Demographics
The Demographics Team collects and analyzes data related to planning projects and responds to various information requests from other county departments, public and private agencies and citizens.
Buildable Lands
Under the state Growth Management Act (GMA), Snohomish County and its cities are required to review and evaluate the adequacy of suitable residential, commercial and industrial lands inside the Urban Growth Area (UGA) for accommodating projected population and employment growth during the remaining portion of the current 20-year planning horizon (i.e., to 2025).
The Buildable Lands program monitors the rate and density of residential, commercial and industrial development that has occurred. It measures the development densities observed since the last BLR. Using this information, the county is able to determine whether there is enough remaining suitable, or buildable, residential, commercial and industrial land supply within the UGAs. This evaluation is required on a periodic basis, with the first Buildable Lands Report prepared in 2002, the second in 2007, and the third scheduled for 2012.
Growth Monitoring
The Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs) (pdf) for Snohomish County call for a long-term monitoring process to review population and employment growth, annexations and incorporations, land consumption and supply, and housing availability and affordability. The monitoring program was developed jointly by cities and the county. Results of the monitoring process are published in the Snohomish County Tomorrow Growth Monitoring Report or GMR. The first GMR came out in 1997 and it is updated annually.