Planning for Economic Development
This page provides information to help local governments in Washington State plan for economic development, including reference guides and examples of local economic development plans.
It is part of MRSC’s series on the Growth Management Act.
Overview
When planning for economic development, the goal is to create and maintain a strong, vibrant local economy. A local government economic development plan provides an overview of the local economy, sets policy direction for economic growth, and identifies strategies, programs, and projects to improve the economy. This plan is typically part of a region's overall economic development strategy, so it must also involve coordination among local governments, economic development agencies, and other organizations.
RCW 36.70A.070(7) calls for counties and cities planning under Washington's Growth Management Act (GMA) to include an economic development element in their comprehensive plans. The GMA emphasizes coordinated, county-wide approaches to economic planning, and even cities and counties not fully planning under the GMA can benefit from collaborative economic development strategies aligning local efforts with regional goals.
Purpose of Economic Development Planning
Economic development is a set of plans and activities initiated to improve a community's economic well-being and quality of life. Economic development strengthens local governments' fiscal capacity by increasing the tax base, which provides additional revenue to support, maintain, and improve local services. Increased revenue also promotes self-sufficiency, making public services less dependent on intergovernmental transfers.
From an employment perspective, economic development focuses on job creation and business retention, which leads to reduced unemployment rates, enhanced income levels, and improved living standards. Economic diversification also reduces a community's vulnerability to a single business sector.
Economic development plans can also provide opportunities to address disparities in economic prosperity. Resources like the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Opportunity Mapping tool and the Washington Department of Commerce's Economic Development with Community Reinvestment Partnership can help examine communities' access to education, economic health, housing, child care, transportation, health, and other factors. Anti-displacement programs can also help existing residents and businesses remain in place.
Local Economic Development Elements and Plans
As mentioned earlier, the GMA emphasizes county-wide coordination of economic development planning, calling for counties and cities to adopt economic development elements as part of their comprehensive plans (see RCW 36.70A.070(7)). While state funds have not been appropriated for preparing this element, many jurisdictions nevertheless choose to develop it.
Economic development elements must also be consistent with other comprehensive plan components including housing, capital facilities, utilities, transportation, land use, and parks.
Local governments also have prepared other types of economic development plans, including strategic action plans and plans focusing on areas of particular economic importance such as:
- Downtowns and other regional commercial centers
- Industrial hubs
- Neighborhood commercial districts
- Natural resource-based industries like agriculture, forestry, and mining
- Major industrial developments in rural areas
GMA economic development elements and other types of local economic development plans typically recommend specific implementation actions. Depending on existing industries and future opportunities the plan has identified, these could include:
- Incentives for business attraction or expansion
- Funding programs
- Targeted infrastructure investments (including broadband internet service)
- Job development programs
- Vacant or blighted properties rehabilitation
- Designation and support of industry-specific focus areas, such as arts and cultural districts, industrial parks, or tourist attractions
Examples of Economic Development Elements of Comprehensive Plans
- Bothell Economic Development Element (2024) – Goals include five major components, including strategic land use, local partnerships, business support, diverse employment opportunities, and workforce development.
- Colville Economic Development Element (2020) – Focuses on growing living-wage jobs through recreation tourism, supporting traditional and innovative industries, and strengthening the city's role as a regional hub for professional services, education, healthcare, and government.
- Ellensburg Economic Development Element (2020) – Guides business development, tourism promotion, workforce development with living-wage jobs, and equitable access to economic opportunities.
- Pend Oreille County Economic Development Element (2023) – Promotes job retention, creation, and training through partnerships with the private sector, the Economic Development Council, the Tri-County Economic Development District, and the Kalispel Tribe.
- Pierce County Economic Development Element (2025) – Supports business growth, workforce development, and climate mitigation to improve the jobs-housing balance.
Examples of Downtown and Specific Area Plans
- Lakewood Downtown Subarea Plan (2025) – This plan seeks to transform downtown Lakewood from an auto-oriented district planned when the area was still unincorporated Pierce County into a walkable, mixed-use district.
- South Lynnwood Neighborhood Plan (2021) – Plan for a subarea to integrate light industrial, commercial and residential uses. Includes goals to be business-friendly, respond to industry trends, and protect residents from displacement.
- Olympia Downtown Strategy (2017) – Breaks downtown into five overlapping districts such as waterfront, entertainment, and artisan districts, all incorporating a mix of uses.
- Pasco Downtown Master Plan (2022) – Calls for leveraging downtown’s cultural resources to create a more walkable and safe downtown.
- Richland/Port of Benton North Horn Rapids Area Master Plan (2017) – Examines future development of a former U.S. Department of Energy property into a regional employment center. Part of the larger Horn Rapids area, planned as a manufacturing and industrial development center.
Examples of Other Economic Development Strategies and Action Plans
- Benton County Economic Development Plan (2022) – Guides county activities through partnerships with cities and ports, focusing on infrastructure development in targeted geographic areas.
- Kittitas County-Ellensburg Economic Development Strategic Plan (2023) – Developed to help the county, its cities, and organizations such as Central Washington University coordinate economic development strategies to respond to the intense demographic pressures on the region.
- Klickitat County 10 Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (2017) – Covers infrastructure investment, industry attraction strategies, real estate development, workforce development, business retention and attraction, marketing, and entrepreneurship.
- Tukwila Economic Development Strategy (2024) – A strategy centering equity in this multicultural suburb.
- Vancouver Five Year Economic Development Strategy (2025) – A plan to take advantage of Vancouver’s affordability and business-friendly climate to develop a stronger economy oriented around small business and entrepreneurship.
