Deadline missed / failure documented
1997: The Problem Is Already Known
February 1997
County imposes interim holding on 179th and 134th/Salmon Creek areas
County Commissioners adopt an interim urban holding zone for development impacting both the I-5/179th Street interchange and the 134th Street/Salmon Creek area. Transportation issues in this corridor date back to the 1980s. Staff, citizens, and businesses spend the year developing the Salmon Creek Fairgrounds Regional Road Plan covering 8 square miles.
September 1997
Regional Road Plan adopted — interim holding lifted
The Salmon Creek Fairgrounds Regional Road Plan is adopted, lifting the temporary holding zone. The plan addresses arterial, circulation, and access management issues. The approach: plan first, then allow development. This is the opposite of what happens in 2019.
1999–2007: Salmon Creek Fails Anyway
January 1999
WSU Vancouver Development Agreement
Clark County and WSU sign a development agreement (RD 99-08) reserving 1,149 AM and PM peak hour trips for the campus. The agreement has a 27-year term expiring December 31, 2025. WSU contributes $950,000 for off-site road and intersection improvements. The area is under infrastructure pressure — WSU locks in capacity while it’s still available.
2001–2003
Salmon Creek development moratorium
Despite the 1997 Regional Road Plan, traffic congestion overwhelms the Salmon Creek corridor. The County imposes a moratorium triggered by operating speeds below 13 mph. The moratorium area extends three miles from the I-5 interchange.
2004 & 2007
179th corridor brought into Vancouver’s Urban Growth Area
Approximately 2,200 acres are added to the UGA. Urban holding overlay applied immediately because transportation infrastructure lacks adequate capacity for urban development. One interchange south, Salmon Creek is still dealing with the consequences of development outpacing infrastructure.
2005–2007
Second Salmon Creek moratorium
Another moratorium imposed on the Salmon Creek area. Hundreds of projects placed on hold. The $133 million Salmon Creek Interchange Project (I-5 at NE 139th Street) is the County’s answer — but it won’t be complete for nearly a decade.
2008: The Warning No One Heeded
November 2008
WSU agreement amended — staff warns capacity will run out in 10 years
WSU receives 1,267 additional peak hour trips (PW 08-118). The staff report explicitly warns: if Phase 2 of the Salmon Creek Interchange Project does not reach “reasonably funded” status within ten years, “there will not be adequate capacity to serve non-WSUV growth in their area.” That ten-year deadline: 2018 — the same year urban holding is lifted.
“If Phase 2 does not reach ‘reasonably funded’ status in about ten years, then there will not be adequate capacity to serve non-WSUV growth in their area.”— Clark County Staff Report, October 31, 2008
August 2014
Salmon Creek Interchange opens — $133 million later
The new I-5 interchange at NE 139th Street opens on August 27. It took three moratoria, a decade of construction, and $133 million to fix what happened when development outpaced infrastructure at Salmon Creek. The County is about to do the same thing one interchange north.
August 2014
County changes concurrency standards — and lowers the bar
Ordinance 2014-08-09 shifts from travel speed standards to V/C ratios. The entire travel speed table (38 corridor segments) is deleted. The change also lowered Transportation Impact Fees and removed road projects from the 20-year Capital Facilities Plan — the same projects the corridor desperately needs now.
“When we made this change, it dramatically lowered our needed projects and subsequently lowered our TIF rates as a result.”— Matt Herman, Public Works, March 2019
2015–2016
Connecting Washington funds I-5/179th interchange ($50M)
State legislature allocates $50 million for the interchange replacement. Funds won’t be available until the 2023–2025 biennium — and that’s when design can begin, not construction. In 2016, the County pays WSDOT $232,000 for practical design guidance to start preliminary work.
September 2018
Skyview Station TIS: first documented corridor failure
NE Salmon Creek Ave EB at V/C 1.08 and NE 139th St WB at V/C 0.91 under pre-development conditions. Failures documented before urban holding is even lifted.
November 7, 2018
WSDOT recommends denial of Holt Homes application
In a letter to Community Planning Director Oliver Orjiako regarding CPZ2018-00021 (143 acres, 606 homes + 99 townhomes), WSDOT raises concerns about safety, capacity, and funding. The existing interchange lacks adequate capacity for additional development. Interchange improvements are not anticipated to be operationally functional until 2028 “at the earliest.” WSDOT supports the staff recommendation of denial.
