BILL REQ. #:  H-1781.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/08/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to the transfer of jurisdiction over conversion-related forest practices to local governments; amending RCW 76.09.240; and adding a new section to chapter 36.70A RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 76.09.240 and 2002 c 121 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) ((By December 31, 2005, each county and each city shall adopt ordinances or promulgate regulations setting standards for those Class IV forest practices regulated by local government. The regulations shall: (a) Establish minimum standards for Class IV forest practices; (b) set forth necessary administrative provisions; and (c) establish procedures for the collection and administration of forest practices and recording fees as set forth in this chapter.
     (2) Class IV forest practices regulations shall be administered and enforced by the counties and cities that promulgate them.
     (3) The forest practices board shall continue to promulgate regulations and the department shall continue to administer and enforce the regulations promulgated by the board in each county and each city for all forest practices as provided in this chapter until such time as, in the opinion of the department, the county or city has promulgated forest practices regulations that meet the requirements as set forth in this section and that meet or exceed the standards set forth by the board in regulations in effect at the time the local regulations are adopted. Regulations promulgated by the county or city thereafter shall be reviewed in the usual manner set forth for county or city rules or ordinances. Amendments to local ordinances must meet or exceed the forest practices rules at the time the local ordinances are amended.
     (a) Department review of the initial regulations promulgated by a county or city shall take place upon written request by the county or city. The department, in consultation with the department of ecology, may approve or disapprove the regulations in whole or in part.
     (b) Until January 1, 2006, the department shall provide technical assistance to all counties or cities that have adopted forest practices regulations acceptable to the department and that have assumed regulatory authority over all Class IV forest practices within their jurisdiction.
     (c) Decisions by the department approving or disapproving the initial regulations promulgated by a county or city may be appealed to the forest practices appeals board, which has exclusive jurisdiction to review the department's approval or disapproval of regulations promulgated by counties and cities.
     (4))) On or before December 31, 2008:
     (a) Counties planning under RCW 36.70A.040, and the cities and towns within those counties, where more than a total of twenty-five Class IV forest practices applications, as defined in RCW 76.09.050(1) Class IV (a) through (d), have been filed with the department between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2005, shall adopt and enforce ordinances or regulations as provided in subsection (2) of this section for the following:
     (i) Forest practices classified as Class I, II, III, and IV that are within urban growth areas designated under RCW 36.70A.110, except for forest practices on ownerships of contiguous forest land equal to or greater than twenty acres where the forest landowner provides, to the department and the county, a written statement of intent, signed by the forest landowner, not to convert to a use other than growing commercial timber for ten years. This statement must be accompanied by either:
     (A) A written forest management plan acceptable to the department; or
     (B) Documentation that the land is enrolled as forest land of long-term commercial significance under the provisions of chapter 84.33 RCW; and
     (ii) Forest practices classified as Class IV, outside urban growth areas designated under RCW 36.70A.110, involving either timber harvest or road construction, or both on:
     (A) Lands platted after January 1, 1960, as provided in chapter 58.17 RCW;
     (B) Lands that have or are being converted to another use; or
     (C) Lands which, under RCW 76.09.070, are not to be reforested because of the likelihood of future conversion to urban development;
     (b) Counties planning under RCW 36.70A.040, and the cities and towns within those counties, not included in (a) of this subsection, may adopt and enforce ordinances or regulations as provided in (a) of this subsection; and
     (c) Counties not planning under RCW 36.70A.040, and the cities and towns within those counties, may adopt and enforce ordinances or regulations as provided in subsection (2) of this section for forest practices classified as Class IV involving either timber harvest or road construction, or both on:
     (i) Lands platted after January 1, 1960, as provided in chapter 58.17 RCW;
     (ii) Lands that have or are being converted to another use; or
     (iii) Lands which, under RCW 76.09.070, are not to be reforested because of the likelihood of future conversion to urban development.
