BILL ANALYSIS

SSB 5518

 

TITLE OF THE BILL:  An act relating to community outdoor athletic facilities.

 

WHAT THIS BILL DOES:  Authorizes the Community Outdoor Athletic Fields Advisory Council to provide assistance with repair, maintenance, or construction of community outdoor athletic facilities through low or no interest loans.


 

SPONSORS:  Senate Natural Resources, Parks & Recreation (originally sponsored by Senators Jacobsen, Eide, Goings and Winsley.)

 

HEARING DATE:  Monday, March 29, 1999

 

FISCAL NOTE:  Available.

 

ANALYSIS PREPARED BY:  Scott MacColl (786-7106)

 

 

 

 

BACKGROUND:  

 

Revenues from Referendum 48 authorized financing go into the youth athletic facilities account, to be used primarily for youth athletic facilities, both indoor and outdoor.  Expenditures from the account must be used for grants to cities, counties, and qualified non-profit organizations for acquiring, developing, equipping, maintaining, and improving youth or community athletic facilities.  Projects are funded based on criteria developed by the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation, to the extend that funds are available.

 

The Community Outdoor Athletic Fields Advisory Council was created in 1998 to advise and give community input to the grant program to the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation.

 

 

 

SUMMARY:

 

The Community Outdoor Athletic Fields Advisory Council is authorized to coordinate with the Washington State Interagency for Outdoor Recreation in developing terms and conditions of no or low interest loans for youth athletic facilities.

 

Language is clarified to specifically designated the money for community outdoor athletic facilities, from designation as youth and community athletic facilities.

 

Municipalities are required to designate twice the amount of land as outdoor athletic use as replacement if existing outdoor athletic fields to be allowed to be altered to an incompatible use.  The entity requesting the change in zoning must have executed an agreement providing alternative property that will be used as a community outdoor athletic fields.