Clark County’s planning commission, the citizens’ board that makes recommendations on growth and zoning, may have a new swing vote.
Valerie Uskoski, a civil engineer who lives in Hazel Dell and works for La Center-based MSE Planning and Engineering, expects to be a moderate but pro-development voice on the commission, which often divides between those who prioritize property rights and those who prioritize anti-sprawl regulation.
County commissioners appointed Uskoski Tuesday to fill a seat vacated by Jada Rupley, a regional public school administrator who took a centrist role in growth debates.
Planning commissioners, who are all appointed by commissioners, receive $50 per meeting and attend about 20 meetings annually.
Uskoski joins the county as it launches a major rewrite of its building code.
“I’m hoping that I can be an active part of that, to make sure that landowners’ rights are represented,” she said in an interview Tuesday. “I need to provide a hands-on, working knowledge of the code.”
Uskoski spoke in favor of the county’s big 2007 urban expansion, calling it “a shame” that a judge later blocked development of some small agriculture-zoned parcels.
Those 1-acre parcels are too small to support traditional farms, Uskoski said.
Uskoski’s unanimous appointment filled the first vacant seat on the panel since Republicans gained a majority on the county commission this year.
Also Tuesday, the three commissioners voted unanimously to reappoint Ron Barca of Battle Ground, one of the commission’s anti-sprawl voices.
Uskoski said she supports growth management in principle.
“There’s areas of it that can be worked on, but there’s areas that are OK,” she said. “I don’t think there’s any right answer that’s making everybody happy. … You need to find a balance.”
Uskoski, 30, grew up in Hockinson and attended Washington State University. She’s practiced civil engineering in Vancouver since 2004.
Uskoski said she likes the county because it mixes city and rural pleasures.
“You have the country close by, and yet you have the urban,” she said. “You’re close to the mountains. You’re close to the Gorge. You’re close to the ocean.”
Michael Andersen: 360-735-4508 or michael.andersen@columbian.com.
