BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to land use and environmental review and permitting and economic development in rural counties; amending RCW 36.70B.020, 90.60.030, 43.21C.033, 43.21C.034, 43.157.010, and 43.160.060; adding a new section to chapter 36.70B RCW; adding a new section to chapter 90.60 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.70C RCW; repealing RCW 43.131.387 and 43.131.388; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 36.70B RCW to read as follows:

(1) A rural county may conduct a collaborative procedure for land use and environmental review and permitting of rural economic development projects. A rural county may:

(a) Adopt one economic development project per year as a community economic revitalization project or industrial project of state-wide significance;

(b) Request funding in addition to other project funding for coordination and facilitation;

(d) Use the collaborative procedure with the project applicant and the relevant state permitting agencies, as an alternative to the consolidated permit review process in this chapter; and

(e) Invite federal agencies and tribes to participate in the collaborative procedure.

(2) The collaborative procedure in this section shall be a modified form of the local consolidated permit review process adopted under this chapter and consist of:

(a) One or more preapplication conferences that:

(i) Include the applicant, the project coordinator, the local permit facilitator, and the permit assistance center acting as state permit facilitator;

(ii) Discuss options for project design and for land use, environmental review, and permitting;

(iii) Identify potential permitting agencies, permits, schedules, and costs; and

(iv) Identify a potential project team that includes representatives of the applicant and relevant local and state permitting agencies;

(b) A determination of completeness under this chapter of the project application provided by the county to the applicant within thirty-five days, or fourteen days after receipt of requested supplementation that includes both a determination of completeness issued by the county, according to its local consolidated permit review process under this chapter, and determinations of completeness issued by the state permitting agencies;

(i) Is achieved by negotiation among the applicant and the various permitting agencies;

(ii) Results in an integrated schedule keyed to the longest notice and public hearing requirement;

(iii) Includes negotiations for cost recovery arrangements for permitting agencies; and

(iv) Uses an integrated record of decision;

(d) An integrated review that includes:

(i) Issuance of threshold determination under chapter 43.21C RCW;

(ii) Public notice that describes the project, the permits, the applicable regulations, and any preliminary determinations; lists and gives the location of documents and studies; describes public comment, hearing, and appeal processes; and sets out the schedule; and

(iii) An integrated public hearing held in the county;

(e) Coordination of local appeals under this chapter and state appeals under chapter 90.60 RCW;

(f) An integrated decision;

(g) Consolidated judicial review under the land use petition act, chapter 36.70C RCW; and

(h) An optional development agreement under this chapter.

Sec. 2. RCW 36.70B.020 and 1995 c 347 s 402 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Closed record appeal" means an administrative appeal on the record to a local government body or officer, including the legislative body, following an open record hearing on a project permit application when the appeal is on the record with no or limited new evidence or information allowed to be submitted and only appeal argument allowed.

(2) "Local government" means a county, city, or town.

(3) "Open record hearing" means a hearing, conducted by a single hearing body or officer authorized by the local government to conduct such hearings, that creates the local government's record through testimony and submission of evidence and information, under procedures prescribed by the local government by ordinance or resolution. An open record hearing may be held prior to a local government's decision on a project permit to be known as an "open record predecision hearing." An open record hearing may be held on an appeal, to be known as an "open record appeal hearing," if no open record predecision hearing has been held on the project permit.

(4) "Project permit" or "project permit application" means any land use or environmental permit or license required from a local government for a project action, including but not limited to building permits, subdivisions, binding site plans, planned unit developments, conditional uses, shoreline substantial development permits, site plan review, permits or approvals required by critical area ordinances, site-specific rezones authorized by a comprehensive plan or subarea plan, but excluding the adoption or amendment of a comprehensive plan, subarea plan, or development regulations except as otherwise specifically included in this subsection.

(5) "Public meeting" means an informal meeting, hearing, workshop, or other public gathering of people to obtain comments from the public or other agencies on a proposed project permit prior to the local government’s decision. A public meeting may include, but is not limited to, a design review or architectural control board meeting, a special review district or community council meeting, or a scoping meeting on a draft environmental impact statement. A public meeting does not include an open record hearing. The proceedings at a public meeting may be recorded and a report or recommendation may be included in the local government’s project permit application file.

