H-2528.1
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2066
State of Washington 67th Legislature 2022 Regular Session
By House Environment & Energy (originally sponsored by
Representatives Barkis, Klicker, Dufault, Gilday, Sutherland, Eslick,
and Dent)
READ FIRST TIME 02/03/22.
1 AN ACT Relating to exemptions for infill development under the
2 state environmental policy act; amending RCW 43.21C.229 and
3 36.70A.215; and providing an expiration date.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 Sec. 1. RCW 43.21C.229 and 2020 c 87 s 1 are each amended to
6 read as follows:
7 (1) In order to accommodate infill development and thereby
8 realize the goals and policies of comprehensive plans adopted
9 according to chapter 36.70A RCW, a city or county planning under RCW
10 36.70A.040 is authorized by this section to establish categorical
11 exemptions from the requirements of this chapter. An exemption
12 adopted under this section applies even if it differs from the
13 categorical exemptions adopted by rule of the department under RCW
14 43.21C.110(1)(a). An exemption may be adopted by a city or county
15 under this section if it meets the following criteria:
16 (a) It categorically exempts government action related to
17 development proposed to fill in an urban growth area, designated
18 according to RCW 36.70A.110, where current density and intensity of
19 use in the area is roughly equal to or lower than called for in the
20 goals and policies of the applicable comprehensive plan and the
21 development is either:
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 1 (i) Residential development;
2 (ii) Mixed-use development; or
3 (iii) Commercial development up to sixty-five thousand square
4 feet, excluding retail development;
5 (b) It does not exempt government action related to development
6 that is inconsistent with the applicable comprehensive plan or would
7 clearly exceed the density or intensity of use called for in the
8 goals and policies of the applicable comprehensive plan;
9 (c) The local government considers the specific probable adverse
10 environmental impacts of the proposed action and determines that
11 these specific impacts are adequately addressed by the development
12 regulations or other applicable requirements of the comprehensive
13 plan, subarea plan element of the comprehensive plan, planned action
14 ordinance, or other local, state, or federal rules or laws; and
15 (d)(i) The city or county's applicable comprehensive plan was
16 ((previously)) subjected to environmental analysis in the previous
17 seven years through an environmental impact statement under the
18 requirements of this chapter prior to adoption; or
19 (ii) The city or county has prepared an environmental impact
20 statement that considers the proposed use or density and intensity of
21 use in the area proposed for an exemption under this section.
22 (2) Any categorical exemption adopted by a city or county under
23 this section shall be subject to the rules of the department adopted
24 according to RCW 43.21C.110(1)(a) that provide exceptions to the use
25 of categorical exemptions adopted by the department.
26 (3) A city that is subject to the requirement to develop
27 reasonable measures pursuant to RCW 36.70A.215 must consider how to
28 maximize the use of the infill development exemption established in
29 this section, consistent with maintaining environmental protections,
30 in order to minimize the duplication of environmental review.
31 (4) Any categorical exemption adopted by a city or county under
32 this section must provide a means for collaboration and coordination
33 with any federally recognized tribe or tribes whose ceded lands,
34 usual and accustomed areas, or areas protected by executive order or
35 federal statute are affected by the infill development that is the
36 subject of the exemption. The collaboration and coordination must
37 ensure that the cultural resource concerns of any such tribe or
38 tribes are addressed before any development or ground disturbance may
39 occur at the location of the infill development.
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 1 Sec. 2. RCW 36.70A.215 and 2017 3rd sp.s. c 16 s 2 are each
2 amended to read as follows:
3 (1) Subject to the limitations in subsection (5) of this section,
4 a county shall adopt, in consultation with its cities, countywide
5 planning policies to establish a review and evaluation program. This
6 program shall be in addition to the requirements of RCW 36.70A.110,
7 36.70A.130, and 36.70A.210. In developing and implementing the review
8 and evaluation program required by this section, the county and its
9 cities shall consider information from other appropriate
10 jurisdictions and sources. The purpose of the review and evaluation
11 program shall be to:
12 (a) Determine whether a county and its cities are achieving urban
13 densities within urban growth areas by comparing growth and
14 development assumptions, targets, and objectives contained in the
15 countywide planning policies and the county and city comprehensive
16 plans with actual growth and development that has occurred in the
17 county and its cities; and
18 (b) Identify reasonable measures, other than adjusting urban
19 growth areas, that will be taken to comply with the requirements of
20 this chapter. Reasonable measures are those actions necessary to
21 reduce the differences between growth and development assumptions and
22 targets contained in the countywide planning policies and the county
23 and city comprehensive plans with actual development patterns. The
24 reasonable measures process in subsection (3) of this section shall
25 be used as part of the next comprehensive plan update to reconcile
26 inconsistencies.