“WSDOT supports the staff report recommendation of denial for this proposal.”— Michael A. Williams, WSDOT Planning Manager, to Oliver Orjiako, November 7, 2018
Never disclosed at any subsequent hearing
December 18, 2018
Phase 1: Killian Pacific — 526 units approved
40 acres, 200 SF homes + 326 apartments, 402 PM peak trips. Council approves 41 days after WSDOT recommended denial.
2019: The Floodgates Open
February 21, 2019
Phase 2: Holt Homes — 705 units, no road construction plan
143 acres, 606 SF + 99 townhomes, 657 PM peak trips. The developers’ own representative confirms there is no actual construction management plan for the County’s road projects. Approved 4-0.
“I just wanted to make sure that we weren’t misleading you, that there isn’t a true construction management plan sitting there.”— Randy Printz, developers’ representative, referring to the County’s road projects
January–March 2019
179th Subcommittee formed to find funding for road projects
The committee’s mission: identify funding to build the road projects needed to lift urban holding. Members include 4 developers (Killian, Holt, Hinton, Wollam), 4 developer attorneys, 3 WSDOT staff, city managers from Vancouver, Ridgefield, and Battle Ground, and 17 County staff. One vote per entity. Staff didn’t vote. No corridor residents on the committee.
March 13, 2019
Councilor Julie Olson questions GMA compliance
Olson represents the corridor district. At the Council work session, she challenges the financial framework directly.
“I don’t think we’re in balance. I don’t think we’re compliant with GMA. If we have to go through all these machinations and tax every single taxpaying member of this community in order to open this up, I think something’s — we either don’t have enough development up front or we’ve got too much capital infrastructure.”— Councilor Julie Olson, March 13, 2019
May 7, 2019
Subcommittee presentation shows $23.3M shortfall
Staff’s own slides: $23.3M gap (slide 30), “construction likely beyond 2024 due to WSDOT” (slide 36), additional funding “highly dependent on resolving GMA non-compliance” (slide 13).
July 16, 2019
Council approves Phase 2 lift
WSDOT denial recommendation not disclosed.
August 20, 2019
Council adopts $66.5M funding plan — Lentz votes no
Step 1 only. Step 2 projects (15th–26th and 29th–50th widening) not funded. Sources include grants at 80% probability, future TIF, and bonding. Councilor Temple Lentz dissents, warning the project has tripled in scope without adequate funding.
“What started as a $66 million project to lift urban holding for four housing developments and a strip of retail, has morphed into $163 million project that lifts all of urban holding, but we’re only talking about how we’re going to fund a third of it.”— Councilor Temple Lentz, August 20, 2019
“Levels-of-service in this area are already very low and safety concerns related to adding 1,500 to 5,000 new housing units at the current level-of-service in this area are not being adequately addressed.”— Councilor Temple Lentz
Vote: 4-1. Lentz votes NO.
September 10, 2019
Open House at Alki Middle School
Over 100 residents attend. County describes a “skinny roads, fat nodes” strategy — improve intersections first, widen roads later. Roundabouts vs. signals still being evaluated. WSDOT tells the public the interchange won’t be complete until “sometime in 2030.” Full corridor widening (NW 11th to NE 50th, five lanes) described as happening in “the back half of the next decade.” County staff: “We have to go through a process … and it’s going to take some time.”
WSDOT tells the public: interchange completion ~2030
September–October 2019
Phases 3 & 4: Wollam (325 homes) and Hinton (129 homes)
Combined with Killian and Holt, the four developer agreements cover ~255 acres, 1,685 units, 15,130 daily trips, $12M in developer commitments.
October 8, 2019
Planning Commission hearing: scope expands from 4 developments to all 2,200 acres
CPZ2019-00031 proposes lifting urban holding on the entire area — nearly ten times the acreage covered by the four developer agreements. Commissioner Barca dissents 4-1. Staff applies the wrong legal standard, telling the Commission that improvements need to be “reasonably funded” rather than funded to be completed within six years.