(6) "Rural county" means a county with a population density of fewer than one hundred persons per square mile, as determined by the office of financial management.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 90.60 RCW to read as follows:

(1)(a) State permitting agencies shall participate in the collaborative procedure in section 1 of this act, including the integrated public hearing, and use the integrated record of decision.

(b) State permitting agencies shall adopt a consolidated single state appeal procedure, and use the integrated record of decision.

(d) Reviews of state permit decisions under this chapter shall be consolidated with judicial reviews of land use decisions under chapter 36.70C RCW.

(2) The center may coordinate development of memoranda between state and federal agencies.

Sec. 4. RCW 90.60.030 and 1997 c 429 s 35 are each amended to read as follows:

The permit assistance center is established within the department. The center shall:

(1) Publish and keep current one or more handbooks containing lists and explanations of all permit laws. To the extent possible, the handbook shall include relevant federal and tribal laws. A state agency or local government shall provide a reasonable number of copies of application forms, statutes, ordinances, rules, handbooks, and other informational material requested by the center and shall otherwise fully cooperate with the center. The center shall seek the cooperation of relevant federal agencies and tribal governments;

(2) Establish, and make known, a point of contact for distribution of the handbook and advice to the public as to its interpretation in any given case;

(3) Work closely and cooperatively with the business license center in providing efficient and nonduplicative service to the public;

(4) Seek the assignment of employees from the permit agencies listed under RCW 90.60.020(6)(a) to serve on a rotating basis in staffing the center;

(5) Collect and disseminate information to public and private entities on federal, state, local, and tribal government programs that rely on private professional expertise to assist governmental agencies in project permit review; ((~~and~~))

(6) Participate in the collaborative procedure under section 1 of this act as the state permit facilitator; and

(7) Provide an annual report to the legislature on potential conflicts and perceived inconsistencies among existing statutes. The first report shall be submitted to the appropriate standing committees of the house of representatives and senate by December 1, 1996.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 36.70C RCW to read as follows:

Reviews of land use decisions under this chapter shall be consolidated with judicial reviews of state permit decisions under chapter 90.60 RCW.

Sec. 6. RCW 43.21C.033 and 1995 c 347 s 422 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the responsible official shall make a threshold determination on a completed application within ninety days after the application and supporting documentation are complete. The applicant may request an additional thirty days for the threshold determination. The governmental entity responsible for making the threshold determination shall by rule, resolution, or ordinance adopt standards, consistent with rules adopted by the department to implement this chapter, for determining when an application and supporting documentation are complete.

(2) This section shall not apply to a city, town, or county that:

(a) By ordinance adopted prior to April 1, 1992, has adopted procedures to integrate permit and land use decisions with the requirements of this chapter; ((or))

(b) Is planning under RCW 36.70A.040 and is subject to the requirements of RCW 36.70B.090; or

Sec. 7. RCW 43.21C.034 and 1993 c 23 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Lead agencies are authorized to use in whole or in part existing environmental documents for new project or nonproject actions, if the documents adequately address environmental considerations set forth in RCW 43.21C.030. The prior proposal or action and the new proposal or action need not be identical, but must have similar elements that provide a basis for comparing their environmental consequences such as timing, types of impacts, alternatives, or geography. The lead agency shall independently review the content of the existing documents and determine that the information and analysis to be used is relevant and adequate. If necessary, the lead agency may require additional documentation to ensure that all environmental impacts have been adequately addressed.

(2) Lead agencies may use an integrated record of decision developed under section 1 of this act.

