Futurewise
Futurewise works throughout Washington State to encourage healthy, equitable, and opportunity-rich communities and to protect our most valuable farmlands, forests and water resources through wise land use policies and practices. Founded to help support implementation of the first-in-the-nation Growth Management Act, we focus on directing equitable growth into our urbanized areas and preventing the conversion of wildlife habitat, open space, farmland, and working forests to subdivisions and development.
The 2020 legislative session kicked off on January 13th and we’re officially down in Olympia five days a week advocating for the smart, responsible and equitable land use policies Washington needs. This month’s Wonkabout Washington will present an overview of Futurewise’s legislative priorities for the 2020 session,...
Wonkabout Washington is back after a brief hiatus and we’re wrapping up the year with an exceptionally wonky topic that has broad impacts for land use law and tenant rights regulations across Washington. That’s right, we’re talking this month about takings law and a hugely consequential recent...
Futurewise and Skyway Solutions Advocate for Equity in Skyway Subarea Plan
As the King County Council considers a draft of the Skyway-West Hill Land Use Subarea plan, Futurewise and Skyway Solutions are asking the council to consider a set of equity-focused improvements, with a...
Keeping an Equity Focus for SEPA Reform in Seattle
This year’s legislative session saw the passage of a major bill, House Bill 1923 that aims to transform zoning and density in communities across Washington state. HB 1923 encourages cities to adopt new development regulations...
The Road Map to Washington’s Future: Missed Opportunities
On June 30, 2019, after almost three years of work, the Ruckelshaus Center’s Road Map to Washington’s Future delivered to the legislature a “comprehensive and collaborative look at the Growth Management Act.” Leading up to...
In this month’s Wonkabout Washington, we’re diving into amendments to four of Pierce County’s subarea plans. Specifically, we’re examining the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for amended Community Plans for South Hill, Mid-County, Frederickson and Parkland-Spanaway-Midland, which make up the central unincorporated urban growth area (UGA) in the...
Futurewise is pushing the advisory group to use an equity lens in high-speed rail planning.
As The Urbanist recently reported, Washington state is moving forward with funding studies for an interstate high-speed rail line corridor between Vancouver, British Columbia and Eugene, Oregon. For the...
Snohomish County Reconsiders Developing Channel Migration Zones
The Growth Management Act, including the Shoreline Master Program, touches many different land use issues in many different parts of the state. Futurewise works with local partners across Washington who keep us informed of local GMA issues...
