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Kittitas County December 2016 Comprehensive Plan <br />These improvements will continue to increase the number of recreational users coming to <br />the Pass area for the foreseeable future. <br />5. Regional Growth Trends The Snoqualmie Pass area, with its proximity to the rapidly growing <br />Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area with an estimated King County 1998 population of <br />approximately 1.67 million, is situated in the “path of progress”, and will provide both <br />second home and year-round housing opportunities over the next ten to fifteen years. <br />Development pressure has increased significantly along the I-90 corridor in east King <br />County, with Issaquah and North Bend growing significantly throughout the 1990s. <br /> <br />Development pressures have already begun to unfold in rural Kittitas County as a result of <br />spillover demand from Seattle. The 1998 population of Kittitas County was estimated at <br />approximately 31,400 and is growing at the high end of the State’s projected growth rate. It <br />is currently estimated that up to 2,000 persons are commuting from Kittitas County to King <br />County and this number will expand considerably over the next fifteen years time frame. <br />The increasing ability of the work force to telecommute, especially within the high tech <br />sectors prevalent in the Seattle-Tacoma region, will further enable the resident labor force <br />to find high quality environments in which to live somewhat remote from their places of <br />employment. <br /> <br />The capacity of East King County, including Issaquah and North Bend, to absorb the <br />anticipated growth over the decade will be limited. The Snoqualmie Pass area, and <br />communities to the east, represent the next logical steps along the I-90 corridor, and are <br />already being impacted by development pressures emanating from the Greater Seattle- <br />Tacoma metropolitan area. It is, in part, these regional growth pressures that are motivating <br />the Snoqualmie Pass community to protect the scenic and environmental quality of the Pass <br />by planning for this growth. <br />6. Summer Recreational Growth <br />While the Pass area has an established base of winter recreation and tourism, the summer <br />season has not matured to its potential. Although the area is quite scenic, and offers a <br />diversity of hiking, biking and passive recreational functions and activities for current <br />owners and visitors, there is a shortage of other developed recreational facilities, such as <br />golf, tennis, play fields, and equestrian facilities. As efforts are made to promote and utilize <br />this resource, additional; demands will be made on Pass infrastructure and facilities. <br />7. Community Expectations. Surveys conducted among the current property owners and <br />residents, as part of the planning effort, document the desire to improve the total year- <br />round recreational environment within the area. The residents also desire other facilities <br />that may be used year around, including a community center (which may include meeting <br />and performing arts space), as well as a new visitor center. <br />3.2 Review of Land Use Demand & Capacity <br />One of the objectives of the planning process was to inventory the residential and commercial <br />development capacity and demand of the Pass area. First, existing developed rental units and