FINAL BILL REPORT

                  HB 2467

                         C 167 L 96

                     Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Revising the definition of "major industrial development" for the purpose of growth management planning.

Sponsors:  Representatives Pennington, Morris, Carlson, Boldt and Benton.

House Committee on Government Operations

Senate Committee on Government Operations

Background:  The Growth Management Act was enacted in 1990 and 1991, and established a variety of requirements for certain counties and the cities located in those counties.

Urban Growth Areas

Among other requirements, each county planning under all requirements of the Growth Management Act must designate urban growth areas within the county, inside of which urban growth shall occur and outside of which urban growth shall not occur.  Every city must be included within an urban growth area.  Other areas may be included in urban growth areas if they are already characterized by urban growth or are adjacent to such areas.

Several exceptions allow urban growth outside of urban growth areas.  First, a county may authorize new fully contained communities outside urban growth areas, if certain conditions are met.  Second, a county may authorize master planned resorts outside urban growth areas, if certain conditions are met.  Third, a county may authorize major industrial developments outside urban growth areas, if certain conditions are met.

Major Industrial Developments

Legislation enacted in 1995 allows counties to establish a process for approving major industrial developments outside urban growth areas.  The county must consult with cities consistent with the provisions of the county-wide planning policy in establishing this process.  A "major industrial development" is defined as a master planned location for a specific manufacturing or industrial business, or a specific commercial business other than retail commercial development or multi-tenant office parks, that

$requires a parcel of land so large that no suitable parcels without critical areas are available within any urban growth area; or

$is a natural-resource-based industry requiring location near agricultural land, forest land, or mineral resource land upon which it is dependent.

A variety of factors must be met before such development may be sited outside an urban growth area, including (a) infrastructure is provided and/or applicable impact fees have been paid, (b) buffers and environmental protection are provided, and (c) development regulations discourage urban growth in adjacent non-urban areas.  Priority shall be given to applications for sites adjacent to or in proximity to the urban growth area.

Summary:  A pilot project is authorized to designate an urban industrial land bank outside urban growth areas.  The pilot project is in addition to the existing major industrial development siting process under the Growth Management Act.

A county may establish the pilot project if the county plans under all the requirements of the Growth Management Act, has a population of greater than 250,000, and is part of a metropolitan area that includes a city in another state with a population greater than 250,000.  The county establishes the pilot project in consultation with cities consistent with its county-wide planning policy.

The urban industrial land bank may consist of no more than two master planned locations for major industrial activity outside urban growth areas.  Priority shall be given to locations that are adjacent to or in close proximity to an urban growth area.  A master planned location for major industrial developments may be included in the urban industrial land bank if the same criteria are met that are required under the existing major industrial development process in the Growth Management Act.  Only manufacturing and industrial businesses that qualify under that major industrial development process may be located in the master planned location.

The pilot project terminates on December 31, 1998, but any location included within the urban industrial land bank at that time remains available for major industrial development under the same criteria.

Votes on Final Passage:

House    84 13

Senate    46 1 (Senate amended)

House     92 0 (House concurred)

Effective:  March 28, 1996