Gov. services/tribal lands

AN ACT Relating to extending governmental services from cities to 1
tribal lands; amending RCW 36.70A.110; adding a new section to 2
chapter 36.70A RCW; and creating a new section. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature is providing a clear 5
statement of the authority for a city and tribal government to 6
mutually agree to contract for urban governmental services beyond the 7
urban growth boundary of the city to tribal lands with urban 8
development and be in compliance with the provisions of the growth 9
management act.10
Sec. 2. RCW 36.70A.110 and 2024 c 26 s 1 are each amended to 11
read as follows: 12
(1) Each county that is required or chooses to plan under RCW 13
36.70A.040 shall designate an urban growth area or areas within which 14
urban growth shall be encouraged and outside of which growth can 15
occur only if it is not urban in nature. Each city that is located in 16
such a county shall be included within an urban growth area. An urban 17
growth area may include more than a single city. An urban growth area 18
may include territory that is located outside of a city only if such 19
territory already is characterized by urban growth whether or not the 20
H-0161.1
HOUSE BILL 1039
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Abbarno and Orcutt
Prefiled 12/11/24. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Local Government.
p. 1 HB 1039
urban growth area includes a city, or is adjacent to territory 1
already characterized by urban growth, or is a designated new fully 2
contained community as defined by RCW 36.70A.350. When a federally 3
recognized Indian tribe whose reservation or ceded lands lie within 4
the county or city has voluntarily chosen to participate in the 5
planning process pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040, the county or city and 6
the tribe shall coordinate their planning efforts for any areas 7
planned for urban growth consistent with the terms outlined in the 8
memorandum of agreement provided for in RCW 36.70A.040(8).9
(2) Based upon the growth management population projection made 10
for the county by the office of financial management, the county and 11
each city within the county shall include areas and densities 12
sufficient to permit the urban growth that is projected to occur in 13
the county or city for the succeeding twenty-year period, except for 14
those urban growth areas contained totally within a national 15
historical reserve. As part of this planning process, each city 16
within the county must include areas sufficient to accommodate the 17
broad range of needs and uses that will accompany the projected urban 18
growth including, as appropriate, medical, governmental, 19
institutional, commercial, service, retail, and other nonresidential 20
uses. 21
Each urban growth area shall permit urban densities and shall 22
include greenbelt and open space areas. In the case of urban growth 23
areas contained totally within a national historical reserve, the 24
city may restrict densities, intensities, and forms of urban growth 25
as determined to be necessary and appropriate to protect the 26
physical, cultural, or historic integrity of the reserve. An urban 27
growth area determination may include a reasonable land market supply 28
factor and shall permit a range of urban densities and uses. In 29
determining this market factor, cities and counties may consider 30
local circumstances. Cities and counties have discretion in their 31
comprehensive plans to make many choices about accommodating growth.32
Within one year of July 1, 1990, each county that as of June 1, 33
1991, was required or chose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040, shall begin 34
consulting with each city located within its boundaries and each city 35
shall propose the location of an urban growth area. Within sixty days 36
of the date the county legislative authority of a county adopts its 37
resolution of intention or of certification by the office of 38
financial management, all other counties that are required or choose 39
to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 shall begin this consultation with each 40
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city located within its boundaries. The county shall attempt to reach 1
agreement with each city on the location of an urban growth area 2
within which the city is located. If such an agreement is not reached 3
with each city located within the urban growth area, the county shall 4
justify in writing why it so designated the area an urban growth 5
area. A city may object formally with the department over the 6
designation of the urban growth area within which it is located. 7
Where appropriate, the department shall attempt to resolve the 8
conflicts, including the use of mediation services.9
(3) Urban growth should be located first in areas already 10
characterized by urban growth that have adequate existing public 11
facility and service capacities to serve such development, second in 12
