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Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
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The Eastern Washington Growth Management Hearings Board in 2008 found that the County’s Comprehensive Plan and the Kittitas County Code did not assure the protection of rural land use character nor protect the quantity or quality of water within the County. The State Supreme Court agreed with this decision in 2011, and the County is now in the process of addressing these issues.
The County is revising the current Comprehensive Plan language and related development regulations as they apply to the future use of water and land use. Some aspects of the County’s current Plan and Code are not consistent with State laws that guide quantity of water use.
The County has negotiated a settlement proposal with the appellants in the Growth Management Hearings Board case, including the Department of Ecology (Ecology). As part of the settlement, the County agrees to consider regulations which will require mitigation for new uses of ground water in Lower Kittitas County residing in the Yakima River Drainage Basin. The proposal is to implement this new requirement in two phases.
Phase 1 (Interim Measures):
Phase 2 (Permanent Measures):
An open public hearing was held before the Board of County Commissioners on February 26, 2014, and public testimony on the proposed amendments to the County’s Comprehensive Plan and Kittitas County Code was taken. At the end of the testimony the Commissioners decided to allow the public to provide written comment on the proposals until 5 p.m. Monday, March 3, 2014. The Commissioners also determined to continue the closed-record public hearing to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 for deliberation on the proposals at the Commissioners’ Auditorium, 205 West 5th Avenue, Suite 109 in Ellensburg, WA. A decision to accept, modify or deny the recommendations will be made following the closed record hearing either that evening or at another time. If you have any questions, please contact Doc Hansen or Lindsey Ozbolt in Community Development at (509) 962-7506.
Audio Recordings from the Hearing
Hearing Documents