If 640 new properties were suddenly slated for development right next to your house, would you be a bit concerned? What if you followed all the proper appeals, won your case, but the developments went up anyway?
It isn’t just a hypothetical. This is the scenario unfolding in Spokane right now because of a loophole in Washington’s omnibus land use policy: the Growth Management Act.
The Growth Management Act was implemented decades ago to protect our rural land and encourage the efficient development of infrastructure and public facilities. It does so by requiring counties to designating specific areas where large developments can be built, based on geography and population growth.
Sometimes there is disagreement about whether an expansion is warranted, however, and plans to allow new development can be appealed to the Growth Management Hearing Board. The Board reviews the facts and can let counties proceed, direct them to tweak their expansion plans, or – in rare cases – deem an expansion is inappropriate based on the needs and conditions of the community.
That last resort is exactly what was issued recently to Spokane County. An expansion of their Urban Growth Area was deemed invalid after the Board concluded that it was unnecessary and potentially harmful to the long-term urban development of the region.
But 640 development permits were issued in the expansion area before the ruling – and under current law those permits are still valid even after the ruling of invalidity.
Two bills were introduced this session to address the issue. One by Representative Joe Fitzgibbon (D-Burien) would revoke permits issued to properties in the new area if the Growth Management Hearing Board rules that the whole expansion is out of compliance. Another, brought forward by Timm Ormsby (D-Spokane), would allow a judge to put a hold on permit issuing until the Board has a chance to weigh in.
The first did not make it out of committee before the cutoff deadline, but the second cleared that hurdle and is now headed to the Rules Committee, which will determine if it gets a vote on the floor. Whether it will pass the legislative gauntlet remains to be seen, but the issue is a very real one for the people of Spokane.