Panel Seeks Minor Change In Growth Act
As expected, a Land Use Study Commission report to state lawmakers Thursday recommended only minor changes to the state’s Growth Management Act.
The GMA mandates local governments plan for growth in the next 20 years by determining where development will be encouraged and where it will be prohibited. Spokane County officials are in the midst of deciding where to locate the area’s urban growth boundaries.
In a report to the House Government Reform and Land Use Committee, the commission offered recommendations to strengthen and clarify GMA language. The report was sent to Gov. Gary Locke on Wednesday. If it gains his approval, it will be submitted to the Legislature as an executive request.
The report recommended:
The GMA be amended to require local governments to offer greater notice of the development of the area’s comprehensive growth plan and allow for public comment.
The GMA should expand the definition of the term “rural.”
A monitoring program should be developed in heavily populated counties to track the progression of the area’s comprehensive plans. The programs would be state-funded.
The report did not, however, recommend Senate confirmation of hearings board members or allowing counties to opt out of GMA planning. It also upheld hearings board authority to invalidate comprehensive plans.
“I think the commission has clearly staked out moderate change,” said Steve Wells, assistant director for the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. “I think what (legislators) heard today is legislation that can pass the governor.”
Legislators were waiting for the report before any judgments were made on growth management legislation. Wells said the report may make legislators less likely to seek greater change to the GMA. Some proposals call for repealing the act, while others would allow local governments to decide whether they want to comply with it.
On Wednesday, the committee heard about bills dealing with the hearings boards, which mediate disputes and make sure comprehensive plans abide by the GMA goals.
At a hearing for HB-1148, which would require hearings boards to give recommendations rather than orders, sponsor Rep. Jack Cairnes, R-Renton, lashed out at environmental groups for suggesting the boards exist to keep local governments accountable.
Cairnes argued the GMA hearings boards, with their unelected members, shouldn’t be allowed to carry more authority than local elected officials.
Also heard was HB-1169, which would require Senate confirmation for all hearings board members. Proponents argued it would provide the means for accountability by hearings board members.
“Without any public scrutiny, it makes for a lack of confidence,” said Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, who sponsored the bill. “I would say this should be a bare minimum.”
, DataTimes