     (2) Before a county, city, or town may regulate forest practices under subsection (1) of this section, it shall ensure that its critical areas and development regulations are in compliance with RCW 36.70A.130 and, if applicable, RCW 36.70A.215. The county, city, or town shall notify the department and the department of ecology in writing sixty days prior to adoption of the development regulations required in this section. The transfer of jurisdiction shall not occur until the county, city, or town has notified the department, the department of revenue, and the department of ecology in writing of the effective date of the regulations. Ordinances and regulations adopted under subsection (1) of this section and this subsection shall include:
     (a) Provisions that require appropriate approvals for all phases of the conversion of forest lands, including land clearing and grading; and
     (b) Procedures for the collection and administration of permit and recording fees.
     (3) Activities regulated by counties, cities, or towns as provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall be administered and enforced by those counties, cities, or towns. The department shall not regulate these activities under this chapter.
     (4) The board shall continue to adopt rules and the department shall continue to administer and enforce those rules in each county, city, or town for all forest practices as provided in this chapter until such a time as the county, city, or town has updated its development regulations as required by RCW 36.70A.130 and, if applicable, RCW 36.70A.215, and has adopted ordinances or regulations under subsections (1) and (2) of this section. However, counties, cities, and towns that have adopted ordinances or regulations regarding forest practices prior to the effective date of this section are not required to readopt their ordinances or regulations in order to satisfy the requirements of this section.
     (5) Upon request, the department shall provide technical assistance to all counties, cities, and towns while they are in the process of adopting the regulations required by this section, and after the regulations become effective.
     (6) For those forest practices over which the board and the department maintain regulatory authority no county, city, municipality, or other local or regional governmental entity shall adopt or enforce any law, ordinance, or regulation pertaining to forest practices, except that to the extent otherwise permitted by law, such entities may exercise any:
     (a) Land use planning or zoning authority: PROVIDED, That exercise of such authority may regulate forest practices only: (i) Where the application submitted under RCW 76.09.060 as now or hereafter amended indicates that the lands have been or will be converted to a use other than commercial forest product production; or (ii) on lands which have been platted after January 1, 1960, as provided in chapter 58.17 RCW: PROVIDED, That no permit system solely for forest practices shall be allowed; that any additional or more stringent regulations shall not be inconsistent with the forest practices regulations enacted under this chapter; and such local regulations shall not unreasonably prevent timber harvesting;
     (b) Taxing powers;
     (c) Regulatory authority with respect to public health; and
     (d) Authority granted by chapter 90.58 RCW, the "Shoreline Management Act of 1971".
     (7) To improve the administration of the forest excise tax created in chapter 84.33 RCW, a county, city, or town that regulates forest practices under this section shall report permit information to the department of revenue for all approved forest practices permits. The permit information shall be reported to the department of revenue no later than sixty days after the date the permit was approved and shall be in a form and manner agreed to by the county, city, or town and the department of revenue. Permit information includes the landowner's legal name, address, telephone number, and parcel number.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 36.70A RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Each county, city, and town assuming regulation of forest practices as provided in RCW 76.09.240 (1) and (2) shall adopt development regulations that:
     (a) Protect public resources, as defined in RCW 76.09.020, from material damage or the potential for material damage;
     (b) Require appropriate approvals for all phases of the conversion of forest lands, including clearing and grading; and
     (c) Are guided by the planning goals in RCW 36.70A.020 and by the purposes and policies of the forest practices act as set forth in RCW 76.09.010.
     (2) If necessary, each county, city, or town that assumes regulation of forest practices under RCW 76.09.240 shall amend its comprehensive plan to ensure consistency between its comprehensive plan and development regulations.
     (3) Before a county, city, or town may regulate forest practices under RCW 76.09.240 (1) and (2), it shall update its development regulations as required by RCW 36.70A.130 and, if applicable, RCW 36.70A.215. Forest practices regulations adopted under RCW 76.09.240 (1) and (2) may be adopted as part of the legislative action taken under RCW 36.70A.130 or 36.70A.215.