SENATE BILL REPORT
SB 6889
BYSenators Bluechel, Williams, Thorsness, Cantu, Patrick, McDonald, Anderson and Nelson
Establishing the Puget Sound regional growth authority.
Senate Committee on Governmental Operations
Senate Hearing Date(s):February 16, 1990
Senate Staff:Eugene Green (786-7405); Barbara Howard (786-7410)
AS OF FEBRUARY 15, 1990
BACKGROUND:
The need for the legislation is summarized in the sections on legislative findings and intent.
SUMMARY:
Legislative findings are stated as follows: (1) uncoordinated and unmanaged growth poses an immediate threat to the environment, economic development and quality of life in the Puget Sound region (King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties); and (2) it is in the state's best interest that governments of the region cooperate with one another in growth management and land use planning.
Puget Sound Regional Growth Authority
Organization. The Authority has 19 members, all of whom are either county executives, members of county or city councils, or legislative bodies of special districts in the region. Six members represent counties, four represent cities with population of 60,000 or more, six represent cities of less than 60,000 population, and three represent special districts, including one from the King County Metropolitan Municipal Corporation.
Authority members are elected in turn by a larger group of those local elected officials through a formula of representation. For the smaller classes of cities, the mayors in each class conduct the election at a meeting. After nominations are made, successive ballots are cast for each position in that population class until all positions are filled. The first meeting must be held before July 1, 1990, with the King County Executive presiding.
The Authority appoints its own director, who serves as the administrative head, coordinates activities with other governmental agencies, and acts on behalf of the Authority in developing the Authority's policies.
Functions and Powers. The Authority has six major functions: (1) adopting the Puget Sound Regional Growth Plan, which embodies planning goals for the general purpose governments and special districts in the region; (2) certifying comprehensive land use plans and implementing regulations of the component governments; (3) examining the degree to which state actions and programs conform to the regional growth plan; (4) developing models for dispute resolution in regional land use matters; (5) ensuring widespread citizen involvement in all phases of regional land use policy planning; and (6) providing for a common data base for regional land use planning decisions.
The regional growth plan must be adopted by the Authority no later than July 1, 1992. The Authority must assure that major developments such as educational and correctional institutions, and facilities for health care, transportation, waste management and disposal, and energy are suitably located to meet the region's needs. If the Authority has not adopted the regional growth plan by the deadline, no state agency may provide financial assistance for urban governmental services to any county or city within the region until such a plan is adopted.
Certification of Local Comprehensive Plans. The comprehensive plans of all counties, cities and special districts in the region must be certified by the Authority as conforming to the regional plan. Certification requires an affirmative vote of at least 12 Authority members. If a comprehensive plan is found to be inadequate, the Authority may grant provisional approval for correctable circumstances or may reject the plan and require that it be resubmitted. Any of these actions must be taken within 90 days of submittal of a comprehensive plan.
If a city or county fails to submit a plan within the required time period, or fails to receive certification of provisional approval, the Authority may (1) develop a comprehensive plan for that local government which remains in effect until it adopts its own plan or (2) issue an order declaring the county or city not to be in compliance with the regional plan.
Withholding of State Assistance. Whenever the Authority has declared a local plan to be out of compliance with the regional plan, it must notify the directors of the Department of Revenue and the Office of Financial Management to withhold state-distributed funds until an acceptable comprehensive plan is adopted. The funds affected include: the motor vehicle fund (vehicle and drivers' license fees); the liquor revolving fund (liquor license fees, penalties and other revenues from liquor licensing; the liquor excise tax fund; the municipal sales and use tax equalization account; and the motor vehicle excise tax portion of the motor vehicle fund.
Taxing Power. The Puget Sound Regional Growth Authority may impose an excise tax of 1 percent of the selling price on real estate sales, and a development permit fee of 1 percent of the market value of all developments in the region. If the excise tax is imposed, the development fee must also be assessed.
For each source, county treasurers may set aside 1/10 of the proceeds to cover costs of collection and distribution. The Authority may use not more than 5 percent of the proceeds for operation and administration costs. The remaining proceeds are to be distributed to the respective counties and cities in the region from which the revenue was generated for their respective growth funds.
