FINAL BILL REPORT

SSB 6534

C 208 L 04

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Designating processes and siting of industrial land banks.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Land Use & Planning (originally sponsored by Senators Hargrove and Mulliken).

Senate Committee on Land Use & Planning

House Committee on Local Government

Background: For a limited time, certain counties meeting specified population, geographic, and unemployment criteria are authorized to designate a bank of no more than two master planned locations outside of an urban growth area (UGA) that is suitable for major industrial development. Major industrial developments include manufacturing or industrial businesses that:

      •    require a parcel of land so large no suitable parcels are available within the UGA;

      •    are natural resource-based industries requiring a location near resource land upon which they are dependent; or

      •    require a location with characteristics such as proximity to transportation facilities or related industries such that there is no suitable location in an UGA. The bank may not be for retail commercial development or multi-tenant office parks.

The following criteria must be met prior to including a master planned location within an industrial land bank:

      •    provision for new infrastructure or payment of impact fees;

      •    implementation of transit-oriented site planning and traffic demand management programs;

      •    buffering between the development and adjacent nonurban areas;

      •    provision of environmental protection, including air and water quality;

      •    establishment of development regulations to ensure urban growth will not occur in adjacent nonurban areas;

      •    mitigation of adverse impacts on resource lands;

      •    consistency of the development plan with critical areas regulations;

      •    preparation of an inventory determining land suitable to site the location is unavailable within the UGA;

      •    establishment of an interlocal agreement regarding infrastructure cost and revenue sharing between the county and interested cities;

      •    provisions for determining alternative sites within UGAs and the long-term annexation feasibility of sites outside UGAs; and

      •    establishment of development regulations that limit commercial and service businesses to a maximum of 10 percent of the total gross floor area of facilities within an industrial land bank.

Inclusion of a master planned location within an industrial land bank is considered an amendment to a county's comprehensive plan.

Summary: The requirements for including master planned locations within industrial land banks and for siting specific development projects are separated so that designation of master planned locations may occur during the comprehensive planning process before a specific development project has been proposed.

Some of the current criteria for designating a master planned location within an industrial land bank may be delayed until the process for siting specific development projects within a land bank occurs. The following requirements must be met during the process for reviewing and approving proposals to authorize siting of specific major industrial development projects within an approved industrial land bank:

      •    new infrastructure is provided for and/or applicable impact fees are paid;

      •    transit-oriented site planning and traffic demand management programs are implemented;

      •    buffers are provided between the adjacent nonurban areas;

      •    environmental protections have been addressed and provided for;

      •    provision is made to mitigate adverse impacts on designated agricultural, forest, and mineral resource lands; and

      •    an interlocal agreement related to infrastructure cost and revenue sharing between the county and interested cities is established.

Designating master planned locations within an industrial land bank is considered an adopted amendment to a comprehensive plan, and approval of a specific development project does not require any further amendment to a comprehensive plan.

A definition of "industrial land bank" is added, and counties are authorized to designate two land banks within one county.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate       48  0

House       96  0

Effective: June 10, 2004