What we do - SmartGrowth

We have a choice and a voice in shaping our shared future.

Friends of Skagit County (FOSC) is a local non-profit organization working for the benefit of the Skagit community to manage growth and stop sprawl. 

Through grassroots organizing and advocacy we work to protect our open spaces, farms, forests, and natural heritage, and to support compact, “walkable” neighborhoods in our towns.

What is at Stake?

• Farmland soils in the top 1 percent in the world for quality and yields

• Majestic forests in federal, state and private ownership

• Breath-taking mountain scenery

• Habitat for hundreds of thousands of migrating waterfowl

• Over-wintering habitat for snow geese and swans

• Wintering and nesting areas for eagles and other raptors

• 35% of Puget Sound’s wild Chinook

• Friendly, low-crime, cohesive towns with diverse populations

• Our rural character

Smart Growth Principles

(from Smart Growth America;  http://www.smartgrowthamerica.com )

• Create walkable neighborhoods

• Mix land uses

• Use compact building design

• Create a range of housing choices

• Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place

• Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas

• Strengthen and direct development toward existing communities

• Provide a variety of transportation choices

• Make development decisions fair, predictable and cost effective

• Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions

 How Do We Make Smart Growth Happen? 

• Support well-designed developments

• Build coalitions that include the entire community

• Make all planning participatory

• Protect resource lands and the natural environment

• Promote and patronize local farms and businesses

• Promote and patronize pedestrian- and transit-friendly projects/developments

• Vote Smart.

Smart Growth Resources at FOSC

• Printed materials (our brochure, newsletter, etc.)

• Email list-serv

• Smart Growth slide show (We are happy to come to your organization to make a presentation.  Please call 419-0988 to schedule.)

• Resource library at our office by appointment (110 N. 1^st St., Suite C, Mt. Vernon)

• Volunteers who will talk to you and answer your questions about our local land-use planning process (Leave a message at 419-0988 explaining your question/problem.)

• Contacts with other grassroots organizations.