AN ACT Relating to land use planning; adding a new chapter to Title 64 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 35.63 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 35A.63 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.70 RCW; creating a new section; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. (1) The legislature finds that:

(a) The state of Washington is endowed with great natural, scenic, and recreational resources;

(b) These resources contribute greatly to a superior quality of life;

(c) To maintain this high standard of livability the state should establish strong policies favoring the retention of land uses which sustain these resources;

(d) Lands particularly suited for the production of food and wood fiber and presently used for such purposes should be retained in such uses;

(e) While local governments have the primary responsibility for land use planning and control, there exists a need for coordination of land use and related planning programs at the state level and among local governments;

(f) Where urban development occurs, public services such as roads, schools, waste management, and police and fire protection can be provided more efficiently at higher urban densities; and

(g) Urban growth should be limited in rural environments where public services are limited and renewable resource lands sustain local economies.

(2) It is the intent of the legislature that:

(a) Local and state land use planning programs consider and provide for a balance of social, economic, and environmental factors and goals;

(b) In areas where high growth is occurring, land use planning and regulatory programs should place a high priority upon the prevention of urban sprawl and the preservation of agricultural and forest lands;

(c) An adequate renewable resource base should be maintained while protecting the state's natural resources and environment and facilitating orderly and well-planned development;

(d) To protect the health, welfare, safety, and quality of life of the residents of this state, it is necessary that state-wide policy goals and guidelines for growth and development be established and implemented by local governments;

(e) Citizen participation at all levels of land use planning and regulation should be encouraged; and

(f) State agencies involved in land use planning, regulation, and management shall use maximum efforts to coordinate their actions with that of local governments.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. DEFINITIONS. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "City" means any city, town, or optional municipal code city.

(2) "Comprehensive land use plan" or "comprehensive plan" means a coordinated land use plan adopted by the governing body of a city or county pursuant to chapter 36.70, 35.63, or 35A.63 RCW, county charter provisions, or this chapter.

(3) "Department" means the department of community development.

(4) "Development regulations" mean any city or county controls on any land use or development activities including, but not limited to, zoning ordinances, planned unit development ordinances, and subdivision ordinances.

(5) "Land" means the land, air, and water within the jurisdiction of the state of Washington.

(6) "Special purpose district" means a local unit of government, other than a city, county, or regional organization, authorized and regulated by statute to perform a single function or a limited number of functions, and includes, but is not limited to, water districts, irrigation districts, port districts, fire protection districts, school districts, community college districts, public hospital districts, sewer districts, public utility districts, transportation districts, and metropolitan municipal corporations organized under chapter 35.58 RCW.

(7) "State agency" means any department, office, board, commission, authority, or other division of state government, but does not include any unit of local government.

(8) "Urban growth" means that growth which makes intensive use of the land for the location of buildings, structures, and impermeable surfaces. When allowed to occur over wide areas, it typically requires urban governmental services.

(9) "Urban governmental services" include those governmental services historically and typically delivered by cities. The services include sewer services, water services, street cleaning services, fire and police protection services, public transportation, street lighting services, and other public utilities associated with urban areas and not normally associated with nonurban areas.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. STATE-WIDE PLANNING GUIDELINES. No later than July 1, 1992, the department shall adopt planning guidelines applicable to all city or county comprehensive land use plans. The guidelines shall be consistent with the purposes of this chapter and sections 17 through 19 of this act and shall implement the following policy goals:

(1) To provide for the conservation and wise use of natural resources, and to maintain a productive agricultural and forest land base by discouraging the conversion of agricultural and forest land to other uses;

(2) To preserve unique wildlife habitats;

(3) To prevent uses of rare or important natural ecosystems which are incompatible with the long-term sustainability of such lands;

(4) To protect environmentally sensitive areas, including wetlands, riparian zones, flood plains, and areas of geological hazard;

(5) To protect lands having significant historical, cultural, or geological value;

(6) To ensure that adequate and diversified recreational opportunities and publicly accessible open space are provided in all areas of the state, and particularly in areas of increasing urbanization;

(7) To encourage diversified transportation modes which decrease reliance upon the automobile, particularly in high density urban areas;

(8) To encourage and provide incentives for high quality development that permit growth in accordance with public need and the physical and environmental limitations of land;

