H-2134

AN ACT Relating to water; and amending RCW 43.62.035 and 36.70A.210.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 43.62.035 and 1997 c 429 s 26 are each amended to read as follows:

The office of financial management shall determine the population of each county of the state annually as of April 1st of each year and on or before July 1st of each year shall file a certificate with the secretary of state showing its determination of the population for each county. The office of financial management also shall determine the percentage increase in population for each county over the preceding ten-year period, as of April 1st, and shall file a certificate with the secretary of state by July 1st showing its determination. At least once every five years or upon the availability of decennial census data, whichever is later, the office of financial management shall prepare twenty-year growth management planning population projections required by RCW 36.70A.110 for each county that adopts a comprehensive plan under RCW 36.70A.040 and shall review these projections with such counties and the cities in those counties before final adoption. The county and its cities may provide to the office such information as they deem relevant to the office's projection, and the office shall consider and comment on such information before adoption. Each projection shall be expressed as a reasonable range developed within the standard state high and low projection. The middle range shall represent the office's estimate of the most likely population projection for the county. If any city or county believes that a projection will not accurately reflect actual population growth in a county, it may petition the office to revise the projection accordingly. The office shall revise the projection if the projection does not reflect information regarding adequate domestic water supply as provided in RCW 36.70A.210(3)(h). The office shall complete the first set of ranges for every county by December 31, 1995.

A comprehensive plan adopted or amended before December 31, 1995, shall not be considered to be in noncompliance with the twenty-year growth management planning population projection if the projection used in the comprehensive plan is in compliance with the range later adopted under this section.

Sec. 2. RCW 36.70A.210 and 1998 c 171 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The legislature recognizes that counties are regional governments within their boundaries, and cities are primary providers of urban governmental services within urban growth areas. For the purposes of this section, a "county-wide planning policy" is a written policy statement or statements used solely for establishing a county-wide framework from which county and city comprehensive plans are developed and adopted pursuant to this chapter. This framework shall ensure that city and county comprehensive plans are consistent as required in RCW 36.70A.100. Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter the land-use powers of cities.

(2) The legislative authority of a county that plans under RCW 36.70A.040 shall adopt a county-wide planning policy in cooperation with the cities located in whole or in part within the county as follows:

(a) No later than sixty calendar days from July 16, 1991, the legislative authority of each county that as of June 1, 1991, was required or chose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 shall convene a meeting with representatives of each city located within the county for the purpose of establishing a collaborative process that will provide a framework for the adoption of a county-wide planning policy. In other counties that are required or choose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040, this meeting shall be convened no later than sixty days after the date the county adopts its resolution of intention or was certified by the office of financial management.

(b) The process and framework for adoption of a county-wide planning policy specified in (a) of this subsection shall determine the manner in which the county and the cities agree to all procedures and provisions including but not limited to desired planning policies, deadlines, ratification of final agreements and demonstration thereof, and financing, if any, of all activities associated therewith.

(c) If a county fails for any reason to convene a meeting with representatives of cities as required in (a) of this subsection, the governor may immediately impose any appropriate sanction or sanctions on the county from those specified under RCW 36.70A.340.

(d) If there is no agreement by October 1, 1991, in a county that was required or chose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 as of June 1, 1991, or if there is no agreement within one hundred twenty days of the date the county adopted its resolution of intention or was certified by the office of financial management in any other county that is required or chooses to plan under RCW 36.70A.040, the governor shall first inquire of the jurisdictions as to the reason or reasons for failure to reach an agreement. If the governor deems it appropriate, the governor may immediately request the assistance of the department of community, trade, and economic development to mediate any disputes that preclude agreement. If mediation is unsuccessful in resolving all disputes that will lead to agreement, the governor may impose appropriate sanctions from those specified under RCW 36.70A.340 on the county, city, or cities for failure to reach an agreement as provided in this section. The governor shall specify the reason or reasons for the imposition of any sanction.

(e) No later than July 1, 1992, the legislative authority of each county that was required or chose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 as of June 1, 1991, or no later than fourteen months after the date the county adopted its resolution of intention or was certified by the office of financial management the county legislative authority of any other county that is required or chooses to plan under RCW 36.70A.040, shall adopt a county-wide planning policy according to the process provided under this section and that is consistent with the agreement pursuant to (b) of this subsection, and after holding a public hearing or hearings on the proposed county-wide planning policy.

(3) A county-wide planning policy shall at a minimum, address the following:

(a) Policies to implement RCW 36.70A.110;

(b) Policies for promotion of contiguous and orderly development and provision of urban services to such development;

(c) Policies for siting public capital facilities of a county-wide or state-wide nature, including transportation facilities of state-wide significance as defined in RCW 47.06.140;

(d) Policies for county-wide transportation facilities and strategies;

(e) Policies that consider the need for affordable housing, such as housing for all economic segments of the population and parameters for its distribution;

(f) Policies for joint county and city planning within urban growth areas;

(g) Policies for county-wide economic development and employment; ((~~and~~))

(h) Policies that consider the present and future availability of adequate domestic water supplies and that provide, where applicable, for a collaborative process with special purpose districts that provide domestic water services; and

(i) An analysis of the fiscal impact.

(4) Federal agencies and Indian tribes may participate in and cooperate with the county-wide planning policy adoption process. Adopted county-wide planning policies shall be adhered to by state agencies.

(5) Failure to adopt a county-wide planning policy that meets the requirements of this section may result in the imposition of a sanction or sanctions on a county or city within the county, as specified in RCW 36.70A.340. In imposing a sanction or sanctions, the governor shall specify the reasons for failure to adopt a county-wide planning policy in order that any imposed sanction or sanctions are fairly and equitably related to the failure to adopt a county-wide planning policy.

(6) Cities and the governor may appeal an adopted county-wide planning policy to the growth management hearings board within sixty days of the adoption of the county-wide planning policy.

(7) Multicounty planning policies shall be adopted by two or more counties, each with a population of four hundred fifty thousand or more, with contiguous urban areas and may be adopted by other counties, according to the process established under this section or other processes agreed to among the counties and cities within the affected counties throughout the multicounty region.