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AN ACT Relating to payment of impact fees; amending RCW 43.21C.060, 58.17.110, and 82.02.060; and adding a new section to chapter 36.70A RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 36.70A RCW to read as follows:

Payment of an impact fee for system improvements imposed under the authority of a charter county or a charter city derived from its charter, or imposed under authority of chapter 82.02 RCW, precludes the city or county from denying or conditioning development on the basis of the concurrency requirements of this chapter relating to the public facility for which the fee was paid.

Sec. 2. RCW 43.21C.060 and 1983 c 117 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

The policies and goals set forth in this chapter are supplementary to those set forth in existing authorizations of all branches of government of this state, including state agencies, municipal and public corporations, and counties. Any governmental action may be conditioned or denied pursuant to this chapter: PROVIDED, That such conditions or denials shall be based upon policies identified by the appropriate governmental authority and incorporated into regulations, plans, or codes which are formally designated by the agency (or appropriate legislative body, in the case of local government) as possible bases for the exercise of authority pursuant to this chapter. Such designation shall occur at the time specified by RCW 43.21C.120. Such action may be conditioned only to mitigate specific adverse environmental impacts which are identified in the environmental documents prepared under this chapter. These conditions shall be stated in writing by the decisionmaker. Mitigation measures shall be reasonable and capable of being accomplished. In order to deny a proposal under this chapter, an agency must find that: (1) The proposal would result in significant adverse impacts identified in a final or supplemental environmental impact statement prepared under this chapter; and (2) reasonable mitigation measures are insufficient to mitigate the identified impact. Except for permits and variances issued pursuant to chapter 90.58 RCW, when such a governmental action, not requiring a legislative decision, is conditioned or denied by a nonelected official of a local governmental agency, the decision shall be appealable to the legislative authority of the acting local governmental agency unless that legislative authority formally eliminates such appeals. Such appeals shall be in accordance with procedures established for such appeals by the legislative authority of the acting local governmental agency.

The procedures, standards, and definitions in RCW 82.02.050 through 82.02.090 relating to impact fees apply to any fee imposed and collected under this chapter. Impact fees may be imposed and collected only for those public facilities defined in RCW 82.02.090(7). Payment of an impact fee under this chapter constitutes full and complete compliance with the requirements of this chapter, or any other statute or rule for provision of the facility or service for which the fee was paid.

Sec. 3. RCW 58.17.110 and 1990 1st ex.s. c 17 s 52 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The city, town, or county legislative body shall inquire into the public use and interest proposed to be served by the establishment of the subdivision and dedication. It shall determine: (a) If appropriate provisions are made for, but not limited to, the public health, safety, and general welfare, for open spaces, drainage ways, streets or roads, alleys, other public ways, transit stops, potable water supplies, sanitary wastes, parks and recreation, playgrounds, schools and schoolgrounds, and shall consider all other relevant facts, including sidewalks and other planning features that assure safe walking conditions for students who only walk to and from school; and (b) whether the public interest will be served by the subdivision and dedication.

(2) A proposed subdivision and dedication shall not be approved unless the city, town, or county legislative body makes written findings that: (a) Appropriate provisions are made for the public health, safety, and general welfare and for such open spaces, drainage ways, streets or roads, alleys, other public ways, transit stops, potable water supplies, sanitary wastes, parks and recreation, playgrounds, schools and schoolgrounds and all other relevant facts, including sidewalks and other planning features that assure safe walking conditions for students who only walk to and from school; and (b) the public use and interest will be served by the platting of such subdivision and dedication. If it finds that the proposed subdivision and dedication make such appropriate provisions and that the public use and interest will be served, then the legislative body shall approve the proposed subdivision and dedication. Dedication of land to any public body, provision of public improvements to serve the subdivision, and/or impact fees imposed under RCW 82.02.050 through 82.02.090 may be required as a condition of subdivision approval. Payment of an impact fee imposed under RCW 82.02.050 through 82.02.090, or a fee imposed under RCW 43.21C.060, constitutes full and complete compliance with the requirements of this chapter, or any other statute or rule for the provision of the public facility for which the fee was paid. The procedures, standards, and definitions in RCW 82.02.050 through 82.02.090 relating to impact fees apply to a fee imposed and collected under this chapter. Impact fees may be imposed and collected only for those public facilities defined in RCW 82.02.090(7). Dedications shall be clearly shown on the final plat. No dedication, provision of public improvements, or impact fees imposed under RCW 82.02.050 through 82.02.090 shall be allowed that constitutes an unconstitutional taking of private property. The legislative body shall not as a condition to the approval of any subdivision require a release from damages to be procured from other property owners.

Sec. 4. RCW 82.02.060 and 1990 1st ex.s. c 17 s 44 are each amended to read as follows:

The local ordinance by which impact fees are imposed:

(1) Shall include a schedule of impact fees which shall be adopted for each type of development activity that is subject to impact fees, specifying the amount of the impact fee to be imposed for each type of system improvement. The schedule shall be based upon a formula or other method of calculating such impact fees. In determining proportionate share, the formula or other method of calculating impact fees shall incorporate, among other things, the following:

(a) The cost of public facilities necessitated by new development;

(b) An adjustment to the cost of the public facilities for past or future payments made or reasonably anticipated to be made by new development to pay for particular system improvements in the form of user fees, debt service payments, taxes, or other payments earmarked for or proratable to the particular system improvement;

(d) The cost of existing public facilities improvements; and

(e) The methods by which public facilities improvements were financed;

(2) May provide an exemption for low-income housing, and other development activities with broad public purposes, from these impact fees, provided that the impact fees for such development activity shall be paid from public funds other than impact fee accounts;

(3) Shall provide a credit for the value of any dedication of land for, improvement to, or new construction of any system improvements provided by the developer, to facilities that are identified in the capital facilities plan and that are required by the county, city, or town as a condition of approving the development activity;

(4) Shall provide that impact fees for residential construction be collected at the time of home title transfer to the occupant or certificate of occupancy or twelve months after the building permit is issued;

(5) Shall allow the county, city, or town imposing the impact fees to adjust the standard impact fee at the time the fee is imposed to consider unusual circumstances in specific cases to ensure that impact fees are imposed fairly;

((~~(5)~~)) (6) Shall include a provision for calculating the amount of the fee to be imposed on a particular development that permits consideration of studies and data submitted by the developer to adjust the amount of the fee;

((~~(6)~~)) (7) Shall establish one or more reasonable service areas within which it shall calculate and impose impact fees for various land use categories per unit of development;

((~~(7)~~)) (8) May provide for the imposition of an impact fee for system improvement costs previously incurred by a county, city, or town to the extent that new growth and development will be served by the previously constructed improvements provided such fee shall not be imposed to make up for any system improvement deficiencies.