(9) To encourage provision of urban governmental services in areas planned for urban growth, and to require that adequate services be provided as growth occurs;

(10) To assure that major developments such as educational and correctional institutions, health care facilities, transportation facilities, waste management and disposal facilities, and energy facilities are prudently located;

(11) To encourage greater regional planning, consistency of local plans with regional plans, and coordination of city and county comprehensive plans in areas with common growth management and urban governmental services concerns;

(12) To assure that citizens have a meaningful role in participating in local and regional land use planning decisions;

(13) To encourage future urban growth to occur in existing urban areas and adjacent areas designated for additional urban growth, and to discourage urban growth from occurring in areas providing long-term importance for agricultural or forest uses, or in areas that are environmentally sensitive; and

(14) To incorporate shoreline master programs developed pursuant to the shoreline management act into city and county comprehensive land use plans.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. PROCEDURE FOR ADOPTING PLANNING GUIDELINES. In developing draft land use planning guidelines, the department shall actively seek extensive public participation. The department shall hold at least one hearing within the boundaries of each congressional district. The department shall also consult with city and county legislative bodies and executive officials, as well as with other state agencies having expertise or jurisdiction in land use management and planning issues. The guidelines shall be adopted as rules under the procedures of chapter 34.05 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLANS. (1) No later than twenty-four months following final adoption of the state planning guidelines required under section 3 of this act, each city and county shall adopt or make revisions to its comprehensive land use plan to be consistent with such guidelines.

(2) Each city and county shall establish procedures providing for early and continuous public participation in the development of comprehensive land use plans and amendments, and in the adoption of development regulations to implement such plans. The procedures shall provide for dissemination of proposals and alternatives, opportunity for written comments, public meetings after timely and effective notice, provision for open discussion, and consideration of and response to public comments. Errors in exact compliance with the established procedures which do not have a material effect upon the ability of a person to participate shall not be the basis for invalidation of a plan provision, plan amendment, or development regulation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARIES. (1) No later than twenty-four months following adoption of the state planning guidelines required under section 3 of this act, each county shall prescribe urban growth boundaries as an element of its comprehensive land use plan. These boundaries shall be consistent with the goals of this chapter and sections 17 through 19 of this act, with department rules required under this section, and with the policy guidelines of the department under section 3 of this act. The proposed boundaries shall be submitted for certification by the department under the procedures of section 7 of this act.

(2) No later than July 1, 1992, the department shall adopt rules defining standards for county adoption of urban growth boundaries. The rules shall describe the levels of urban governmental services which should be planned for areas intended for urban growth. The rules shall also provide criteria which must be considered by counties in prescribing urban growth boundaries, including, but not limited to:

(a) Present and potential use of the land for nonurban uses such as agriculture and forest production;

(b) The location of environmentally sensitive areas;

(d) Environmental capacity for future population;

(e) Present and potential urban governmental service capacity, and any existing plans for future service delivery;

(f) Past patterns and future projections of commercial and industrial development;

(g) Suitability of the urban growth configuration;

(h) Projected population density;

(i) Residential characteristics and community identities;

(j) Affordable housing needs and necessary land for affordable housing; and

(k) Plans and programs of public agencies.

(3) Following certification of the county comprehensive land use plan by the department, no urban governmental services may be extended outside of an urban growth boundary unless approved by the county legislative authority or planning commission as consistent with the comprehensive plan provisions for future urban growth, or as necessary to protect the health and safety of an existing residential population.

(4) Proposed facilities or systems to provide urban governmental services outside an urban growth boundary having a capacity to serve needs projected beyond five years in the future shall not be approved by the county unless it first amends the urban growth boundary and obtains certification of the amendment from the department.