areas already characterized by urban growth that will be served 13
adequately by a combination of both existing public facilities and 14
services and any additional needed public facilities and services 15
that are provided by either public or private sources, and third in 16
the remaining portions of the urban growth areas. Urban growth may 17
also be located in designated new fully contained communities as 18
defined by RCW 36.70A.350. 19
(4) In general, cities are the units of local government most 20
appropriate to provide urban governmental services. In general, it is 21
not appropriate that urban governmental services be extended to or 22
expanded in rural areas except in those limited circumstances shown 23
to be necessary to protect basic public health and safety and the 24
environment and when such services are financially supportable at 25
rural densities and do not permit urban development and as authorized 26
in section 3 of this act. 27
(5) On or before October 1, 1993, each county that was initially 28
required to plan under RCW 36.70A.040(1) shall adopt development 29
regulations designating interim urban growth areas under this 30
chapter. Within three years and three months of the date the county 31
legislative authority of a county adopts its resolution of intention 32
or of certification by the office of financial management, all other 33
counties that are required or choose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 34
shall adopt development regulations designating interim urban growth 35
areas under this chapter. Adoption of the interim urban growth areas 36
may only occur after public notice; public hearing; and compliance 37
with the state environmental policy act, chapter 43.21C RCW, and 38
under this section. Such action may be appealed to the growth 39
management hearings board under RCW 36.70A.280. Final urban growth 40
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areas shall be adopted at the time of comprehensive plan adoption 1
under this chapter. 2
(6) Each county shall include designations of urban growth areas 3
in its comprehensive plan. 4
(7) An urban growth area designated in accordance with this 5
section may include within its boundaries urban service areas or 6
potential annexation areas designated for specific cities or towns 7
within the county. 8
(8) If, during the county's annual review under RCW 9
36.70A.130(2)(a), the county determines revision of the urban growth 10
area is not required to accommodate the population projection for the 11
county made by the office of financial management for the succeeding 12
20-year period, but does determine that patterns of development have 13
created pressure for development in areas exceeding the amount of 14
available developable lands within the urban growth area, then the 15
county may revise the urban growth area or areas based on identified 16
patterns of development and likely future development pressure if the 17
following requirements are met: 18
(a) The revised urban growth area would not result in a net 19
increase in the total acreage or development capacity of the urban 20
growth area or areas; 21
(b) The areas added to the urban growth area are not designated 22
by the county as agricultural, forest, or mineral resource lands of 23
long-term commercial significance; 24
(c) If the areas added to the urban growth area have previously 25
been designated as agricultural, forest, or mineral resource lands of 26
long-term commercial significance, either an equivalent amount of 27
agricultural, forest, or mineral resource lands of long-term 28
commercial significance must be added to the area outside of the 29
urban growth area, or the county must wait a minimum of two years 30
before another swap may occur; 31
(d) Less than 15 percent of the areas added to the urban growth 32
area are critical areas other than critical aquifer recharge areas. 33
Critical aquifer recharge areas must have been previously designated 34
by the county and be maintained per county development regulations 35
within the expanded urban growth area and the revised urban growth 36
area must not result in a net increase in critical aquifer recharge 37
areas within the urban growth area; 38
(e) The areas added to the urban growth areas are suitable for 39
urban growth; 40
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(f) The transportation element and capital facility plan element 1
of the county's comprehensive plan have identified the transportation 2
facilities and public facilities and services needed to serve the 3
urban growth area and the funding to provide the transportation 4
facilities and public facilities and services; 5
(g) The areas removed from the urban growth area are not 6
characterized by urban growth or urban densities; 7
(h) The revised urban growth area is contiguous, does not include 8
holes or gaps, and will not increase pressures to urbanize rural or 9
natural resource lands; 10
