Growth Management Act.  The Growth Management Act (GMA) is the comprehensive land use planning framework for counties and cities in Washington.  The GMA establishes land use designation and environmental protection requirements for all Washington counties and cities.  The GMA also establishes a significantly wider array of planning duties for 28 counties, and the cities within those counties, that are obligated to satisfy all planning requirements of the GMA.

The GMA directs fully planning jurisdictions to adopt internally consistent comprehensive land use plans. Comprehensive plans are implemented through locally adopted development regulations, and both the plans and the local regulations are subject to review and revision requirements prescribed in the GMA.  When developing their comprehensive plans, counties and cities must consider various goals set forth in statute.

Comprehensive plan update deadlines for each county, and the cities within those counties, are specified in the GMA.  Amendments to a comprehensive plan may occur no more frequently than once per year, with certain exceptions. 

Amendments may be considered more frequently than once a year under the following circumstances:

• the initial adoption of a subarea plan;
• the development of an initial subarea plan for economic development located outside of the 100-year floodplain in a county that has completed a state-funded pilot project based on watershed characterization and local habitat assessment;
• the adoption or amendment of a Shoreline Master Program;
• the amendment of the capital facilities element of a comprehensive plan that occurs concurrently with the adoption or amendment of a county or city budget; or
• the adoption of comprehensive plan amendments necessary to enact a planned action under the State Environmental Policy Act.

The adoption of comprehensive amendments or development regulations necessary for the permitting of housing projects is added to the list of items for which amendments to the comprehensive plan may be considered more frequently than once per year.