Permits issued to develop farmland could be withdrawn if a planned project would violate the state Growth Management Act (GMA), under legislation passed last week by the Senate.
Senate Bill 5042, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), would protect communities from having to provide costly infrastructure for unplanned development by closing a loophole in permitting.
“The way it works now, once a permit is vested a developer has a right to develop a proposed project even if the local law that allowed the vesting is subsequently found to be in violation of the GMA,” Salomon said. “Some counties are using this loophole to expand their urban growth areas in violation of their own codes and annex land in a way that creates urban sprawl and circumvents review until after permits have been vested.”
Salomon’s bill extends the effective date of certain actions by local governments, providing the Growth Management Hearings Board more time to invalidate improper permits and block invalid developments.
“Right now, developers can proceed with projects that violate the GMA and stick taxpayers with the burden of funding expensive infrastructure to serve development that skirted the system,” Salomon said. “This bill will protect taxpayers from having to pay unexpected and unreasonable increases in infrastructure costs.”
After several years, SB 5042 finally passed out of the Senate on Wednesday and now awaits action in the House.
