EMERGENCY RULES
GORGE COMMISSION
Effective Date of Rule: Immediately.
Purpose: These temporary rules clarify that the commission's consideration of applications to amend the management plan and revise urban area boundaries is a discretionary action, and specify that the commission will determine, as part of its biennial work planning, how many of these types of applications it will accept for review. The commission is concurrently proposing these or similar rules as permanent rules.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending 350-40-020, 350-40-040, 350-50-020, 350-120-0040, and 350-50-060.
Reviser's note: 350-120-0040 is referred to above; however, the text of the section was not included with the filing by the agency. cf. RCW 34.08.020 (1)(a).
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 43.97.015.
Other Authority: 16 U.S.C. § 544b(f); 16 U.S.C. § 544d(h); ORS 196.150.
Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.
Reasons for this Finding: Recent budget information leads the commission to reduce the amount of discretionary work that it does. In the past, the commission has considered plan amendment and urban area boundary revisions applications as applicants submit them. These changes are necessary for the commission to manage its workload immediately and avoid a rush of applications prior to enacting the same or similar as permanent rules.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 4, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 4, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 4, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: January 13, 2009.
Nancy A. Andring
Rules Coordinator
Amendatory Section350-40-020. Authority.
(1) Consideration of requests to revise urban area
boundaries is a discretionary action authorized by section
4(f) of the Act. The Act does not entitle a county, or any
person or entity, to have the Commission review a request to
revise any urban area boundary. The Commission may make
"minor revisions" to the boundaries of an Urban Area [Scenic
Area Act, Section 4(f)]. Such revisions must comply with
procedural requirements and criteria in the Scenic Area Act.
(2) Three procedural requirements are included in Section 4 (f)(1) of the Scenic Area Act:
(a) Requests to revise an Urban Area boundary are submitted to the Commission by a county government;
(b) The Commission must consult the Secretary of Agriculture before revising an Urban Area boundary; and
(c) Two-thirds of the Commission members, including a majority of the members appointed from each state, must approve a revision of an Urban Area boundary. In the event of recusal, the doctrine of necessity shall apply.
(3) Section 4 (f)(2) of the Scenic Area Act allows the Commission to revise the boundaries of an Urban Area only if the following criteria are satisfied:
(a) A demonstrable need exists to accommodate long-range urban population growth requirements or economic needs consistent with the Management Plan;
(b) Revision of Urban Area boundaries is consistent with the standards established in Section 6 and the purposes of the Scenic Area Act;
(c) Revision of Urban Area boundaries will result in maximum efficiency of land uses within and on the fringe of existing Urban Areas; and
(d) Revision of Urban Area boundaries will not result in the significant reduction of agricultural lands, forest lands, or open spaces.
Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text of the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.
Reviser's note: The typographical error in the above material occurred in the copy filed by the Columbia River Gorge Commission and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.
Amendatory Section
350-40-040. Processing of Application.
Each application to revise the boundaries of an Urban
Area is reviewed according to the priorities established by
the Commission in the Management Plan [see Part IV, Chapter 1,
section Revision of Urban Area Boundaries, Policy 5]. Within
priority categories established in the Management Plan,
applications are reviewed in the order received. Applications
for revision of urban area boundaries shall be reviewed upon
receipt and in the order in which they are received, except
that the Commission may, as part of its work planning, set a
limit on the number of urban area boundary revision
applications it will process during the biennium and may set
its limit at zero.
Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text of the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.
Reviser's note: The typographical error in the above material occurred in the copy filed by the Columbia River Gorge Commission and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.
Amendatory Section
350-50-020. Authority.
(1) Consideration of amendments to the Management Plan is
a discretionary action authorized by section 6(h) of the Act.
The Act does not entitle any person or entity to have the
Commission review an application to amend the Management Plan.
The Commission shall may adopt an amendment to the Management
Plan only if it is consistent with the purposes and standards
of the Scenic Area Act, the provisions in section 6(h) of the
Act, and this rule.
(2) The Act only allows the Commission to adopt a plan amendment:
(a) If the Commission determines at any time that conditions within the Scenic Area have significantly changed; and
(b) If the Commission approves the plan amendment by a majority vote of the members appointed, including approval by at least three members from each state. In the event of recusal, the doctrine of necessity shall apply.
Reviser's note: The typographical error in the above material occurred in the copy filed by the Columbia River Gorge Commission and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.
Amendatory Section
350-50-060. Processing of Application.
(1) Applications for quasi-judicial amendments shall be
reviewed upon receipt and in the order in which they are
received, except that the Commission may, as part of its work
planning, set a limit on the number of quasi-judicial
applications it will process during the biennium and may set
its limit at zero. Applications shall be reviewed pursuant to
sections 070 through 120 of this division.
(2) The Executive Director shall maintain requests for legislative amendments. The Commission shall review requested legislative amendments at least once each biennium and determine which, if any, to handle as an application to amend the Management Plan. In determining which legislative amendments to handle, the Commission may consider such factors as: whether the issue has been the subject of appeals, whether the issue has been an implementation problem, whether the issue is a priority of federal, state, local, or tribal governments, and availability of data and resources necessary to analyze the issue. The Commission shall solicit public comment during its work planning concerning legislative amendments to initiate. The decision to initiate a legislative amendment is at the sole discretion of the Commission.
(3) For legislative amendments, the Executive Director shall hold a pre-application conference as provided in 350-50-045. Following the pre-application conference, the Executive Director shall process a legislative amendment pursuant to sections 080 through 120 of this division.