(5) This section shall not apply to the provision of urban governmental services within the incorporated area of a city or town.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. PLAN CERTIFICATION. No later than twenty-four months following adoption of the planning guidelines required under section 3 of this act, each city and county shall submit its revised comprehensive plan to the department. The department shall either certify the plan as consistent with the planning guidelines and urban growth boundary rules, or reject the plan, within one hundred eighty days of receipt. The department may extend its review period for no more than an additional one hundred eighty days. The department shall hold at least one public hearing within the area covered by the proposed plan. If the department rejects the plan, it shall specify with particularity the deficiencies of the plan and may describe changes to the plan required for certification by the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. ENFORCEMENT. Each city and county must have obtained certification from the department of its comprehensive land use plan no later than thirty-six months following adoption of the planning guidelines required under section 3 of this act. The department or any person aggrieved by lack of compliance by a city or county with this section may seek review thereof in the superior court for the county in which the plan applies.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. PLAN AMENDMENTS. (1) Except as provided in this section, amendments to a certified comprehensive land use plan shall be submitted to the department prior to adoption. The department shall review the amendment for consistency with the guidelines adopted under section 3 of this act and rules adopted under section 6 of this act. Where the department finds the amendment to be consistent, it shall promptly notify the county or city, and the amendment shall be conclusively deemed consistent. Unless the department notifies the county or city within sixty days of receipt that it finds the proposed amendment to be inconsistent with the guidelines and rules, it shall also be conclusively deemed consistent.

(2) Where the department timely notifies the county or city that a proposed amendment is not consistent with the planning guidelines, and the county or city adopts the amendment, the department or any person aggrieved by the decision may seek review thereof in the superior court for the county in which the decision was made.

(3) The department shall adopt rules defining categories of minor plan amendments not requiring certification by the department. The rules shall allow the option for a county or city to submit an amendment otherwise exempt from these procedures for the purpose of obtaining the certification provided under subsection (1) of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS. Within eighteen months of the certification of the plan each city and county shall enact development regulations that implement its certified comprehensive land use plan and shall file a copy of such regulations with the commission for its review and comments. The development regulations shall not conflict with the jurisdiction's certified comprehensive plan. This section does not affect or limit development regulations of cities and counties existing or adopted prior to the regulations required by this section, but does require that the regulations be amended as necessary to be consistent with the certified comprehensive plan within the time provided under this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. STATE AGENCY PROPOSED LAND USES. (1) Except as provided in this section, all state agencies shall comply with the development regulations of cities and counties.

(2) Where a development regulation of a city or county does not permit outright a proposed land use of a state agency, the city or county shall provide a procedure by which the proposed use may be allowed following issuance of an extraordinary use permit.

(3) Each application for an extraordinary use permit shall be made to the legislative body of the county or city with jurisdiction. The legislative body shall conduct a hearing thereon within thirty days from the date the application is filed.

(4) A city or county may condition an extraordinary use permit to ensure consistency of the use with the guidelines under section 3 of this act, its certified comprehensive land use plan, and any implementing development regulations.

(5) A city or county may deny an extraordinary use permit when it determines that the proposed use would cause unacceptably extreme adverse impacts upon public health or safety or the environment that are not avoidable through economically feasible mitigation measures.

(6) The state or any person aggrieved by a decision of the city or county upon application for an extraordinary use permit may obtain review thereof in the superior court for the county in which the extraordinary use is proposed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. ACTIVITIES OF STATE CONCERN. (1) The following are hereby designated activities of state concern:

(a) New airports with runways of five thousand feet or longer, additions to existing airport runways that extend the runway beyond five thousand feet, and additions of one thousand feet or longer to an existing airport runway of five thousand feet or longer;

(b) New port facilities designed to serve ships of twenty-five thousand deadweight tons or greater, and modifications to existing port facilities, which modifications provide the capacity to accommodate ships of fifty thousand deadweight tons or greater;

(c) Power transmission, gas, and oil lines creating new or expanding existing corridors, which corridors or expansions are ten or more miles long, and power generation facilities requiring site certification from the energy facility site evaluation council or a permit from the federal power commission;

(d) Sewer trunk lines seventy-two inches in diameter or greater, and new sewage treatment facilities or expansion of existing sewage treatment facility capacity by fifteen percent or more in system design capacity above that necessary to serve the projected population of the service area at the time installation work is expected to be completed: PROVIDED, That sewage treatment facilities that exclusively serve four or fewer residential dwelling units are not activities of state concern;

(e) New municipal and industrial water supply systems with a capacity of five cubic feet per second or more, and additions to existing water supply systems that provide an increase of fifteen percent or more in system design capacity above that necessary to serve the projected population of the service area at the time installation work is expected to be completed;

(f) The land application of municipal sewage sludge;

(g) Solid waste disposal facilities with a design capacity of five hundred tons per day or greater; and

(h) Correctional facilities administered by the department of corrections or department of social and health services.

