Intensive rural dev. areas

AN ACT Relating to residential development in limited areas of 1
more intensive rural development; and amending RCW 36.70A.070.2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 36.70A.070 and 2024 c 135 s 1 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
The comprehensive plan of a county or city that is required or 6
chooses to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 shall consist of a map or maps, 7
and descriptive text covering objectives, principles, and standards 8
used to develop the comprehensive plan. The plan shall be an 9
internally consistent document and all elements shall be consistent 10
with the future land use map. A comprehensive plan shall be adopted 11
and amended with public participation as provided in RCW 36.70A.140. 12
Each comprehensive plan shall include a plan, scheme, or design for 13
each of the following: 14
(1) A land use element designating the proposed general 15
distribution and general location and extent of the uses of land, 16
where appropriate, for agriculture, timber production, housing, 17
commerce, industry, recreation, open spaces and green spaces, urban 18
and community forests within the urban growth area, general aviation 19
airports, public utilities, public facilities, and other land uses. 20
The land use element shall include population densities, building 21
S-0760.1
SENATE BILL 5461
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Lovelett, Short, Chapman, Nobles, and J. Wilson
Read first time 01/23/25. Referred to Committee on Local Government.
p. 1 SB 5461
intensities, and estimates of future population growth. The land use 1
element shall provide for protection of the quality and quantity of 2
groundwater used for public water supplies. The land use element must 3
give special consideration to achieving environmental justice in its 4
goals and policies, including efforts to avoid creating or worsening 5
environmental health disparities. Wherever possible, the land use 6
element should consider utilizing urban planning approaches that 7
promote physical activity and reduce per capita vehicle miles 8
traveled within the jurisdiction, but without increasing greenhouse 9
gas emissions elsewhere in the state. Where applicable, the land use 10
element shall review drainage, flooding, and stormwater runoff in the 11
area and nearby jurisdictions and provide guidance for corrective 12
actions to mitigate or cleanse those discharges that pollute waters 13
of the state, including Puget Sound or waters entering Puget Sound. 14
The land use element must reduce and mitigate the risk to lives and 15
property posed by wildfires by using land use planning tools, which 16
may include, but are not limited to, adoption of portions or all of 17
the wildland urban interface code developed by the international code 18
council or developing building and maintenance standards consistent 19
with the firewise USA program or similar program designed to reduce 20
wildfire risk, reducing wildfire risks to residential development in 21
high risk areas and the wildland urban interface area, separating 22
human development from wildfire prone landscapes, and protecting 23
existing residential development and infrastructure through community 24
wildfire preparedness and fire adaptation measures.25
(2) A housing element ensuring the vitality and character of 26
established residential neighborhoods that: 27
(a) Includes an inventory and analysis of existing and projected 28
housing needs that identifies the number of housing units necessary 29
to manage projected growth, as provided by the department of 30
commerce, including: 31
(i) Units for moderate, low, very low, and extremely low-income 32
households; and 33
(ii) Emergency housing, emergency shelters, and permanent 34
supportive housing; 35
(b) Includes a statement of goals, policies, objectives, and 36
mandatory provisions for the preservation, improvement, and 37
development of housing, including single-family residences, and 38
within an urban growth area boundary, moderate density housing 39
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options including, but not limited to, duplexes, triplexes, and 1
townhomes; 2
(c) Identifies sufficient capacity of land for housing including, 3
but not limited to, government-assisted housing, housing for 4
moderate, low, very low, and extremely low-income households, 5
manufactured housing, multifamily housing, group homes, foster care 6
facilities, emergency housing, emergency shelters, permanent 7
supportive housing, and within an urban growth area boundary, 8
consideration of duplexes, triplexes, and townhomes;9
(d) Makes adequate provisions for existing and projected needs of 10
all economic segments of the community, including:11
(i) Incorporating consideration for low, very low, extremely low, 12
and moderate-income households; 13
(ii) Documenting programs and actions needed to achieve housing 14
availability including gaps in local funding, barriers such as 15
development regulations, and other limitations; 16
(iii) Consideration of housing locations in relation to 17
employment location; and 18
(iv) Consideration of the role of accessory dwelling units in 19
meeting housing needs; 20
(e) Identifies local policies and regulations that result in 21
racially disparate impacts, displacement, and exclusion in housing, 22
