Comprehensive Plans: Implementation & Analysis

Under One Roof: Analysis of City-Level Affordable Housing Commitments & Actions to Meet Housing Needs in King County

King County cities have recently updated their comprehensive plans, but there is still much to be done to implement the new plans. In 2016, HDC Commissioned Under One Roof from the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance. The report is a review of changes the comprehensive plans of 19 King County cities’ as a result of HDC advocacy, analysis of local priorities, and examination of which policy commitments have been implemented and which are still left to do.

HDC looks forward to working with cities in the coming years as they create Housing Strategy Plans and work to implement, monitor, and evolve their housing policies and programs.

HDC thanks the Evans School team; Alexander Casey, Alena Marshak, Rose Rubel, and Xinwei Wang for their dedication and the thorough research that went into this project.

To learn more about the comprehensive plan process and the tools cities can utilize to address their local housing conditions and needs, be sure to review our local policy toolkit.

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Housing Element Updates

As we look to the future, we want to make sure our communities grow and change in ways that foster diversity and equity. To that end, we encouraged our advocates to contribute to the Housing Element update process. During this round of comp plan updates, HDC staff, members, and advocates took over 103 actions in 19 cities to ensure comp plans included strong affordable housing policies

Most cities have now completed their input process. There may be a few more opportunities in the City of Seattle. We will keep you posted to such opportunities as they arise!

Learn More About Housing Element Updates

Under the state Growth Management Act (GMA), every city in Washington must have a Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan) that guides development and land use in that community. The Housing Element of this plan establishes cities’ visions for housing development, preservation, and new construction over the next 20 years. Strong Housing Elements call attention to local affordable housing needs, and they use policy and land-use tools to establish a work plan to address those needs.