Community Announcement for Clark County Residents
THIS IS URGENT AND WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT – Please contact your Clark County Councilors!
Please view the full announcement and supplemental evidence here – La Center Request for Support
The 2025 Comprehensive Plan update is underway, and your council members have selected a preferred growth scenario that reflects our community’s vision for the future based on gathering over two years’ worth of community feedback. The scenario not only aligns with what La Center residents have shared but also provides for the ongoing financial welfare of our city. The chosen scenario meets the housing and job allocations of the state set forth for Clark County and focuses our growth at the I-5 Junction.
Despite ongoing attempts at coordination, Clark County Council has put up barriers to local cities’ preferred growth scenarios. With cities pushing for the County to do an Ag Land Study, they reluctantly rushed into a study and released the results of their agricultural land study in early November. The study should have started two years ago. The study is required as part of the County Wide Comprehensive Plan in order to de-designate land as agricultural land. The study stated that all the land surrounding the city is high-value agricultural land. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is the Agricultural land study by Clark County only focused on only 3 elements of 14 to support the county’s agenda (see attached WAC Criteria Considered for Final Evaluation). If adopted by County Council, it will not allow for UGA expansion in La Center and will have a direct effect on the financial welfare of your city. How may you ask? By not allowing for job growth in La Center at the junction. While our junction (Exit 16) has grown 10 fold since 2015 (see photos) we as a city are not being allowed to grow at this location. The landowners at the junction have come to us and asked us to include them in our city. The county has suggested they give our allocated state required jobs to other cities.
We are asking Clark County residents to please reach out to Clark County Councilor’s and share your concerns if you agree this is wrong. Do they have the right to give our jobs away? Do they have the right to tell landowners they cannot use their land for development that has not been Ag land for XX years? Land that does not have water rights or are restricted by barriers of wetlands and riparian buffers. How do you water plants, animals, etc., without water rights to your land?
Please pass this message along to your friends, co-workers, and neighbors and ask them to email your Clark County Councilors and express your views and concerns for the welfare of our city and others. Your voices are critical for the future of our community.
Following are topics you can choose to address in your email, that may be reflective of your views:
- La Center needs industrial and commercial growth. We need revenue for roads, parks and other capital upkeep. The cardroom revenue was 70% of the city’s total general revenue fund until 2016 when Ilani opened. Since then, the funds have decreased by 50%. La Center needs to be allowed to grow at the junction, adjacent to tribal land growth. This will allow us to provide jobs and sustainable revenue for the city. We deserve the opportunity to provide jobs for our residents within our own community.
- We are required to accommodate new jobs per state law. If Clark County does not de-designate agricultural (AG) lands, La Center will be unable to meet its job growth criteria. Yet, Clark County has stated in multiple meetings that they could send/give our allocations to other cities (i.e. Vancouver).
- Without job lands and the revenue stream generated, the City of La Center will continue to struggle to maintain roads, utilities, and essential infrastructure. A bedroom community does not make a vibrant financially healthy community.
- Downtown La Center does not have the road capacity or infrastructure for dense growth, and the residents have made it clear that they DO NOT want downtown La Center to lose its small-town feel. The existing infrastructure does not allow for multi-lane paths, extra turn lanes or vehicle travel lanes. The existing 4th street roundabout and bridge are a bottleneck in the community.
- There are 23,000 acres of Agricultural Designated land represented in the Ag study. Of that, La Center is asking for 113 acres along the I-5 Corridor to be de-designated for growth. This represents less than half a percent of the total land. Of those 113 acres requesting to be de-designated, only 23 acres are NOT restricted by wetlands, riparian buffers, slopes, etc. Not all the lands have water rights for farming either.
- The lands requesting to come into the city of La Center at the junction are not being used for agriculture and already have infrastructure suitable for businesses. The landowners have come to us, asking to be part of La Center. Their lands have been in urban reserves for 20-25 years. Meaning, the intent is for these lands to be brought into the UGA for development. Again, there is no farming on these lands. La Center deserves similar opportunities for growth at our junction as its surrounding cities have done.
- The City of La Center needs job-supporting lands to ensure the long-term economic health and stability of our community.
Please see photos of Juction in 2016 and NOW. Why can’t we develop at the junction along with the Tribe?
Please email your Clark County Councilors:
Glen Yung – glen.yung@clark.wa.gov
Michelle Belkot – michelle.belkot@clark.wa.gov
Matt Little – matt.little@clark.wa.gov
Wil Fuentes – wil.fuentes@clark.wa.gov
