Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Local Government & Housing Committee

HB 1456

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Background:

The Growth Management Act (GMA or Act) is the comprehensive land use planning framework for county and city governments in Washington. Enacted in 1990 and 1991, the GMA establishes numerous requirements for local governments obligated by mandate or choice to fully plan under the Act (planning jurisdictions) and a reduced number of directives for all other counties and cities.

Directives applying to all counties and cities require the designation of agricultural, forest, and mineral lands that have long-term significance for commercial use. All counties and cities must also designate and protect critical areas, areas that include wetlands and frequently flooded areas.

The GMA directs planning jurisdictions to adopt internally consistent comprehensive land use plans that are generalized, coordinated land use policy statements of the governing body. Comprehensive plans must address specified planning elements each of which is a subset of a comprehensive plan. The implementation of comprehensive plans occurs through development regulations mandated by the GMA.

The GMA includes numerous requirements relating to the use or development of land in urban and rural areas. Among other requirements, counties that fully plan under the GMA (planning counties) must designate urban growth areas (UGAs) or areas within which urban growth must be encouraged and outside of which growth can occur only if it is not urban in nature. Additionally, planning counties and each city within these counties must include within their UGAs, areas and densities that are sufficient to permit the urban growth projected to occur in the county or city for the succeeding 20-year period.

New Fully Contained Communities.

Planning counties may authorize the siting of new fully contained communities (FCC) located outside of initially designated UGAs if specific requirements are met. Examples of requirements that must be met include:

providing for new infrastructure and establishing impact fees;
ensuring through development regulations that urban growth will not occur in adjacent nonurban areas; and
making provisions to mitigate impacts on designated agricultural land, forest lands, and mineral resource lands.

A county establishing a new FCC must also offset UGA population accommodations accordingly for allocations to the new FCC. Additionally, the final approval of an application for a new FCC is considered an adopted amendment to a comprehensive plan, a plan that must designate the new FCC as a UGA.

Summary of Bill:

New requirements pertaining to natural resource lands that must be met before a new FCC can be approved are established. No portion of the area where the new FCC is proposed may be designated as agricultural, forest, or mineral lands of long-term commercial significance. Provisions must be made to mitigate impacts on any affected designated agricultural lands, forest lands, and mineral resource lands located adjacent to or in the vicinity of the proposed FCC.

An FCC that has received final approval by the appropriate local government before the bill's effective date is not affected. The bill does, however, apply to proposed FCCs that have not received final local approval prior to the effective date of the bill.