Sec. 8. RCW 43.157.010 and 1997 c 369 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) For purposes of this chapter and RCW 28A.525.166, 28B.80.330, 28C.18.080, 43.21A.350, 47.06.030, and 90.58.100 and ((~~[an]~~)) an industrial project of state-wide significance is a border crossing project that involves both private and public investments carried out in conjunction with adjacent states or provinces or a private industrial development with private capital investment in manufacturing or research and development. To qualify as an industrial project of state-wide significance, the project must be completed after January 1, 1997, and have:

(a) In counties with a population of less than or equal to twenty thousand, a capital investment of twenty million dollars;

(b) In counties with a population of greater than twenty thousand but no more than fifty thousand, a capital investment of fifty million dollars;

(c) In counties with a population of greater than fifty thousand but no more than one hundred thousand, a capital investment of one hundred million dollars;

(d) In counties with a population of greater than one hundred thousand but no more than two hundred thousand, a capital investment of two hundred million dollars;

(e) In counties with a population of greater than two hundred thousand but no more than four hundred thousand, a capital investment of four hundred million dollars;

(f) In counties with a population of greater than four hundred thousand but no more than one million, a capital investment of six hundred million dollars;

(g) In counties with a population of greater than one million, a capital investment of one billion dollars; or

(h) Been designated by the director of community, trade, and economic development as an industrial project of state-wide significance either: (i) Because the county in which the project is to be located is a distressed county and the economic circumstances of the county merit the additional assistance such designation will bring; ((or)) (ii) because the impact on a region due to the size and complexity of the project merits such designation; or (iii) because it is a rural county as defined in RCW 36.70B.020.

(2) The term manufacturing shall have the meaning assigned it in RCW 82.61.010.

(3) The term research and development shall have the meaning assigned it in RCW 82.61.010.

Sec. 9. RCW 43.160.060 and 1996 c 51 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

The board is authorized to make direct loans to political subdivisions of the state for the purposes of assisting the political subdivisions in financing the cost of public facilities, including development of land and improvements for public facilities, as well as the construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvement of the facilities. Grants may be authorized for permit coordination under chapters 36.70B and 90.60 RCW and for facilitation costs of collaborative procedure products under section 1 of this act. A grant may also be authorized for purposes designated in this chapter, but only when, and to the extent that, a loan is not reasonably possible, given the limited resources of the political subdivision and the finding by the board that unique circumstances exist. The board shall not obligate more than twenty percent of its biennial appropriation as grants.

Application for funds shall be made in the form and manner as the board may prescribe. In making grants or loans the board shall conform to the following requirements:

(1) The board shall not provide financial assistance:

(a) For a project the primary purpose of which is to facilitate or promote a retail shopping development or expansion.

(b) For any project that evidence exists would result in a development or expansion that would displace existing jobs in any other community in the state.

(2) The board shall only provide financial assistance:

(a) For those projects which would result in specific private developments or expansions (i) in manufacturing, production, food processing, assembly, warehousing, and industrial distribution; (ii) for processing recyclable materials or for facilities that support recycling, including processes not currently provided in the state, including but not limited to, de-inking facilities, mixed waste paper, plastics, yard waste, and problem-waste processing; (iii) for manufacturing facilities that rely significantly on recyclable materials, including but not limited to waste tires and mixed waste paper; (iv) which support the relocation of businesses from nondistressed urban areas to distressed rural areas; or (v) which substantially support the trading of goods or services outside of the state's borders.

(b) For projects which it finds will improve the opportunities for the successful maintenance, establishment, or expansion of industrial or commercial plants or will otherwise assist in the creation or retention of long-term economic opportunities.

(c) When the application includes convincing evidence that a specific private development or expansion is ready to occur and will occur only if the public facility improvement is made.

(3) The board shall prioritize each proposed project according to the relative benefits provided to the community by the jobs the project would create, not just the total number of jobs it would create after the project is completed and according to the unemployment rate in the area in which the jobs would be located. As long as there is more demand for financial assistance than there are funds available, the board is instructed to fund projects in order of their priority.

(4) A responsible official of the political subdivision shall be present during board deliberations and provide information that the board requests.

Before any financial assistance application is approved, the political subdivision seeking the assistance must demonstrate to the community economic revitalization board that no other timely source of funding is available to it at costs reasonably similar to financing available from the community economic revitalization board.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 43.131.387 and 1995 c 347 s 617; and

(2) RCW 43.131.388 and 1995 c 347 s 618.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Section 10 of this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.