Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Local Government Committee
HB 1097
Brief Description: Extending governmental services beyond the urban growth area in specific circumstances.
Sponsors: Representatives Low, Ryu, Jacobsen, Tharinger and Bernbaum.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • ?Allows for the extension or expansion of urban governmental services into rural areas in four circumstances involving systems of sewerage.??
Hearing Date: 1/28/25
Staff: Michelle Rusk (786-7153).
Background:

Growth Management Act.

The Growth Management Act (GMA) requires that certain counties, and the cities within those counties, engage in planning for future population growth.? The central part of the planning process is the comprehensive plan.? The Legislature has established 15 goals that act as the basis of all comprehensive plans, including reducing sprawl, providing for affordable housing, and protecting property rights.? The comprehensive plan must address these goals and set out the policies and standards that are meant to guide the city or county's actions and decisions in the future.?

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Comprehensive plans are required to be updated every 10 years and must contain certain elements, such as a land use element, a housing element, and a capital facilities plan.? These elements must satisfy the requirements for each individual element while fitting within the overall comprehensive plan.?

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Urban Growth Areas.

One aspect of a comprehensive plan that must be reviewed every 10 years is the designation of urban growth areas (UGAs).? Urban growth is growth that makes such intensive use of land for buildings, structures, and impermeable surfaces that is it unsuitable to be used primarily for agriculture, natural resource use and management, or for rural uses. ?A UGA is an area designated by a county planning under the GMA inside of which urban growth is encouraged, and outside of which urban growth is prohibited.? Each city must be included in a UGA, and a UGA can include more than one city within its boundaries.? Areas outside of a city can also be included within a UGA, if the areas are already characterized by urban growth.?

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Governmental Services.

In general, cities are the most appropriate for providing urban governmental services.? Urban governmental services include those services that are typically provided in cities, including storm and sewer systems, domestic water systems, public transit, public safety, and other services associated with urban areas and not associated with rural areas. ?It is generally not appropriate that urban governmental services are extended or expanded into rural areas, except in those limited circumstances shown to be necessary to protect basic public health and safety and the environment, and when services are financially supportable at rural densities and do not permit urban development.

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Summary of Bill:

Governmental Services.

Urban governmental services may also be extended or expanded?into rural areas under the following four circumstances:

  • to connect a landfill or solid waste disposal facility to the system of?sewerage that connects to a wastewater treatment plant;?
  • to connect to the system of sewerage if an on-site sewage disposal system is at its end of life, or is failing;?
  • to connect a property located outside of the urban growth area when an existing system of sewerage is within an estimated one-quarter mile of a property; or?
  • to connect a property outside of the urban growth area to an existing system of sewerage located in the street, road, highway, right-of-way, or sidewalk adjacent to the property.?
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Preliminary fiscal note available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.