King County officials who will work with islanders to update Vashon’s town and community plans this year will kick off the process with a public meeting Thursday evening.

Bradley Clark, from King County’s Department of Permitting and Environmental Review (DPER), will lead the effort, which will culminate with a new Community Service Area Plan. The plan, which will include information ranging from demographics to major land use changes, will help chart the course for the future of Vashon, he noted. The results will help guide King County’s development and capital improvement decisions over the next 20 years.

Tomorrow’s meeting will introduce islanders to the plan, its key elements and timeline. It is on a fast track, with a rough draft slated for public review by the end of September and a revised, formal document due in November, leaving ample time to get it to the King County Council in March.

To help launch the process, the county will put out a survey next month, gathering information from islanders on a range topics. While the survey will be general, Clark said there will also be focused questions, for example, regarding smaller communities,  such as Dockton and Burton, to determine if there are any zoning, housing, recreation or open space topics that property owners would like to include in the plan. There will also be questions about affordable housing for both renters and owners, among a range of other questions, he said.

Beyond the survey, the county has established a community advisory group made up of about 15 islanders from several areas of island life, from real estate and social services to agriculture and the arts.

The group met for the first time last week, and Clark said it went well.

“It was a great first discussion for everybody, I thought,” he said.

That group will help do further outreach and thoroughly review the outdated town and community plans before moving ahead.

Jim Marsh, the executive director of Vashon’s chamber of commerce, is part of the group and said the meeting was helpful for people to get a sense of the scope of the project they have embarked on.

“It will not solve every building or permitting issue on the island,” he added, noting he is looking forward to getting business leaders, developers and landlords who have worked on the island involved in the process.

Real estate agent Emma Amiad, who also worked on the 1996 town plan, is a member of the group as well, and said she expects it be an exciting process, noting she will carry the lessons forward that she learned 20 years ago.

“You must look below the surface if we want something durable and useful,” she said.

The public meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. March 17, at McMurray Middle School.