31.07.020 Overview.
The planning area includes the lands to which Forks may feasibly provide future urban services and those surrounding areas which directly impact conditions within the City limits. This area is designated by the Forks urban growth area boundary (Forks UGA). Discussion in this element will pertain to the entire Forks UGA when possible but much of the information will be limited to the City of Forks due to constraints on the availability of information. The City and County have coordinated their activities in identifying the Forks UGA and in the development of interim management policies for the area within the Forks UGA but outside of the current City limits. The City and County have also agreed to formulate annexation policies for City annexations. This process was conducted according to the County-wide Planning Policies and the contract governing the Clallam County Regional Planning Commission.
The Forks UGA was selected in order to ensure that urban services will be available to all new development. The location of the boundary was based on environmental constraints, the concentrations of existing development, the existing infrastructure and services, the need for flexibility in location of new development and the location of designated commercial forest lands. New development requiring urban services should be located in the Forks UGA. Water, stormwater facilities, utilities, telecommunication lines, and local roads should be extended to development in these areas.
(1) Major Land Use Considerations and Goals. Land that may be developed is available both within and outside the Forks City limits. The City does have constraints on the availability of land, such as owners of large tracts of land, who currently have little interest in developing their land. Therefore, unlike many cities, the allocation of available land among competing uses will not be the sole factor in the City’s decision-making process. Coordination between the land use element and the capital facilities element will be of assistance in producing a plan with accurate projections for economic development. The land use plan in this element will guide decision-making to achieve the community goals as articulated in the vision statement.