(2) A city, county, or special purpose district shall hold at least one public hearing before making a decision whether or not to approve an activity of state concern.

(3) A city, county, or special district may condition approval of an activity of state concern to provide consistency with the guidelines required under section 3 of this act, its comprehensive land use plan, and any development regulations implementing the plan.

(4) A city, county, or special purpose district may deny an activity of state concern where it determines that the activity will cause unacceptably extreme adverse impacts upon public health or safety or the environment that cannot be avoided by economically feasible mitigation measures, and that these impacts outweigh the benefits of the proposed activity. Proposals for a use under subsection (1) (d) and (e) of this section shall be reviewed for consistency with the urban growth boundaries of an applicable comprehensive plan.

(5) The state or any person aggrieved by a final decision of a city, county, or special purpose district whether or not to approve an activity of state concern may obtain review thereof in the superior court for the county in which the activity is proposed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. DEPARTMENT REPORT. Before the end of each even-numbered year, the department shall submit to the governor and legislature a report describing and evaluating the progress of implementation of this chapter and sections 17 through 19 of this act and related activities of the department, other state agencies, cities, counties, and special purpose districts. The report shall also review the adequacy of conformance by state agencies with the goals of this chapter and sections 17 through 19 of this act and consistency of state agency actions with certified city and county comprehensive land use plans.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. STATE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. (1) All state agencies shall to the maximum extent practicable administer programs affecting land uses consistently with the certified comprehensive land use plans of cities and counties, and with the purposes of this chapter and sections 17 through 19 of this act.

(2) After January 1, 1996, no state agency shall extend financial assistance for the provision of urban governmental services to a city or county that does not have a certified comprehensive land use plan.

(3) After January 1, 1996, each state agency administering programs for financial assistance for urban governmental services shall adopt and apply guidelines for making awards that place a higher priority upon assisting those projects that are identified in a certified comprehensive land use plan, and otherwise consistent with the urban growth policies of the plan. Each state agency shall consult with the department on the proposed guidelines prior to their adoption.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. The department may:

(1) Accept, receive, disburse, and administer grants or other funds or gifts from any source, including private individuals or agencies, the federal government, and other public agencies for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this chapter; and

(2) Contract for the services of professional persons or organizations, or contract with any public agency, for the performance of services or the exchange of employees or services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. This chapter and sections 17 through 19 of this act shall not affect the planning and regulation of uses of lands subject to the shoreline management act, chapter 90.58 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. A new section is added to chapter 36.70 RCW to read as follows:

A county adopting a comprehensive plan pursuant to chapter 64.__ RCW (sections 1 through 16, 20, and 21 of this act) shall be deemed to be in compliance with RCW 36.70.320 and 36.70.330.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. A new section is added to chapter 35.63 RCW to read as follows:

A city or town adopting a comprehensive plan pursuant to chapter 64.__ RCW (sections 1 through 16, 20, and 21 of this act) shall be deemed to be in compliance with RCW 35.63.080 through 35.63.110.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. A new section is added to chapter 35A.63 RCW to read as follows:

A code city adopting a comprehensive plan pursuant to chapter 64.__ RCW (sections 1 through 16, 20, and 21 of this act) shall be deemed to be in compliance with RCW 35A.63.060 through 35A.63.062.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. A boundary review board created under chapter 36.93 RCW shall act consistently with any certified comprehensive land use plan applicable to the area under review by the board. The board shall not approve a boundary revision, annexation, or incorporation that would be inconsistent with the urban growth boundaries of a certified county comprehensive land use plan.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. An annexation review board created under chapter 35.13 RCW shall act consistently with any certified comprehensive land use plan applicable to the area under review by the board. The board shall not approve a boundary revision, annexation, or incorporation that would be inconsistent with the urban growth boundaries of a certified county comprehensive land use plan.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. There is hereby appropriated from the .......... fund to the department of community development the sum of .......... dollars for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, to carry out the purposes of this act. Of this amount, the sum of .......... dollars shall be distributed to counties and cities on a per capita basis to carry out initial responsibilities under this act during the present biennium.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 23. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 24. Sections 1 through 16, 20, and 21 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 64 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 25. Section headings as used in this act do not constitute any part of the law.