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Subjects › Governance › Special Purpose Districts › Brief History of Special Districts in Washington
Updated 10/2008

Brief History of Special Districts in Washington

Contents

General History of Washington Special District Development

The creation of special districts in Washington was shaped by historic events that affected the country as a whole. These included reform movements seeking public control of private monopolies, westward expansion and the development of agricultural lands, catastrophic flood damage, federal legislation, suburbanization, and the pursuit of revenue sources for special projects.

  • History of Washington's Local Governments, Volume I, Final Report of the Local Governance Study Commission, Washington State Local Governance Study Commission, 1988
  • Building Washington: A History of Washington State Public Works, by Paul Dorpat and Genevieve McCoy, Washington Chapter of American Public Works Association - Provides a history of the development of diking and drainage, flood control, irrigation, port, and utility districts
  • Special Purpose Districts by Date of Enabling Legislation, MRSC

First Special Districts

  • The Washington Territorial Legislature divided counties into school districts and authorized counties to create road districts to assess a tax for road maintenance and improvements.
  • Diking benefit districts were authorized in 1888 to help the farmers in Skagit County.
  • The first state legislature, in 1889, provided for road districts, school districts, and drainage and ditch improvements.  Following California's example, Washington landowners were given the authority to form irrigation districts to help farmers raise money to build and improve irrigation works.

1889-1939 Highlights

  • Metropolitan park districts were authorized in 1907 to enable Tacoma to fund a zoo.
  • Port districts were authorized in 1911. See Port History, Washington State Port Association.
  • Authority to create public utility districts was finally achieved at the 1930 general election. See History of PUDs in Washington, Washington PUD Association.
  • The Flood Control District Act, passed after catastrophic floods of 1933, authorized the formation of flood control districts to build permanent flood control works.
  • Fire prevention districts were authorized in 1933 for class A and first class counties.
  • Regional libraries were authorized in 1935.
  • Washington enacted a soil conservation district law in 1939 after the passage of the 1935 federal Soil Conservation Act. See Conservation District History, National Association of Conservation Districts.
  • Housing authorities were also authorized in 1939 after the passage of the Wagner-Steagell National Housing Act of 1937.

1940-1959 Highlights

  • Districts authorized: airport, cemetery, rural county library, health, hospital, sewer, and park and recreation districts.
  • Mosquito Control Districts were authorized in 1957.
  • Metropolitan municipal corporations were authorized in 1957. Metros were formed in King and Snohomish counties, neither of which operate today.

1960-2008 Highlights

Much of the legislation enabling special purpose districts in the last 20 years has focused on methods for financing the building and operation of facilities such as stadiums and ball parks, convention centers, a regional transit system, and, most recently, a monorail. See:

  • Starting in the late 1980s, legislation authorized facilities to foster economic development such as public facilities districts, including ball parks (Seattle), and convention centers (Tacoma).
  • Various ways to fund public transportation and transportation facilities emerged in the mid-1970s and continued into the 2000s.
  • Public transit benefit districts were authorized in 1975.
  • A regional transit authority was authorized in 1992 (Sound Transit), city transportation authority in 2002 (2002 - Seattle Popular Monorail Authority, dissolved 2005), and the regional transportation investment district in 2002 (RTID).
  • Legislation in 2003 authorized a public transportation benefit district (PTBA)  to finance passenger ferry services (Kitsap County) and the creation of a ferry district (King County) to finance passenger ferry service.
  • In 2004, regional fire protection service authorities were authorized.