The State Growth Management Act, enacted in 1990, increased the powers of urban counties to regulate land use and requires the counties to use these powers. The Act requires urban counties and their cities to adopt comprehensive plans to manage growth. These plans should channel development to urban areas and reduce sprawl. Most development is to be confined within an urban growth boundary. Vision 2020 is the regional growth strategy for the central Puget Sound region adopted by the Puget Sound Regional Council under the Growth Management Act.
Development is to be concentrated in urban growth areas.
The urban areas in turn should be made up of compact communities, with jobs and housing concentrated in centers. As a result, it should be easier for people to walk, bike, and use transit. The centers will be framed by open space. Achieving an acceptable jobs-housing balance is an explicit goal of Vision 2020. In spite of growth management, however, jobs-housing imbalances in the location of jobs and housing are worsening across King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.