BILL REQ. #:  H-0224.1 

Prefiled 01/02/09. Read first time 01/12/09.   Referred to Committee on Local Government & Housing.

     AN ACT Relating to siting new mobile home parks and manufactured housing communities; amending RCW 82.02.090; adding a new section to chapter 36.70A RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 43.21C RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 36.70A RCW to read as follows:
     (1)(a) A county planning under RCW 36.70A.040 may establish, in consultation with cities, a process for authorizing the siting of new mobile home parks and manufactured housing communities outside of urban growth areas designated under RCW 36.70A.110.
     (b) For purposes of this section, "mobile home park" or "manufactured housing community" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 59.20.030.
     (2) A county considering an application to site a new mobile home park or manufactured housing community outside of an urban growth area may approve the siting if the following criteria are met:
     (a) The proposed site is adjacent to or in close proximity to an urban growth area;
     (b) Affordable housing will be provided within the mobile home park or manufactured housing community for a range of income levels;
     (c) Appropriate infrastructure and services for the site are available or have been provided for;
     (d) Environmental protection issues for the site, including air and water quality issues, have been provided for;
     (e) Development regulations have been established to ensure that urban growth will not occur in adjacent nonurban areas;
     (f) Provisions to mitigate adverse impacts on designated agricultural lands, forest lands, and mineral resource lands have been made; and
     (g) The siting of the mobile home park or manufactured housing community does not conflict with development regulations adopted by the county to protect critical areas.
     (3) Final approval of an application to site a mobile home park or manufactured housing community as provided in this section does not constitute an adopted amendment to the comprehensive plan adopted under RCW 36.70A.070.

Sec. 2   RCW 82.02.090 and 2008 c 42 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following definitions shall apply in RCW 82.02.050 through 82.02.090:
     (1) "Development activity" means any construction or expansion of a building, structure, or use, any change in use of a building or structure, or any changes in the use of land, that creates additional demand and need for public facilities. "Development activity" does not include (a) buildings or structures constructed by a regional transit authority or (b) the authorized siting of a mobile home park or manufactured housing community under section 1 of this act.
     (2) "Development approval" means any written authorization from a county, city, or town which authorizes the commencement of development activity.
     (3) "Impact fee" means a payment of money imposed upon development as a condition of development approval to pay for public facilities needed to serve new growth and development, and that is reasonably related to the new development that creates additional demand and need for public facilities, that is a proportionate share of the cost of the public facilities, and that is used for facilities that reasonably benefit the new development. "Impact fee" does not include a reasonable permit or application fee.
     (4) "Owner" means the owner of record of real property, although when real property is being purchased under a real estate contract, the purchaser shall be considered the owner of the real property if the contract is recorded.
     (5) "Proportionate share" means that portion of the cost of public facility improvements that are reasonably related to the service demands and needs of new development.
     (6) "Project improvements" mean site improvements and facilities that are planned and designed to provide service for a particular development project and that are necessary for the use and convenience of the occupants or users of the project, and are not system improvements. No improvement or facility included in a capital facilities plan approved by the governing body of the county, city, or town shall be considered a project improvement.
     (7) "Public facilities" means the following capital facilities owned or operated by government entities: (a) Public streets and roads; (b) publicly owned parks, open space, and recreation facilities; (c) school facilities; and (d) fire protection facilities in jurisdictions that are not part of a fire district.
     (8) "Service area" means a geographic area defined by a county, city, town, or intergovernmental agreement in which a defined set of public facilities provide service to development within the area. Service areas shall be designated on the basis of sound planning or engineering principles.
     (9) "System improvements" mean public facilities that are included in the capital facilities plan and are designed to provide service to service areas within the community at large, in contrast to project improvements.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 43.21C RCW to read as follows:
     The authorized siting of a mobile home park or manufactured housing community under section 1 of this act is exempted from compliance with this chapter.