wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2316 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that only 3.74 percent of Washington's total land area falls within urban growth boundaries. The state's policy is for intense development to happen on property within the urban growth boundaries. The growth management act offers broad concepts to provide flexibility in local choices, not requirements for every property. Urban development can be skyscrapers with parking garages, sidewalks, and every square inch of the land fully developed. The ability to develop such density and fully use property within urban growth boundaries is necessary statewide when there are such small amounts of land available for intense development.
The legislature is serious about facilitating the creation of affordable housing in urban growth areas along with other development opportunities needed to support the people living in those areas. Land within urban growth areas is not suited for wildlife or conservation areas due to the people, buildings, roadways, and lights.
Shrubsteppe is typically considered an ecosystem in undeveloped areas where wildlife is present. The presence of plants or shrubs that can be found in the shrubsteppe on property does not make that property a functional ecosystem.
Shrubsteppe is a conduit for wildfire. Wildfire in urban areas endangers lives and property. Building codes meant to reduce the threat of wildfire recommend creating a defensible space to prevent wildfire from spreading from forest lands to buildings in urban areas, and thus removal of such fire fuel is desirable in urban growth areas.
The legislature finds that the loss of plants and bushes associated with shrubsteppe in urban growth areas has a negligible impact on the environment and natural ecosystems. The ability to develop land within the urban growth boundary to the fullest potential helps reduce pressures to develop land outside of the urban growth boundary. Government regulations that require property owners to take additional steps add costs and delays that this act intends to prevent. This policy will assist the state in achieving the governor's housing goal of producing more than one million homes statewide by 2044. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature that the existence of shrubsteppe within urban growth areas does not prevent needed housing and other development. This act gives clear direction to help improve development outcomes consistent with the intent of the growth management act.
Each county that is required or chooses to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 shall designate an urban growth area or areas within which urban growth shall be encouraged and outside of which growth can occur only if it is not urban in nature. Each city that is located in such a county shall be included within an urban growth area. An urban growth area may include more than a single city. An urban growth area may include territory that is located outside of a city only if such territory already is characterized by urban growth whether or not the urban growth area includes a city, or is adjacent to territory already characterized by urban growth, or is a designated new fully contained community as defined by RCW 36.70A.350. When a federally recognized Indian tribe whose reservation or ceded lands lie within the county or city has voluntarily chosen to participate in the planning process pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040, the county or city and the tribe shall coordinate their planning efforts for any areas planned for urban growth consistent with the terms outlined in the memorandum of agreement provided for in RCW 36.70A.040(8).
Based upon the growth management population projection made for the county by the office of financial management, the county and each city within the county shall include areas and densities sufficient to permit the urban growth that is projected to occur in the county or city for the succeeding twenty-year period, except for those urban growth areas contained totally within a national historical reserve. As part of this planning process, each city within the county must include areas sufficient to accommodate the broad range of needs and uses that will accompany the projected urban growth including, as appropriate, medical, governmental, institutional, commercial, service, retail, and other nonresidential uses.
Each urban growth area shall permit urban densities and shall include greenbelt and open space areas. In the case of urban growth areas contained totally within a national historical reserve, the city may restrict densities, intensities, and forms of urban growth as determined to be necessary and appropriate to protect the physical, cultural, or historic integrity of the reserve. An urban growth area determination may include a reasonable land market supply factor and shall permit a range of urban densities and uses. In determining this market factor, cities and counties may consider local circumstances. Cities and counties have discretion in their comprehensive plans to make many choices about accommodating growth.
Within one year of July 1, 1990, each county that as of June 1, 1991, was required or chose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040, shall begin consulting with each city located within its boundaries and each city shall propose the location of an urban growth area. Within sixty days of the date the county legislative authority of a county adopts its resolution of intention or of certification by the office of financial management, all other counties that are required or choose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 shall begin this consultation with each city located within its boundaries. The county shall attempt to reach agreement with each city on the location of an urban growth area within which the city is located. If such an agreement is not reached with each city located within the urban growth area, the county shall justify in writing why it so designated the area an urban growth area. A city may object formally with the department over the designation of the urban growth area within which it is located. Where appropriate, the department shall attempt to resolve the conflicts, including the use of mediation services.
Urban growth should be located first in areas already characterized by urban growth that have adequate existing public facility and service capacities to serve such development, second in areas already characterized by urban growth that will be served adequately by a combination of both existing public facilities and services and any additional needed public facilities and services that are provided by either public or private sources, and third in the remaining portions of the urban growth areas. Urban growth may also be located in designated new fully contained communities as defined by RCW 36.70A.350.
In general, cities are the units of local government most appropriate to provide urban governmental services. In general, it is not appropriate that urban governmental services be extended to or expanded in rural areas except in those limited circumstances shown to be necessary to protect basic public health and safety and the environment and when such services are financially supportable at rural densities and do not permit urban development and as authorized in RCW 36.70A.830.
On or before October 1, 1993, each county that was initially required to plan under RCW 36.70A.040(1) shall adopt development regulations designating interim urban growth areas under this chapter. Within three years and three months of the date the county legislative authority of a county adopts its resolution of intention or of certification by the office of financial management, all other counties that are required or choose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 shall adopt development regulations designating interim urban growth areas under this chapter. Adoption of the interim urban growth areas may only occur after public notice; public hearing; and compliance with the state environmental policy act, chapter 43.21C RCW, and under this section. Such action may be appealed to the growth management hearings board under RCW 36.70A.280. Final urban growth areas shall be adopted at the time of comprehensive plan adoption under this chapter.
Each county shall include designations of urban growth areas in its comprehensive plan.
An urban growth area designated in accordance with this section may include within its boundaries urban service areas or potential annexation areas designated for specific cities or towns within the county.
