Growth Management Services often has opportunities to fund community planning and development. This page contains information on open grants and current funding cycles for local governments.
Current opportunities
Grant programs
Status: Closed
The governor and the Legislature made a historic investment in Growth Management Act planning during the 2022 legislative session and have continued that into the 2023-2025 budget period. As a result, we expect to provide grant funding to all counties, and cities within those counties, in advance of their upcoming comprehensive plan and development regulation “periodic updates,” required under RCW 36.70A.130(5).
Grants are available to counties and cities based on fully planning or partially planning status under the GMA, as well as population:
Fully planning
- Counties with 100,000 population and over: $700,000
- Counties under 100,000 population: $350,000
- Cities with 100,000 population and over: $325,000
- Cities with 50,000 to 99,999 population: $175,000
- Cities with 3,000 to 49,999 population: $125,000
- Cities under 3,000 population: $100,000
Partially planning
- Counties with 10,000 population and over: $150,000
- Counties under 10,000 population: $100,000
- Cities (No population limits): $20,000
Starting July 1, 2023, counties and cities with a 2025 deadline are eligible to receive the first half of their grant, with the second half coming the following year. Commerce intends to provide these same grant amounts to all counties and cities throughout the update cycle, with due dates from 2024 through 2027, under RCW 36.70A.130(5)(a)-(d). Grants should be available for all jurisdictions starting two years before the statutory deadlines for review and revision, established under RCW 36.70A.130(5).
Grant requirements
Periodic Update Grant (PUG) award notifications and instructions have been distributed to counties and cities with 2025 and 2026 updates. Jurisdictions in need of a contract amendment must have an updated Scope of Work and Budget Table finalized and approved by early April. The deadline for jurisdictions to sign contract amendments is April 18, 2025. Jurisdictions are eligible to request grant reimbursement for all periodic update grant work, defined in the grant agreements.
Application materials
Local agency representatives can select the following links based on their periodic update due date:
Status: Closed
The Connection Housing to Infrastructure Program (CHIP) funds utility connections for affordable housing. By covering the upfront costs of infrastructure and connecting housing to municipal systems, the program makes affordable housing projects more viable and helps bring more affordable housing units online.
The latest round of CHIP funding closed on Oct. 31, 2024. Awards were announced in January. Future funding is contingent on appropriation in the 2025-27 State Capital Budget, now under consideration by the Legislature.
Refer to the CHIP webpage for program guidelines, pre-application workshop materials and additional resources.
Status: Open
The Department of Commerce, in collaboration with the Puget Sound National Estuary Program and the Stormwater Strategic Initiative Lead (SWSIL), developed the Salmon Recovery through Local Planning grant program to support local governments and tribes working on salmon recovery and to further the Puget Sound National Estuary Program’s investment priorities.
The funding provided through this program supports updates to comprehensive plans and development regulations focused on protecting ecosystems, improving water quality and improving vital salmon habitat.
Funding details
Approximately $1 million in grant funding is available to cities and counties both fully and partially planning under the Growth Management Act and federally recognized tribes in the Puget Sound.
Application information
- Salmon Recovery through Local Planning Grant Application Instructions (PDF)
- Grant Application (Smartsheet intake form)
- Questions and Answers (PDF)
Applications due: 4 p.m. Monday, March 31, 2025
Pre-application virtual workshop
Commerce hosted a pre-application workshop on February 11, 2025 to provide more information about this grant opportunity.
- View and download the pre-application workshop presentation (PDF)
- Watch a recording of the pre-application workshop (Vimeo)
Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact us at angela.sanfilippo@commerce.wa.gov.
Status: Ongoing
Pending legislative appropriation, Commerce expects to distribute statewide grants to support climate planning that is required as part of the Growth Management Act (GMA) periodic update process.
Climate planning grants are available to those jurisdictions across Washington that must include a climate change and resiliency element (RCW 36.70A.095) in their comprehensive plans during their next periodic update. Funding level will be determined based on legislative appropriation. This grant program is only for the development of the climate change and resiliency element. Implementation activities will not be eligible for funding.
The following jurisdictions will be eligible based on due date of their periodic update:
- Jurisdictions with June 30, 2026, deadline.
- Jurisdictions with June 30, 2027, deadline.
- Jurisdictions with December 31, 2025, deadline.
Grant materials
Important dates
- April 3, 2025: Pre-application meeting
- April 17, 2025: Application period open
- June, 2, 2025: Application period closes
- July 1, 2025: Grant-funded work may begin
- June 30, 2027: Final grant deliverables and invoices due to Commerce
Grant workshop materials
- Climate Planning Grantee Check-in video recording, March 2025 (Vimeo)
- Climate Planning Grantee Check-In, December 2024 (Vimeo)
- Climate Planning Grantee Check-In, September 2024 (Vimeo)
Climate grants from Commerce are provided with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov.
Status: Currently Closed
This grant program is designed to support cities and counties in the transition from paper to digital permit review processes, and address housing shortages in their jurisdictions.
Grants of up to $375,000 are available to assists jurisdictions in fully or partially updating their permit review process from paper filing systems to software systems capable of processing digital permit applications, virtual inspections, electronic review, and with capacity for video storage.
Application scoring will prioritize jurisdictions who currently have a paper-only or hybrid permitting system and are experiencing growth pressures measured by increases in population and residential permitting numbers.
Application information
Pre-application workshop
Commerce hosted a pre-application workshop on July 25, 2024 to provide more information about this grant opportunity.
- Click here to watch a recording of the webinar (Vimeo)
- Click here to download the webinar presentation (PDF)
Questions?
Visit Commerce’s Local Project Review webpage for more information.
Status: Currently Closed
Commerce has consulted with tribes within Washington state to co-design a strategy for the distribution of $50 million of Climate Commitment Act (CCA) dollars that the Washington Legislature appropriated for tribal climate resilience in the 2023-2025 biennium.
Funds from this grant program can be used for all project stages: planning, feasibility studies, pre-construction, and construction costs. Tribes have the flexibility to determine the best use of this funding to address their climate resiliency needs.