Valley council opposes I-933
On Tuesday night, Spokane Valley joined at least nine other cities in Washington to oppose Initiative 933 – a measure that would force cities to reimburse landowners if their property values are diminished by government regulations passed after 1996, and that many believe will have a disproportionate impact on cities like Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake, which have incorporated since then.
“We can’t afford this thing,” said Councilman Rich Munson.
The Association of Washington Cities estimates that claims in Spokane Valley could cost the city between $131.8 million and $168.5 million. The estimate is surpassed only by those for Seattle and Vancouver.
New cities, which usually craft new land regulations soon after they form, could face more claims from landowners because most older cities adopted building and zoning codes before 1996.
Spokane Valley’s yearly budget is about $76 million.
“These numbers that were brought up aren’t scare numbers,” Munson said. The statewide cost of the initiative is estimated to be between $7 billion and $9 billion over the next six years.
Supporters of I-933 say the estimated costs of the measure are inflated because cities could waive regulations instead of compensating affected landowners for their impact.
There’s some debate on whether cities have the power to ignore enforcement of state and federal environmental regulations to avoid payouts. There is also doubt about the costs, and that was enough for Councilman Steve Taylor to vote against the motion.
“Given the information we have, it would be premature to take a position one way or the other,” he said.
The other five council members present voted to oppose the initiative.
Spokane passed unanimously a similar resolution at its meeting Monday. The Association of Washington Cities estimates I-933’s cost in Spokane to be between $49.5 million and $63.5 million.
Liberty Lake will hold a public hearing on the initiative at its meeting next week.
“One of the reasons why Liberty Lake incorporated was to gain local land-use authority,” said Councilman Brian Sayrs. “This basically eliminates one of the reasons why we exist at all.”
For example, he said, golf courses there were allowed to sell alcoholic beverages even though they fell under residential zoning under the county. After it formed, Liberty Lake amended its land-use rules to clarify that alcohol sales are OK at the courses but not at the residences surrounding them. If I-933 passes, Sayrs said, it could mean that someone could legitimately argue that they have a right to open a bar in their garage, because the city placed the alcohol-sales limitation on their land after 1996.
Other examples go to the impact of exempting more serious zoning decisions about what can be built where, which have been made to protect the quality of life and the property values of adjacent properties.
“I think that laws should be applied equally to everyone within a neighborhood,” Sayrs said.
The cost to preserve land-use decisions in Liberty Lake, according to the Association of Washington Cities, would be between $16 million and $20.6 million.
Although he feels the cost estimates of the initiative are overblown, Dan Wood said they are evidence that government regulation has been robbing landowners of the value of their land.
“They’re damaging property now. They admit to it, and we need to try to get them to be more thoughtful,” said Wood, the initiative’s sponsor and the government relations director for the Washington Farm Bureau.
Additionally, supporters feel that the initiative’s reach doesn’t extend into things like sign codes, building-height restrictions and other regulations that opponents say would be affected.
“It’s imaginative to think that every action of government would trigger a claim,” Wood said.
He characterized the resolutions opposing the measure by city councils across the state as part of the Association of Washington Cities’ efforts to defeat the measure.
“That’s just use of taxpayer resources to campaign against something,” he said.