WASHINGTON STATUTES AND CODES

82.02.050 - Impact fees -- Intent -- Limitations.

Impact fees — Intent — Limitations.

(1) It is the intent of the legislature:

     (a) To ensure that adequate facilities are available to serve new growth and development;

     (b) To promote orderly growth and development by establishing standards by which counties, cities, and towns may require, by ordinance, that new growth and development pay a proportionate share of the cost of new facilities needed to serve new growth and development; and

     (c) To ensure that impact fees are imposed through established procedures and criteria so that specific developments do not pay arbitrary fees or duplicative fees for the same impact.

     (2) Counties, cities, and towns that are required or choose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 are authorized to impose impact fees on development activity as part of the financing for public facilities, provided that the financing for system improvements to serve new development must provide for a balance between impact fees and other sources of public funds and cannot rely solely on impact fees.

     (3) The impact fees:

     (a) Shall only be imposed for system improvements that are reasonably related to the new development;

     (b) Shall not exceed a proportionate share of the costs of system improvements that are reasonably related to the new development; and

     (c) Shall be used for system improvements that will reasonably benefit the new development.

     (4) Impact fees may be collected and spent only for the public facilities defined in RCW 82.02.090 which are addressed by a capital facilities plan element of a comprehensive land use plan adopted pursuant to the provisions of RCW 36.70A.070 or the provisions for comprehensive plan adoption contained in chapter 36.70, 35.63, or 35A.63 RCW. After the date a county, city, or town is required to adopt its development regulations under chapter 36.70A RCW, continued authorization to collect and expend impact fees shall be contingent on the county, city, or town adopting or revising a comprehensive plan in compliance with RCW 36.70A.070, and on the capital facilities plan identifying:

     (a) Deficiencies in public facilities serving existing development and the means by which existing deficiencies will be eliminated within a reasonable period of time;

     (b) Additional demands placed on existing public facilities by new development; and

     (c) Additional public facility improvements required to serve new development.

     If the capital facilities plan of the county, city, or town is complete other than for the inclusion of those elements which are the responsibility of a special district, the county, city, or town may impose impact fees to address those public facility needs for which the county, city, or town is responsible.