including: 23
(i) Zoning that may have a discriminatory effect;24
(ii) Disinvestment; and 25
(iii) Infrastructure availability; 26
(f) Identifies and implements policies and regulations to address 27
and begin to undo racially disparate impacts, displacement, and 28
exclusion in housing caused by local policies, plans, and actions;29
(g) Identifies areas that may be at higher risk of displacement 30
from market forces that occur with changes to zoning development 31
regulations and capital investments; and 32
(h) Establishes antidisplacement policies, with consideration 33
given to the preservation of historical and cultural communities as 34
well as investments in low, very low, extremely low, and moderate-35
income housing; equitable development initiatives; inclusionary 36
zoning; community planning requirements; tenant protections; land 37
disposition policies; and consideration of land that may be used for 38
affordable housing. 39
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In counties and cities subject to the review and evaluation 1
requirements of RCW 36.70A.215, any revision to the housing element 2
shall include consideration of prior review and evaluation reports 3
and any reasonable measures identified. The housing element should 4
link jurisdictional goals with overall county goals to ensure that 5
the housing element goals are met. 6
The adoption of ordinances, development regulations and 7
amendments to such regulations, and other nonproject actions taken by 8
a city that is required or chooses to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 that 9
increase housing capacity, increase housing affordability, and 10
mitigate displacement as required under this subsection (2) and that 11
apply outside of critical areas are not subject to administrative or 12
judicial appeal under chapter 43.21C RCW unless the adoption of such 13
ordinances, development regulations and amendments to such 14
regulations, or other nonproject actions has a probable significant 15
adverse impact on fish habitat. 16
(3) A capital facilities plan element consisting of: (a) An 17
inventory of existing capital facilities owned by public entities, 18
including green infrastructure, showing the locations and capacities 19
of the capital facilities; (b) a forecast of the future needs for 20
such capital facilities; (c) the proposed locations and capacities of 21
expanded or new capital facilities; (d) at least a six-year plan that 22
will finance such capital facilities within projected funding 23
capacities and clearly identifies sources of public money for such 24
purposes; and (e) a requirement to reassess the land use element if 25
probable funding falls short of meeting existing needs and to ensure 26
that the land use element, capital facilities plan element, and 27
financing plan within the capital facilities plan element are 28
coordinated and consistent. Park and recreation facilities shall be 29
included in the capital facilities plan element. 30
The county or city shall identify all public entities that own 31
capital facilities and endeavor in good faith to work with other 32
public entities, such as special purpose districts, to gather and 33
include within its capital facilities element the information 34
required by this subsection. If, after a good faith effort, the 35
county or city is unable to gather the information required by this 36
subsection from the other public entities, the failure to include 37
such information in its capital facilities element cannot be grounds 38
for a finding of noncompliance or invalidity under chapter 228, Laws 39
of 2023. A good faith effort must, at a minimum, include consulting 40
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the public entity's capital facility or system plans and emailing and 1
calling the staff of the public entity. 2
(4)(a) A utilities element consisting of the general location, 3
proposed location, and capacity of all existing and proposed 4
utilities including, but not limited to, electrical, 5
telecommunications, and natural gas systems. 6
(b) The county or city shall identify all public entities that 7
own utility systems and endeavor in good faith to work with other 8
public entities, such as special purpose districts, to gather and 9
include within its utilities element the information required in (a) 10
of this subsection. However, if, after a good faith effort, the 11
county or city is unable to gather the information required in (a) of 12
this subsection from the other public entities, the failure to 13
include such information in the utilities element shall not be 14
grounds for a finding of noncompliance or invalidity under chapter 15
228, Laws of 2023. A good faith effort must, at a minimum, include 16
consulting the public entity's capital facility or system plans, and 17
emailing and calling the staff of the public entity.18
(5) Rural element. Counties shall include a rural element 19
including lands that are not designated for urban growth, 20
agriculture, forest, or mineral resources. The following provisions 21
shall apply to the rural element: 22
(a) Growth management act goals and local circumstances. Because 23
circumstances vary from county to county, in establishing patterns of 24
rural densities and uses, a county may consider local circumstances, 25
