# City of Anacortes - Planning Commission Meeting (11/10/26)

The City of Anacortes Planning Commission met on November 10, 2026, and unanimously recommended that the City Council consider amendments to the city’s critical areas regulations, incorporating staff recommendations from the November 5 comment-response matrix and retaining the existing term “modify” in AMC 19.70.035A1. The discussion covered wetlands, wildlife habitat corridors, permit pathways, mitigation, climate conditions, and how to balance environmental protection with development certainty. This was a recommendation to the council, not final adoption; no contract awards or purchasing approvals were made during the meeting.

In a planning department update, staff reported that the county awarded $500,000 in lodging-tax funding for the event facility, in addition to $750,000 previously awarded from the county’s 0.09 economic development fund. Staff also cited roughly $8.5 million in federal funding, bringing the identified funding for the approximately $8.5 million project to substantial support; the transcript does not clarify whether that project-cost figure accounts for all funding sources. The department is working on permitting and advancing the project. Staff also said replacement laptops or Surface devices for commission members were being prepared for deployment, potentially in December, with no cost or vendor identified.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Construction & Infrastructure, Environment
**Topics:** Grants & Funding, Physical Infrastructure
**Published:** November 10, 2026

### Sources
- [City of Anacortes - Planning Commission Meeting (11/10/26)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_-FiKKDdY8) - City of Anacortes