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AN ORDINANCE related to comprehensive planning and development regulations; amending Ordinance 13147, Section 12, and K.C.C. 20.08.170, Ordinance 17486, Section 3, and K.C.C. 20.10.015, Ordinance 13147, Section 20, as amended, and K.C.C. 20.18.040, Ordinance 14047, Section 4, as amended, and K.C.C. 20.18.055, and Ordinance 12196, Section 9, as amended, and K.C.C. 20.20.020, and adding a section to K.C.C. chapter 20.08.
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BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. The Washington state Growth Management Act ("the GMA") requires counties to take action to review, and if needed, revise their comprehensive plans and development regulations to ensure compliance with the requirements of the GMA by December 31, 2024. King County completed its statutorily required comprehensive plan update in December 2024 via Ordinance 19881.
B. The King County Countywide Planning Policies establish procedures and criteria for amendments to the Urban Growth Area boundary and provide a countywide framework for growth management planning by King County and the cities within King County.
C. From time to time, minor technical amendments to the Urban Growth Area boundary may be needed to correct mapping errors or discrepancies, resolve situations where buildings or parcels are split by the boundary, align the boundary with either edge of a right-of-way or similar linear feature it currently touches, encompass existing urban-serving infrastructure within the boundary, or address similar technical issues.
D. Technical amendments to the Urban Growth Area boundary are distinct from substantive amendments made to accommodate housing or employment growth, implement the Four-to-One Program, or redesignate land based on growth needs or other policy considerations.
E. The amendments adopted by this ordinance establish Comprehensive Plan and development regulation procedures for considering technical amendments to the Urban Growth Area boundary consistent with the Countywide Planning Policies and the GMA.
F. The amendments adopted by this ordinance distinguish technical land use map amendments from site-specific land use map amendments and allow technical land use map amendments to be considered during an annual, midpoint, or ten-year update to the King County Comprehensive Plan when initiated by the executive or council.
G. The Urban Growth Area boundary near the city of Black Diamond currently bisects portions of an unopened, undesignated King County right-of-way. The land use map amendment in Attachment B to this ordinance adjusts the boundary to coincide with the southern and western boundaries of the right-of-way, so that the unopened right-of-way is within the Urban Growth Area.
H. The Black Diamond land use map amendment is limited to portions of the existing right-of-way and is not made for the purpose of increasing housing or employment growth.
I. On July 23, 2026, John Adler, Mayor of Black Diamond, provided a letter of support for the technical map amendment to the chair of the King County local services and land use committee. The letter states that the amendment will not result in additional residential units and that the mayor will pursue annexation of the portions of unopened right-of-way into the city of Black Diamond if the amendment is approved.
SECTION 2.
A. Attachment A to this ordinance is adopted as amendments to the 2024 King County Comprehensive Plan, as adopted in Ordinance 19881 and amended by Ordinance 20024.
B. The land use map amendment in Attachment B to this ordinance is hereby adopted as the official land use control for those portions of unincorporated King County defined in the attachment.
SECTION 3. Ordinance 13147, Section 12, and K.C.C. 20.08.170 are hereby amended as follows:
"Site-specific ((comprehensive plan)) land use map amendment" means an amendment to the comprehensive plan land use map ((which)) that includes one property or a small group of specific properties. "Site-specific land use map amendment" does not include amendments meeting the definition of "technical land use map amendment."
NEW SECTION. SECTION 4. There is hereby added to K.C.C. chapter 20.08 a new section to read as follows:
"Technical land use map amendment" means an amendment to the comprehensive plan land use map that includes one or more properties, rights-of-way, or other mapped features, and is made in order to correct mapping errors or discrepancies, resolve situations where buildings or parcels are split by the Urban Growth Area boundary, align the Urban Growth Area boundary with either edge of a right-of-way or similar linear feature it currently touches, encompass within the Urban Growth Area boundary urban-serving infrastructure existing before January 1, 2027, or address similar technical issues. Technical land use map amendments are not made for the purpose of increasing housing or employment growth.
SECTION 5. Ordinance 17486, Section 3, and K.C.C. 20.10.015 are hereby amended as follows:
A. After the Growth Management Planning Council approves or amends the Countywide Planning Policies, the executive, as its chair, shall timely transmit to the King County council an ordinance adopting the Countywide Planning Policies or amendments thereto.
