SENATE BILL REPORT

SSB 5679

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.

As Passed Senate, February 18, 2020

Title: An act relating to local government responsibility and accountability in mitigating impacts of public facilities on certain surrounding neighborhoods with high poverty and concentrations of persons of color.

Brief Description: Concerning the mitigation of public facilities in certain cities.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Local Government (originally sponsored by Senators Hasegawa, Conway and Darneille).

Committee Activity: Local Government: 2/14/19 [DP]; 1/28/20 [DPS].

Floor Activity:

Passed Senate: 2/18/20, 47-0.

Brief Summary of First Substitute Bill

Requires cities with populations over 550,000 permitting, constructing, or operating a public facility in a neighborhood with a high poverty level and high rate of ethnic diversity to assume responsibility for the negative impacts of that facility and develop a mitigation plan.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5679 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.

Signed by Senators Takko, Chair; Salomon, Vice Chair; Short, Ranking Member; Honeyford and Lovelett.

Staff: Greg Vogel (786-7413)

Background: Public Facilities. Under the Growth Management Act, public facilities include streets, roads, highways, sidewalks, traffic signals, street lighting, domestic water systems, storm and sewer systems, parks and recreational facilities, and schools. Some cities, such as Seattle, consider police and fire stations, jails, animal control shelters, post office distribution centers, and work-release centers to be public facilities.

Community Reporting Areas. The Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development measures and reports neighborhood demographics in a variety of ways, including by community reporting area (CRA). CRAs were established as a standard, citywide geography for the purpose of reporting U.S. census information. There are 53 CRAs within Seattle.

American Community Survey. The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey from the U.S. Census Bureau replacing the decennial census long form survey. The ACS is conducted on a continual, monthly basis, which enables estimates from the ACS to be published annually. ACS data are combined and presented in three series including one-, three-, and five-year estimates. The ACS collects information on a wide range of topics, including demographic, social, economic, and housing information.

Summary of First Substitute Bill: A city with a population over 550,000 permitting, constructing, or operating a public facility in a neighborhood with a high poverty level and a high rate of ethnic diversity must assume responsibility for the negative impacts that facility has had or might have on the surrounding neighborhood. The city must consider disparate racial, social, and economic impacts on nearby residents, and develop a mitigation plan.

The mitigation plan is subject to the following requirements:

the city must fully reimburse residents for the costs of any permits, charges, or any other costs of the mitigation strategy, including costs of any residential parking zone necessitated by the facility causing the impact;
the city may not add, increase, or establish any other fees or costs to be incurred by the residents to mitigate the negative impacts that the facility has had or might have on the surrounding neighborhood; and
any established residential parking zone necessitated by the facility causing the impact must be maintained in its current form, including the issuance of new permits as provided under the existing program.

The city may seek reimbursement from the entity for costs reimbursed to residents. The city is required to implement the requirements of the act within 90 days of the effective date of the act.

Neighborhood boundaries are defined by the boundaries of community reporting areas. A neighborhood has a high poverty level if 12 percent or more of the population is below the poverty level, and 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 five-year estimate of the ACS.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.

Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony on Original Bill (Regular Session 2019): The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard. PRO: This is not a new bill. It has been around in different shapes and forms in the past six years or so, and passed the Senate 49-0 three times. It is an appropriate issue for local government, since it deals with neighborhood concerns about how they are being treated by Sound Transit light rail stations in south Seattle. Seattle charges $65 per vehicle to these residents to park in their own neighborhood. The policy disproportionately impacts people in south Seattle.

Persons Testifying: PRO: Senator Bob Hasegawa, Prime Sponsor.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: No one.