Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
                       SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2296
                           Chapter 17, Laws of 2024
                               68th Legislature
                             2024 Regular Session
     GROWTH MANAGEMENT COMPREHENSIVE PLANS—REVISION SCHEDULE
                      EFFECTIVE DATE: June 6, 2024
Passed by the House February 13, 2024               CERTIFICATE
  Yeas 96 Nays 1
                                        I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
                                        House of Representatives of the
            LAURIE JINKINS              State of Washington, do hereby
Speaker of the House of                 certify   that    the   attached  is
Representatives                         SUBSTITUTE    HOUSE   BILL   2296 as
                                        passed     by     the     House   of
                                        Representatives and the Senate on
                                        the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the Senate February 22,
2024
  Yeas 49 Nays 0                                    BERNARD DEAN
                                                                    Chief Clerk
              DENNY HECK
President of the Senate
Approved March 7, 2024 11:22 AM                         FILED
                                                    March 7, 2024
                                                Secretary of State
              JAY INSLEE                        State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
                           SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2296
                   Passed Legislature - 2024 Regular Session
     State of Washington         68th Legislature       2024 Regular Session
     By House Local Government (originally sponsored by Representatives
     Griffey, Wylie, Couture, Harris, and Leavitt)
     READ FIRST TIME 01/29/24.
     AN ACT Relating to extending the comprehensive plan revision
 schedule for select local governments; and reenacting and amending
 RCW 36.70A.130.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
     Sec. 1. RCW 36.70A.130 and 2023 c 280 s 1 and 2023 c 228 s 15
 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a)   Each  comprehensive   land  use   plan  and  development
 regulations shall be subject to continuing review and evaluation by
 the county or city that adopted them. Except as otherwise provided, a
 county or city shall take legislative action to review and, if
 needed, revise its comprehensive land use plan and development
 regulations to ensure the plan and regulations comply with the
 requirements of this chapter according to the deadlines in
 subsections (4) and (5) of this section.
     (b)(i) A city or town located within (([a])) a county planning
 under RCW 36.70A.040 may opt out of a full review and revisions of
 its comprehensive plan established in this section if the city or
 town meets the following criteria:
     (A) Has a population fewer than 500;
     (B) Is not located within 10 miles of a city with a population
 over 100,000;
                                       p. 1                      SHB 2296.SL
     (C) Experienced a population growth rate of fewer than 10 percent
 in the preceding 10 years; and
     (D) Has provided the department with notice of its intent to
 participate in a partial review and revision of its comprehensive
 plan.
     (ii) The department shall review the population growth rate for a
 city or town participating in the partial review and revision of its
 comprehensive plan process at least three years before the periodic
 update is due as outlined in subsection (4) of this section and
 notify cities of their eligibility.
     (iii) A city or town that opts out of a full review and revision
 of its comprehensive plan must update its critical areas regulations
 and its capital facilities element and its transportation element.
     (c) Except as otherwise provided, a county or city not planning
 under RCW 36.70A.040 shall take action to review and, if needed,
 revise its policies and development regulations regarding critical
 areas and natural resource lands adopted according to this chapter to
 ensure these policies and regulations comply with the requirements of
 this chapter according to the deadlines in subsections (4) and (5) of
 this section. Legislative action means the adoption of a resolution
 or ordinance following notice and a public hearing indicating at a
 minimum, a finding that a review and evaluation has occurred and
 identifying the revisions made, or that a revision was not needed and
 the reasons therefor.
     (d) The review and evaluation required by this subsection shall
 include, but is not limited to, consideration of critical area
 ordinances and, if planning under RCW 36.70A.040, an analysis of the
 population allocated to a city or county from the most recent 10-year
 population forecast by the office of financial management.
     (e) Any amendment of or revision to a comprehensive land use plan
 shall conform to this chapter. Any amendment of or revision to
 development regulations shall be consistent with and implement the
 comprehensive plan.