(i) The county's proposed urban growth area revision has been 11
reviewed according to the process and procedure in the countywide 12
planning policies adopted and approved according to RCW 36.70A.210; 13
and 14
(j) The revised urban growth area meets all other requirements of 15
this section. 16
(9)(a) At the earliest possible date prior to the revision of the 17
county's urban growth area authorized under subsection (8) of this 18
section, the county must engage in meaningful consultation with any 19
federally recognized Indian tribe that may be potentially affected by 20
the proposed revision. Meaningful consultation must include 21
discussion of the potential impacts to cultural resources and tribal 22
treaty rights. 23
(b) A county must notify the affected federally recognized Indian 24
tribe of the proposed revision using at least two methods, including 25
by mail. Upon receiving a notice, the federally recognized Indian 26
tribe may request a consultation to determine whether an agreement 27
can be reached related to the revision of the county's urban growth 28
area. If an agreement is not reached, the parties must enter 29
mediation pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040. 30
(10)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the 31
expansion of an urban growth area is prohibited into the one hundred 32
year floodplain of any river or river segment that: (i) Is located 33
west of the crest of the Cascade mountains; and (ii) has a mean 34
annual flow of one thousand or more cubic feet per second as 35
determined by the department of ecology. 36
(b) Subsection (10)(a) of this section does not apply to:37
(i) Urban growth areas that are fully contained within a 38
floodplain and lack adjacent buildable areas outside the floodplain;39
p. 5 HB 1039
(ii) Urban growth areas where expansions are precluded outside 1
floodplains because: 2
(A) Urban governmental services cannot be physically provided to 3
serve areas outside the floodplain; or 4
(B) Expansions outside the floodplain would require a river or 5
estuary crossing to access the expansion; or 6
(iii) Urban growth area expansions where: 7
(A) Public facilities already exist within the floodplain and the 8
expansion of an existing public facility is only possible on the land 9
to be included in the urban growth area and located within the 10
floodplain; or 11
(B) Urban development already exists within a floodplain as of 12
July 26, 2009, and is adjacent to, but outside of, the urban growth 13
area, and the expansion of the urban growth area is necessary to 14
include such urban development within the urban growth area; or15
(C) The land is owned by a jurisdiction planning under this 16
chapter or the rights to the development of the land have been 17
permanently extinguished, and the following criteria are met:18
(I) The permissible use of the land is limited to one of the 19
following: Outdoor recreation; environmentally beneficial projects, 20
including but not limited to habitat enhancement or environmental 21
restoration; stormwater facilities; flood control facilities; or 22
underground conveyances; and 23
(II) The development and use of such facilities or projects will 24
not decrease flood storage, increase stormwater runoff, discharge 25
pollutants to fresh or salt waters during normal operations or 26
floods, or increase hazards to people and property.27
(c) For the purposes of this subsection (10), "one hundred year 28
floodplain" means the same as "special flood hazard area" as set 29
forth in WAC 173-158-040 as it exists on July 26, 2009.30
(11) If a county, city, or utility has adopted a capital facility 31
plan or utilities element to provide sewer service within the urban 32
growth areas during the twenty-year planning period, nothing in this 33
chapter obligates counties, cities, or utilities to install sanitary 34
sewer systems to properties within urban growth areas designated 35
under subsection (2) of this section by the end of the twenty-year 36
planning period when those properties: 37
(a)(i) Have existing, functioning, nonpolluting on-site sewage 38
systems; 39
p. 6 HB 1039
(ii) Have a periodic inspection program by a public agency to 1
verify the on-site sewage systems function properly and do not 2
pollute surface or groundwater; and 3
(iii) Have no redevelopment capacity; or 4
(b) Do not require sewer service because development densities 5
are limited due to wetlands, floodplains, fish and wildlife habitats, 6
or geological hazards. 7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 36.70A 8
RCW to read as follows: 9
A federally recognized Indian tribe and a city both located in a 10
county that touches the Columbia river with a population of more than 11
500,000 may agree by December 31, 2028, to extend urban governmental 12
services beyond the city and urban growth areas to property within 13
the jurisdiction of the federally recognized Indian tribe that abuts 14
the boundaries of the city. 15
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