6001-S

AN ACT Relating to school impact fees; and amending RCW 82.02.050 and 36.70A.130.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 82.02.050 and 1994 c 257 s 24 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) It is the intent of the legislature:

(a) To ensure that adequate facilities are available to serve new growth and development;

(b) To promote orderly growth and development by establishing standards by which counties, cities, and towns may require, by ordinance, that new growth and development pay a proportionate share of the cost of new facilities needed to serve new growth and development; ((~~and~~))

(c) To ensure that school districts affected by growth and development are provided with a uniform level of support from new development; and

(d) To ensure that impact fees are imposed through established procedures and criteria so that specific developments do not pay arbitrary fees or duplicative fees for the same impact.

(2) Counties, cities, and towns that are required or choose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 are authorized to impose impact fees on development activity as part of the financing for public facilities, provided that the financing for system improvements to serve new development must provide for a balance between impact fees and other sources of public funds and cannot rely solely on impact fees.

(3) The legislature has recognized that counties are regional governments within their boundaries. Where a school district serves the populations of more than one city, town, or county unincorporated area, and the school district has developed a capital facilities plan that complies with RCW 36.70A.070, the school district shall petition the county with the largest portion of the district to coordinate a process resulting in the imposition of a coordinated uniform school impact fee by each jurisdiction served by the school district. The school district shall be a participant in the process. The time from petition to agreement and adoption of a uniform school impact fee by each jurisdiction shall not exceed one hundred eighty days.

(4) If after one hundred eighty days from the date the petition authorized in subsection (3) of this section is delivered to the county, the counties, cities, and towns served by a school district have not reached agreement and have not adopted a uniform fee, then a county, city, town, or school district may invoke binding arbitration. At the end of the binding arbitration process, the decision of the arbitrator shall be transmitted to the counties, cities, and towns served by the district, and each county, city, and town shall adopt a school impact fee ordinance at the fee levels established by the arbitrator within ninety days of receiving the decision, and shall incorporate the district's plan into its comprehensive plan. No later than November 30, 1995, the department of community, trade, and economic development shall adopt procedural criteria governing the binding arbitration process.

(5) In order to initiate the process outlined in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, a school district must complete the following:

(a) Prepare a capital facilities plan in accordance with RCW 36.70A.070, and comply with the requirements of RCW 82.02.050 through 82.02.090;

(b) Adopt the school district capital facilities plan at an open public meeting;

(c) Adopt a resolution stating the need for an impact fee, the proposed amounts of the impact fee, how the impact fee supports the development of the capital facilities and the acquisition of school sites identified in the plan, the plan for the expenditure of the impact fees, how the county will initiate the process outlined in subsection (3) of this section, and the counties, cities, and towns that will participate in the process; and

(d) Submit the adopted plan and resolution to the counties, cities, and towns served by the school district for review and inclusion in the capital facilities elements of the comprehensive plans of the counties, cities, and towns.

(6) No later than September 30, 1995, the department of community, trade, and economic development, in cooperation with school districts, development interests, and local governments, shall develop and distribute training and educational materials that facilitate the implementation of chapter . . ., Laws of 1995 (this act). At a minimum, such information must include a sample impact fee ordinance and descriptions of impact fee collection processes identifying various methods and timing of collection.

(7) A county, city, or town planning under chapter 36.70A RCW may at any time adopt amendments or revisions to its comprehensive plan and development regulations in order to adopt school impact fees and school district capital facilities plans.

(8) The impact fees:

(a) Shall only be imposed for system improvements that are reasonably related to the new development;

(b) Shall not exceed a proportionate share of the costs of system improvements that are reasonably related to the new development; and

((~~(4)~~)) (9) Impact fees may be collected and spent only for the public facilities defined in RCW 82.02.090 which are addressed by a capital facilities plan element of a comprehensive land use plan adopted pursuant to the provisions of RCW 36.70A.070 or the provisions for comprehensive plan adoption contained in chapter 36.70, 35.63, or 35A.63 RCW. After the date a county, city, or town is required to adopt its development regulations under chapter 36.70A RCW, continued authorization to collect and expend impact fees shall be contingent on the county, city, or town adopting or revising a comprehensive plan in compliance with RCW 36.70A.070, and on the capital facilities plan identifying:

(a) Deficiencies in public facilities serving existing development and the means by which existing deficiencies will be eliminated within a reasonable period of time;

(b) Additional demands placed on existing public facilities by new development; and

If the capital facilities plan of the county, city, or town is complete other than for the inclusion of those elements which are the responsibility of a special district, the county, city, or town may impose impact fees to address those public facility needs for which the county, city, or town is responsible.

Sec. 2. RCW 36.70A.130 and 1990 1st ex.s. c 17 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Each comprehensive land use plan and development regulations shall be subject to continuing evaluation and review by the county or city that adopted them.

Any amendment or revision to a comprehensive land use plan shall conform to this chapter, and any change to development regulations shall be consistent with and implement the comprehensive plan.

(2) Each county and city shall establish procedures whereby proposed amendments or revisions of the comprehensive plan are considered by the governing body of the county or city no more frequently than once every year. All proposals shall be considered by the governing body concurrently so the cumulative effect of the various proposals can be ascertained. However, a county or city may adopt amendments or revisions to its comprehensive plan that conform with this chapter at any time when authorized by RCW 82.02.050(7) and whenever an emergency exists.

(3) Each county that designates urban growth areas under RCW 36.70A.110 shall review, at least every ten years, its designated urban growth area or areas, and the densities permitted within both the incorporated and unincorporated portions of each urban growth area. In conjunction with this review by the county, each city located within an urban growth area shall review the densities permitted within its boundaries, and the extent to which the urban growth occurring within the county has located within each city and the unincorporated portions of the urban growth areas. The county comprehensive plan designating urban growth areas, and the densities permitted in the urban growth areas by the comprehensive plans of the county and each city located within the urban growth areas, shall be revised to accommodate the urban growth projected to occur in the county for the succeeding twenty-year period.