Concurrency in Plain English
What is Concurrency?
"Concurrency" - is the situation in which adequate public facilities, services or strategies are in place to serve new development at the time the development is ready to be occupied. Concurrency requirements seek to prevent new development from outpacing local government's ability to provide system improvements needed to serve the new development including streets, public transportation, sidewalks, parks, schools, and utilities. The additional demand from the new development can result in congestion or overcrowding of existing facilities that will impact new and existing residents alike, if improvements are not made in time. A typical dictionary defines "concurrent" to mean "happening at the same time as something else." In the case of transportation facilities, Washington's Growth Management Act (GMA) defines "concurrent with the development" to mean that improvements or strategies are in place at the time of development, or that a financial commitment is in place to complete the improvements or strategies within six years (RCW 36.70A.070(6)(b)).
Concurrency as Applied in Washington
The GMA does not specifically require concurrency for facilities other than transportation facilities. However, GMA goals, the Washington Administrative Code (WAC), subdivision statutes, and case law encourage or require provision of a broader range of facilities and system improvements prior to development approval. For instance, the subdivision statute requires local jurisdictions to find that "appropriate provision" is made for "open spaces, drainage ways, streets or roads, alleys, other public ways, transit stops, potable water supplies, sanitary wastes, parks and recreation, playgrounds, schools and schoolgrounds," sidewalks and other facilities, prior to subdivision approval (RCW 58.17.110). Building code statutes require evidence of an adequate water supply before a building permit may be issued (RCW 19.27.097). A growth management hearing board found that local government must consider what facilities and services (in addition to transportation) are necessary to support development, but local governments have discretion about what facilities are subject to concurrency.
Resources
- Concurrency - Includes relevant statutes, administrative codes, court and growth management hearings board cases, and sample ordinances.
- Concurrency, Washington Department of Transportation.
- 2007 Concurrency Study, Washington State Transportation Research Center at the University of Washington .
- Concurrency Resources, Puget Sound Regional Council - Includes links to regional reports on the effectiveness of concurrency.