One of the first steps in the implementation of the Growth Management Act (GMA) is for counties and their cities to designate urban growth areas (UGAs), “within which urban growth shall be encouraged, and outside of which growth can occur only if it is not urban in nature.”  RCW 36.70A.110 and WAC 365-195-335 provide clear criteria for designating urban growth boundaries around a city or a group of cities. 

 

Each urban growth area in a county should include enough land to accommodate the Washington State Office of Financial Management’s 20-year population projection allocated for thatUGA.  The UGA should also include adequate land for industrial and commercial activities, open space, and other public facilities.  A land capacity analysis should be conducted to determine if there is sufficient land included in the UGA for all these uses.  A market factor can be built in to this analysis to compensate for the fact that only a portion of the land will be available for sale and development over the planning period.

 

Within the UGA, a city and/or county is to designate sufficient open space, provide urban services, and permit development at urban densities.  Urban development and provision of urban services, such as water and sewer, should not generally occur outside of urban growth areas.

 

RCW 36.70A.130(3) requires counties and cities to review, at least every ten years, designated UGAs, the densities permitted within each UGA, and the nature of development that has occurred.  UGAs and comprehensive plans are to be revised to accommodate the urban growth projected for the succeeding twenty-year period. 

 

Six counties (Clark, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, and Thurston) are subject to the Buildable Lands Program under RCW 36.70A.215.  These counties and their cities must conduct a review and evaluation program every five years, and identify reasonable measures to ensure development occurs as planned under the GMA.