but shall develop a written record explaining how the rural element 26
harmonizes the planning goals in RCW 36.70A.020 and meets the 27
requirements of this chapter. 28
(b) Rural development. The rural element shall permit rural 29
development, forestry, and agriculture in rural areas. The rural 30
element shall provide for a variety of rural densities, uses, 31
essential public facilities, and rural governmental services needed 32
to serve the permitted densities and uses. To achieve a variety of 33
rural densities and uses, counties may provide for clustering, 34
density transfer, design guidelines, conservation easements, and 35
other innovative techniques that will accommodate appropriate rural 36
economic advancement, densities, and uses that are not characterized 37
by urban growth and that are consistent with rural character.38
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(c) Measures governing rural development. The rural element shall 1
include measures that apply to rural development and protect the 2
rural character of the area, as established by the county, by:3
(i) Containing or otherwise controlling rural development;4
(ii) Assuring visual compatibility of rural development with the 5
surrounding rural area; 6
(iii) Reducing the inappropriate conversion of undeveloped land 7
into sprawling, low-density development in the rural area;8
(iv) Protecting critical areas, as provided in RCW 36.70A.060, 9
and surface water and groundwater resources; and 10
(v) Protecting against conflicts with the use of agricultural, 11
forest, and mineral resource lands designated under RCW 36.70A.170.12
(d) Limited areas of more intensive rural development. Subject to 13
the requirements of this subsection and except as otherwise 14
specifically provided in this subsection (5)(d), the rural element 15
may allow for limited areas of more intensive rural development, 16
including necessary public facilities and public services to serve 17
the limited area as follows: 18
(i) Rural development consisting of the infill, development, or 19
redevelopment of existing commercial, industrial, residential, or 20
mixed-use areas, whether characterized as shoreline development, 21
villages, hamlets, rural activity centers, or crossroads 22
developments. 23
(A) A commercial, industrial, residential, shoreline, or mixed-24
use area are subject to the requirements of (d)(iv) of this 25
subsection, but are not subject to the requirements of (c)(ii) and 26
(iii) of this subsection. 27
(B) Any development or redevelopment other than an industrial 28
area or an industrial use within a mixed-use area or an industrial 29
area under this subsection (5)(d)(i) must be principally designed to 30
serve the existing and projected rural population.31
(C) Any development or redevelopment in terms of building size, 32
scale, use, or intensity may be permitted subject to confirmation 33
from all existing providers of public facilities and public services 34
of sufficient capacity of existing public facilities and public 35
services to serve any new or additional demand from the new 36
development or redevelopment. Development and redevelopment may 37
include changes in use from vacant land or a previously existing use 38
so long as the new use conforms to the requirements of this 39
subsection (5) and is consistent with the local character. Any 40
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commercial development or redevelopment within a mixed-use area must 1
be principally designed to serve the existing and projected rural 2
population and must meet the following requirements:3
(I) Any included retail or food service space must not exceed the 4
footprint of previously occupied space or 5,000 square feet, 5
whichever is greater, for the same or similar use, unless the retail 6
space is for an essential rural retail service and the designated 7
limited area is located at least 10 miles from an existing urban 8
growth area, then the retail space must not exceed the footprint of 9
the previously occupied space or 10,000 square feet, whichever is 10
greater; and 11
(II) Any included retail or food service space must not exceed 12
2,500 square feet for a new use, unless the new retail space is for 13
an essential rural retail service and the designated limited area is 14
located at least 10 miles from an existing urban growth area, then 15
the new retail space must not exceed 10,000 square feet;16
For the purposes of this subsection (5)(d), "essential rural 17
retail services" means services including grocery, pharmacy, 18
hardware, automotive parts, and similar uses that sell or provide 19
products necessary for health and safety, such as food, medication, 20
sanitation supplies, and products to maintain habitability and 21
mobility; 22
(D) In limited areas of more intensive rural development, a 23
county may provide by ordinance and incorporate into its development 24
regulations, zoning regulations, and other official controls, 25
authorization for the following:26
(I) The development of at least four units per lot on all lots 27
zoned predominantly for residential use; and28
(II) The development of at least six units per lot on all lots 29
zoned predominantly for residential use, if at least two units are 30
affordable housing. For purposes of this subsection (5)(d), 31
"affordable housing" has the same meaning as in RCW 36.70A.030.32
