Keeping Up with the Growth Management Act
Local governments have largely completed the first round of Growth
Management Act (GMA) planning requirements. However, some actions
are still pending before the Growth Management Hearings Boards (GMHB)
and in the state court system. Moreover, plan updates, development
regulation revisions, and new GMA mandates continue to change the
landscape for development and conservation. What do you need to know
to keep up?
Second
Wave of GMA Implementation.
Even for those jurisdictions that successfully navigated the first
round of GMA adoptions, changes in the Act and mandatory updates and
revisions still allow for significant changes that might affect you.
Some GMA revisions and update requirements that you should be aware
of include:
- Comprehensive Plan Amendments are allowed annually, with mandatory
review and potential revision to ensure compliance with GMA by September
2002. Also required to incorporate the Shoreline Master Program
with revisions likely to address the Department of Ecology's Shorelines
Guidelines.
- Urban Growth Areas must be reviewed at least every 10 years and
adjusted to accommodate the next 20-year growth projections.
- 1995 enactment of Best Available Science requirement for critical
areas has triggered in-depth review and changes to critical areas
regulations during optional or mandatory development regulation
reviews.
- Jurisdictions may take advantage of 1997 authorization for innovative
zoning techniques for agricultural resource lands.
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How
GMA Might Affect Your Property
- Changes in urban/rural boundaries may affect your land use designation;
- Zoning changes may affect the uses, density, and/or development
standards applicable to your property;
- Changes in traffic concurrency regulations may affect traffic
patterns in your area;
- Changes in allowed uses or density in rural areas may affect
your development rights;
- Revisions to critical areas regulations may encumber your property;
- Changes in shoreline environment designations and regulations
may affect your property and development rights;
- If you own natural resource land, regulatory changes may affect
your property value.
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Keeping
Track of Changes.
Remember that plan and regulatory changes can mean risks or opportunities
for the property owner. To learn more about proposed changes:
- Check your jurisdiction's website for planning and growth management
topics that you might be interested in.
- Call your local planning department to check the scope and status
of upcoming changes to comprehensive plans and development regulations,
including updates to the shoreline master program.
- Contact legislators, staff or interest groups to learn about proposed
amendments to the GMA pending before the State Legislature.
- Track the status of petitions recently decided or pending before
the Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB), which might trigger
changes to achieve compliance. The GMHB
website provides text of decisions and other helpful information
about the GMA.
- The Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development (DCTED)
publishes an online newsletter About
Growth.
For More Information Contact: Ann
M. Gygi.
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