BILL REQ. #: H-0008.2
State of Washington | 63rd Legislature | 2013 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/16/13. Referred to Committee on Local Government.
AN ACT Relating to incentivizing up-front environmental planning and review; amending RCW 82.02.020; and adding a new section to chapter 43.21C RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 43.21C RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A county, city, or town may recover its reasonable expenses of
preparation of a nonproject environmental impact statement prepared
under RCW 43.21C.229 and 43.21C.440:
(a) Through access to financial assistance under RCW 36.70A.490;
(b) With funding from private sources; and
(c) By the assessment of fees consistent with the requirements and
limitations of this section.
(2)(a) A county, city, or town is authorized to assess a fee upon
subsequent development that will make use of and benefit from: (i) The
analysis in an environmental impact statement prepared for the purpose
of compliance with RCW 43.21C.440 regarding planned actions; or (ii)
the reduction in environmental analysis requirements resulting from the
exercise of authority under RCW 43.21C.229 regarding infill
development.
(b) The amount of the fee must be reasonable and proportionate to
the total expenses incurred by the county, city, or town in the
preparation of the environmental impact statement.
(3) A county, city, or town assessing fees under subsection (2)(a)
of this section must provide for a mechanism by which project
proponents may either elect to utilize the environmental review
completed by the lead agency and pay the fees under subsection (1) of
this section or certify that they do not want the local jurisdiction to
utilize the environmental review completed as a part of a planned
action and therefore not be assessed any associated fees. Project
proponents who choose this option may not make use of or benefit from
the up-front environmental review prepared by the local jurisdiction.
(4) Prior to the collection of fees, the county, city, or town must
enact an ordinance that establishes the total amount of expenses to be
recovered through fees and provides objective standards for determining
the fee amount to be imposed upon each development proposal
proportionate to the impacts of each development and to the benefits
accruing to each development from the nonproject environmental review.
The ordinance must provide: (a) A procedure by which an applicant who
disagrees with whether the amount of the fee is correct, reasonable, or
proportionate may pay the fee with the written stipulation "paid under
protest"; and (b) if the county, city, or town provides for an
administrative appeal of its decision on the project for which the fees
are imposed, any dispute about the amount of the fees must be resolved
in the same administrative appeals process. Any disagreement about the
reasonableness, proportionality, or amount of the fees imposed upon a
development may not be the basis for delay in issuance of a project
permit for that development.
(5) The ordinance adopted under subsection (4) of this section must
make information available about the amount of the expenses designated
for recovery. When these expenses have been fully recovered, the
county, city, or town may no longer assess a fee under this section.
(6) Any fees collected under this section from subsequent
development may be used to reimburse funding received from private
sources to conduct the environmental review.
(7) The county, city, or town shall refund fees collected where a
court of competent jurisdiction determines that the environmental
review conducted under RCW 43.21C.440, regarding planned actions, or
under RCW 43.21C.229, regarding infill development, was not sufficient
to comply with the requirements of this chapter regarding the proposed
development activity for which the fees were collected. The applicant
and the county, city, or town may mutually agree to a partial refund or
to waive the refund in the interest of resolving any dispute regarding
compliance with this chapter.
Sec. 2 RCW 82.02.020 and 2010 c 153 s 3 are each amended to read
as follows:
Except only as expressly provided in chapters 67.28, 81.104, and
82.14 RCW, the state preempts the field of imposing retail sales and
use taxes and taxes upon parimutuel wagering authorized pursuant to RCW
67.16.060, conveyances, and cigarettes, and no county, town, or other
municipal subdivision shall have the right to impose taxes of that
nature. Except as provided in RCW 64.34.440 and 82.02.050 through
82.02.090, no county, city, town, or other municipal corporation shall
impose any tax, fee, or charge, either direct or indirect, on the
construction or reconstruction of residential buildings, commercial
buildings, industrial buildings, or on any other building or building
space or appurtenance thereto, or on the development, subdivision,
classification, or reclassification of land. However, this section
does not preclude dedications of land or easements within the proposed
development or plat which the county, city, town, or other municipal
corporation can demonstrate are reasonably necessary as a direct result
of the proposed development or plat to which the dedication of land or
easement is to apply.
This section does not prohibit voluntary agreements with counties,
cities, towns, or other municipal corporations that allow a payment in
lieu of a dedication of land or to mitigate a direct impact that has
been identified as a consequence of a proposed development,
subdivision, or plat. A local government shall not use such voluntary
agreements for local off-site transportation improvements within the
geographic boundaries of the area or areas covered by an adopted
transportation program authorized by chapter 39.92 RCW. Any such
voluntary agreement is subject to the following provisions:
(1) The payment shall be held in a reserve account and may only be
expended to fund a capital improvement agreed upon by the parties to
mitigate the identified, direct impact;
(2) The payment shall be expended in all cases within five years of
collection; and
(3) Any payment not so expended shall be refunded with interest to
be calculated from the original date the deposit was received by the
county and at the same rate applied to tax refunds pursuant to RCW
84.69.100; however, if the payment is not expended within five years
due to delay attributable to the developer, the payment shall be
refunded without interest.
No county, city, town, or other municipal corporation shall require
any payment as part of such a voluntary agreement which the county,
city, town, or other municipal corporation cannot establish is
reasonably necessary as a direct result of the proposed development or
plat.
Nothing in this section prohibits cities, towns, counties, or other
municipal corporations from collecting reasonable fees from an
applicant for a permit or other governmental approval to cover the cost
to the city, town, county, or other municipal corporation of processing
applications, inspecting and reviewing plans, or preparing detailed
statements required by chapter 43.21C RCW, including reasonable fees
that are consistent with RCW 43.21C.420(6) and section 1 of this act.
This section does not limit the existing authority of any county,
city, town, or other municipal corporation to impose special
assessments on property specifically benefited thereby in the manner
prescribed by law.
Nothing in this section prohibits counties, cities, or towns from
imposing or permits counties, cities, or towns to impose water, sewer,
natural gas, drainage utility, and drainage system charges. However,
no such charge shall exceed the proportionate share of such utility or
system's capital costs which the county, city, or town can demonstrate
are attributable to the property being charged. Furthermore, these
provisions may not be interpreted to expand or contract any existing
authority of counties, cities, or towns to impose such charges.
Nothing in this section prohibits a transportation benefit district
from imposing fees or charges authorized in RCW 36.73.120 nor prohibits
the legislative authority of a county, city, or town from approving the
imposition of such fees within a transportation benefit district.
Nothing in this section prohibits counties, cities, or towns from
imposing transportation impact fees authorized pursuant to chapter
39.92 RCW.
Nothing in this section prohibits counties, cities, or towns from
requiring property owners to provide relocation assistance to tenants
under RCW 59.18.440 and 59.18.450.
Nothing in this section limits the authority of counties, cities,
or towns to implement programs consistent with RCW 36.70A.540, nor to
enforce agreements made pursuant to such programs.
This section does not apply to special purpose districts formed and
acting pursuant to Title 54, 57, or 87 RCW, nor is the authority
conferred by these titles affected.