27 (2) The review and evaluation program shall:
28 (a) Encompass land uses and activities both within and outside of
29 urban growth areas and provide for annual collection of data on urban
30 and rural land uses, development, zoning and development standards,
31 environmental regulations including but not limited to critical
32 areas, stormwater, shoreline, and tree retention requirements; and
33 capital facilities to determine the quantity and type of land
34 suitable for development, both for residential and employment-based
35 activities;
36 (b) Provide for evaluation of the data collected under (a) of
37 this subsection as provided in subsection (3) of this section. The
38 evaluation shall be completed no later than three years prior to the
39 deadline for review and, if necessary, update of comprehensive plans
40 and development regulations as required by RCW 36.70A.130. For
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 1 comprehensive plans required to be updated before 2024, the
2 evaluation as provided in subsection (3) of this section shall be
3 completed no later than two years prior to the deadline for review
4 and, if necessary, update of comprehensive plans. The county and its
5 cities may establish in the countywide planning policies indicators,
6 benchmarks, and other similar criteria to use in conducting the
7 evaluation;
8 (c) Provide for methods to resolve disputes among jurisdictions
9 relating to the countywide planning policies required by this section
10 and procedures to resolve inconsistencies in collection and analysis
11 of data; and
12 (d) Develop reasonable measures to use in reducing the
13 differences between growth and development assumptions and targets
14 contained in the countywide planning policies and county and city
15 comprehensive plans, with the actual development patterns. The
16 reasonable measures shall be adopted, if necessary, into the
17 countywide planning policies and the county or city comprehensive
18 plans and development regulations during the next scheduled update of
19 the plans. A city that adopts reasonable measures pursuant to this
20 section must consider how to maximize the use of the infill
21 development exemption established in RCW 43.21C.229, consistent with
22 maintaining environmental protections, in order to minimize the
23 duplication of environmental review.
24 (3) At a minimum, the evaluation component of the program
25 required by subsection (1) of this section shall:
26 (a) Determine whether there is sufficient suitable land to
27 accommodate the countywide population projection established for the
28 county pursuant to RCW 43.62.035 and the subsequent population
29 allocations within the county and between the county and its cities
30 and the requirements of RCW 36.70A.110. The zoned capacity of land
31 alone is not a sufficient standard to deem land suitable for
32 development or redevelopment within the twenty-year planning period;
33 (b) An evaluation and identification of land suitable for
34 development or redevelopment shall include:
35 (i) A review and evaluation of the land use designation and
36 zoning/development regulations; environmental regulations (such as
37 tree retention, stormwater, or critical area regulations) impacting
38 development; and other regulations that could prevent assigned
39 densities from being achieved; infrastructure gaps (including but not
40 limited to transportation, water, sewer, and stormwater); and
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 1 (ii) Use of a reasonable land market supply factor when
2 evaluating land suitable to accommodate new development or
3 redevelopment of land for residential development and employment
4 activities. The reasonable market supply factor identifies reductions
5 in the amount of land suitable for development and redevelopment. The
6 methodology for conducting a reasonable land market factor shall be
7 determined through the guidance developed in RCW 36.70A.217;
8 (c) Provide an analysis of county and/or city development
9 assumptions, targets, and objectives contained in the countywide
10 planning policies and the county and city comprehensive plans when
11 growth targets and assumptions are not being achieved. It is not
12 appropriate to make a finding that assumed growth contained in the
13 countywide planning policies and the county or city comprehensive
14 plan will occur at the end of the current comprehensive planning
15 twenty-year planning cycle without rationale;
16 (d) Determine the actual density of housing that has been
17 constructed and the actual amount of land developed for commercial
18 and industrial uses within the urban growth area since the adoption
19 of a comprehensive plan under this chapter or since the last periodic
20 evaluation as required by subsection (1) of this section; and
21 (e) Based on the actual density of development as determined
22 under (b) of this subsection, review commercial, industrial, and
23 housing needs by type and density range to determine the amount of
24 land needed for commercial, industrial, and housing for the remaining
25 portion of the twenty-year planning period used in the most recently
26 adopted comprehensive plan.
27 (4) From funds appropriated by the legislature for this purpose,
28 the department shall provide grants to counties, cities, and regional
29 planning organizations required under subsection (5) of this section
30 to conduct the review and perform the evaluation required by this
31 section.
32 (5) The provisions of this section shall apply to counties, and
33 the cities within those counties, that were greater than one hundred
34 fifty thousand in population in 1996 as determined by office of
35 financial management population estimates and that are located west
36 of the crest of the Cascade mountain range. Any other county planning
37 under RCW 36.70A.040 may carry out the review, evaluation, and
38 amendment programs and procedures as provided in this section.
39 (6) The requirements of this section are subject to the
40 availability of funds appropriated for this specific purpose. If
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1 sufficient funds are not appropriated consistent with the timelines
2 in subsection (2)(b) of this section, counties and cities shall be
3 subject to the review and evaluation program as it existed prior to
4 October 19, 2017.
5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Section 2 of this act expires January 1,
6 2030.
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Statutes affected:
Original Bill: 43.21C.229
Substitute Bill: 43.21C.229