(ii) The intensification of development on lots containing, or 33
new development of, small-scale recreational or tourist uses, 34
including commercial facilities to serve those recreational or 35
tourist uses, that rely on a rural location and setting, but that do 36
not include new residential development. A small-scale recreation or 37
tourist use is not required to be principally designed to serve the 38
existing and projected rural population. Public services and public 39
facilities shall be limited to those necessary to serve the 40
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recreation or tourist use and shall be provided in a manner that does 1
not permit low-density sprawl; 2
(iii) The intensification of development on lots containing 3
isolated nonresidential uses or new development of isolated cottage 4
industries and isolated small-scale businesses that are not 5
principally designed to serve the existing and projected rural 6
population and nonresidential uses, but do provide job opportunities 7
for rural residents. Rural counties may allow the expansion of small-8
scale businesses as long as those small-scale businesses conform with 9
the rural character of the area as defined by the local government 10
according to RCW 36.70A.030(35). Rural counties may also allow new 11
small-scale businesses to utilize a site previously occupied by an 12
existing business as long as the new small-scale business conforms to 13
the rural character of the area as defined by the local government 14
according to RCW 36.70A.030(35). Public services and public 15
facilities shall be limited to those necessary to serve the isolated 16
nonresidential use and shall be provided in a manner that does not 17
permit low-density sprawl; 18
(iv) A county shall adopt measures to minimize and contain the 19
existing areas of more intensive rural development, as appropriate, 20
authorized under this subsection. Lands included in such existing 21
areas shall not extend beyond the logical outer boundary of the 22
existing area, thereby allowing a new pattern of low-density sprawl. 23
Existing areas are those that are clearly identifiable and contained 24
and where there is a logical boundary delineated predominately by the 25
built environment, but that may also include undeveloped lands if 26
limited as provided in this subsection. The county shall establish 27
the logical outer boundary of an area of more intensive rural 28
development. In establishing the logical outer boundary, the county 29
shall address (A) the need to preserve the character of existing 30
natural neighborhoods and communities, (B) physical boundaries, such 31
as bodies of water, streets and highways, and land forms and 32
contours, (C) the prevention of abnormally irregular boundaries, and 33
(D) the ability to provide public facilities and public services in a 34
manner that does not permit low-density sprawl; 35
(v) For purposes of this subsection (5)(d), an existing area or 36
existing use is one that was in existence: 37
(A) On July 1, 1990, in a county that was initially required to 38
plan under all of the provisions of this chapter; 39
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(B) On the date the county adopted a resolution under RCW 1
36.70A.040(2), in a county that is planning under all of the 2
provisions of this chapter under RCW 36.70A.040(2); or3
(C) On the date the office of financial management certifies the 4
county's population as provided in RCW 36.70A.040(5), in a county 5
that is planning under all of the provisions of this chapter pursuant 6
to RCW 36.70A.040(5). 7
(e) Exception. This subsection shall not be interpreted to permit 8
in the rural area a major industrial development or a master planned 9
resort unless otherwise specifically permitted under RCW 36.70A.360 10
and 36.70A.365. 11
(6) A transportation element that implements, and is consistent 12
with, the land use element. 13
(a) The transportation element shall include the following 14
subelements: 15
(i) Land use assumptions used in estimating travel;16
(ii) Estimated multimodal level of service impacts to state-owned 17
transportation facilities resulting from land use assumptions to 18
assist in monitoring the performance of state facilities, to plan 19
improvements for the facilities, and to assess the impact of land-use 20
decisions on state-owned transportation facilities;21
(iii) Facilities and services needs, including:22
(A) An inventory of air, water, and ground transportation 23
facilities and services, including transit alignments, active 24
transportation facilities, and general aviation airport facilities, 25
to define existing capital facilities and travel levels to inform 26
future planning. This inventory must include state-owned 27
transportation facilities within the city or county's jurisdictional 28
boundaries; 29
(B) Multimodal level of service standards for all locally owned 30
arterials, locally and regionally operated transit routes that serve 31
urban growth areas, state-owned or operated transit routes that serve 32
urban areas if the department of transportation has prepared such 33
standards, and active transportation facilities to serve as a gauge 34
to judge performance of the system and success in helping to achieve 35
the goals of this chapter consistent with environmental justice. 36
