BILL REQ. #:  S-4794.1 

Read first time 02/07/08.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Elections.

     AN ACT Relating to the objectives of boundary review board decisions; and amending RCW 36.93.180.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 36.93.180 and 1989 c 84 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     The decisions of the boundary review board shall ((attempt to)) achieve the following objectives:
     (1) Preservation of natural neighborhoods and communities;
     (2) Use of physical boundaries, including but not limited to bodies of water, highways, and land contours;
     (3) Creation and preservation of logical service areas;
     (4) Prevention of abnormally irregular boundaries;
     (5) Discouragement of multiple incorporations of small cities and encouragement of incorporation of cities in excess of ten thousand population in heavily populated urban areas;
     (6) Dissolution of inactive special purpose districts;
     (7) Adjustment of impractical boundaries;
     (8) Incorporation as cities or towns or annexation to cities or towns of unincorporated areas which are urban in character; ((and))
     (9) Protection of agricultural and rural lands which are designated for long term productive agricultural and resource use by a comprehensive plan adopted by the county legislative authority; and
     (10) Protection of the public by preventing the degradation of services provided by the annexing municipality within the annexed area and ensure any degradation of services within the remaining unannexed area are mitigated by the annexing municipality.