“So the developments may be finished before the things are in place?” “Correct.”— Public testimony and Matt Hermen, October 8, 2019
October–November 2019
No corridor-wide capacity analysis for the full 2,200 acres
The $66.5M funding plan and traffic analysis were designed for four specific developments (~255 acres). Unable to find evidence of any corridor-wide transportation capacity analysis evaluating whether the road network can handle full buildout of all 2,200 acres. The scope changed from four negotiated projects to the entire urban holding area with no documented capacity evaluation supporting the expansion.
No capacity analysis found for the expanded scope
November 12, 2019
Full urban holding removal — all 2,200 acres
Council lifts urban holding on the entire area based on a finding that infrastructure is “reasonably funded.” But the GMA requires improvements to be completed or financially committed to complete within six years — a standard that was never properly evaluated. WSDOT had already said the interchange wouldn’t be functional until 2028 (and told the public 2030). Staff’s own slides showed construction going beyond 2024. The legal standard was reframed from “complete within six years” to merely “reasonably funded” — and no one corrected it.
2020: Development Accelerates, Infrastructure Doesn’t
February–July 2020
Five traffic studies: NE 179th already failing at V/C 1.01–1.03
M&H/Hinton, Peterson Machinery, and NE 179th Apartments West & East (all Kittelson) document the corridor failing in background. NE 72nd Ave fails under existing conditions at V/C 0.98–1.06. All credit unbuilt TIP improvements.
May–July 2020
NE 179th Apartments approved — 283 units despite corridor failures
West (159 units) and East (124 units). Combined 1,540 daily trips. Later renamed “South Ridge.” Approved while the corridor is already documented as failing in background conditions.
February 2020
WSU Vancouver master plan approved — adds residential housing
Hearing Examiner approves WSU’s master plan update (PLD-2019-00041) adding undergraduate housing to campus. During testimony, David Jardin (County) and the WSU representative both stated that reserved trips remain valid as long as the master plan is valid. The 1999 development agreement’s 27-year term expired December 31, 2025. The 2008 amendment added trips but did not extend the term.
2021–2022: Planning Starts — Years After Development Approved
2021
Three more studies: failures continue, V/C reaches 1.04
Summit Body (V/C 1.04), Salmon Creek Memory Care (NE 139th WB V/C 0.91), DSHS Behavioral Health (NE 159th/72nd LOS F existing, signal warrants met). DSHS uses zero in-process developments — inconsistent with every other study.
2021
Access Management & Circulation Plan initiated
Two years after urban holding was lifted, the County starts planning how the road network should work.
2021–2022
More developments approved despite documented failures
Trails at Whipple Creek (48 lots), Martin’s Meadow (33 lots), Highlands at Whipple Creek (29 lots). All approved while NE 179th EB is failing at V/C 1.01–1.04 and NE 72nd Ave is failing under existing conditions. All rely on the same unbuilt TIP improvements.
June 2022
Four Creeks South TIS: five segments now failing
NE 179th EB at V/C 1.05 and NE 72nd Ave at V/C 1.09–1.12 in background. Failures worsen with each study.
February 2022
Planning Commission recommends Access Management Plan (6-0)
After a February 3 work session and February 17 hearing. Then moves to Council: work session April 19, hearing May 3, public open house August 11, work session September 28 — all in 2022. Community listening sessions June–July 2023. Won’t be adopted until July 18, 2023.
June 6, 2023
Council votes 3-2 to rezone commercial land to residential
26.7 acres of Three Creeks North converted from commercial/mixed-use to housing. Employment land reduced.
July 12, 2023
Public Works Director: six-year timeline was never feasible
Costs have grown from $66.5M to over $200M.
“I don’t know of anyone who had done projects like these that thought that was possible.”— Ken Lader, Public Works Director
July 18, 2023
Arterial Atlas amendments finally adopted
The circulation plan is adopted 4 years after development was approved.
Circulation plan adopted 4 years AFTER development approved
August–October 2023
Legacy Village II (28 units) and South Ridge Central Apts (131 units) approved
Approved while NE 179th EB fails at V/C 1.05 and rising. Infrastructure still unbuilt.
