Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research	BILL ANALYSIS
Local Government & Housing Committee

HB 1815

Brief Description:  Requiring concurrency planning for parks, schools, and law enforcement in growth management comprehensive plans and development regulations.

Sponsors:  Representatives Dunshee, Simpson, Romero and Edwards.

Brief Summary of Bill

$Creates concurrency requirements for Growth Management Act plans for parks and recreation, schools, and law enforcement services and facilities.

Hearing Date:  2/21/01

Staff:  Caroleen Dineen (786‑7156).

Background: 

The Growth Management Act (GMA) requires a county and its cities to plan if the county meets specified population and growth requirements and allow other counties to choose to plan.  Currently, 29 of Washington's 39 counties plan under the major GMA requirements by requirement or choice (GMA jurisdictions).

The GMA requires all counties and cites in the state to take certain actions, including designation and protection of critical areas and designation of natural resource lands.  The GMA imposes additional requirements on GMA jurisdictions, including: (1) conservation of natural resource lands; (2) adoption of county-wide planning policies to coordinate comprehensive planning among counties and their cities; and (3) designation of urban growth areas.  GMA jurisdictions also must adopt a comprehensive plan and implementing development regulations.  A GMA jurisdiction's comprehensive plan must include certain required elements:

$a land use element, designating proposed general distribution, location and uses of land;

$a housing element, inventorying available housing and identifying sufficient land for housing;

$a capital facilities plan element, identifying existing capital facilities and forecasting future capital facilities needs and funding;

$a utilities element, describing the general location and capacity of existing and proposed utilities;

$a rural element, specifying policies for land development and uses for lands that are not designated for urban growth, agriculture, forest or mineral resources; and

$a transportation element, implementing the land use element and identifying facilities and service needs, level of service standards, traffic forecasts, demand-management strategies, intergovernmental coordination, and financing.

After adopting a comprehensive plan, a GMA jurisdiction must adopt and enforce ordinances prohibiting development approval if the development causes the level of service on a locally owned transportation facility to decline below standards established in the transportation element of the GMA comprehensive plan.  This prohibition applies unless transportation improvements or strategies to accommodate the development's impacts are made concurrent with the development.  This "concurrency"  requirement means improvements or strategies must be in place at the time of the development or that a financial commitment exists to complete improvements or strategies within six years. The strategies to achieve concurrency may include increased public transportation service, ride sharing programs, demand management, and other transportation systems management strategies.

By September 1, 2002, and every five years thereafter, GMA jurisdictions must review their comprehensive plans and development regulations for consistency with GMA requirements and must revise their plans and regulations if necessary. 

Summary of Bill: 

Counties and cities  planning under the major Growth Management Act (GMA) requirements (GMA jurisdictions) must establish in their comprehensive plans level of service standards for all parks and recreation, schools, and law enforcement services and facilities within their jurisdictions.  These standards should be coordinated with relevant special purpose districts and law enforcement agencies.  After adopting the GMA comprehensive plan, a GMA jurisdiction must adopt and enforce ordinances prohibiting the level of service for any of these services or facilities to decline below the standards adopted in the comprehensive plan unless improvements or strategies are made to accommodate the development's impacts concurrent with the development.  "Concurrent with the development" has the same meaning for this concurrency requirement as for the transportation concurrency requirement, requiring improvements or strategies to be in place at the time of development or a financial commitment to complete improvements or strategies within six years.  The concurrency requirement for parks and recreation, schools, and law enforcement services and facilities applies to all GMA comprehensive plans adopted on or after September 1, 2001.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note: Requested on February 19, 2001.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.