B. The King County council shall refer the proposed ordinance transmitted by the executive under subsection A. of this section to the ((committee on transportation, economy and environment)) local services and land use committee or its successor for review and consideration. If the King County council recommends substantive revisions to the Countywide Planning Policies or amendments approved by the Growth Management Planning Council, the King County council may refer the proposed revisions to the Growth Management Planning Council for its consideration and response.
C. Within ten days after the ordinance transmitted by the executive under subsection A. of this section, as amended by the council, is effective, the clerk of the King County council shall send the notice of enactment and the Countywide Planning Policies and amendments to each city and town in King County for ratification as provided for in the Countywide Planning Policies. Each city and town must take action to ratify or reject the proposed Countywide Planning Policies or amendments as approved by the King County council within ninety days after the date the ordinance approving the Countywide Planning Policies or amendments was enacted. Failure of a city or town to take action and notify the clerk of the King County council within ninety days shall be deemed to be approval by that city or town. The notice shall include the date by which each city or town must respond with its response to ratify or reject the proposed Countywide Planning Policies or amendments and where the response should be directed.
D. Countywide Planning Policies or amendments are ratified if approved by the county, cities and towns representing at least seventy percent of the county's population and thirty percent of the jurisdictions. For ratification purposes, King County is the jurisdiction representing the population in the unincorporated areas of the county.
E. Within ten days after the date for response established by the clerk of the King County council under subsection C. of this section, the clerk of the King County council shall notify the executive, as chair of the Growth Management Planning Council, of the decision to ratify or not to ratify the Countywide Planning Policies or amendments.
SECTION 6. Ordinance 13147, Section 20, as amended, and K.C.C. 20.18.040 are hereby amended as follows:
A.1. Site-specific land use map amendments may be considered during the annual, midpoint, or ten-year update, depending on the degree of change proposed.
((B.)) 2. Site-specific land use map amendments that do not require substantive change to Comprehensive Plan or subarea plan language and that do not alter the Urban Growth Area boundary, except to correct mapping errors, may be initiated by either the county or a property owner for consideration in the annual update.
((C.)) 3. The following categories of site-specific land use map amendments may be initiated by either the county or a property owner for consideration in the ten-year update or midpoint update:
((1.)) a. Amendments that could be considered in the annual update;
((2.)) b. Amendments that require substantive change to comprehensive plan policy language; and
((3.)) c. Amendments to the Urban Growth Area boundary.
B. Technical land use map amendments may be considered during the annual, midpoint, or ten-year update, and may be initiated by the executive or council.
SECTION 7. Ordinance 14047, Section 4, as amended, and K.C.C. 20.18.055 are hereby amended as follows:
A. All site-specific land use map amendments((, whether)) initiated by ((property owner application, by council motion, or by)) the executive ((proposal,)) shall be reviewed based upon the requirements of Comprehensive Plan policy ((I-207)) I-108, and must meet the following additional review standards:
1. Consistency with the policies, objectives and goals of the Comprehensive Plan, including any applicable subarea plans, the countywide planning policies and the state Growth Management Act;
2. Compatibility with adjacent and nearby existing and permitted land uses; and
3. Compatibility with the surrounding development pattern.
B. Site-specific land use map amendments for which recommendations have been issued by the hearing examiner by January 15 shall be submitted to the executive and the council by the hearing examiner by January 15. The department will provide for a cumulative analysis of these recommendations and such analysis will be included in the annual March transmittal.
C. Technical land use map amendments shall not be inconsistent with the policies, objectives, and goals of the Comprehensive Plan, including any applicable subarea plans; the countywide planning policies; and the state Growth Management Act.
D. All ((such)) land use map amendments will be considered concurrently by the council committee charged with the review of the Comprehensive Plan. Following this review, ((site-specific)) land use map amendments ((which)) that are recommended by this committee will be incorporated as an attachment to the adopting ordinance transmitted by the executive for consideration by the full council. Final action by the council on these amendments will occur concurrently with the annual update to the Comprehensive Plan.
SECTION 8. Ordinance 12196, Section 9, as amended, and K.C.C. 20.20.020 are hereby amended as follows:
A. Land use decisions are classified into four types, based on who makes the decision, whether public notice is required, whether a public hearing is required before a decision is made, and whether administrative appeals are provided. The types of land use decisions are listed in subsection D. of this section.
1. Type 1 decisions are made by the manager of the department of local services, permitting division ("the division"). Type 1 decisions are administrative decisions. An administrative appeal is not provided.
