Washington Administrative Code › Title 365 - Commerce, Department of (Community Development) › Chapter 365-197 - Project consistency › Section 365-197-010 - Purpose of a project consistency rule

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
The Local Project Review Act (chapter 36.70B RCW) authorizes
						the department of community, trade, and economic development to develop and
						adopt by rule criteria to assist local governments planning under
						RCW
						 36.70A.040 to analyze the consistency of
						project actions. These criteria are to be jointly developed with the department
						of ecology (RCW  36.70B.040(5)).
A basic principle of the Growth Management Act (GMA) and the
						Local Project Review Act is that land use decisions made in adopting a
						comprehensive plan and development regulations under
						chapter
						36.70A RCW should not be
						revisited during project review. When review of a project indicates that it is
						consistent with earlier land use decisions, that project should not be
						reevaluated or scrutinized with respect to whether those decisions were
						appropriate. Given the number of jurisdictions and agencies in the state, it is
						essential to establish a uniform framework for jurisdictions planning under the
						GMA to consider the consistency of a proposed project with the applicable
						development regulations or, in the absence of applicable regulations, the
						adopted comprehensive plan.
Consistency should be considered in the project review process
						by analyzing four factors found in applicable regulations or plans. The four
						factors are:
(1) The type of land use
					allowed;
(2) The level of
					development allowed, such as dwelling units per acre or other measures of
					intensity;
(3) Infrastructure, such
					as the adequacy of public facilities and services to serve the proposed
					project; and
(4) The
					characteristics of the proposed development, such as assessment for compliance
					with specific development regulations or standards. This uniform approach is
					based upon existing project review practices and should not place a "new"
					burden on applicants or local government. The intent is that consistency
					analysis be largely a matter of code checking for most projects, which are
					simple or routine. More complex projects may require more analysis of these
					factors, including any required studies. During project review, a question may
					be raised about whether a project is consistent with applicable regulations or
					plans after some initial analysis. A project's consistency with applicable
					development regulations may not initially be clear due to the complexity of the
					project or the regulations. For example, provision for infrastructure. In these
					cases, the criteria in the rule are intended to provide guidance to local
					government, applicants, and reviewers in conducting a consistency analysis. The
					criteria are not intended for every aspect of the project, only for those
					aspects where there are still questions of consistency after the initial
					review.
This rule is advisory in nature. As provided by
						RCW
						 36.70B.040, local governments may develop and
						apply their own procedures for determining project
						consistency.
Statutory Authority:
							RCW
							36.70B.040. 01-13-039, §
										365-197-010, filed 6/13/01,
							effective 7/14/01.