Drafter
Clerk 10/05/2006
Title
A MOTION directing the King County executive to analyze the budget impacts of the potential passage of Initiative 933 and to determine what county and state and legislative actions may be necessary to authorize the waiver of land use regulations in order to implement Initiative 933.
Body
WHEREAS, Initiative 933, which has qualified to appear on the November 2006 ballot, would require local governments to consider and document certain factors prior to enacting laws regulating private property, and
WHEREAS, Initiative 933 would also require, with specific exemptions, governments to pay compensation to private property owners who could show that the use or value of their property would be, or in the case of regulations adopted since 1996, had been damaged by government regulations, and
WHEREAS, this compensation would be in addition to compensation already afforded by the state and federal constitutions, and
WHEREAS, Initiative 933, does not confer specific authority to waive enforcement of regulations, as an alternative to providing compensation, and
WHEREAS, in September 2006, the Washington State Office of Financial Management ("OFM") prepared a paper in response to questions concerning the financial impact of Initiative 933, and
WHEREAS, the OFM paper noted that, if state agencies and local governments are unable to waive any current restrictions that may reduce the use or value of private property, the following consequences may result:
1. The estimated cost to county governments could be $1.49 billion to $1.51 billion over six years.
2. Initiative 933, being broader in scope than Oregon Measure 37, would be anticipated to have higher compensation values than Measure 37, which since its passage in November 2004, has generated 2,949 claims, worth $3.9 billion, affecting 168,677 acres, as of August 11, 2006, and
WHEREAS, also in September 2006, the University of Washington conducted a study that included t...
Click here for full text