Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Local Government Committee

HB 1724

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Requires a city with a population greater than 550,000 that permits, constructs, or operates a public facility in a neighborhood with a high poverty level and high rate of ethnic diversity to assume the responsibility for negative impacts that the public facility has had, or may have, on the surrounding neighborhood.
Requires a qualifying city to develop a mitigation plan and consider the potential or actual disparate racial, social, and economic impacts of the public facility on nearby residents.
Authorizes a qualifying city to negotiate with other local jurisdictions who have a direct interest in having created the negative impacts, but the residents must be held harmless.

Background:

Population.

According to the most recent population estimates by the Office of Financial Management, the City of Seattle is the only city in the state with a population greater than 550,000.

Community Reporting Areas.

The City of Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development established Community Reporting Areas (CRAs) as a standard citywide geography for the purpose of reporting census information. There are 53 CRAs composed from one to six census tracts.

Census tracts are used by the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) and established for the purpose of providing a stable set of geographic units for the presentation of statistical data. Census tracts are small statistical subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity that generally have a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people. Census tracts are updated by local participants prior to each decennial census, but the Bureau determines census tracts in situations where no local participant existed or where state, local, or tribal governments declined to participate.

American Community Survey.

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey from the Bureau that is part of the Decennial Census Program. The ACS collects detailed information on demographic, socioeconomic, and housing characteristics of the population. The Bureau sends the ACS to a small percentage of the population on a rotating basis throughout the decade, but no household will receive the survey more often than once every five years. The Bureau combines the data over different time periods and publishes it in two different data sets as follows:

a one-year estimate, which is data collected over a 12-month period and available for all types of geographic areas with a population greater than 60,000; and
a five-year estimate, which is data collected over a 60-month period and available for all geographic areas, including areas with a population of less than 60,000.

Summary of Bill:

A city with a population greater than 550,000 that permits, constructs, or operates a public facility in a neighborhood with a high poverty level and a high rate of ethnic diversity must assume the responsibility for the negative impacts that the public facility has had, or may have, on the surrounding neighborhood.

A neighborhood has a high poverty level if 12 percent or more of the population is below the poverty level according to the most recent ACS five-year estimate. In addition, a neighborhood has a high rate of ethnic diversity if 40 percent or more of the population identifies as persons of color according to the most recent ACS five-year estimate. The CRA boundaries define the neighborhood boundaries.

A qualifying city must develop a mitigation plan and must consider the potential or actual disparate racial, social, and economic impacts of the public facility on nearby residents. Residents of the impacted neighborhood must be kept whole for the costs of the mitigation plan. In addition, a city may negotiate with other local jurisdictions who have a direct interest in having created the negative impacts, but the residents must be held harmless.