AN ACT Relating to comprehensive plan review and amendment and affected timelines; and amending RCW 36.70A.130, 90.58.080, 36.61.020, and 36.61.260.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 36.70A.130 and 1997 c 429 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Each comprehensive land use plan and development regulations shall be subject to continuing review and evaluation by the county or city that adopted them. Not later than September 1, 2002, and at least every five years thereafter, a county or city shall take action to review ((~~and, if needed, revise~~)) its comprehensive land use plan and development regulations to ensure that the plan and regulations are complying with the requirements of this chapter. If needed, a county or city shall revise its comprehensive plan and development regulations to ensure compliance with this chapter by September 1, 2003, and at least every five years thereafter. However, by September 1, 2002, each county and city shall both review and, if needed, revise its policies and regulations to comply with RCW 36.70A.172(1). The review and evaluation required by this subsection and subsection (2) of this section may be combined with the review required by subsection ((~~(3)~~)) (4) of this section.

Any amendment or revision to a comprehensive land use plan shall conform to this chapter, and any change to development regulations shall be consistent with and implement the comprehensive plan.

(2) The term "take action to review" includes the submittal of an evaluation by each county and city that is required to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 to the department indicating its review and evaluation process and a schedule for considering amendments as required to ensure compliance with this chapter. This evaluation may be combined with the requirements of RCW 36.70A.180(2).

(3)(a) Each county and city shall establish and broadly disseminate to the public a public participation program identifying procedures whereby proposed amendments or revisions of the comprehensive plan are considered by the governing body of the county or city no more frequently than once every year except that amendments may be considered more frequently under the following circumstances:

(i) The initial adoption of a subarea plan;

(ii) The adoption or amendment of a shoreline master program under the procedures set forth in chapter 90.58 RCW; and

(iii) The amendment of the capital facilities element of a comprehensive plan that occurs concurrently with the adoption or amendment of a county or city budget.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in (a) of this subsection, all proposals shall be considered by the governing body concurrently so the cumulative effect of the various proposals can be ascertained. However, after appropriate public participation a county or city may adopt amendments or revisions to its comprehensive plan that conform with this chapter whenever an emergency exists or to resolve an appeal of a comprehensive plan filed with a growth management hearings board or with the court.

((~~(3)~~)) (4) Each county that designates urban growth areas under RCW 36.70A.110 shall review, at least every ten years, its designated urban growth area or areas, and the densities permitted within both the incorporated and unincorporated portions of each urban growth area. In conjunction with this review by the county, each city located within an urban growth area shall review the densities permitted within its boundaries, and the extent to which the urban growth occurring within the county has located within each city and the unincorporated portions of the urban growth areas. The county comprehensive plan designating urban growth areas, and the densities permitted in the urban growth areas by the comprehensive plans of the county and each city located within the urban growth areas, shall be revised to accommodate the urban growth projected to occur in the county for the succeeding twenty-year period. The review required by this subsection may be combined with the review and evaluation required by RCW 36.70A.215.

Sec. 2. RCW 90.58.080 and 1995 c 347 s 305 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) To assist local governments in aligning the related work of reviewing and revising comprehensive plans and development regulations under section 1 of this act, the department upon the request of a local government may grant an extension of up to an additional twelve months to the deadlines provided in this section for developing and amending the shoreline master program element of comprehensive plans.

(2) Local governments shall develop or amend((~~, within twenty-four months after the adoption of guidelines as provided in RCW 90.58.060,~~)) a master program for regulation of uses of the shorelines of the state consistent with the required elements of the guidelines adopted by the department. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section as to state guidelines adopted before December 31, 2000, master programs shall be reviewed for compliance with the guidelines and adopted or amended as necessary within twenty-four months after the adoption of guidelines as provided in RCW 90.58.060.

(3) Consistent with the priority salmon recovery regions identified in the state-wide strategy to recover salmon and population growth data provided by the office of financial management, the following master program development or amendment schedule applies for guidelines adopted by the department before December 31, 2000:

(a) For King, Snohomish, Pierce, Clark, and Kitsap counties and the cities and towns therein with shorelines of the state, master programs shall be reviewed for compliance with the guidelines and adopted or amended as necessary within thirty-six months after the adoption of guidelines as provided in RCW 90.58.060;

(b) For Thurston, Whatcom, Benton, Yakima, Skagit, Cowlitz, Clallam, Chelan, Mason, and Jefferson counties and the cities and towns therein with shorelines of the state, master programs shall be reviewed for compliance with the guidelines and adopted or amended as necessary within forty-eight months after the adoption of guidelines as provided in RCW 90.58.060;

(c) For all other counties, cities, and towns with shorelines of the state, master programs shall be reviewed for compliance with the guidelines and adopted or amended as necessary within sixty months after the adoption of guidelines amendments as provided in RCW 90.58.060.

