Residents and local governments say planning and funding aren’t keeping up as Clark County growth strains Camas infrastructure
- The new flashpoint is Clark County’s 2045 growth map, approved May 6, as Camas residents and nearby cities argue roads and utilities lag. - The numbers are big: county planners are sizing for 718,154 people, 269,000 jobs, 103,698 homes — with Camas slated for 7,000-plus residents. - That matters because Camas is still writing its own 2045 plan, so land-use decisions are moving while financing and safety fixes remain unsettled.
Growth planning is the wonky machinery behind almost every local fight about traffic, water, schools, and neighborhood change. In Clark County, that machinery just moved again. The County Council picked a preferred 2045 land-use alternative on May 6, and that decision sharpened a complaint residents in Camas and nearby cities have been making for months: growth is being assigned faster than the roads, pipes, and public funding to support it. ### What actually changed this week? Clark County’s council selected the preferred map for its 20-year comprehensive plan update in a 3-2 vote. That map steers where urban growth boundaries can expand and where housing and jobs are expected to go through 2045. Camas is one of the cities expected to absorb a meaningful share of that growth, so the county vote was not abstract — it set the frame for what Camas now has to plan around. (camaspostrecord.com) ### Why is Camas in the middle of it? Because Camas is still building its own “Our Camas 2045” plan right now. The city says it is in the final stretch, aligning its draft comprehensive plan with countywide planning policies and an environmental review before adoption this fall. In other words, the county has largely decided the growth envelope, but Camas is still figuring out the street network, zoning rules, and development regulations that make that envelope livable. (camaspostrecord.com) ### How much growth are we talking about? A lot. Clark County has adopted a 2045 projection of 718,154 people and 269,000 jobs. Planning documents say the county will need room for 103,698 housing units and 88,500 additional jobs from 2023 to 2045. For Camas specifically, local reporting tied to those county targets says the city will need to accommodate more than 7,000 new residents, 4,226 housing units, and 11,615 jobs by 2045. (engagecamas.com) ### So why are residents upset? Basically, they do not think the sequencing makes sense. More homes and job sites mean more cars on already stressed roads, more demand on water and sewer systems, and more pressure on emergency access and everyday safety. The criticism is not just “don’t build anything.” It is that local governments keep approving the growth framework while the funding path for infrastructure still looks fuzzy. That is the gap driving the backlash. (websvc2.clark.wa.gov) ### Isn’t infrastructure supposed to be part of the plan? Yes — on paper, that is the whole point. Clark County’s own planning materials say urban growth areas are supposed to include not just land for housing, but the services that come with urban development, and that growth must be supported by necessary infrastructure and public services. The catch is that long-range plans can identify the need without actually putting cash on the table. A map can promise capacity years before a city has fully funded it. (columbian.com) ### Why does this feel especially tense in Camas? Camas has a reputation for high quality of life, and that makes every growth decision more loaded. The city’s strategic plan talks about a safe and accessible community and stewardship of city assets, which sounds straightforward until you ask what happens when thousands of new residents arrive before major corridor upgrades or utility expansions are finished. That is where planning language runs into neighborhood reality. (gis.clark.wa.gov) ### What happens next? Camas will keep refining its draft comprehensive plan, zoning code, and development regulations through workshops with the Planning Commission and City Council before final adoption in fall 2026. So the big fight now is less about whether growth is coming — it is — and more about whether the city and county can prove the infrastructure plan is real, funded, and timed well enough to keep up. (cityofcamas.us) ### Bottom line? This is a planning story, but really it is a trust story. Residents are being asked to believe that a 2045 map will eventually turn into safe roads, reliable utilities, and workable neighborhoods. In Camas, a lot of people are no longer willing to take that on faith. (columbian.com) (engagecamas.com)