May–November 2024
Three subdivisions approved despite worsening failures
Viers PUD (84 lots), Mill Creek Terrace (111 lots), Mountain View Ridge PUD (72 lots). 267 more lots approved while V/C reaches 1.14. All rely on the same unbuilt improvements.
June 2024
Ridgefield MS TIS: V/C reaches 1.14 — highest yet
NE 179th EB at V/C 1.14 for 2029 horizon. Four segments fail in background. Each study worse than the last.
November 6, 2024
City of Vancouver: more density needed — but also, no jobs nearby
Written testimony on the Comp Plan recommends increased density in the corridor, citing HB 1181 VMT requirements. But the same letter acknowledges VMT reductions are “likely impossible without some allowances for related land uses to locate nearer to each other” — an admission that the corridor lacks the employment land needed to make the density work. The Council made this worse in June 2023 by rezoning Three Creeks North from commercial to residential.
2025: Six Years Pass, No Roads
February–December 2025
Seven more traffic studies — eight segments now failing
Three Creeks East (200 lots, Lancaster Mobley) documents the worst results: V/C 1.17 on NE 179th EB, V/C 1.33 on NE 10th Ave, eight segments exceeding 0.90. Five studies prepared by the same engineer, none counting each other’s traffic. The code requires it; it isn’t happening.
March 2025
Mill Creek Meadows approved (40 lots) despite corridor failures
40-lot subdivision at 4508 NE 174th St approved by Hearing Examiner while eight road segments exceed V/C 0.90.
August 2025
NE 29th roundabout construction begins
$27.6M. The first major corridor project — 6 years after urban holding lifted. Originally targeted summer 2023.
2 years late
October 2025
Draft EIS published for Comprehensive Plan
County’s own model shows corridor failures. DEIS does not identify them as concurrency deficiencies.
November 2025
Six years pass since urban holding was lifted
The GMA required that infrastructure be completed or financially committed to complete within six years of the concurrency finding. Six years have passed. No major corridor project is complete. Over 2,900 units approved. 33,000+ daily trips committed. 725 more units in the pipeline. The “reasonably funded” finding that justified lifting urban holding has not produced a single finished road project.
SIX YEARS — NO MAJOR PROJECTS COMPLETE
January 6, 2026
RTC presentation: further slippage
Brian Muhu shows construction starts pushed to 2029 for some projects. NE 50th roundabout pushed to 2035+.
January–March 2026
278 more lots approved despite eight failing road segments
Four Creeks North (39, Jan 21), Kozy Manor (39, Feb 27), Three Creeks East (200, Mar 6). All approved after the six-year mark passed. All rely on the same unbuilt TIP projects. NE 179th EB now at V/C 1.17.
April 8, 2026
Staff recommends denial of two subdivisions on concurrency grounds
For the first time, County staff recommend denial of the 174th Street Subdivision (100 lots) and Taylor Reserve Subdivision (35 lots) because concurrency standards have not been met. The same planner and concurrency engineer issue both denial recommendations on the same day. Hearing set for April 23.
FIRST STAFF DENIALS ON CONCURRENCY
April 27, 2026
County Council votes on Comprehensive Plan
The decision that sets density and infrastructure for the next 20 years. Twenty-four traffic studies document the corridor failing. The City of Vancouver wants more density. The roads still aren’t built.
YOUR VOICE MATTERS
2025–2027
NE 29th Ave Roundabout (under construction)
$27.6M. Originally promised summer 2023.
2028–2030
NE 179th (15th–26th) and NE 15th Ave widening
$44.3M combined. Originally promised 2023. 3–5 years past deadline.
2029–2031
I-5/179th Interchange (WSDOT)
$86M. WSDOT said 2028 in 2018. Has slipped repeatedly. County cannot build or guarantee it.
2031–2033
NE 179th (29th–50th Ave)
$23.9M. Not on the Reasonably Funded Project List. 6–8 years past deadline.
NOT FUNDED
2035+
NE 50th Ave Roundabout
~$24M. Not funded. Not scheduled. Already LOS F in traffic studies.
NOT FUNDED · NOT SCHEDULED
Unknown
NW 11th/179th and Delfel–NW 11th widening
Not in any County plan. No timeline. No budget.
NOT IN ANY PLAN