Draft documents available for Sequim’s Comp Plan update

Published 1:30 pm Tuesday, July 21, 2026

After two-plus years of reviewing the City of Sequim’s policies for the 2025 Comprehensive Plan periodic review, city staff recently released full draft documents for public examination.

The package of materials includes the draft 2025 Comprehensive Plan and appendices, updated Title 18 zoning development regulations, and the draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.

“This periodic update is an important opportunity to align Sequim’s long-range planning documents and development regulations with state requirements, community priorities, and our expected growth over the next 20 years,” said Karla Boughton, Sequim’s director of Community and Economic Development. “We encourage residents, businesses, and property owners to review the materials and take part in the public process.”

A 30-day online open house is now available through the city’s website at sequimwa.gov/1301/2025-Comprehensive-Plan with draft materials available for review along with the ability to submit comments.

An in-person open house will be available from 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. before the Sequim Planning Commission meeting on Aug. 4. A previous session was held on July 21.

At the meeting, community members can speak with staff and review key elements of the proposed updates. Online and in-person comment opportunities will remain open throughout the public hearing period, staff said.

Public hearings are currently anticipated before the Sequim Planning Commission on September 1, and before the City Council on September 28.

Submit written comments via email to planningdept@sequimwa.gov or by mail to the Department of Community Development, 152 W. Cedar St., Sequim, WA 98382.

Submitted comments will be forwarded to the Planning Commission and City Council as part of the public hearing process.

City staff’s proposed amendments include related goals, policies, maps, implementing measures, and development code changes associated with Sequim’s required periodic update and related legislative actions.

Boughton said via a press release that the Comprehensive Plan’s proposed updates include a new narrative, updated goals and policies, revised maps, and growth forecasts for projected housing, population, and job growth.

The updated development regulations in Title 18 are intended to bring city regulations into consistency with changes in state law, support proposed plan changes, and advance overall formatting and consolidation efforts.

As part of the periodic update, Sequim must evaluate how it will plan for 20-year population and housing growth projections using guidance from the Washington State Office of Financial Management, the Washington State Department of Commerce, and county-level growth allocation.

By 2045, staff write that they’re planning for the City of Sequim to grow by 2,959 new residents, 909 new jobs, and 1,850 new housing units.

The housing need for 20 years is projected for an annual growth rate of 1.53%.

Boughton said in a previous interview that the main thing the legislature has done for cities like Sequim is remove barriers to increasing housing stock and mandating that different housing types are available for different income bands, such as apartments, town homes, and duplexes.

Work on the city Comprehensive Plan update started in the summer of 2024 with public outreach followed by a year-long review of the city’s policies by the planning commission.

Sequim City Council last approved the city’s Comprehensive Plan update in 2015.

For more information, visit sequimwa.gov/1301/2025- Comprehensive-Plan.