These standards should be regionally coordinated; 37
(C) For state-owned transportation facilities, multimodal level 38
of service standards for highways, as prescribed in chapters 47.06 39
and 47.80 RCW, to gauge the performance of the system. The purposes 40
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of reflecting multimodal level of service standards for state 1
highways in the local comprehensive plan are to monitor the 2
performance of the system, to evaluate improvement strategies, and to 3
facilitate coordination between the county's or city's six-year 4
street, road, active transportation, or transit program and the 5
office of financial management's ten-year investment program. The 6
concurrency requirements of (b) of this subsection do not apply to 7
transportation facilities and services of statewide significance 8
except for counties consisting of islands whose only connection to 9
the mainland are state highways or ferry routes. In these island 10
counties, state highways and ferry route capacity must be a factor in 11
meeting the concurrency requirements in (b) of this subsection;12
(D) Specific actions and requirements for bringing into 13
compliance transportation facilities or services that are below an 14
established multimodal level of service standard; 15
(E) Forecasts of multimodal transportation demand and needs 16
within cities and urban growth areas, and forecasts of multimodal 17
transportation demand and needs outside of cities and urban growth 18
areas, for at least ten years based on the adopted land use plan to 19
inform the development of a transportation element that balances 20
transportation system safety and convenience to accommodate all users 21
of the transportation system to safely, reliably, and efficiently 22
provide access and mobility to people and goods. Priority must be 23
given to inclusion of transportation facilities and services 24
providing the greatest multimodal safety benefit to each category of 25
roadway users for the context and speed of the facility;26
(F) Identification of state and local system needs to equitably 27
meet current and future demands. Identified needs on state-owned 28
transportation facilities must be consistent with the statewide 29
multimodal transportation plan required under chapter 47.06 RCW. 30
Local system needs should reflect the regional transportation system 31
and local goals, and strive to equitably implement the multimodal 32
network; 33
(G) A transition plan for transportation as required in Title II 34
of the Americans with disabilities act of 1990 (ADA). As a necessary 35
step to a program access plan to provide accessibility under the ADA, 36
state and local government, public entities, and public agencies are 37
required to perform self-evaluations of their current facilities, 38
relative to accessibility requirements of the ADA. The agencies are 39
then required to develop a program access plan, which can be called a 40
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transition plan, to address any deficiencies. The plan is intended to 1
achieve the following: 2
(I) Identify physical obstacles that limit the accessibility of 3
facilities to individuals with disabilities; 4
(II) Describe the methods to be used to make the facilities 5
accessible; 6
(III) Provide a schedule for making the access modifications; and7
(IV) Identify the public officials responsible for implementation 8
of the transition plan; 9
(iv) Finance, including: 10
(A) An analysis of funding capability to judge needs against 11
probable funding resources; 12
(B) A multiyear financing plan based on the needs identified in 13
the comprehensive plan, the appropriate parts of which shall serve as 14
the basis for the six-year street, road, or transit program required 15
by RCW 35.77.010 for cities, RCW 36.81.121 for counties, and RCW 16
35.58.2795 for public transportation systems. The multiyear financing 17
plan should be coordinated with the ten-year investment program 18
developed by the office of financial management as required by RCW 19
47.05.030; 20
(C) If probable funding falls short of meeting the identified 21
needs of the transportation system, including state transportation 22
facilities, a discussion of how additional funding will be raised, or 23
how land use assumptions will be reassessed to ensure that level of 24
service standards will be met; 25
(v) Intergovernmental coordination efforts, including an 26
assessment of the impacts of the transportation plan and land use 27
assumptions on the transportation systems of adjacent jurisdictions;28
(vi) Demand-management strategies; 29
(vii) Active transportation component to include collaborative 30
efforts to identify and designate planned improvements for active 31
transportation facilities and corridors that address and encourage 32
enhanced community access and promote healthy lifestyles.33
(b) After adoption of the comprehensive plan by jurisdictions 34
required to plan or who choose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040, local 35
jurisdictions must adopt and enforce ordinances which prohibit 36
development approval if the development causes the level of service 37
on a locally owned or locally or regionally operated transportation 38
facility to decline below the standards adopted in the transportation 39