Sec. 3. RCW 36.61.020 and 1987 c 432 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) To assist with development and implementation of elements of comprehensive plans related to long-term lake management objectives in coordination with revision of comprehensive plans, local governments may create lake management districts for any needed period of time.

(2) Any county may create lake management districts to finance the improvement and maintenance of lakes located within or partially within the boundaries of the county. All or a portion of a lake and the adjacent land areas may be included within one or more lake management districts. More than one lake, or portions of lakes, and the adjacent land areas may be included in a single lake management district. ((~~A lake management district may be created for a period of up to ten years.~~))

Special assessments or rates and charges may be imposed on the property included within a lake management district to finance lake improvement and maintenance activities, including: (1) The control or removal of aquatic plants and vegetation; (2) water quality; (3) the control of water levels; (4) storm water diversion and treatment; (5) agricultural waste control; (6) studying lake water quality problems and solutions; (7) cleaning and maintaining ditches and streams entering or leaving the lake; and (8) the related administrative, engineering, legal, and operational costs, including the costs of creating the lake management district.

Special assessments or rates and charges may be imposed annually on all the land in a lake management district for the duration of the lake management district without a related issuance of lake management district bonds or revenue bonds. Special assessments also may be imposed in the manner of special assessments in a local improvement district with each landowner being given the choice of paying the entire special assessment in one payment, or to paying installments, with lake management district bonds being issued to obtain moneys not derived by the initial full payment of the special assessments, and the installments covering all of the costs related to issuing, selling, and redeeming the lake management district bonds.

Sec. 4. RCW 36.61.260 and 1985 c 398 s 26 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Counties may issue lake management district bonds in accordance with this section. Lake management district bonds may be issued to obtain money sufficient to cover that portion of the special assessments that are not paid within the thirty-day period provided in RCW 36.61.190. ((~~The maximum term of lake management district bonds shall be ten years.~~))

Whenever lake management district bonds are proposed to be issued, the county legislative authority shall create a special fund or funds for the lake management district from which all or a portion of the costs of the lake improvement and maintenance activities shall be paid. Lake management district bonds shall not be issued in excess of the costs and expenses of the lake improvement and maintenance activities and shall not be issued prior to twenty days after the thirty days allowed for the payment of special assessments without interest or penalties.

Lake management district bonds shall be exclusively payable from the special fund or funds and from a guaranty fund that the county may have created out of a portion of proceeds from the sale of the lake management district bonds.

(2) Lake management district bonds shall not constitute a general indebtedness of the county issuing the bond nor an obligation, general or special, of the state. The owner of any lake management district bond shall not have any claim for the payment thereof against the county that issues the bonds except for payment from the special assessments made for the lake improvement or maintenance activities for which the lake management district bond was issued and from a lake management district guaranty fund that may have been created. The county shall not be liable to the owner of any lake management district bond for any loss to the lake management district guaranty fund occurring in the lawful operation of the fund. The owner of a lake management district bond shall not have any claim against the state arising from the lake management district bond, special assessments, or guaranty fund. Tax revenues shall not be used to secure or guarantee the payment of the principal of or interest on lake management district bonds.

The substance of the limitations included in this subsection shall be plainly printed, written, engraved, or reproduced on: (a) Each lake management district bond that is a physical instrument; (b) the official notice of sale; and (c) each official statement associated with the lake management district bonds.

(3) If the county fails to make any principal or interest payments on any lake management district bond or to promptly collect any special assessment securing the bonds when due, the owner of the lake management district bond may obtain a writ of mandamus from any court of competent jurisdiction requiring the county to collect the special assessments, foreclose on the related lien, and make payments out of the special fund or guaranty fund if one exists. Any number of owners of lake management districts may join as plaintiffs.

(4) A county may create a lake management district bond guaranty fund for each issue of lake management district bonds. The guaranty fund shall only exist for the life of the lake management district bonds with which it is associated. A portion of the bond proceeds may be placed into a guaranty fund. Unused moneys remaining in the guaranty fund during the last two years of the installments shall be used to proportionally reduce the required level of installments and shall be transferred into the special fund into which installment payments are placed.

(5) Lake management district bonds shall be issued and sold in accordance with chapter 39.46 RCW. The authority to create a special fund or funds shall include the authority to create accounts within a fund.