     (2)(a) Each county and city shall establish and broadly
 disseminate to the public a public participation program consistent
 with RCW 36.70A.035 and 36.70A.140 that identifies procedures and
 schedules whereby updates, proposed amendments, or revisions of the
 comprehensive plan are considered by the governing body of the county
 or city no more frequently than once every year. "Updates" means to
 review and revise, if needed, according to subsection (1) of this
                                     p. 2                      SHB 2296.SL
 section, and the deadlines in subsections (4) and (5) of this section
 or in accordance with the provisions of subsection (6) of this
 section. Amendments may be considered more frequently than once per
 year under the following circumstances:
     (i) The initial adoption of a subarea plan. Subarea plans adopted
 under this subsection (2)(a)(i) must clarify, supplement, or
 implement jurisdiction-wide comprehensive plan policies, and may only
 be adopted if the cumulative impacts of the proposed plan are
 addressed by appropriate environmental review under chapter 43.21C
 RCW;
      (ii) 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 that is based on
 watershed characterization and local habitat assessment;
     (iii) The adoption or amendment of a shoreline master program
 under the procedures set forth in chapter 90.58 RCW;
     (iv) 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
     (v) The adoption of comprehensive plan amendments necessary to
 enact a planned action under RCW 43.21C.440, provided that amendments
 are considered in accordance with the public participation program
 established by the county or city under this subsection (2)(a) and
 all persons who have requested notice of a comprehensive plan update
 are given notice of the amendments and an opportunity to comment.
     (b) Except as otherwise provided in (a) of this subsection, all
 proposals shall be considered by the governing body concurrently so
 the cumulative effect of the various proposals can be ascertained.
 However, after appropriate public participation a county or city may
 adopt amendments or revisions to its comprehensive plan that conform
 with this chapter whenever an emergency exists or to resolve an
 appeal of a comprehensive plan filed with the growth management
 hearings board or with the court.
     (3)(a) Each county that designates urban growth areas under RCW
 36.70A.110 shall review, according to the schedules established in
 subsections (4) and (5) of this section, its designated urban growth
 area or areas, patterns of development occurring within the urban
 growth area or areas, and the densities permitted within both the
 incorporated and unincorporated portions of each urban growth area.
 In conjunction with this review by the county, each city located
                                     p. 3                      SHB 2296.SL
 within an urban growth area shall review the densities permitted
 within its boundaries, and the extent to which the urban growth
 occurring within the county has located within each city and the
 unincorporated portions of the urban growth areas.
     (b) The county comprehensive plan designating urban growth areas,
 and the densities permitted in the urban growth areas by the
 comprehensive plans of the county and each city located within the
 urban growth areas, shall be revised to accommodate the urban growth
 projected to occur in the county for the succeeding 20-year period.
 The review required by this subsection may be combined with the
 review and evaluation required by RCW 36.70A.215.
     (c) If, during the county's review under (a) of this subsection,
 the county determines revision of the urban growth area is not
 required to accommodate the urban growth projected to occur in the
 county for the succeeding 20-year period, but does determine that
 patterns of development have created pressure in areas that exceed
 available, developable lands within the urban growth area, the urban
 growth area or areas may be revised to accommodate identified
 patterns of development and likely future development pressure for
 the succeeding 20-year period if the following requirements are met:
     (i) The revised urban growth area may not result in an increase
 in the total surface areas of the urban growth area or areas;
     (ii) The areas added to the urban growth area are not or have not
 been designated as agricultural, forest, or mineral resource lands of
 long-term commercial significance;
     (iii) Less than 15 percent of the areas added to the urban growth
 area are critical areas;
     (iv) The areas added to the urban growth areas are suitable for
 urban growth;
     (v) The transportation element and capital facility plan element
 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;
     (vi) The urban growth area is not larger than needed to
 accommodate the growth planned for the succeeding 20-year planning
 period and a reasonable land market supply factor;
     (vii) The areas removed from the urban growth area do not include
 urban growth or urban densities; and
                                     p. 4                      SHB 2296.SL
     (viii) 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.
     (4) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (6) and (8) of
 this section, counties and cities shall take action to review and, if
 needed, revise their comprehensive plans and development regulations
 to ensure the plan and regulations comply with the requirements of
 this chapter as follows:
     (a) On or before June 30, 2015, for King, Pierce, and Snohomish
 counties and the cities within those counties;
     (b) On or before June 30, 2016, for Clallam, Clark, Island,
 Jefferson, Kitsap, Mason, San Juan, Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom
 counties and the cities within those counties;
     (c) On or before June 30, 2017, for Benton, Chelan, Cowlitz,
 Douglas, Kittitas, Lewis, Skamania, Spokane, and Yakima counties and
 the cities within those counties; and
     (d) On or before June 30, 2018, for Adams, Asotin, Columbia,
 Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Klickitat, Lincoln,
 Okanogan, Pacific, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, and
 Whitman counties and the cities within those counties.