Local Government Responsibilities
Comprehensive Plans Made Mandatory. Each county and city within the region must adopt a comprehensive plan, or modify its existing comprehensive plan, so as to be consistent with the regional growth plan no later than 24 months after the Authority has adopted the regional plan. Each county and city must provide for continuous public participation in the planning process, and must coordinate its comprehensive plan with other counties or cities which have common borders or related regional issues.
Each comprehensive plan must include several types of land designations and must include inventories of sensitive areas as well as policies to restrict incompatible future development. Mandatory elements of a comprehensive plan include those for land use, housing, public facilities, public utilities, transportation, conservation and recreation.
During the development of the comprehensive plan, each local government in the region must adopt interim land designations and regulations for precluding incompatible growth. Such interim actions must be taken no later than July 1, 1991. Within 18 months after a comprehensive plan has been certified by the Authority, the component governments must adopt comprehensive plan implementation regulations.
Urban Growth Boundaries. As a part of its comprehensive plan, each of the counties must prescribe urban growth boundaries consistent with the regional growth plan. Among the criteria for setting the boundaries are location of environmentally sensitive areas, past and future population patterns, environmental capacity for population growth, urban governmental service capacity and plans for service delivery, patterns of commercial and industrial development, residential characteristics and affordable housing needs. Each city must be included in an urban growth boundary, although a growth boundary may include more than one city and appropriate unincorporated areas.
Growth Funds. Each city and county in the region must establish a growth fund, into which proceeds distributed by the Authority are deposited. The growth funds are used by the cities and counties to develop and implement their comprehensive plans. Expenditures may be made for infrastructure facilities; roads, bridges and mass transportation; recreation lands and parks; public water supplies; preventing water pollution; public facilities and utilities; natural resource conservation; public buildings; mitigation of existing hazardous conditions and purchase of open space or boundary lands.
Puget Sound Regional Land Use Board of Review
The Puget Sound Land Use Board of Review is created to have exclusive jurisdiction over claims of noncompliance with the Puget Sound Regional Growth Plan and intergovernmental land use disputes in the region. It is composed of three members appointed by the Governor. For each position, the Governor makes the appointment from a list of five nominees submitted by the Authority in order of preference. The board appoints one of its members as Chief Hearings Officer.
Jurisdiction of the board is limited to cases in which the Authority, the state, a county, a city or a special district within the region is a petitioner and has exhausted all other remedies. It may also decide issues not raised in local government proceedings. The Board of Review does not have jurisdiction in state agency decisions for which the Court of Appeals has initial judicial review, or shorelines decisions subject to hearings by the Shorelines Hearings Board.
Following a review of a claim of noncompliance, the Board of Review issues a final order directing whatever corrective action must be taken by the affected local government. No decision of the Board of Review may be used as the basis for legal action by any entity other than the Authority or any component government within the region.
If the Board of Review is not satisfied that the local entity has come into compliance with the regional growth plan, its ultimate sanction is to issue an order to that effect, and to call for withholding of state funds for that entity. Provisions are also included for judicial review of final orders of the board.
Miscellaneous Provisions
State agencies are required to comply with the regional growth plan, the local comprehensive plans as certified, and the plan implementation regulations. A city or county may issue an extraordinary use permit if the local comprehensive does not specifically allow a proposed land use by a state agency. Such extraordinary use permits may be conditioned so as to ensure consistency with the certified comprehensive plan.
"Activities of state concern" are defined to include development projects for airports; port facilities; power transmission, gas and oil lines; sewer trunk lines; municipal and industrial water supply systems; solid waste systems, and correctional facilities. A city or county must hold at least one hearing before deciding whether to approve such a project; approval may be conditioned on consistency with the regional plans. A project may be denied if the local government determines that it would cause unacceptable adverse impacts upon public health, safety or the environment.
Each school district in the region must provide an assessment of current and projected student enrollment, facilities and infrastructure needs to the Authority and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Such assessments are due by December 31 each year.
Appropriation: none
Revenue: yes
Fiscal Note: requested February 9, 1990
Effective Date:The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.