Development Agreements Authorized, Washington State law. (1995)
Topics: legislation
Washington State allows a local government to “enter into a development agreement with a person having ownership or control of real property within its jurisdiction.” A development agreement is a proper exercise of county and city police power and contract authority. A development agreement may obligate a party to fund or provide services, infrastructure, or other facilities. A city may also enter into a development agreement for real property outside its boundaries as part of a proposed annexation or a service agreement. A development agreement sets forth standards that govern the development. Standards can include the commercial density and intensity or building sizes of a project. The agreement can include the payment of impact fees imposed or agreed to, any reimbursement provisions, other financial contributions by the property owner. It can include design standards such as maximum heights, setbacks, drainage and water quality requirements, landscaping, and other development features. The legislature passed this law to remedy the “lack of certainty in the approval of development projects (which) can result in a waste of public and private resources…and discourage the commitment to comprehensive planning.” Such agreements assure a developer “that upon government approval the project may proceed in accordance with existing policies and regulations, and subject to conditions of approval, all as set forth in a development agreement, will strengthen the public planning process, encourage private participation and comprehensive planning, and reduce the economic costs of development.” Development agreements are a double-edged sword. They can make developments worse, or better, depending on whether the agreement is seen as a way to curb sprawl, or exacerbate it.
