Island County’s Planning Commission last week recommended final approval of a set of countywide planning policies that will underlie the ongoing update of the county’s comprehensive plan.

That final approval must come from the Board of Island County Commissioners, which Tuesday set Oct. 6 as the date for a public hearing on the policies. The hearing will take place at 6 p.m. in the Courthouse Annex Building, Room B102, at 1 N.E. 6th St. in Coupeville.

“There’s a lot of good work in here,” Commissioner Jill Johnson said last week, referring to the policies document.

The 44 pages of policies are required by the state’s Growth Management Act as a way to guide creating the comprehensive plan. The plan is meant to reflect changes  and anticipated changes in land use, housing, population growth, water, sewage, parks, schools, parks and recreation, transportation and shorelines.

The policies — like the comprehensive plan, mandated by the Growth Management Act — are also intended to help coordinate the acts of varied government agencies.

“We adopted the policies with a number of changes and recommended that the Board of Commissioners adopt them,” said Jeffery Wallin, chairperson of the planning commission.

The planning departments of the county, Coupeville, Langley and Oak Harbor held about 14 meetings to hash out the policies between March 2013 and this past January. Last week’s meeting of the planning commission was open to the public for final comments on the policies, though no one came forward to speak.

The policies in their current state provide, among other things, that:

• Island County’s unique rural atmosphere and lifestyle will be protected from sprawling low-density development and inappropriate uses.

• Opportunities for affordable housing will be provided throughout the county.

• Urban growth areas may be expanded if necessary to accommodate a 20-year supply of buildable land.

The Growth Manage-ment Act requires counties and some cities to update their comprehensive plans every eight years, ensuring that county regulations both keep pace with ever-changing state requirements and reflect local priorities.

Island County adopted its first comp plan in 1998. It completed its most recent periodic review and update in 2005. The updated version is due June 30, 2016.

The planning commission is composed of nine volunteers who make recommendations to the Island County Board of Commissioners on matters of growth and development.