Ordinance 3454-15 with Exhibits A- C

EVERETT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN CHAPTER 2 LAND USE ELEMENT I. Introduction A. Purpose of the Land Use Element The Land Use Element establishes the framework for the city's future physical development and provides a guide for the distribution, type and intensity of various uses of land within the Everett Planning Area. The Land Use Element is the most important element of the Comprehensive Plan because it is the basis for the decisions that must be made for all other elements of the plan. All elements of the comprehensive plan must be consistent with the Land Use Map. The Land Use Element (both maps and policies) serves as a guide to future decision making relating to property investments, land development, public services, and infrastructure. The policies and maps of the Land Use Element influence land development regulations, zoning boundaries, and land use permit decisions. The Vision 2040 Regional Growth Strategy requires Everett to consider potentially significant land use policy changes in the 2015 major update of the City's comprehensive plan. B. Topics required to be addressed by the Land Use Element The GMA and the Everett Municipal Code require that the land use element of the comprehensive plan address the following topics: • Agriculture - lands to be reserved for agricultural uses. • Timber - lands to be reserved for the production of timber. • Housing - lands to be used primarily for the location of various types of housing and other compatible uses. • Commerce - lands to be used primarily for retail sales, offices, services and other compatible uses. • Industry - lands to be used for manufacturing and industrial purposes, warehousing, heavy commercial and other compatible activities. • Recreation - lands to be used for recreational purposes. • Open _spaces - lands to be reserved for open space purposes. • Public utilities - lands required for the provision of public utility services needed to serve the levels of activity supported by the land use element. • Public facilities - lands required for the provision of public facilities and services needed for the levels of growth supported by the land use element. • "Other land uses" - lands required for regionally important but often hard to site facilities including, but not limited to colleges, hospitals, sanitary landfills, and other uses that GMA refers to as "essential public facilities." • Population densities - designation of population densities within the community, usually expressed in terms of a prescribed range or number of dwellings per acre. • Neighborhood and/or community units LAND USE ELEMENT