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HomeMy WebLinkAbout98-013Resolution No. 98- RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND OPPOSING HOUSE BILL 2542 AND SENATE BILL 6619, ALLOWING RURAL COUNTIES TO OPT-OUT OF GROWTH MANAGEMENT ACT COMPLIANCE, AND EXPRESSING CITY SUPPORT FOR THE GOALS AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT ACT The City Council of the City of Port Townsend, Washington, resolves as follows: WHEREAS, the Washington State Legislature enacted the Growth Management Act (GMA) in 1990, ESHB 2929, with refinements adopted in 1991, RSHB 1025. The GMA was enacted with broad legislative and public support, as an essential effort to manage the impacts of growth, and to require the planning and investment in public infrastructure to serve growth and promote economic development in Washington State; and WHEREAS, the GMA was enacted in response to demands from Washington citizens primarily to protect tax payers and rate payers from the financial, traffic and environmental impacts of sprawling, unplanned growth. Unplanned, sprawling growth creates unanticipated demands upon water and waste water utilities, road systems, schools, and other public services required to serve Washington's citizens. Given the limits of local authority and the regional nature of growth impacts, in enacting the GMA the Legislature clearly understood that local governments lack to tools to effectively manage growth, plan for necessary infrastructure investments, and promote economic development, without county-wide and state-wide planning frameworks; and WHEREAS, like other cities and counties throughout the State of Washington, Port Townsend and Jefferson County have been working under State-imposed GMA mandates for nearly eight years. Port Townsend and Jefferson County have spent a significant amount of public funds to follow State law and to grapple with the challenging issues and requirements in managing growth; and WHEREAS, the basic framework of the GMA recognizes that cities cannot alone plan to accommodate population growth without the participation of county governments. An essential component of the GMA is the requirement that cities and counties cooperatively adopt county- wide planning policies to establish a consistent county-wide framework for city and county growth management planning. In 1992, Port Townsend and Jefferson County jointly adopted county-wide planning policies. Based upon a County-wide planning framework, in 1996 Port Townsend completed its Comprehensive Plan, which has been fully implemented through development regulations. Jefferson County is working on completion of its Comprehensive Plan, which is scheduled for adoption in March, 1998; and Resolution of Port Townsend Opposing GMA Opt-Out Bills WHEREAS, HB 2542 and SB 6619 allow "rural" counties to "opt out" of GMA compliance, without consultation of cities located within such counties. Local governments throughout the State are now nearly eight years into GMA compliance. With substantial tax- payer dollars now spent upon GMA compliance, Port Townsend believes that allowing counties to opt out of the GMA, without the consent of their constituent cities, is extremely inequitable, amounts to a colossal waste of tax payer dollars, and will saddle cities with the obligation to plan to accommodate urban growth and make public infrastructure expenditures in anticipation of urban growth, without the carefully crafted county-wide planning requirements acknowledged through the GMA as a necessary component of effective local land use and infrastructure planning; and WHEREAS, the GMA is proving to be a powerful engine throughout the State of Washington to encourage economic development. The GMA allows new industries and investors who can bring jobs to communities to examine the strategies adopted by local governments to craft a forward-looking community vision and local plans to accommodate growth. The GMA requires local governments to carefully analyze the capacity of roads, water and sewer systems, and other public services, to accommodate the needs of future growth, and to adopt strategies to ensure that the infrastructure is available to serve and facilitate economic development; and WHEREAS, with the vast majority of local governments now complying with the GMA and beginning to see the economic, fiscal and environmental "returns" of GMA compliance, any effort by the Legislature now to carve out new legislative exemptions for GMA compliance, serving only the purposes of non-compliant jurisdictions, would greatly undermine the advances made throughout the State to encourage economic development and control the negative impacts of unmanaged and unplanned growth; and WHEREAS, because cities and their taxpayers bear a great share of the fiscal burden for infrastructure serving unplanned, sprawling growth outside municipal boundaries, city residents are directly affected by decisions by counties to "opt out" of GMA compliance. Further, as cities such as Port Townsend invest in public infrastructure to accommodate projected population growth, if counties are not required to engage in GMA planning, there is a substantial risk that cities will "over-invest" in public infrastructure as counties continue to permit sprawling, unmanaged growth outside city boundaries, without necessary public services such as public water and waste water systems, schools and roads. This pattern will perpetuate the congested roads, over-burdened water and wastewater systems, and inadequate schools which caused the Legislature to enact the GMA in 1990. Therefore, because cities will be directly affected by county "opt-out" of the GMA, the elected governing bodies of cities must be permitted to consent to GMA "opt-out" by their county governments; and WHEREAS, with millions of dollars now expended state-wide on GMA planning compliance, county "opt-out" of GMA compliance will penalize cities, counties and citizens who have faithfully complied with State law; and Resolution of Port Townsend Opposing GMA Opt-Out Bills NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council for the City of Port Townsend that the City of Port Townsend opposes HB 2542 and SB 6619, and any further legislation proposed during this or future legislative sessions, to allow counties to "opt out" of compliance with the Growth Management Act without the participation and consent of cities, approved through the elected legislative bodies of city governments. APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Port Townsend and signed by the Mayor on this oQ ~ ~ day of /C'e ~ra a r~ , 1998. JulieycCulloch, 'Mayor Attest: Pam Kolacy, City Clerk 0 Approved as to Form: t / ~an, City Attorney [98- ] CA\tlm§Res{gmaopt.res} Resolution of Port Townsend Opposing GMA Opt-Out Bills 3 qg-o/3