- Woodinville Economic Development Plan (2022) – Outlines how the city intends to direct its resources and decision-making authority across areas like taxation, zoning, permitting, and business climate to foster a strong local economy while maintaining community character and quality of life.
Using Data to Prepare Economic Development Plans
Local government economic development plans are typically supported by local and regional economic data, such as employment forecasts and analyses of market sector demand compared with available lands. Here are a few examples:
Examples of Employment Forecasts
- Skagit County Council of Governments Population, Housing, and Employment Growth Allocations
- Thurston Regional Planning Council Population & Employment Forecasting
Examples of Lands Analyses
- Lewis County Land Capacity Analysis (2024)
- Port of Bellingham Whatcom County Industrial Lands Study (2025)
- Puget Sound Regional Council Industrial Lands Analysis (2024)
Regional Partnerships
Economic activity in counties and cities is part of larger regional and worldwide economies. To effectively plan for their jurisdictions, cities and counties must coordinate closely with other economic development organizations within their economic region.
Economic Development Districts
Economic Development Districts (EDDs) are multi-jurisdictional entities designated by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) in some areas of Washington. They are commonly composed of multiple counties, as well as crossing state borders in the mid-Columbia River Gorge and Portland metropolitan areas. EDDs develop Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS) to guide economic growth in each region. The EDA requires CEDS in order for EDDs to be eligible for certain grants, including some for public works and economic development.
Examples of CEDS and CEDS Development Resources
CEDS
- Benton-Franklin CEDS (2022) – A unified economic development strategy and planning process that guides regional collaboration and priorities in Benton and Franklin Counties.
- Cowlitz-Wahkiakum CEDS (2023)
- Lewis County Economic Alliance CEDS 2022-24 (2023)
- North Central Washington CEDS (2021)
- North Olympic Peninsula Resource Conservation & Development Council CEDS (2021)
- Puget Sound Regional Council: Regional Economic Development Strategy for the Central Puget Sound Region – The EDD facilitated region-wide engagement across more than four million residents.
- Tri-County CEDS (2022)
National Association of Development Organizations
- National Association of Development Organizations: Economic Development District (EDD) Interactive Map
- U.S. Economic Development Administration: Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Overview
Associate Development Organizations
Every county in Washington is represented by an Associate Development Organization (ADO) that furthers the county’s or region’s economic development goals. Commerce funds and assists the ADOs with business recruitment/retention and other trade and economic relationships worldwide. In many cases, ADOs are led by Economic Development Councils (EDCs) that consist of representatives of local governments and business organizations.
Counties and cities should also coordinate their plans with other governmental and non-profit organizations that plan for economic development. Coordination may be formalized through regional partnership agreements, or more informally. Examples of these entities include:
- Tribes
- Ports
- Utilities and providers of energy, broadband and other infrastructure services
- Educational institutions
- Workforce training organizations
- Local industry groups and chambers of commerce
Examples of Regional Partnerships
- Clallam County Economic Development Council – Supports local businesses through consulting, access to funding, government contract opportunities, workforce development, and connections to resources.
- Columbia River Economic Development Council (Clark County) – Works with 150 private and public sector partners to support business development across five sectors: software, computers and electronics, clean tech, life sciences, and technology-enhanced production.
- Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County – Supports business attraction, retention, and expansion by assisting companies with site location, workforce training, incentives, access to capital, permitting, and research.
- Southeast Washington Economic Development Association – Non-profit organization based in Clarkston that serves Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, and Whitman Counties, focusing on job creation and retention through business, tourism, and community development.
- The Economic Alliance (Okanogan County) – Provides small business assistance, operates a Small Business Resource and Technology Center, sponsors the local Small Business Development Center, and supports the Okanogan County Tourism Council.
Bidding and Procurement
Local governments will sometimes seek consultants to help develop or update their economic development strategies.
Examples of Requests for Proposals (RFPs).
- Monroe Economic Development Consultant RFP (2023) – Seeking consultant specializing in economic development to assist city with developing economy around city's vision; includes standard consultant agreement.
- Mountlake Terrace Branding, Placemaking, and Strategic Marketing RFP (2025) – Seeking help developing citywide brand identity, creating strategy for placemaking/wayfinding implementation, and applying brand identity to economic development marketing strategy. Includes Q&A and standard agreement.
- Redmond Economic Development Strategic Plan RFP (2023) – Seeking firms to conduct economic data analysis, lead stakeholder engagement, and develop 5-year strategic action plan for city's economic development program; includes standard consultant agreement.
Recommended Resources
The following publications and guides provide useful background on the economic development planning process.
- Institute for Local Government: Economic Development – Contains numerous resources for economic development planning.
- Lincoln Institute for Land Policy: Is Economic Development Working? Rethinking Local Approaches to Growth (2024) – Article that includes a framework for the explicit goals of economic development being improvement of resident health, equity, and wellbeing as the explicit goals of economic development, rather than just growth.
- Puget Sound Regional Council: Economic Development Element Guide (2022) – Guide for central Puget Sound jurisdictions to build economic development elements of their comprehensive plans consistent with the VISION 2050 regional plan.
- Urban Institute: Community and Economic Development – Research and evidence on many aspects of economic development.
- U.S. Economic Development Administration – Federal programs, including funding, to assist with economic development planning.
- U.S. Small Business Administration – Guides, funding and other programs for small businesses. Includes sections on local assistance and funding.
- Washington Economic Development Association – State association of organizations that work on economic development planning. Includes resources and links that may be helpful to local governments.
- Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation: Main Street Program – Helps communities develop their own strategies to stimulate long term economic growth in their downtowns.
- Washington State Department of Commerce