     (5) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (6) and (8) of
 this section, following the review of comprehensive plans and
 development regulations required by subsection (4) of this section,
 counties and cities shall take action to review and, if needed,
 revise their comprehensive plans and development regulations to
 ensure the plan and regulations comply with the requirements of this
 chapter as follows:
     (a) Except as provided in subsection (10) of this section, on or
 before December 31, 2024, with the following review and, if needed,
 revision on or before June 30, 2034, and then every 10 years
 thereafter, for King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties and the
 cities within those counties;
     (b) On or before ((June 30)) December 31, 2025, ((and)) with the
 following review and, if needed, revision on or before June 30, 2035,
 and then every 10 years thereafter, for Clallam, Clark, Island,
 Jefferson, Lewis, Mason, San Juan, Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom
 counties and the cities within those counties;
     (c) On or before June 30, 2026, and every 10 years thereafter,
 for Benton, Chelan, Cowlitz, Douglas, Franklin, Kittitas, Skamania,
                                     p. 5                      SHB 2296.SL
 Spokane, Walla Walla, and Yakima counties and the cities within those
 counties; and
     (d) On or before June 30, 2027, and every 10 years thereafter,
 for Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor,
 Klickitat, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pacific, Pend Oreille, Stevens,
 Wahkiakum, and Whitman counties and the cities within those counties.
     (6)(a) Nothing in this section precludes a county or city from
 conducting the review and evaluation required by this section before
 the deadlines established in subsections (4) and (5) of this section.
 Counties and cities may begin this process early and may be eligible
 for grants from the department, subject to available funding, if they
 elect to do so.
     (b) A county that is subject to a deadline established in
 subsection (5)(b) through (d) of this section and meets the following
 criteria may comply with the requirements of this section at any time
 within the 24 months following the deadline established in subsection
 (5) of this section: The county has a population of less than 50,000
 and has had its population increase by no more than 17 percent in the
 10 years preceding the deadline established in subsection (5) of this
 section as of that date.
     (c) A city that is subject to a deadline established in
 subsection (5)(b) through (d) of this section and meets the following
 criteria may comply with the requirements of this section at any time
 within the 24 months following the deadline established in subsection
 (5) of this section: The city has a population of no more than 5,000
 and has had its population increase by the greater of either no more
 than 100 persons or no more than 17 percent in the 10 years preceding
 the deadline established in subsection (5) of this section as of that
 date.
     (d) State agencies are encouraged to provide technical assistance
 to the counties and cities in the review of critical area ordinances,
 comprehensive plans, and development regulations.
     (7)(a) The requirements imposed on counties and cities under this
 section shall be considered "requirements of this chapter" under the
 terms of RCW 36.70A.040(1). Only those counties and cities that meet
 the following criteria may receive grants, loans, pledges, or
 financial guarantees under chapter 43.155 or 70A.135 RCW:
     (i) Complying with the deadlines in this section; or
                                     p. 6                      SHB 2296.SL
     (ii) Demonstrating substantial progress towards compliance with
 the schedules in this section for development regulations that
 protect critical areas.
     (b) A county or city that is fewer than 12 months out of
 compliance with the schedules in this section for development
 regulations that protect critical areas is making substantial
 progress towards compliance. Only those counties and cities in
 compliance with the schedules in this section may receive preference
 for grants or loans subject to the provisions of RCW 43.17.250.
     (8)(a) Except as otherwise provided in (c) of this subsection, if
 a participating watershed is achieving benchmarks and goals for the
 protection of critical areas functions and values, the county is not
 required to update development regulations to protect critical areas
 as they specifically apply to agricultural activities in that
 watershed.
     (b) A county that has made the election under RCW 36.70A.710(1)
 may only adopt or amend development regulations to protect critical
 areas as they specifically apply to agricultural activities in a
 participating watershed if:
     (i) A work plan has been approved for that watershed in
 accordance with RCW 36.70A.725;
     (ii) The local watershed group for that watershed has requested
 the county to adopt or amend development regulations as part of a
 work plan developed under RCW 36.70A.720;
     (iii) The adoption or amendment of the development regulations is
 necessary to enable the county to respond to an order of the growth
 management he