Resources for the GMA Update

An Overview

For a community’s plan to be effective, it must continue to evolve. A comprehensive plan that remains relevant will allow the community to address and benefit from new information and trends. This is why the Growth Management Act (GMA) requires that comprehensive plans and development regulations be subject to periodic review. (RCW 36.70A.130).  Many communities adopt amendments to their comprehensive plan annually and regularly adopt changes to their development regulations.

In addition, communities must conduct a complete review, and if needed, revision, of their comprehensive plan and development regulations at least once every seven years.  This 7-year update process provide an opportunity to review assumptions and patterns of development and to bring plans up to date with changes in the GMA.  Every counties, and the cities within those counties, must complete the current GMA 7-year update based on the schedule outlined on the map below. 

Comprehensive Plan, Development Regulations, and Critical Areas Ordinance: The Seven-Year Update

Every seven years, counties and cities are required to review, and if needed, revise their comprehensive plan and development regulations under the schedule established in RCW 36.70A.130(4). Critical areas ordinances are considered part of the development regulations. Under RCW 36.70A.130(8), the deadline to complete review of critical areas ordinances is one year after the due date for the update of the comprehensive plan and other development regulations.

Checklists - Updated through laws of 2007

Checklist for Comprehensive Plans (rev. 2007)
Checklist for Development Regulations (rev. 2007)
Resource List for the update of Comprehensive Plans and Development Regulations (rev. 2008)

The Three-Year Extension

Certain small and slow-growing counties and cities have been granted a three year extension (thirty-six months) by the legislature to complete the update. The following table outlines those qualifying factors under RCW 36.70A.130(5).

Small and Slow-Growing Counties with Updates Due 2005, 2006, 2007	Small and Slow-Growing Cities with Updates Due 2005, 2006, 2007
Population of less than 50,000 and A growth rate of less than 17% for the ten years prior to the update deadline	Population of less than 5,000 and Either a Growth rate of less than 17% for the ten years prior to the update deadline or A total population growth of less than 100 people

The original bill, ESSB 6427, now codified under RCW 36.70A.130(5), provides a three-year extension of the current GMA update deadline to smaller, slower-growing cities and counties. Please also review the 3-Year Extension Timelines - Questions and Answers, which includes a comprehensive table listing those qualifying counties and cities based on the state population projections.

The Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) maintains the Washington State County Growth Management Population Projections: 2000 to 2025

GMA Update and State Funding Eligibility

The Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) is tracking progress toward update completion based on the draft and adopted comprehensive plans and development regulations that it receives. 

Local governments must complete the required update by the due dates specified under RCW 36.70A.130 in order to be eligible to apply for grants and loans from the Public Works Board (RCW 43.155.070), the Centennial Clean Water Fund (RCW 70.146.070), the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCW 43.17.250), and the state administered FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.  Because these agencies rely on CTED to track GMA compliance for eligibility purposes, it is critical that those local governments contemplating applications complete the GMA update and notify CTED in writing that the update has been completed.

As counties and cities plan the schedule for completing the update, local government planners should check with their parks department, public works department, and related officials to verify if these local departments are planning to apply for funds from these state programs.  If so, local planners should advise both their elected officials and the respective departments that the update must be completed before they can participate in these state grant and loan programs.

CTED does not make an independent determination if a jurisdiction has completed the GMA update. A jurisdiction is considered to have completed the process when they have taken legislative action, by adopting an ordinance or resolution, and declaring the update process to be complete.

Upate Completion Status

To date, the number of jurisdictions that have completed, or partially completed, the GMA update are as follows:

2004 Update	Comprehensive Plan Updated	Development Regulations Updated	Critical Areas Ordinance Updated	Update Process Complete
Number	112	98	103	93
Percentage*	96%	84%	88%	79%

     *This is a percentage of all jurisdictions with a 2004 due date.

2005 Update	Comprehensive Plan Updated	Development Regulations Updated	Critical Areas Ordinance Updated	Update Process Complete
Number	20	15	14	12
Percentage*	78%	67%	48%	43%

2006 Update	Comprehensive Plan Updated	Development Regulations Updated	Critical Areas Ordinance Updated (Due in 2007)	Update Process Complete
Number	38	29	13	8
Percentage*	60%	40%	55%	15%

*This is a percentage of all jurisdictions with a 2006 due date. This excludes those jurisdictions qualified for the 3-year extension. 

2007 Update	Comprehensive Plan Updated	Development Regulations Updated	Critical Areas Ordinance Updated (Due in 2008)	Update Process Complete
Number	3	3	2	1
Percentage*	38%	38%	25%	13%

*This is a percentage of all jurisdictions with a 2007 due date. This excludes those jurisdictions qualified for the 3-year extension. 

Note: Information last updated March 25, 2008.

If you are interested in the status of an individual jurisdiction, please contact them directly.