“For generations to come, this legislation will help prevent flooding and erosion and protect our drinking water, streams and wetlands from being degraded by new development,” said Councilmember Dow Constantine, chair of the Council’s Growth Management and Unincorporated Areas Committee and author of extensive amendments to original proposed Critical Areas package. “In critical areas, small land-use changes can have big impacts. By protecting them we help prevent the suburbanization of our rural areas and protect the right of generations of King County citizens to choose a rural way of life.”

“But we also heard loud and clear during public testimony that while many owners want to be responsible stewards of their land, they need accountability from the government to prevent unintended consequences, technical assistance for rural stewardship, farm and forestry plans, and assurance that everyone is doing their part to protect natural resources,” he added. “The Critical Areas amendments and the companion legislation introduced today will make it easier to get tax incentives for responsible stewardship of the land, provide free assistance to property owners, create an efficient ‘one-stop shop’ with a consolidated fixed fee review for siting a new home near a critical area, and provide an appeal to the Council for reasonable use exceptions. The majority on this Council is determined to make sure this legislation is implemented in a way that works for people and the environment.”

Additional amendments to the Critical Areas package of ordinances adopted today:

• Make wetlands protections in urban and rural areas more equitable and ensure protection of wetlands throughout unincorporated King County.

• Create a “Consolidated Review for Single Family Residential Development” that unites required reviews for siting a new home into a single package for a predictable price.

"Citizens have told us that they want - and need - certainty about their ability to build a home in rural King County, and they want more certainty about how much DDES will charge,” said Councilmember Dwight Pelz. "This amendment for Consolidated Review creates for the property owner a new service which combines several of the reviews required to site a home under the new Critical Areas standards into one review, and setting a fixed fee for this service."

The Council introduced companion legislation that would:

• Set the price for the Consolidated Review for Single Family Residential Development at $1,850, a fee comparable to existing user fees.

• Create a new option for appeals to the Council on Reasonable Use Exceptions, providing a chance for applicants to have their individual cases heard by elected representatives.

The Council also introduced three motions that declare its commitment to seek several changes through the 2005 Budget process now underway, or through the 2005 State Legislative Agenda, that would:

• Ensure adequate staffing in the Department of Natural Resources and Parks to assist owners in development of Rural Stewardship Plans, Farm Plans, and Forest Management Plans that enable flexible application of critical areas standards.

• Waive the $200 fee for applications to the Public Benefit Rating System (PBRS) tax-incentive program, and provide additional assistance to property owners to prepare their applications.

• Seek changes in state law to streamline the PBRS application process and enhance tax benefits for landowners who protect habitat and forest cover.

• Reauthorize funding for the King Conservation District, which works with landowners to prepare customized Farm Plans.

• Add two outreach staff to the Department of Development and Environmental Services (DDES) who can meet informally with rural landowners about new critical areas standards and help owners make informed decisions – without an hourly charge.

• Require DDES to monitor its permit efficiency and conduct customer-satisfaction interviews with permit applicants, as earlier recommended by the King County Auditor and by citizens in public testimony, and to report back to the Auditor and Council.

“For more than a decade, King County residents have demanded that their government protect rural character, prevent sprawl and manage growth. Our action today furthers that goal,” said Council Chair Larry Phillips. “Today we are focused on ensuring our rural communities have healthy streams that run clear and cold and will sustain salmon. We are acting to control flooding, maintain our forests and protect wildlife habitat. We are at a critical juncture in determining whether our county’s future will be one of sprawling development or one providing a balance of urban development and rural lifestyles.”

Today’s amendment to treat urban and rural landowners more equitably, and to protect wetlands throughout unincorporated King County by adopting a predictable and flexible buffer determination method based on current scientific understanding, was worked out in discussions with the Master Builders Association, 1000 Friends of Washington, and the state Department of Ecology.

“Executive Sims and Chair Constantine kept the Master Builders Association at the table throughout the entire process,” said Tim Attebery, King County Manager for the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties. “The wetland buffer proposal to which the Master Builders Association and the state Department of Ecology agreed allows for future growth to occur in urban unincorporated King County.”

“The Department of Ecology is pleased that King County has worked with the State, as well as the Master Builders and other stakeholders, to reach a compromise that protects critical areas and is based on best available science,” said Erik Stockdale, DOE senior wetlands specialist. “The County has put into place a set of regulations that will allow for growth while protecting water quality, wildlife habitat, and wetlands.”

As mandated in 1995 by the state Growth Management Act, all counties in Washington state face a deadline of December 1, 2004 for review and updating of their regulations to protect critical areas.

King County’s population increased by 250,000 from 1990 to the present, with the population expected to grow by 200,000 more over the next 20 years. King County lost more than 1/3 of its forest cover from 1972 to 1996. Since 1994 King County has lost 27,000 acres of forest cover. Over the past 12 years King County has issued more than 9,700 permits for residential units in the rural and resource areas.

The new Critical Areas standards take effect on January 1, 2005. The package consists of three ordinances: the Stormwater Ordinance, the Clearing and Grading Ordinance, and the Critical Areas Ordinance. Together they are intended to fulfill the state Growth Management Act by preserving the rural character and quality of life for residents of unincorporated King County, protecting land from erosion and flooding coming from neighboring properties, and protecting groundwater and wildlife habitat. Key elements of the overall package include:

• More reasonable standards to protect forest cover: On lots of five acres or smaller, owners can clear up to 50 percent, rather than the 35 percent originally proposed. For all lots of more than five acres, the clearing limit will be 2.5 acres or 35 percent, whichever is larger, preserving the ability of owners of lots of 5 to 7.5 acres to clear more than 35 percent. In basins where the need for a 35 percent limit has been determined through a basin plan, that limit would remain. The more relaxed clearing standards make more room for traditional rural living, or for voluntary conservation and incentives.

• Consideration given to small lots: For the smallest lots - under 1.25 acres - clearing needed for utilities, septic and access will not count toward the clearing limit.

• Previously cleared areas exempt: Areas legally cleared in past years will be grandfathered in; this will apply even in case of a change of use or addition of structures. Replanting is no longer required, but is encouraged through tax breaks and other incentives.

• Encourages sustainable forestry: Logging carried out under a county Forest Management Plan will not count against the clearing limit.

• No Recording on Property Title: No recording of relevant clearing limits on the property title will be required for individual lots.

• Emphasis on handling stormwater runoff on site: Eliminates the “10 percent impacting impervious surface limit” and refocuses the effort on best management practices to disperse and infiltrate water runoff on site to prevent flooding onto neighboring properties and to protect groundwater.

• Flexibility on wetland buffers: Rather than “one size fits all,” buffer width may vary according to actual land uses and functions of the wetland, with provisions accounting for variations in the shape of a particular buffer – for example, buffers that might be narrower in some places and wider in others. Under this plan buffers in the rural area will generally be smaller and more flexible.

• Stronger wetlands protections in urban areas: With amendments adopted today, urban and rural wetland buffers are more equitable and ensure protection of wetlands throughout unincorporated King County.

Over the past seven months, more than 400 citizens have come to the King County Courthouse or attended one of five special evening meetings in rural communities to testify on the Critical Areas package. More than 4,000 have sent e-mail or letters.

Learn more at the Council’s Critical Areas Web site