At the heart of the GMA is the concept of planning for and providing infrastructure in a timely and efficient manner. The state has long been concerned with the capacity and condition of our public infrastructure, but the GMA for the first time, provided a framework for integrating land use and capital facilities planning. It is critical that the state, in partnership with local governments, begin to step forward and address the large unmet need for infrastructure as identified through growth management planning. While the need is large, it will become even larger and unmanageable, if new tools and financing sources are not found.
Growth management depends on developing minimum level of service standards that can be maintained.
Both the urban growth goal and the public facilities and services goal of the GMA address the need to provide adequate public facilities where they currently exist and can be provided efficiently. The six year pan must identify revenue sources. The intent was to ensure that local governments could provide necessary infrastructure with concurrent with projected growth. If they could not provide the infrastructure, the same RCW requires a reassessment of the land use element. Because of the importance and high cost of providing public infrastructure, Washington has periodically surveyed the level of statewide expenditures and needs.