element of the comprehensive plan, unless transportation improvements 40
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or strategies to accommodate the impacts of development are made 1
concurrent with the development. These strategies may include active 2
transportation facility improvements, increased or enhanced public 3
transportation service, ride-sharing programs, demand management, and 4
other transportation systems management strategies. For the purposes 5
of this subsection (6), "concurrent with the development" means that 6
improvements or strategies are in place at the time of development, 7
or that a financial commitment is in place to complete the 8
improvements or strategies within six years. If the collection of 9
impact fees is delayed under RCW 82.02.050(3), the six-year period 10
required by this subsection (6)(b) must begin after full payment of 11
all impact fees is due to the county or city. A development proposal 12
may not be denied for causing the level of service on a locally owned 13
or locally or regionally operated transportation facility to decline 14
below the standards adopted in the transportation element of the 15
comprehensive plan where such impacts could be adequately mitigated 16
through active transportation facility improvements, increased or 17
enhanced public transportation service, ride-sharing programs, demand 18
management, or other transportation systems management strategies 19
funded by the development. 20
(c) The transportation element described in this subsection (6), 21
the six-year plans required by RCW 35.77.010 for cities, RCW 22
36.81.121 for counties, and RCW 35.58.2795 for public transportation 23
systems, and the ten-year investment program required by RCW 24
47.05.030 for the state, must be consistent. 25
(7) An economic development element establishing local goals, 26
policies, objectives, and provisions for economic growth and vitality 27
and a high quality of life. A city that has chosen to be a 28
residential community is exempt from the economic development element 29
requirement of this subsection. 30
(8) A park and recreation element that implements, and is 31
consistent with, the capital facilities plan element as it relates to 32
park and recreation facilities. The element shall include: (a) 33
Estimates of park and recreation demand for at least a ten-year 34
period; (b) an evaluation of facilities and service needs; (c) an 35
evaluation of tree canopy coverage within the urban growth area; and 36
(d) an evaluation of intergovernmental coordination opportunities to 37
provide regional approaches for meeting park and recreational demand.38
(9)(a) A climate change and resiliency element that is designed 39
to result in reductions in overall greenhouse gas emissions and that 40
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must enhance resiliency to and avoid the adverse impacts of climate 1
change, which must include efforts to reduce localized greenhouse gas 2
emissions and avoid creating or worsening localized climate impacts 3
to vulnerable populations and overburdened communities.4
(b) The climate change and resiliency element shall include the 5
following subelements: 6
(i) A greenhouse gas emissions reduction subelement;7
(ii) A resiliency subelement. 8
(c) The greenhouse gas emissions reduction subelement of the 9
climate change and resiliency element is mandatory for the 10
jurisdictions specified in RCW 36.70A.095 and is encouraged for all 11
other jurisdictions, including those planning under RCW 36.70A.040 12
and those planning under chapter 36.70 RCW. The resiliency subelement 13
of the climate change and resiliency element is mandatory for all 14
jurisdictions planning under RCW 36.70A.040 and is encouraged for 15
those jurisdictions planning under chapter 36.70 RCW.16
(d)(i) The greenhouse gas emissions reduction subelement of the 17
comprehensive plan, and its related development regulations, must 18
identify the actions the jurisdiction will take during the planning 19
cycle consistent with the guidelines published by the department 20
pursuant to RCW 70A.45.120 that will: 21
(A) Result in reductions in overall greenhouse gas emissions 22
generated by transportation and land use within the jurisdiction but 23
without increasing greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere in the state;24
(B) Result in reductions in per capita vehicle miles traveled 25
within the jurisdiction but without increasing greenhouse gas 26
emissions elsewhere in the state; and 27
(C) Prioritize reductions that benefit overburdened communities 28
in order to maximize the cobenefits of reduced air pollution and 29
environmental justice. 30
(ii) Actions not specifically identified in the guidelines 31
developed by the department pursuant to RCW 70A.45.120 may be 32
considered consistent with these guidelines only if:33
(A) They are projected to achieve greenhouse gas emissions 34
reductions or per capita vehicle miles traveled reductions equivalent 35
to what would be required of the jurisdiction under the guidelines 36
adopted by the department; and 37
(B) They are supported by scientifically credible projections and 38
scenarios that indicate their adoption is likely to result in 39
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reductions of greenhouse gas emissions or per capita vehicle miles 1
traveled. 2
