WAC 365-195-070   Interpretations.  The following represent the department's interpretation of several critical concepts about which the express terms of the act are not clear. While not necessarily the only appropriate way to view the concepts involved, these interpretations appear to be supported by the overall statutory context.

     (1) Goals. The act lists thirteen overall goals in RCW 36.70A.020. Comprehensive plans and development regulations are to be designed to meet these goals. The list of thirteen goals is not exclusive. Local governments may adopt additional goals. However, these additional goals must be supplementary. They may not conflict with the thirteen statutory goals. Comprehensive plans must show how each of the goals is to be pursued consistent with the planning entity's vision of its future. Differences in emphasis are expected from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In some cases meeting certain of these goals may involve support for activities beyond jurisdictional boundaries. In most cases, if a comprehensive plan meets the statutory goals, development regulations consistent with the comprehensive plan will meet the goals.

     (2) Economic development. The act lists economic development as one of the overall goals, but does not mandate an economic development element within comprehensive plans. This should not be read as a downgrading of the importance of economic development as a feature of the growth management planning and implementation process. Planning under the act in connection with all mandatory elements should be undertaken with the goal of economic development in mind. Whether the jurisdiction elects to develop a separate economic development element or not, desired levels of job growth, and of commercial and industrial expansion should be identified and supporting strategies should be integrated with the land use, housing, utilities transportation, and other features of the comprehensive plan.

     (3) Concurrency. The achievement of concurrency should be sought with respect to public facilities in addition to transportation facilities. The list of such additional facilities should be locally defined. The department recommends that at least domestic water systems and sanitary sewer systems be added to concurrency lists applicable within urban growth areas, and that at least domestic water systems be added for lands outside urban growth areas. Concurrency describes the situation in which adequate facilities are available when the impacts of development occur, or within a specified time thereafter. With respect to facilities other than transportation facilities and water systems, local jurisdictions may fashion their own regulatory responses and are not limited to imposing moratoria on development during periods when concurrency is not maintained.

     (4) Essential public facilities. The term "essential public facilities" is a specialized term applicable in the context of siting, and refers to facilities that are typically difficult to site. "Essential public facilities" do not necessarily include everything within the statutory definitions of "public facilities" and "public services," and should include additional items not listed in those definitions. Consistent with county-wide planning policies, local governments should create their own lists of "essential public facilities," guided by the examples set forth in RCW 36.70A.200, but not necessarily bound by those examples. For the purposes of identifying facilities to be subject to the "essential public facilities" siting process, it is not necessary that the facilities be publicly owned. If the services involved meet a locally accepted definition of public service, the supporting facilities for the services may be included on the list, regardless of ownership.

     (5) Urban growth areas. The adoption of urban growth areas by counties should reflect a cooperative effort among jurisdictions to accomplish the requirements of the act on a regional basis. As growth occurs, most lands within urban growth areas should ultimately be provided with local urban services by cities, either directly or by contract. Other service providers are appropriate within urban growth areas for regional or county-wide services, or for isolated unincorporated pockets characterized by urban growth. Provisions should be made for the phasing of development within each urban growth area to ensure that services are provided as growth occurs. In proposing urban growth areas, cities should endeavor to accommodate projected urban growth through infill within existing municipal boundaries. But in some cases expansion will be logical. Interlocal agreements should be negotiated regarding land use management and the provision of services to such potential expansion areas so that such growth can occur in a manner consistent with the cities' comprehensive plans and development regulations.

     (6) Affordable housing. This is a term which applies to the adequacy of housing stocks to fulfill the housing needs of all economic segments of the population. The underlying assumption is that the market place will guarantee adequate housing for those in the upper economic brackets but that some combination of appropriately zoned land, regulatory incentives, financial subsidies, and innovative planning techniques will be necessary to make adequate provisions for the needs of middle and lower income persons. Each jurisdiction should incorporate a regional perspective into the identification of its housing planning area, with the understanding that the population to be planned for is county-wide. All jurisdictions should share in the responsibility for achieving a reasonable and equitable distribution of affordable housing to meet the needs of middle and lower income persons. While government policies and programs alone cannot ensure that everyone is adequately housed, attention should be given to removing regulatory barriers to affordable housing where such action is otherwise consistent with the act. In the overall implementation of the act an effort should be made to avoid an escalation of costs which will defeat the achievement of the act's housing aims.

     (7) Consistency. The act calls for "consistency" in a number of contexts. In general, the phrase "not incompatible with" conveys the meaning of "consistency" most suited to preserving flexibility for local variations. An important example of the use of the term is the requirement that comprehensive plans be internally consistent. This requirement appears to mean that the parts of the plan must fit together so that no one feature precludes the achievement of any other. (E.g., the densities selected and the wetlands to be protected can both be achieved on the available land base.) A second significant example is the requirement that each comprehensive plan be consistent with other comprehensive plans of jurisdictions with common borders or related regional issues. Determining consistency in this interjurisdictional context is complicated by the differences in timing which will occur in the adoption of plans. Initially interjurisdictional consistency should be met by plans which are consistent with and carry out the relevant county-wide planning policies.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 36.70A.190 (4)(b). 92-23-065, § 365-195-070, filed 11/17/92, effective 12/18/92.]