DDES Legislative News
The following information summarizes ordinances and motions that affect Department of Development and Environmental Services (DDES) operations and that have been distributed for public review and comment or that are pending action by the Metropolitan King County Council.
The DDES Regulatory Tracking Matrix (PDF*), which lists pending ordinances and motions affecting DDES in a grid format, also is available.
For additional information, please contact the DDES Director's Office at 206-296-6704 unless otherwise noted.
Legislation for public review and comment
The following proposed legislation has been distributed by DDES for public review and comment. Information concerning comments can be found with the materials accompanying the proposal.
- SEPA and climate change regulations
- School impact fees
- 2008 Comprehensive Plan Update
- Form Based Code project
Proposed ordinance for SEPA and climate change regulations
The 2008 Executive Proposed Comprehensive Plan includes new text and policies addressing climate change. In the Environment Chapter (PDF, 281KB) Policy E-207 would allow King County to exercise substantive authority under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) to condition or deny proposals that would have a significant, adverse impact on the environment due to their greenhouse gas emissions.
The department, in consultation with a workgroup with representation from business, local governments, the state, and the public, is developing an ordinance to implement this proposed policy. The proposed ordinance will be transmitted to the King County Council by September 30, 2008. The King County Council will then consider the ordinance.
The proposed ordinance includes the following provisions. The entire ordinance also is available in PDF (196KB) or MS Word (91KB) format.
Sec. 1 makes a number of findings to explain the purpose for the ordinance and the rationale for the substantive provisions in the following sections.
Sec. 2 states that a project action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by at least fifteen percent from the emissions that would result from complying with local, state and federal laws is deemed to not to have a significant adverse impact on the environment with respect to greenhouse gas emissions. An action may be determined not to have a significant adverse impact on the environment if the department determines that the applicant has reduced emissions to the maximum extent practical and that further reductions are not economically feasible. Estimates of greenhouse gas emissions must be made using King County approved methods.
Sec. 3 sets forth a number of types of strategies that the proponent of an action may consider as methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These may include complying with specified building standards, using different construction materials, relying on renewable energy sources, building in urban areas at high densities, and protecting open space, agricultural, and forest land. Also included are the purchase of carbon offsets and transferable development rights from rural areas to urban areas.
Sec. 4 directs the department to adopt public rules to evaluate and quantify greenhouse gas emissions that result from different mitigation strategies and to develop a "green list" of measures that when implemented under specific conditions are deemed to meet the 15% reduction target. The department is directed to appoint an advisory committee to assist in developing the pubic rules. The advisory committee will have representatives from business, development, environmental, and public interest organizations. The effective date of any rules is postponed for 90 days to allow time for King County Council review. The advisory committee will also assist in preparing the report called for by Section 6.
Sec. 5 directs the department to provide project applicants with technical assistance in complying with the ordinance. It also authorizes the department to provide incentives for projects that meet green building or low impact development standards.
Sec. 6 directs the department to report to the King County Council on implementation of the ordinance. The report is due by March 31, 2011.
The department is seeking public comment on the proposal before it is transmitted to the King County Council. Comments are due by Friday, September 12, 2008, 4:30 p.m. Send comments by e-mail to harry.reinert@kingcounty.gov or by mail to:
Harry Reinert
King County Department of Development and Environmental Services
900 Oakesdale Ave SW
Renton, WA 98507.
For more information on the proposed ordinance, please contact Harry Reinert at harry.reinert@kingcounty.gov or at 206-296-7132.
For more information on climate change topics, see climate change and development regulations.
Proposed ordinance related to school impact fees
The purpose of the proposed ordinance is to adopt school impact fees to be collected from all nonexempt new residential development in the unincorporated portions of the Tahoma, Federal Way, Riverview, Issaquah, Snoqualmie Valley, Lake Washington, Kent, Northshore, Enumclaw, Fife and Auburn school districts.
- Notice of intent to amend, PDF* (12KB) or MS Word* (41KB)
- Proposed ordinance, PDF* (21KB) or MS Word* (46KB)
- Summary of proposed ordinance, PDF* (18KB) or MS Word* (53KB)
The Department has conducted stakeholder review of the draft proposed ordinance. Further comments may be sent to:
Dave Sandstrom
Department of Development and Environmental Services
900 Oakesdale Ave SW
Renton, WA 98057-5212
E-mail: dave.sandstrom@kingcounty.gov
Telephone: 206-296-7184.
Comments are due to DDES no later than Friday, August 22, 2008, 4:30 p.m.
2008 King County Comprehensive Plan Update
The next significant revision to the King County Comprehensive Plan (KCCP), the guiding land use document for unincorporated King County, occurs in 2008.
Go to the 2008 Update to view the Executive recommended plan online and for more information about the proposed policy changes.
Upcoming Form Based Code project
DDES received a grant from the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) to draft a Form Based Code.
Two areas of unincorporated King County are expected to be used as demonstration projects for the code. The first of these is located on the East Renton plateau and has involved small group outreach in preparation for a community workshop to be conducted later this year. The second demonstration area is yet to be determined.
Please check back to learn more about this project, which currently is only in early planning stages.
To find out more about form-based zoning code, visit www.formbasedcodes.org (external link).
For more information about the Form Based Code project, contact Jason Lindahl in the DDES Director's Office at 206-296-6669 or e-mail jason.lindahl@kingcounty.gov.
Legislation before the King County Council
DDES has no legislation pending before the King County Council at this time.
*Note: To view PDFs, free software from Adobe is required. Word documents require Microsoft software. For assistance, see helpful hints.
To request information in alternate formats for people with disabilities, call 206-296-6600 or TTY 206-296-7217.