In October, the City held a community summit and opened an online survey to gauge the community’s desires for how Camas might grow its housing and employment capacities over the next two decades. On Dec. 17, the Camas Planning Commission heard the results of this work and saw the first draft of the City’s preferred land-use map showing how the city can meet the state’s and county’s growth allocations and support the “Our Camas 2045” vision. “The preferred alternative focuses on increasing high-density residential capacity in areas with existing infrastructure and proximity to jobs and transit, and increasing opportunities for economic development by allowing more employment diversity in existing industrial areas and providing additional employment lands throughout the City and its urban growth area,” Peters said. The proposed land-use map also includes an 83.79-acre expansion of Camas’’ urban growth area (UGA) north of Lacamas Lake, which would, according to Peters, “bring the Port of Camas-Washougal’s Grove Field into the UGA” and likely include a mixed-employment zone, “allowing the Port to further develop Grove Field, providing employment capacity.” Peters said other changes include converting some of the current commercial zones along Pacific Rim Boulevard to mixed-use. “Property owners at the beginning of the process requested changing (parts of Pacific Rim) to residential,” Peters told the Planning Commission in December. “We thought mixed-use was more appropriate to that area.” He added that having residential developments along Pacific Rim Boulevard could help support commercial and mixed-use developments and could someday help support the extension of the existing C-TRAN bus line in the area, providing better transit connectivity for people living and working in that part of Camas. Another big change on the proposed land-use map includes changing industrial areas to mixed-employment zones, which could, Peters said, “actually increase ... the diversity of uses and bring in (businesses) that can occupy smaller pieces of land (such as) a medical clinic or retail establishment.” Survey: move away from ‘auto-centric’ developments During the Camas Planning Commission’s Dec. 17 meeting, McDermott and Peters also shared the results of a second open house dedicated to the “Our Camas 2045” and “Our Downtown Camas 2045” long-range planning. Around 45 community members attended the Oct. 22, 2024, open house at the Camas-Washougal Fire Department Station 42, McDermott said, and more filled out an online survey in the weeks following the open house event. “Most participants expressed a preference for the hub model over the corridor model. Hubs were seen as more conducive to building community, encouraging walkability and creating spaces where residents could interact and engage in local activities. Many valued the small-town feel that hubs provide, allowing for easy access to daily needs,” McDermott stated in her report to the Commission. “Some highlighted hubs as more suitable for a compact urban design, avoiding the downsides of corridor-style, car-dependent sprawl.” Some community members had concerns about higher-density developments, especially in the city’s historic downtown area, McDermott added. “Many participants expressed a desire to limit the height of downtown buildings to two stories, preserving the traditional aesthetic of the area,” she stated. “There was significant support for incorporating brick and other traditional materials in building façades, reinforcing Camas’ historic character.” Community members also liked the move toward more mixed-use developments, McDermott noted. “These were seen as essential for diversifying the local economy, creating jobs and reducing the need for residents to shop or work outside the community,” she stated. “There was strong support for broadening the tax base with more commercial and retail developments to limit the reliance on Vancouver and neighboring areas for goods and services.” Other community priorities included more walkable and bikeable areas with “bike-friendly streets with green infrastructure like trees and traffic calming devices,” McDermott stated. “Many participants preferred pedestrian-focused, multimodal streets with bike lanes, protected sidewalks and transit stops that connect hubs and local neighborhoods seamlessly. Comments encouraged shifting away from auto-centric developments to … codes that prioritize building design and public space over specific land uses.” Other community priorities, according to McDermott’s report, include “the need for more diverse residential options that cater to different life stages, from younger families to older adults; integrating small-town charm with urban functionality in commercial and mixed-use hubs; focusing on smaller, adaptable buildings in employment hubs rather than large industrial complexes; and incorporating sustainable features such as green roofs or solar panels (to) reflect Camas’ environmental values; and focusing on pedestrian safety and traffic-calming measures to make downtown more navigable for walkers and cyclists.” McDermott said the community members largely opposed one-way street concepts, “as these were seen as disruptive to local businesses and challenging for visitors.” Instead, she noted in her report, “they advocated for improving bike connections to nearby neighborhoods and prioritizing pedestrian-friendly design, particularly on high-speed roads like Northeast Third Avenue.” Community feedback also showed a preference for “preserving the historic downtown core … with a consensus that growth around this area should retain its character. Medium-density near downtown (was) preferred over high-rise developments, which participants felt could overshadow the town’s charm.” The public outreach also revealed broad support for “enhancing downtown Camas with more open and gathering spaces to create a vibrant, welcoming environment.” McDermott said “many participants highlighted the need for improvements to the Mill Ditch trail, which, while valued as a potential recreational asset, currently feels unsafe to some users. Residents would like to see the trail become more accessible, envisioning it as a well-lit, well-maintained pathway that connects community spaces.” City planners will continue working on the “Our Camas 2045” comprehensive plan update throughout the year. Peters said the state has extended the deadline for receiving Camas’ comprehensive plan update by six months, moving the deadline from June 2025 to December 2025.

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