S-3517.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6405

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington   57th Legislature        2002 Regular Session

By Senators Parlette and Haugen

Read first time 01/16/2002.  Referred to Committee on State & Local Government.

Authorizing comprehensive plan amendments to be considered as often as once every six months.

    AN ACT Relating to comprehensive plan amendment procedures; and amending RCW 36.70A.130.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 36.70A.130 and 1997 c 429 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) Each comprehensive land use plan and development regulations shall be subject to continuing review and evaluation by the county or city that adopted them.  Not later than September 1, 2002, and at least every five years thereafter, a county or city shall take action to review and, if needed, revise its comprehensive land use plan and development regulations to ensure that the plan and regulations are complying with the requirements of this chapter.  The review and evaluation required by this subsection may be combined with the review required by subsection (3) of this section.

    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)(a) Each county and city shall establish and broadly disseminate to the public a public participation program identifying 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 except that amendments may be considered more frequently under the following circumstances:

    (i) The governing body of the county or city may by ordinance or resolution establish a procedure for consideration of amendments no more frequently than once every six months;

(ii) The initial adoption of a subarea plan;

    (((ii))) (iii) The adoption or amendment of a shoreline master program under the procedures set forth in chapter 90.58 RCW; and

    (((iii))) (iv) The amendment of the capital facilities element of a comprehensive plan that occurs concurrently with the adoption or amendment of a county or city budget.

    (b) Except as otherwise provided in (a) of this subsection, all proposals shall be considered by the governing body concurrently so the cumulative effect of the various proposals can be ascertained.  However, after appropriate public participation a county or city may adopt amendments or revisions to its comprehensive plan that conform with this chapter whenever an emergency exists or to resolve an appeal of a comprehensive plan filed with a growth management hearings board or with the court.

    (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.  The review required by this subsection may be combined with the review and evaluation required by RCW 36.70A.215.

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