Comp Plan update benefits King County’s unincorporated landowners, public and environment- King County

Feb. 27, 2008

Comp Plan update benefits King County’s unincorporated landowners, public and environment

New flexibility, predictability and protections in land use update

King County Executive Ron Sims is proposing land use policy updates that, for the first time, integrate climate change, rural economic development, green jobs and equity and social justice.

Sims, who is submitting a four-year update to the county's Comprehensive Plan to the King County Council this week, said the proposed changes deliver more benefit to landowners, developers, the general public and the environment.

"The needs of unincorporated landowners and protections for clean air and water that benefit all county residents are part of this proposal," said Executive Sims. "The Comp Plan is working well, and now we propose targeted small changes designed to deliver even more benefits."

The proposal for the first time includes strategies to identify, mitigate and adapt to climate change. It includes what is believed to be the nation's first policy for project level review for greenhouse gases under state environmental protection regulations. Code changes to implement the policy will be submitted in May.

In response to increasing development pressure in rural areas and resource lands such as forests, the Executive is proposing the Rural and Resource Lands Preservation Program, which will increase the ability of landowners to realize financial benefits through transfer of development rights (TDR) to higher density urban areas.

Developers in urban unincorporated areas will see a streamlined transportation concurrency process to facilitate and encourage development in areas of high density and large commercial development where public transit is also an option. Transportation concurrency policy is being revamped to use broad geographic travel areas to determine requirements instead of making decisions for individual proposals as used in the past.

King County has had increasing success in controlling sprawl since adoption of the county's first comprehensive plan under the State Growth Management Act (GMA) in 1994. Over the last 14 years, the rate of annual residential growth in the rural area has been reduced from nearly 12 percent of the countywide total to hold steady at between 4 and 5 percent.

In conjunction with the cities, King County has determined that there is sufficient capacity in the urban growth area (UGA) to accommodate growth. The 2007 Buildable Lands Report, published in September 2007, demonstrates that the King County UGA contains the capacity to accommodate more than 289,000 added housing units.

Sims said this capacity is substantially more than enough to meet the adopted 2022 growth targets which are based on the state population forecast for King County. In fact, the Buildable Lands Report measured a greater capacity in 2007 than the corresponding 2002 report found, even though 49,000 new housing units had been added during the intervening five years. Sims said this is due partly to actions taken by the county and its cities to use land more efficiently, including increased densities of residential development.

"That is why this plan does not propose any major changes to the urban growth boundary to accommodate growth," Sims said. "The changes we are recommending are ones that establish more logical boundaries and have an overriding public purpose."

Councilmember Larry Gossett, Chair of the Council's Growth Management and Natural Resources Committee noted that the Comprehensive Plan will be one of the first existing county programs to incorporate elements of a recently announced Equity and Social Justice Initiative.

"I am looking forward to reviewing the plan and to advance land use policies that identify areas where we can address the root causes of inequities and seek out and promote decisions based on equity," Gossett said.

The King County Comprehensive Plan guides growth and development in the unincorporated areas of King County and sets county policy on major issues such as annexations, transportation, and the environment. The King County Comprehensive Plan was adopted under the State Growth Management Act in 1994. Technical changes to this plan can be made once a year. Substantive changes can be made every four years, during a major plan update.

More information can be found at: http://www.metrokc.gov/permits/codes/CompPlan/.

King County Executive, Ron Sims County news Executive initiatives Excellence in Government Executive offices Biography Contact information King County Executive Office Ron Sims, King County Executive 701 Fifth Ave. Suite 3210 Seattle, WA 98104 Phone: 206-296-4040 Fax: 206-296-0194 TTY Relay: 711	KING COUNTY HOME \| NEWS \| SERVICES \| DIRECTORY \| CONTACT King County Executive, Ron Sims King County Executive You're in: King County Executive, Ron Sims print Feb. 27, 2008 Comp Plan update benefits King County’s unincorporated landowners, public and environment New flexibility, predictability and protections in land use update King County Executive Ron Sims is proposing land use policy updates that, for the first time, integrate climate change, rural economic development, green jobs and equity and social justice. Sims, who is submitting a four-year update to the county's Comprehensive Plan to the King County Council this week, said the proposed changes deliver more benefit to landowners, developers, the general public and the environment. "The needs of unincorporated landowners and protections for clean air and water that benefit all county residents are part of this proposal," said Executive Sims. "The Comp Plan is working well, and now we propose targeted small changes designed to deliver even more benefits." The proposal for the first time includes strategies to identify, mitigate and adapt to climate change. It includes what is believed to be the nation's first policy for project level review for greenhouse gases under state environmental protection regulations. Code changes to implement the policy will be submitted in May. In response to increasing development pressure in rural areas and resource lands such as forests, the Executive is proposing the Rural and Resource Lands Preservation Program, which will increase the ability of landowners to realize financial benefits through transfer of development rights (TDR) to higher density urban areas. Developers in urban unincorporated areas will see a streamlined transportation concurrency process to facilitate and encourage development in areas of high density and large commercial development where public transit is also an option. Transportation concurrency policy is being revamped to use broad geographic travel areas to determine requirements instead of making decisions for individual proposals as used in the past. King County has had increasing success in controlling sprawl since adoption of the county's first comprehensive plan under the State Growth Management Act (GMA) in 1994. Over the last 14 years, the rate of annual residential growth in the rural area has been reduced from nearly 12 percent of the countywide total to hold steady at between 4 and 5 percent. In conjunction with the cities, King County has determined that there is sufficient capacity in the urban growth area (UGA) to accommodate growth. The 2007 Buildable Lands Report, published in September 2007, demonstrates that the King County UGA contains the capacity to accommodate more than 289,000 added housing units. Sims said this capacity is substantially more than enough to meet the adopted 2022 growth targets which are based on the state population forecast for King County. In fact, the Buildable Lands Report measured a greater capacity in 2007 than the corresponding 2002 report found, even though 49,000 new housing units had been added during the intervening five years. Sims said this is due partly to actions taken by the county and its cities to use land more efficiently, including increased densities of residential development. "That is why this plan does not propose any major changes to the urban growth boundary to accommodate growth," Sims said. "The changes we are recommending are ones that establish more logical boundaries and have an overriding public purpose." Councilmember Larry Gossett, Chair of the Council's Growth Management and Natural Resources Committee noted that the Comprehensive Plan will be one of the first existing county programs to incorporate elements of a recently announced Equity and Social Justice Initiative. "I am looking forward to reviewing the plan and to advance land use policies that identify areas where we can address the root causes of inequities and seek out and promote decisions based on equity," Gossett said. The King County Comprehensive Plan guides growth and development in the unincorporated areas of King County and sets county policy on major issues such as annexations, transportation, and the environment. The King County Comprehensive Plan was adopted under the State Growth Management Act in 1994. Technical changes to this plan can be made once a year. Substantive changes can be made every four years, during a major plan update. More information can be found at: http://www.metrokc.gov/permits/codes/CompPlan/.
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	Updated: Feb. 27, 2008