SENATE BILL REPORT

                  SHB 2083

              As Reported By Senate Committee On:

             Government Operations, April 3, 1997

Title:  An act relating to authorized uses for master planned resorts.

Brief Description:  Authorizing uses for master planned resorts.

Sponsors:  House Committee on Government Reform & Land Use (originally sponsored by Representatives Reams, Scott, Buck, Sheldon, Delvin, D. Sommers and Kessler).

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Government Operations:  3/28/97, 4/3/97 [DPA].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended.

  Signed by Senators McCaslin, Chair; Hale, Vice Chair; Anderson, Haugen and Horn.

Staff:  Kathleen Healy (786-7403)

Background:  Under the Growth Management Act (GMA), each county and each city in a county that meets the GMA's requirements adopts a comprehensive plan that includes a list of elements and subjects set forth in the act.  Counties and cities must include the following elements and subjects in a comprehensive plan:  land use, housing, capital facilities plan, utilities, transportation, provisions designating the five types of critical areas, provisions designating the three types of natural resource lands, the goals and policies of the county's or city's shoreline master program adopted under the Shoreline Management Act, urban-growth area designation, and rural-element designation.  A comprehensive plan also may include other elements and matters.

Counties and cities must also adopt development regulations consistent with their comprehensive plan, and must designate and protect critical areas, designate and conserve certain natural-resource lands, and designate urban-growth areas.  Among other requirements, each urban-growth area must permit urban densities and must include greenbelt and open-space areas.  An urban-growth area may include territory that is located outside of a city only if that territory is already characterized by or is adjacent to an area characterized by urban growth or is designated as a new, fully contained community. 

Counties that plan under the GMA may also permit master planned resorts to be characterized as urban growth outside of urban-growth areas.  A master planned resort means a self-contained, fully integrated, planned, unit development in a setting of significant natural amenities with the primary focus on destination resort facilities consisting of short-term visitor accommodations associated with a range of facilities.  A master planned resort may include other residential uses within its boundaries, but only if the residential uses are integrated into and support the on-site recreational nature of the resort.

A county may permit master planned resorts as urban growth outside of an urban-growth area if all of the following conditions are met:

(1)The comprehensive plan specifically identifies policies to guide the development of master planned resorts;

(2)The comprehensive plan and development regulations include restrictions that preclude new urban or suburban-land uses in the vicinity of the master planned resort, except in areas otherwise designated for urban growth;

(3)The county includes a finding as a part of the approval process that the land is better suited, and has more long-term importance, for the master planned resort than for the commercial harvesting of timber or agricultural production, if located on land that otherwise would be designated as forest land or agricultural land;

(4)The county ensures that the resort plan is consistent with the development regulations established for critical areas; and

(5)On-site and off-site infrastructure impacts are fully considered and mitigated.

Summary of Amended Bill: Counties may include some existing resorts as master planned resorts under a GMA provision that allows counties to permit master planned resorts as urban growth outside of urban-growth areas if the resort meets certain criteria.  A definition of an existing resort is provided.  Criteria is provided that must be met in order for a county to include an existing resort as a master planned resort under the GMA.

In addition, a county is authorized to allocate a portion of its 20-year population projection prepared by the Office of Financial Management to the existing resort.  The allocation must correspond to the projected number of permanent residents within the existing resort.

Amended Bill Compared to Substitute Bill:  The broadened definition of a master planned resort was removed, along with the permitted actions related to the broadened definition.  The emergency clause was removed as well.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  The first part of the bill broadening the definition was vetoed, so the intended bill deals only with existing master planned resorts.  The amended bill helps Port Ludlow, which has never quite fit any of the GMA labels.  This bill allows for existing master planned resort.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Jerry Harper, David Cunningham, Pope Resources (pro); Mike Ryherd, 1000 Friends of WA (pro w/amend.) Steve Wells, CTED Growth Mgmt (pro sec. 2); Dave Williams, AWC (pro sec. 2).