BP BHEAD INT H [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to natural area preserves; amending RCW 79.70.040 and 79.70.010; adding new sections to chapter 79.70 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 43.98A RCW.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 79.70.040 and 1972 ex.s. c 119 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department is further authorized to purchase, lease, set aside or exchange any public land or state-owned trust lands which are deemed to be natural areas: PROVIDED, That the appropriate state land trust receives the fair market value for any interests that are disposed of: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That such transactions are approved by the board of natural resources.

(2) An area consisting of public land or state-owned trust lands designated as a natural area preserve shall be held in trust and shall not be alienated except to another public use upon a finding by the department of natural resources of imperative and unavoidable public necessity.

(3) The department shall not purchase, lease, set aside, or exchange any public land or state-owned trust lands which are deemed to be natural areas where such an action would deny a right of way to any privately owned property, unless the department grants an easement across the proposed natural area preserve to the affected property owner. The department may negotiate with a willing adjoining private property owner for the granting of a private way of necessity for the affected property owner, but may not seek a private way of necessity through condemnation of land.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 79.70 RCW to read as follows:

(1) If a landowner has lost his or her right of way due to a natural area preserve created since January 1, 1972, the department shall provide a private way of necessity across the natural area preserve that created the lack of access. If an alternative route is available on, across, over, or through an adjoining property owned by a private landowner, the department may negotiate for a private way of necessity for the landowner who has lost his or her right of way due to the creation of a natural area preserve. If an agreement can be reached with a willing adjoining property owner, the department shall provide and construct a replacement road on the adjoining property.

(a) The department may not condemn land that is privately owned for the creation of a private way of necessity.

(b) The department may enter into an agreement with a willing adjoining property owner for the creation of a private way of necessity. The department shall pay reasonable attorney fees and related costs for the establishment of the private way of necessity.

(2) The term "private way of necessity," as used in this chapter, includes a right of way on, across, over, or through a natural area preserve for means of ingress and egress, and the construction and maintenance thereon of roads and logging roads upon which timber, stone, minerals, or other valuable materials and products may be transported and carried.

(3) If it is determined an owner, or one entitled to the beneficial use of land, is entitled to a private way of necessity and there is more than one possible route for the private way of necessity, the selection of the route shall be weighed to establish an equitable balance between the economic benefits to the land for which the private way of necessity is sought and the environmental impacts to the land over which the private way of necessity is to run.

(4) In an action seeking a private way of necessity, if the owner of the landlocked property and the department prefer different routes, the route preferred by the department prevails unless the owner of the landlocked property can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that either: (a) The economic benefits derived from the landlocked owner's preferred route are substantially greater than the economic benefits derived from the department's preferred route; or (b) the department's preferred route is substantially more financially expensive than the route preferred by the landlocked owner.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 79.70 RCW to read as follows:

The department shall pay the legal and related court costs for landowners who successfully sue to enforce the private way of necessity requirement under this chapter and chapter 8.24 RCW, or pay to provide and construct a private way of necessity.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 79.70 RCW to read as follows:

The department shall hold a public hearing in the county where the majority of the land in the proposed natural area preserve is located prior to establishing the boundary. At the hearing the department shall distribute to all who attend an accurate map showing the affected land and containing the exact legal description. At least fourteen days prior to the public hearing, the department shall send notice specifying the date, location, time, and purpose of the public hearing to each local newspaper of general circulation and to each local radio and television station.

Sec. 5. RCW 79.70.010 and 1972 ex.s. c 119 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The purpose of this chapter is to establish a state system of natural area preserves and a means whereby the preservation of these aquatic and land areas can be accomplished.

All areas within the state, except those which are expressly dedicated by law for preservation and protection in their natural condition, are subject to alteration by human activity. Natural lands, together with the plants and animals living thereon in natural ecological systems, are valuable for the purposes of scientific research, teaching, as habitats of rare and vanishing species, as places of natural historic and natural interest and scenic beauty, and as living museums of the original heritage of the state.

It is, therefore, the public policy of the state of Washington to secure for the people of present and future generations the benefit of an enduring resource of natural areas by establishing a system of natural area preserves, and to provide for the protection of these natural areas.

Further, it is also the public policy of the state of Washington to secure, protect, and defend private property rights. An action to acquire and protect a natural area preserve may not supersede or restrict the rights of adjoining property owners.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 43.98A RCW to read as follows:

Lands may not be purchased, leased, set aside, exchanged, or otherwise acquired under this chapter for natural area preserves where the action would deny a right of way to any privately owned property, unless a right of way across the proposed natural area preserve is granted to the affected property owner. A private way of necessity may be sought for the affected property owner through a willing adjoining private property owner, but a private way of necessity may not be sought through condemnation of land.