(iii) A jurisdiction may not restrict population growth or limit 3
population allocation in order to achieve the requirements set forth 4
in this subsection (9)(d). 5
(e)(i) The resiliency subelement must equitably enhance 6
resiliency to, and avoid or substantially reduce the adverse impacts 7
of, climate change in human communities and ecological systems 8
through goals, policies, and programs consistent with the best 9
available science and scientifically credible climate projections and 10
impact scenarios that moderate or avoid harm, enhance the resiliency 11
of natural and human systems, and enhance beneficial opportunities. 12
The resiliency subelement must prioritize actions that benefit 13
overburdened communities that will disproportionately suffer from 14
compounding environmental impacts and will be most impacted by 15
natural hazards due to climate change. Specific goals, policies, and 16
programs of the resiliency subelement must include, but are not 17
limited to, those designed to: 18
(A) Identify, protect, and enhance natural areas to foster 19
resiliency to climate impacts, as well as areas of vital habitat for 20
safe passage and species migration; 21
(B) Identify, protect, and enhance community resiliency to 22
climate change impacts, including social, economic, and built 23
environment factors, that support adaptation to climate impacts 24
consistent with environmental justice; and 25
(C) Address natural hazards created or aggravated by climate 26
change, including sea level rise, landslides, flooding, drought, 27
heat, smoke, wildfire, and other effects of changes to temperature 28
and precipitation patterns. 29
(ii) A natural hazard mitigation plan or similar plan that is 30
guided by RCW 36.70A.020(14), that prioritizes actions that benefit 31
overburdened communities, and that complies with the applicable 32
requirements of this chapter, including the requirements set forth in 33
this subsection (9)(e), may be adopted by reference to satisfy these 34
requirements, except that to the extent any of the substantive 35
requirements of this subsection (9)(e) are not addressed, or are 36
inadequately addressed, in the referenced natural hazard mitigation 37
plan, a county or city must supplement the natural hazard mitigation 38
plan accordingly so that the adopted resiliency subelement complies 39
fully with the substantive requirements of this subsection (9)(e).40
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(A) If a county or city intends to adopt by reference a federal 1
emergency management agency natural hazard mitigation plan in order 2
to meet all or part of the substantive requirements set forth in this 3
subsection (9)(e), and the most recently adopted federal emergency 4
management agency natural hazard mitigation plan does not comply with 5
the requirements of this subsection (9)(e), the department may grant 6
the county or city an extension of time in which to submit a natural 7
hazard mitigation plan. 8
(B) Eligibility for an extension under this subsection prior to 9
July 1, 2027, is limited to a city or county required to review and, 10
if needed, revise its comprehensive plan on or before June 30, 2025, 11
as provided in RCW 36.70A.130, or for a city or county with an 12
existing, unexpired federal emergency management agency natural 13
hazard mitigation plan scheduled to expire before December 31, 2024.14
(C) Extension requests after July 1, 2027, may be granted if 15
requirements for the resiliency subelement are amended or added by 16
the legislature or if the department finds other circumstances that 17
may result in a potential finding of noncompliance with a 18
jurisdiction's existing and approved federal emergency management 19
agency natural hazard mitigation plan. 20
(D) A city or county that wishes to request an extension of time 21
must submit a request in writing to the department no later than the 22
date on which the city or county is required to review and, if 23
needed, revise its comprehensive plan as provided in RCW 36.70A.130.24
(E) Upon the submission of such a request to the department, the 25
city or county may have an additional 48 months from the date 26
provided in RCW 36.70A.130 in which to either adopt by reference an 27
updated federal emergency management agency natural hazard mitigation 28
plan or adopt its own natural hazard mitigation plan, and to then 29
submit that plan to the department. 30
(F) The adoption of ordinances, amendments to comprehensive 31
plans, amendments to development regulations, and other nonproject 32
actions taken by a county or city pursuant to (d) of this subsection 33
in order to implement measures specified by the department pursuant 34
to RCW 70A.45.120 are not subject to administrative or judicial 35
appeal under chapter 43.21C RCW. 36
(10) It is the intent that new or amended elements required after 37
January 1, 2002, be adopted concurrent with the scheduled update 38
provided in RCW 36.70A.130. Requirements to incorporate any such new 39
or amended elements shall be null and void until funds sufficient to 40
p. 15 SB 5461
cover applicable local government costs are appropriated and 1
distributed by the state at least two years before local government 2
must update comprehensive plans as required in RCW 36.70A.130.3
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p. 16 SB 5461