Effective Date of Rule: May 1, 2009.

     Purpose: These changes 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 work planning, how many of these types of applications it will accept for review.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending 350-40-020, 350-40-040, 350-50-020, and 350-50-060.

      Adopted under notice filed as WSR 09-03-058 on January 13, 2009.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 4, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 4, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: March 10, 2009.

Nancy A. Andring

Rules Coordinator

350-40-020. 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.

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