2. Type 2 decisions require public notice and are made by the manager. Type 2 decisions are discretionary decisions that are subject to administrative appeal to the hearing examiner.
3. Type 3 decisions require public notice and are quasi-judicial decisions made by the hearing examiner following an open record hearing. An administrative appeal is not provided.
4. Type 4 decisions require public notice and are site-specific quasi-judicial decisions made by the council based on the record established by the hearing examiner, after a recommendation by the division.
B. Except as provided in K.C.C. 20.44.120.A.7., or unless otherwise agreed to by the applicant, all Type 2, 3, and 4 decisions included in consolidated permit applications that would require more than one type of land use decision process may be processed and decided together, including any administrative appeals, using the highest-numbered land use decision type applicable to the project application.
C. Certain development proposals are subject to additional procedural requirements beyond the standard procedures established in this chapter.
D. Land use decision types are classified as follows:
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TYPE 1 |
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Temporary use permit for a homeless encampment or temporary microshelter village under K.C.C. chapter 21A.45, except as required by K.C.C. 21A.45.100 Building permit, commercial site development permit, or clearing and grading permit that is not subject to SEPA, that is categorically exempt from SEPA as provided in K.C.C. 20.20.040, or for which the division has issued a determination of nonsignificance or mitigated determination of nonsignificance Boundary line adjustment Right-of-way permit Variance from K.C.C. chapter 9.04 Shoreline exemption Decisions to require studies or to approve, condition or deny a development proposal based on K.C.C. chapter 21A.24, except for decisions to approve, condition, or deny alteration exceptions Decisions to approve, condition, or deny nonresidential elevation and dry floodproofing variances for agricultural buildings that do not equal or exceed a maximum assessed value of sixty-five thousand dollars under K.C.C. chapter 21A.24 Approval of a conversion-option harvest plan Binding site plan for a condominium that is based on a building permit, an as-built site plan for developed sites, a commercial site development permit for the entire site Approvals for agricultural activities and agricultural support services authorized under K.C.C. 21A.42.300 In the urban area: microsubdivision, microsubdivision revision, microsubdivision alteration, or microsubdivision vacation Final short plat Final plat Critical area determination |
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TYPE 21,2 |
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Except those classified as microsubdivisions in the urban area, short subdivision short subdivision revision, short subdivision alteration, or short subdivision vacation Zoning variance Conditional use permit Temporary use permit under K.C.C. chapter 21A.32 Temporary use permit for a homeless encampment or temporary microshelter village under K.C.C. 21A.45.100 Shoreline substantial development permit3 Building permit, commercial site development permit, or clearing and grading permit for which the division has issued a determination of significance Reuse of public schools Reasonable use exceptions under K.C.C. 21A.24.070.B Decisions to approve, condition, or deny alteration exceptions or variances to floodplain development regulations under K.C.C. chapter 21A.24 Extractive operations under K.C.C. 21A.22.050 Binding site plan Waivers from the moratorium provisions of K.C.C. 16.82.140 based upon a finding of special circumstances Sea level rise risk area variance adopted in K.C.C. chapter 21A.23 |
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TYPE 31 |
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Preliminary subdivision Plat alterations Preliminary subdivision revisions Plat vacations; special use |
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TYPE 41,4 |
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Site-specific zone reclassifications under K.C.C. 20.22.150 Site-specific shoreline environment redesignation Site-specific amendment or deletion of P suffix conditions Site-specific deletion of special district overlay |
1 See K.C.C. 20.44.120.C. for provisions governing procedural and substantive SEPA appeals and appeals of Type 2, 3, and 4 decisions.
2 When an application for a Type 2 decision is combined with other permits requiring Type 3 or 4 land use decisions under this chapter, the examiner, not the manager, makes the decision.
3 A shoreline permit, including a shoreline variance or conditional use, is appealable to the state Shorelines Hearings Board and not to the hearing examiner.
4 Approvals that are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan may be considered by the council at any time. Zone reclassifications that are not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan require a site-specific land use map amendment and the council's hearing and consideration shall be scheduled with the amendment to the Comprehensive Plan under K.C.C. 20.18.040 and 20.18.060.
E. The definitions in K.C.C. 21A.45.020 apply to this section.
SECTION 9. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the ordinance or the application of the provision to persons or circumstances is not affected.