BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to the land use study commission; amending RCW 90.61.020, 90.61.030, 90.61.040, and 90.61.900; making an appropriation; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 90.61.020 and 1995 c 347 s 802 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The commission shall consist of not more than ((~~fourteen~~)) eighteen members. Eleven members of the commission shall be appointed by the governor and shall serve at the governor's pleasure. ((~~Membership~~)) The members appointed by the governor shall reflect the interests of business, builders and developers, rural landowners, agriculture, labor, the environment, neighborhood groups, ((~~other citizens, the legislature~~)) the public, cities, counties, and federally recognized Indian tribes. Four members shall be appointed by the legislature, one member to be appointed by each of the two largest caucuses in the senate and one member to be appointed by each of the two largest caucuses in the house of representatives. The members appointed by the legislature are not required to be members of the legislature. Members shall have substantial experience in matters relating to land use and environmental planning and regulation, and shall have the ability to work toward cooperative solutions among diverse interests. The director of the department of community, trade, and economic development, or the director’s designee, shall be a member ((~~and shall serve as chair of the commission~~)). The director of the department of ecology, or the director’s designee, and the secretary of the department of transportation, or the secretary's designee, shall also be members of the commission. The governor shall appoint the chair of the commission. Staff for the commission shall be provided by the department of community, trade, and economic development, with additional staff to be provided by other state agencies and the legislature, as may be required. State agencies shall provide the commission with information and assistance as needed.

(2) Members serving on the commission on the effective date of this act shall continue to serve until they are replaced or resign. New appointments and replacement appointments may be staggered to allow for an orderly transition of new members.

Sec. 2. RCW 90.61.030 and 1995 c 347 s 803 are each amended to read as follows:

The commission shall convene commencing June 1, 1995, and shall complete its work by June 30, ((~~1998~~)) 2002. The commission shall submit a report to the governor and the legislature stating its findings, conclusions, and recommendations not later than November 1 of each year. The commission shall submit its final report to the governor and the legislature not later than November 1, ((~~1997~~)) 2001.

Sec. 3. RCW 90.61.040 and 1995 c 347 s 804 are each amended to read as follows:

The commission shall:

(1) Consider the effectiveness of state and local government efforts to consolidate and integrate the growth management act, the state environmental policy act, the shoreline management act, and other land use, planning, environmental, and permitting laws.

(2) Identify the revisions and modifications needed in state land use, planning, and environmental law and practice to adequately plan for growth and achieve economically and environmentally sustainable development, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of those laws, to adequately assess environmental impacts of comprehensive plans, development regulations, and growth, to finance necessary infrastructure, and to reduce the time and cost of obtaining project permits.

(3) Draft a consolidated land use procedure, following these guidelines:

(a) Conduct land use planning through the comprehensive planning process under chapter 36.70A RCW rather than through review of individual projects;

(b) Involve diverse sectors of the public in the planning process. Early and informal environmental analysis should be incorporated into planning and decision making;

(c) Recognize that different questions need to be answered and different levels of detail applied at each planning phase, from the initial development of plan concepts or plan elements to implementation programs;

(d) Integrate and combine to the fullest extent possible the processes, analysis, and documents currently required under chapters 36.70A and 43.21C RCW, so that subsequent plan decisions and subsequent implementation will incorporate measures to promote the environmental, economic, and other goals and to mitigate undesirable or unintended adverse impacts on a community's quality of life;

(e) Focus environmental review and the level of detail needed for different stages of plan and project decisions on the environmental considerations most relevant to that stage of the process;

(f) Avoid duplicating review that has occurred for plan decisions when specific projects are proposed;

(g) Use environmental review on projects to: (i) Review and document consistency with comprehensive plans and development regulations; (ii) provide prompt and coordinated review by agencies, tribes, and the public on compliance with applicable environmental laws and plans, including mitigation for site specific project impacts that have not been considered and addressed at the plan or development regulation level; and (iii) ensure accountability by local government to applicants and the public for requiring and implementing mitigation measures;

(h) Maintain or improve the quality of environmental analysis both for plan and for project decisions, while integrating these analyses with improved state and local planning and permitting processes;

(i) Examine existing land use and environmental permits for necessity and utility. To the extent possible, existing permits should be combined into fewer permits, assuring that the values and principles intended to be protected by those permits remain protected; and

(j) Consolidate local government appeal processes to allow a single appeal of permits at local government levels, a single state level administrative appeal, and a final judicial appeal.

(4) ((Monitor instances state-wide of the vesting of project permit applications during the period that an appeal is pending before a growth management hearings board, as authorized under RCW 36.70A.300. The commission shall also review the extent to which such vesting results in the approval of projects that are inconsistent with a comprehensive plan or development regulation provision ultimately found to be in compliance with a board's order or remand. The commission shall analyze the impact of such approvals on ensuring the attainment of the goals and policies of chapter 36.70A RCW, and make recommendations to the governor and the legislature on statutory changes to address any adverse impacts from the provisions of RCW 36.70A.300. The commission shall provide an initial report on its findings and recommendations by November 1, 1995, and submit its further findings and recommendations subsequently in the reports required under RCW 90.61.030.

~~(5)~~)) Monitor local government consolidated permit procedures and the effectiveness of the timelines established by RCW 36.70B.090. The commission shall include in its report submitted to the governor and the legislature on November 1, ((~~1997~~)) 1999, its recommendation about what timelines, if any, should be imposed on the local government consolidated permit process required by chapter 36.70B RCW.

(((6) Evaluate funding mechanisms that will enable local governments to pay for and recover the costs of conducting integrated planning and environmental analysis. The commission shall include its conclusions in its first report to the legislature on November 1, 1995, and include any recommended statutory changes.

(7) Study, in cooperation with the state board for registration of professional engineers and the state building code council, ways in which state agencies and local governments could authorize professionals with appropriate qualifications to certify a project's compliance with certain state and local land use and environmental requirements. The commission shall report to the legislature on measures necessary to implement such a system of professional certification.

These guidelines are intended to guide the work of the commission, without limiting its charge to integrate and consolidate Washington's land use and environmental laws into a single, manageable statutory framework.))

(5) Review long-term approaches for resolving land use and environmental disputes that arise under the growth management act, the shoreline management act, and other land use and environmental laws.

(6) Evaluate the effect of the 1997 amendments to chapter 36.70A RCW by chapter 429, Laws of 1997 relating to changes in the standard of review and in the rural element required by RCW 36.70A.070.

(7) Conduct such other studies or tasks as directed by the governor or the legislature.

Sec. 4. RCW 90.61.900 and 1995 c 347 s 806 are each amended to read as follows:

((~~Sections 801 through 805 of this act shall~~)) RCW 90.61.010 through 90.61.050 expire June 30, ((~~1998~~)) 2002.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The sum of . . . . . dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999, from the general fund to the department of community, trade, and economic development for the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.