BILL REQ. #:  H-1681.1 

Read first time 02/07/2007.   Referred to Committee on Local Government.

     AN ACT Relating to modifying the buildable lands requirements of the department of community, trade, and economic development; and amending RCW 36.70A.215.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 36.70A.215 and 1997 c 429 s 25 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to the limitations in subsection (7) of this section, a county shall adopt, in consultation with its cities, county-wide planning policies to establish a review and evaluation program. This program shall be in addition to the requirements of RCW 36.70A.110, 36.70A.130, and 36.70A.210. In developing and implementing the review and evaluation program required by this section, the county and its cities shall consider information from other appropriate jurisdictions and sources. The purpose of the review and evaluation program shall be to:
     (a) Determine whether a county and its cities are achieving urban densities within urban growth areas by comparing growth and development assumptions, targets, and objectives contained in the county-wide planning policies and the county and city comprehensive plans with actual growth and development that has occurred in the county and its cities; and
     (b) Identify reasonable measures, other than adjusting urban growth areas, that will be taken to comply with the requirements of this chapter.
     (2) The review and evaluation program shall:
     (a) Encompass land uses and activities both within and outside of urban growth areas and provide for annual collection of data on urban and rural land uses, development, critical areas, and capital facilities to the extent necessary to determine the quantity and type of land suitable for development, both for residential and employment-based activities;
     (b) Provide for evaluation of the data collected under (a) of this subsection every five years as provided in subsection (3) of this section. The first evaluation shall be completed not later than September 1, 2002. The county and its cities may establish in the county-wide planning policies indicators, benchmarks, and other similar criteria to use in conducting the evaluation;
     (c) Provide for methods to resolve disputes among jurisdictions relating to the county-wide planning policies required by this section and procedures to resolve inconsistencies in collection and analysis of data; and
     (d) Provide for the amendment of the county-wide policies and county and city comprehensive plans as needed to remedy an inconsistency identified through the evaluation required by this section, or to bring these policies into compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
     (3) At a minimum, the evaluation component of the program required by subsection (1) of this section shall:
     (a) Determine whether there is sufficient suitable land to accommodate the county-wide population projection established for the county pursuant to RCW 43.62.035 and the subsequent population allocations within the county and between the county and its cities and the requirements of RCW 36.70A.110;
     (b) Determine the actual density of housing that has been constructed and the actual amount of land developed for commercial and industrial uses within the urban growth area since the adoption of a comprehensive plan under this chapter or since the last periodic evaluation as required by subsection (1) of this section; and
     (c) Based on the actual density of development as determined under (b) of this subsection, review commercial, industrial, and housing needs by type and density range to determine the amount of land needed for commercial, industrial, and housing for the remaining portion of the twenty-year planning period used in the most recently adopted comprehensive plan.
     (4) If the evaluation required by subsection (3) of this section demonstrates an inconsistency between what has occurred since the adoption of the county-wide planning policies and the county and city comprehensive plans and development regulations and what was envisioned in those policies and plans and the planning goals and the requirements of this chapter, as the inconsistency relates to the evaluation factors specified in subsection (3) of this section, the county and its cities shall adopt and implement measures that are reasonably likely to increase consistency during the subsequent five-year period. If necessary, a county, in consultation with its cities as required by RCW 36.70A.210, shall adopt amendments to county-wide planning policies to increase consistency. The county and its cities shall annually monitor the measures adopted under this subsection to determine their effect and may revise or rescind them as appropriate.
     (5)(a) ((Not later than July 1, 1998,)) The department, on or before each December 31st, shall prepare a list of methods used by counties and cities ((in carrying out the types of activities required by)) to comply with the requirements of this section. The department, on or before each March 1st, shall provide this information and appropriate technical assistance to counties and cities required to or choosing to comply with the provisions of this section.
     (b) ((By December 31, 2007,)) The department, on or before each December 31st, shall submit to the appropriate committees of the ((legislature a report)) house of representatives and the senate an assessment evaluation analyzing the effectiveness of the ((activities described in)) requirements of this section in achieving the goals envisioned by the county-wide planning policies and the comprehensive plans and development regulations of the counties and cities. The assessment evaluations required of the department under this subsection (5)(b) must include recommendations for legislation the department deems necessary to increase the effectiveness of the requirements of this section in achieving the goals envisioned by county-wide planning policies and the comprehensive plans and development regulations of counties and cities.
     (6) From funds appropriated by the legislature for this purpose, the department shall provide grants to counties, cities, and regional planning organizations required under subsection (7) of this section to conduct the review and perform the evaluation required by this section.
     (7) The provisions of this section shall apply to counties, and the cities within those counties, that were greater than one hundred fifty thousand in population in 1995 as determined by office of financial management population estimates and that are located west of the crest of the Cascade mountain range. Any other county planning under RCW 36.70A.040 may carry out the review, evaluation, and amendment programs and procedures as provided in this section.