If, during the county's annual review under RCW 36.70A.130(2)(a), the county determines revision of the urban growth area is not required to accommodate the population projection for the county made by the office of financial management for the succeeding 20-year period, but does determine that patterns of development have created pressure for development in areas exceeding the amount of available developable lands within the urban growth area, then the county may revise the urban growth area or areas based on identified patterns of development and likely future development pressure if the following requirements are met:
The revised urban growth area would not result in a net increase in the total acreage or development capacity of the urban growth area or areas;
The areas added to the urban growth area are not designated by the county as agricultural, forest, or mineral resource lands of long-term commercial significance;
If the areas added to the urban growth area have previously been designated as agricultural, forest, or mineral resource lands of long-term commercial significance, either an equivalent amount of agricultural, forest, or mineral resource lands of long-term commercial significance must be added to the area outside of the urban growth area, or the county must wait a minimum of two years before another swap may occur;
Less than 15 percent of the areas added to the urban growth area are critical areas other than critical aquifer recharge areas. Critical aquifer recharge areas must have been previously designated by the county and be maintained per county development regulations within the expanded urban growth area and the revised urban growth area must not result in a net increase in critical aquifer recharge areas within the urban growth area;
The areas added to the urban growth areas are suitable for urban growth;
The transportation element and capital facility plan element of the county's comprehensive plan have identified the transportation facilities and public facilities and services needed to serve the urban growth area and the funding to provide the transportation facilities and public facilities and services;
The areas removed from the urban growth area are not characterized by urban growth or urban densities;
The revised urban growth area is contiguous, does not include holes or gaps, and will not increase pressures to urbanize rural or natural resource lands;
The revised urban growth area meets all other requirements of this section.
[Empty]
At the earliest possible date prior to the revision of the county's urban growth area authorized under subsection (8) of this section, the county must engage in meaningful consultation with any federally recognized Indian tribe that may be potentially affected by the proposed revision. Meaningful consultation must include discussion of the potential impacts to cultural resources and tribal treaty rights.
A county must notify the affected federally recognized Indian tribe of the proposed revision using at least two methods, including by mail. Upon receiving a notice, the federally recognized Indian tribe may request a consultation to determine whether an agreement can be reached related to the revision of the county's urban growth area. If an agreement is not reached, the parties must enter mediation pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040.
[Empty]
Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the expansion of an urban growth area is prohibited into the one hundred year floodplain of any river or river segment that: (i) Is located west of the crest of the Cascade mountains; and (ii) has a mean annual flow of one thousand or more cubic feet per second as determined by the department of ecology.
Subsection (10)(a) of this section does not apply to:
Urban growth areas that are fully contained within a floodplain and lack adjacent buildable areas outside the floodplain;
Urban growth areas where expansions are precluded outside floodplains because:
(A) Urban governmental services cannot be physically provided to serve areas outside the floodplain; or
(B) Expansions outside the floodplain would require a river or estuary crossing to access the expansion; or
iii. Urban growth area expansions where:
(A) Public facilities already exist within the floodplain and the expansion of an existing public facility is only possible on the land to be included in the urban growth area and located within the floodplain; or
(B) Urban development already exists within a floodplain as of July 26, 2009, and is adjacent to, but outside of, the urban growth area, and the expansion of the urban growth area is necessary to include such urban development within the urban growth area; or
(C) The land is owned by a jurisdiction planning under this chapter or the rights to the development of the land have been permanently extinguished, and the following criteria are met:
(I) The permissible use of the land is limited to one of the following: Outdoor recreation; environmentally beneficial projects, including but not limited to habitat enhancement or environmental restoration; stormwater facilities; flood control facilities; or underground conveyances; and
(II) The development and use of such facilities or projects will not decrease flood storage, increase stormwater runoff, discharge pollutants to fresh or salt waters during normal operations or floods, or increase hazards to people and property.
c. For the purposes of this subsection (10), "one hundred year floodplain" means the same as "special flood hazard area" as set forth in WAC 173-158-040 as it exists on July 26, 2009.
If a county, city, or utility has adopted a capital facility plan or utilities element to provide sewer service within the urban growth areas during the twenty-year planning period, nothing in this chapter obligates counties, cities, or utilities to install sanitary sewer systems to properties within urban growth areas designated under subsection (2) of this section by the end of the twenty-year planning period when those properties:
[Empty]
Have existing, functioning, nonpolluting on-site sewage systems;
Have a periodic inspection program by a public agency to verify the on-site sewage systems function properly and do not pollute surface or groundwater; and
Have no redevelopment capacity; or
Do not require sewer service because development densities are limited due to wetlands, floodplains, fish and wildlife habitats, or geological hazards.
Property within the urban growth area boundaries with bushes and plants associated with shrubsteppe may not be considered wildlife habitat, wildlife corridors, critical areas, vital habitat for safe passage or species migration, conservation areas, or subject to environmental protection that restricts the ability to develop the property. Development regulations, state agency rules, guidance, permits, and policies may not require replacement of shrubs and plants, impose penalties, or require environmental enhancements if shrubs and plants associated with shrubsteppe are damaged or removed from property within urban growth area boundaries. State and local government agencies may not require mitigation, protection, or restoration of shrubsteppe within an urban growth area. The bushes and plants associated with shrubsteppe include, but are not limited to, Wyoming big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, three-tip sagebrush, stiff sagebrush, Idaho fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, Thurber's needlegrass, needle-and-thread, balsamroot, buckwheat, lupines, and algae, moss, or lichens which are part of the cryptobiotic crust. Invasive species such as cheat grass, mustards, crested wheat grass, Russian thistle, and tumbleweeds that often mix with shrubsteppe are included for the purposes of this subsection.