Clark County's New 20-Year Growth Plan: What It Means for Buyers of New Construction
Clark County's New 20-Year Growth Plan: What It Means for Buyers of New Construction
The County Council just rewrote the rules for growth outside Vancouver city limits. Here's what changed, what changes November 12, and what to ask before you buy.
What did Clark County just change? On October 13, 2026, the County Council adopted its updated 20-year growth plan, and most of it took effect October 23. New school, fire, and traffic impact fees take effect November 12. The plan adds a net 575 acres to urban growth areas, mostly for jobs and mixed use, consolidates higher-density zones in the unincorporated Vancouver area, and lowers parking minimums. For buyers: these rules apply to unincorporated areas and urban growth areas under county jurisdiction, not inside city limits, so the first question for any new home is which jurisdiction it's in.
If you've been following Vancouver's new zoning code, the County's plan is the separate update that covers areas outside the city, and it's no longer in progress. The County Council voted on October 13, after more than three years of work and a state-set deadline, and the effects start landing right now, including a change to what builders pay on November 12.
Not everything here affects your purchase, and a lot of it is long-range. This sorts what's immediate from what's years away, and what applies to your address from what doesn't. If your home is inside a city, start with how prices and communities compare across Clark County, since the city code covers it.
What Did Clark County Adopt, and When Does It Take Effect?
Three dates worth knowing
According to attorneys at Miller Nash, the Council adopted Ordinance 2026-10-01 on October 13, 2026, completing the County's 2025 update to its Comprehensive Growth Management Plan. It covers 2025 through 2045 and plans for a 2045 county population of about 718,000, an increase of roughly 190,000 residents.
The County's own materials, including the staff presentation to the Council, are the best primary source for the details, and the County keeps a project page at clark.wa.gov/2025update. One important limit: the County's plan governs unincorporated Clark County and the urban growth areas it manages. Cities like Vancouver, Camas, Ridgefield, and Battle Ground adopt their own rules inside their city limits.
Does This Apply to the New Home You're Looking At?
The first question is which jurisdiction it's in
A home that's inside a city follows that city's code. A home in unincorporated Clark County, or in an urban growth area not yet annexed, follows the County's. The mailing address won't tell you, since "Vancouver" or "Ridgefield" on a listing can include land outside the city limits. Ask the builder, then confirm on the County's adopted zoning map and in the parcel lists attached to the ordinance.
Here's the timing nuance that matters for new construction. The attorneys' summary notes that, in Washington, a fully complete building permit or subdivision application generally vests to the land use rules in effect when it was filed. A community whose application went in before October 23 may be built under the earlier rules. Impact fees work differently and can depend on the plat. The attorneys say they're generally due when the building permit issues, while the County's own residential impact fee page notes that rates may vary based on the recording date of the subdivision plat. So ask which rate applies to your lot.
Where Did the Growth Areas Change?
Mostly jobs and mixed-use land, and not all of it is final
Urban growth areas are the boundaries inside which urban development is generally allowed. The adopted plan adds a net 575 acres, per the attorney summary of the ordinance:
Two cautions before you read too much into those acres. First, being inside a growth area doesn't mean building can start. The plan keeps an urban holding overlay that protects land from development until urban services are available, and removing it takes a formal process. Second, expansions can be appealed. The attorneys note that under state law, if a petition is filed on time, a growth area expansion doesn't take effect until the Growth Management Hearings Board rules, and that earlier county plans saw parts invalidated after challenges. The appeal window runs about 60 days from the County's October 23 notice of adoption, so it extends to roughly the week before Christmas.
The practical takeaway: the farmland next to a community you're considering won't become homes next year because of this. If you want context on how growth is changing individual cities, my breakdown of Clark County school districts covers which districts those communities fall into.
What Changed in Zoning and Parking Outside the City?
More density in the unincorporated Vancouver area
In the unincorporated Vancouver urban growth area, the Council consolidated five medium and high-density residential zones into three: R-12 becomes R-24, R-18 and R-22 become R-36, and R-30 and R-43 become R-50. The attorneys' parcel count is roughly 6,700 parcels converted, most of them R-12 to R-24 and R-18 to R-36, which they describe as effectively an upzone for many owners. Several hundred more zoning changes touch the Battle Ground, Camas, Ridgefield, and Washougal growth areas, with some increasing density and others reducing it.
The County also lowered off-street parking minimums. According to the attorney summary, single-family detached and attached homes now need one space per unit instead of two, and several housing types have no parking requirement. That's the County's version of the parking shift the City of Vancouver made in its own new code.
The attorneys also offer a candid note on how this plays out: the building industry is concerned about whether the market can support those higher densities, and neighborhoods will likely challenge projects they see as out of character. In other words, a zone allowing more doesn't guarantee anything gets built. For your purchase, the useful move is to look up the zoning of the parcels around the home, not just the lot you're buying.
What Do the New County Impact Fees Mean for New Construction Costs?
Effective November 12, and they rise automatically
Impact fees are one-time charges builders pay to help fund schools, fire protection, and roads. The County's October 1 presentation lays out the changes. For school impact fees per single-family unit in unincorporated areas:
Washougal stays at $0, and the attorney summary says fees in other districts are unchanged. Woodland's fee phases in: $8,222.97 starting November 12, 2026, then $9,384.45 in 2027 and $10,545.93 in 2028. The County also adopted new fire impact fees per single-family unit: $992 in Fire District 3, $791 in District 6, $1,988 to $2,285 in District 10 (depending on sprinklers), and $654 in Clark-Cowlitz Fire and Rescue. Traffic impact fees per average daily trip also rise in most districts shown, from roughly half again as much in Mt. Vista to more than triple in the Rural district, based on the current and proposed rates in the presentation.
Two more things. According to the attorneys, the code now allows one inflation adjustment per year, effective March 1, without a new Council vote, so these will keep climbing. And one Clark County councilor reportedly called the increases "sticker shock" in local coverage of the vote.
What does it mean for a buyer? Builders carry these costs and factor them into pricing, but no one can say how much reaches a specific price. The fee tables above also show why two similar homes in different districts can cost builders very different amounts. I explain how the system works, using the City of Vancouver's published schedule, in my guide to impact fees on new construction.
What Should You Do as a New Construction Buyer?
Six practical steps
The attorneys also flag policies still to come in 2027, including a countywide transfer of development rights program, and the plan's housing element calls for ideas like waiving permit fees for qualifying buyers at 80 to 100 percent of area median income who hold their homes for five years. Those are directions the County says it wants to pursue, not rules in effect today, so I'd watch for the details rather than count on them. Whatever you decide, have your own representation from the first visit, as covered in do I need a Realtor when buying new construction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Clark County's 2025 comprehensive plan update, common questions
What did Clark County adopt on October 13, 2026?
Does Clark County's growth plan apply inside city limits?
Which urban growth areas expanded?
What are the new Clark County impact fees?
Will the new rules apply to a home whose community was already approved?
Did Clark County lower parking requirements?
Not Sure Which Jurisdiction Your New Home Is In?
Send me the community or address and I'll help you sort out which rules, fees, and districts apply before you commit.
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Cassandra Marks
Realtor, Licensed in OR & WA License ID: 201225764
Realtor, Licensed in OR & WA License ID: 201225764