Council Selects Preferred Growth Alternative

On August 20, 2024, City Council confirmed the preferred growth alternative for the Comprehensive Plan. The preferred growth alternative was selected after reviewing various potential growth alternatives from the Draft EIS and Round 2 of Community Engagement.

The preferred growth alternative will shape how Kent grows, develops, and evolves over the next 20 years. It determines the direction of community development for decades to come, impacting daily decisions people make, such as where they live, how they commute, the schools their children attend, and the amenities they have access to. It shapes the long-term sustainability, livability, and inclusiveness of a community, directly influencing the quality of life for all residents.

To learn more about the preferred growth alternative, you can watch the full Council Workshop here.

Features of the Preferred Alternative

• Support for the continued growth of East Hill's existing activity centers and the creation of new locally-serving commercial areas in appropriate locations.
• Support for the infill and redevelopment of the Kent-Canyon Ridge Candidate Countywide Growth Center.
• Assumed continued development and redevelopment in Kent's downtown area and along Meeker.
• Continued implementation of the Rally the Valley plan for Kent's industrial area.
• Allowances for middle housing development and redevelopment throughout the City's neighborhoods, as required by State law.
• Continued development of the Midway area, supported by regional high capacity transit investments.

Future Land Use Map Changes

Modest changes to the City's Future Land Use Map (FLU) are needed to implement the Preferred Alternative. These changes will in turn be implemented by updates to the City of Kent Zoning Map and Kent City Code development standards, which will occur subsequent to adoption of the Comprehensive Plan.

Below is a summary of the changes to the Future Land Use map to implement the preferred alternative:

1. East Hill Activity Centers. Most of these areas already have a FLU designation of Commercial (C), Neighborhood Service (NS) or Mixed Use (MU). Some new activity centers are proposed and others are expanded with these changes.
2. Kent-Canyon Ridge Candidate Countywide Growth Center. This land already has a FLU designation of MU. No changes to the FLU map are needed.
3. Downtown. This land has a FLU designation of Downtown Core (DC). No changes to the FLU map are needed.
4. Industrial Area. This land has industrial FLU designations established by the Rally the Valley plan. No changes to the FLU map are needed.
5. Midway. This area has FLU designations consistent with prior planning efforts. One minor change is proposed for consistency with surrounding area.
6. Middle Housing in Residential Areas. This growth is enabled by State law and applies to existing SF-designated land. No changes to the FLU map are needed.
7. Map Cleanup. Cities regularly make updates to the FLU Map to correct errors or account for development that may be inconsistent with mapped designations. Some changes fall into this category.

Additional Background Information

On June 14, 2024, the City published the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), which evaluated three potential growth alternatives. In order to move forward, the Council must select a preferred growth alternative so staff can prepare the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Comprehensive Plan update. The preferred growth alternative can be one of the three alternatives study, or a combination of them.

The project team built off Round 2 Community Engagement findings to inform a proposed preferred alternative for Council confirmation. The team worked internally with City Staff (subject matter experts), the Land Use and Planning Board, and the Community Advisory Group to identify changes to the Future Land Use Map (FLU) to implement the conceptual preferred alternative.