Columbia County adopts 2025 comprehensive-plan amendments, corrects zoning map and allows homes on Harlem Road

Columbia County commissioners on Sept. 15 adopted Ordinance 2025-03, approving four docketed amendments to the county comprehensive plan and development regulations that planners said correct mapping errors, add a limited residential overlay on Harlem Road and update signage and road-approach language.

The changes were presented by Planning Department staff during a public hearing; the board voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance, which takes effect five days after passage, as required by law.

The amendments were docketed earlier this year and reviewed through required state channels. Planning staff said Commerce completed a 60-day review with no concerns and the county issued a SEPA determination of non-significance before the planning commission public hearing on Sept. 8, which produced no written or oral opposition. The planning commission then recommended approval to the board.

The adopted package includes four items: a mapping correction in the Huntsville area to restore an AR‑1 zone misclassified in 2019, a note tying road approaches and site-triangle requirements to the county engineer’s Unincorporated Columbia County road design guidelines, a new limited residential overlay on the south side of Harlem Road to permit single-family residences and duplexes within a defined stretch, and corrections to commercial and industrial signage tables plus a reference to WSDOT guidance for Highway 12 scenic-byway signage.

Planning staff said the residential overlay applies to houses between addresses 605 and 643 on Harlem Road; the underlying commercial zoning remains in place but the overlay allows residential uses to be rebuilt if damaged, a point planners said had been causing financing and refinance problems for homeowners.

The ordinance text and associated exhibits were transmitted to the Washington State Department of Commerce within 10 days of adoption, as required by state law. The planning official and the prosecuting attorney are authorized to correct scrivener errors without further board action.

The board’s action was presented as a routine but consequential correction and clarified that the legal and administrative record for the 2025 periodic update is now complete. The board chair closed the hearing and moved adoption; the motion passed unanimously.

Planning staff and commissioners encouraged affected homeowners on Harlem Road to consult county planning staff for next steps on permits and financing.

Five days from adoption the ordinance becomes effective, and code publishing was directed to update the county website with the revised development regulations.