HOUSE BILL REPORT

SHB 1825

As Passed House:

March 3, 2009

Title: An act relating to identifying specific facilities planning requirements under the growth management act.

Brief Description: Identifying specific facilities planning requirements under the growth management act.

Sponsors: House Committee on Local Government & Housing (originally sponsored by Representatives Rodne and Anderson).

Brief History:

Committee Activity:

Local Government & Housing: 2/11/09, 2/12/09 [DPS].

Floor Activity

Passed House: 3/3/09, 95-0.

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 11 members: Representatives Simpson, Chair; Nelson, Vice Chair; Angel, Ranking Minority Member; Ericksen, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Cox, Miloscia, Short, Springer, Upthegrove, White and Williams.

Staff: Thamas Osborn (786-7129)

Background:

Overview of the Growth Management Act.

The Growth Management Act (GMA) establishes a comprehensive land use planning framework for county and city governments in Washington. The GMA requires all local governments to comply with specific provisions for natural resource lands and critical areas, and establishes additional substantive and procedural compliance requirements for counties and cities meeting population and growth criteria. Counties not meeting these criteria may choose to adopt a resolution requiring the county and the cities within to comply with all major GMA requirements. Currently, 29 of 39 counties, and the cities within those 29 counties (GMA jurisdictions), are required to or have chosen to plan under the major requirements of the GMA.The GMA establishes a list of planning goals to be used exclusively for guiding the development and adoption of comprehensive plans and development regulations by GMA jurisdictions."County-wide Planning Policy" Required by the Growth Management Act.

The legislative authority of each county fully planning under the GMA must adopt a "county-wide planning policy" (CPP) in cooperation with the cities located in whole or part within the county. A CPP is a written policy statement used for establishing a county-wide framework from which county and city comprehensive plans are developed and adopted. A CPP must address certain planning and analysis provisions, including policy considerations pertaining to:  

• implementing urban growth area requirements;

• affordable housing needs;

• countywide economic development and employment;

• siting public capital facilities; and

• transportation needs.

Population Projections and Planning for Urban Growth Areas.

Counties and cities are also required to satisfy specific planning requirements pertaining to urban growth areas (UGAs). Using population projections made by the Office of Financial Management, and subject to statutory requirements, GMA counties and each city within those counties must plan for population densities in UGAs so as to accommodate the urban growth that is projected to occur during the succeeding 20-year period.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

Planning for Development Within Urban Growth Areas.

As part of the planning process for UGAs, each city within the county must explicitly identify areas sufficient to accommodate the full range of needs and uses that will accompany projected urban growth. The land uses that must be explicitly considered as part of the planning process include those pertaining to facilities for medical, governmental, institutional, commercial, service, retail, and other nonresidential uses, when appropriate under the circumstances faced by the planning jurisdiction.

County-wide Planning Policies.

Policies for county-wide economic development and employment must include consideration of the future development of commercial and industrial facilities.

Amendments to GMA Comprehensive Plans and/or Development Regulations.

The requirement that amendments to GMA comprehensive plans provide for sufficient land capacity to accommodate projected housing and employment growth is expanded to require the inclusion of the land needed for specified categories of facilities. Specifically, such amendments must include sufficient land capacity to accommodate medical, governmental, educational, institutional, commercial, and industrial facilities related to such growth, when appropriate under the circumstances faced by the planning jurisdiction.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) The GMA planning should include explicit consideration of the land needed for specified types of non-residential development. Many jurisdictions do a poor job of planning for the commercial, industrial, governmental, and institutional facilities that will be needed as our population grows. Without such planning, some jurisdictions will fail to have the property necessary for these categories of non-residential development. Recently, Snoqualmie Valley Hospital was unable to expand its facilities because of a lack of land available for such development. The GMA should be amended to add planning requirements that ensure that this kind of oversight does not occur. This bill addresses the problem and will encourage local governments to be more comprehensive in their land use planning.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Rodne, prime sponsor; Pat Anderson, City of Snoqualmie; April Putney, Futurewise; and Maggie Nelson, St John's Episcopal Church.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.