H-3972.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 2716
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 52nd Legislature 1992 Regular Session
By Representatives Forner, Wynne, Sheldon, Hochstatter, Morton, Vance, Betrozoff, Mitchell, Wilson, Brough, Carlson, Van Luven, P. Johnson, Bowman, May, Tate, McLean and Wood
Read first time 01/24/92. Referred to Committee on Natural Resources & Parks.Requiring counties and cities to minimize costs of conformance for development regulations for critical areas.
AN ACT Relating to critical areas; and amending RCW 36.70A.060.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 36.70A.060 and 1991 sp.s. c 32 s 21 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Each county that is required or chooses to plan under RCW 36.70A.040, and each city within such county, shall adopt development regulations on or before September 1, 1991, to assure the conservation of agricultural, forest, and mineral resource lands designated under RCW 36.70A.170. Regulations adopted under this subsection may not prohibit uses legally existing on any parcel prior to their adoption and shall remain in effect until the county or city adopts development regulations pursuant to RCW 36.70A.120. Such regulations shall assure that the use of lands adjacent to agricultural, forest, or mineral resource lands shall not interfere with the continued use, in the accustomed manner and in accordance with best management practices, of these designated lands for the production of food, agricultural products, or timber, or for the extraction of minerals. Counties and cities shall require that all plats, short plats, development permits, and building permits issued for development activities on, or within three hundred feet of, lands designated as agricultural lands, forest lands, or mineral resource lands, contain a notice that the subject property is within or near designated agricultural lands, forest lands, or mineral resource lands on which a variety of commercial activities may occur that are not compatible with residential development for certain periods of limited duration.
(2) Each county and city shall adopt development regulations that protect critical areas that are required to be designated under RCW 36.70A.170. For counties and cities that are required or choose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040, such development regulations shall be adopted on or before September 1, 1991. For the remainder of the counties and cities, such development regulations shall be adopted on or before March 1, 1992.
When performance standards are used to designate or protect critical areas, counties and cities, in designing their development regulations required in this subsection, shall minimize the economic costs to applicants to the extent practicable. In minimizing costs of conformance to these development regulations while ensuring critical areas are adequately designated and protected, counties and cities shall consider: (a) Mapping known critical areas and relying on these maps as much as possible; (b) allowing for reasonable exceptions, waivers, or variances when circumstances warrant, such as development on small, platted lots in heavily developed areas or remodeling existing structures; and (c) other reasonable approaches to balance the protection of critical areas with minimizing economic costs and interference with private property rights.
(3) Such counties and cities shall review these designations and development regulations when adopting their comprehensive plans under RCW 36.70A.040 and implementing development regulations under RCW 36.70A.120 and may alter such designations and development regulations to insure consistency.
(4) Forest land and agricultural land located within urban growth areas shall not be designated by a county or city as forest land or agricultural land of long-term commercial significance under RCW 36.70A.170 unless the city or county has enacted a program authorizing transfer or purchase of development rights.