H-3604              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1602

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Representatives Locke, Wineberry, Nutley, Anderson and Lux

Read first time 1/20/88 and referred to Committee on Housing.

AN ACT Relating to demolition or change of use of low-income housing; and amending RCW 82.02.020.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 82.02.020, chapter 15, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 17, chapter 327, Laws of 1987 and RCW 82.02.020 are each amended to read as follows:

          Except only as expressly provided in RCW 67.28.180 and 67.28.190 and the provisions of chapter 82.14 RCW, the state preempts the field of imposing taxes upon retail sales of tangible personal property, the use of tangible personal property, parimutuel wagering authorized pursuant to RCW 67.16.060, conveyances, and cigarettes, and no county, town, or other municipal subdivision shall have the right to impose taxes of that nature.  Except as provided in this section, no county, city, town, or other municipal corporation shall impose any tax, fee, or charge, either direct or indirect, on the construction or reconstruction of residential buildings, commercial buildings, industrial buildings, or on any other building or building space or appurtenance thereto, or on the development, subdivision, classification, or reclassification of land.  However, this section does not preclude dedications of land or easements pursuant to RCW 58.17.110 within the proposed development or plat which the county, city, town, or other municipal corporation can demonstrate are reasonably necessary as a direct result of the proposed development or plat to which the dedication of land or easement is to apply.

          This section does not prohibit voluntary agreements with counties, cities, towns, or other municipal corporations that allow a payment in lieu of a dedication of land or to mitigate a direct impact that has been identified as a consequence of a proposed development, subdivision, or plat:  PROVIDED, That any such voluntary agreement shall be subject to the following provisions:

          (1) The payment shall be held in a reserve account and may only be expended to fund a capital improvement agreed upon by the parties to mitigate the identified, direct impact;

          (2) The payment shall be expended in all cases within five years of collection; and

          (3) Any payment not so expended shall be refunded with interest at the rate applied to judgments to the property owners of record at the time of the refund; however, if the payment is not expended within five years due to delay attributable to the developer, the payment shall be refunded without interest.

          No county, city, town, or other municipal corporation shall require any payment as part of such a voluntary agreement which the county, city, town, or other municipal corporation cannot establish is reasonably necessary as a direct result of the proposed development or plat.

          Nothing in this section prohibits cities, towns, counties, or other municipal corporations from collecting reasonable fees from an applicant for a permit or other governmental approval to cover the cost to the city, town, county, or other municipal corporation of processing applications, inspecting and reviewing plans, or preparing detailed statements required by chapter 43.21C RCW.

This section does not prohibit reasonable fees or charges assessed upon the demolition or change of use of residential structures in which the annual rent reserved, in the majority of the units, is (or when last rented, was) rented at rates at or below an amount equal to thirty percent of fifty percent of the area annual median income.

          This section does not limit the existing authority of any county, city, town, or other municipal corporation to impose special assessments on property specifically benefitted thereby in the manner prescribed by law.

          Nothing in this section prohibits counties, cities, or towns from imposing or permits counties, cities, or towns to impose water, sewer, natural gas, drainage utility, and drainage system charges:  PROVIDED, That no such charge shall exceed the proportionate share of such utility or system's capital costs which the county, city, or town can demonstrate are attributable to the property being charged:  PROVIDED FURTHER, That these provisions shall not be interpreted to expand or contract any existing authority of counties, cities, or towns to impose such charges.

          Nothing in this section prohibits a transportation benefit district from imposing fees or charges authorized in RCW 36.73.120 nor prohibits the legislative authority of a county, city, or town from approving the imposition of such fees within a transportation benefit district.

          This section does not apply to special purpose districts formed and acting pursuant to Titles 54, 56, 57, or 87 RCW, nor is the authority conferred by these titles affected.