House Bill 1717, which passed the House unanimously on March 8 just passed the Washington Senate unanimously in a 48-0 vote with 1 excused absence. This bill will allow counties, cities, and towns to recover reasonable expenses for the preparation of Environmental Impact Statements (“EIS”) that are prepared on behalf of infill or planned actions under SEPA and GMA. Most development activity, unless specifically exempted, requires the submittal of a SEPA checklist and could require additional mitigation for project impacts. [...]
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15Apr
2013
2013
Impact Fee Deferral Bill Passes the Senate
House Bill 1652 just passed out of the Washington Senate in a 34-14 vote with strong bi-partisan support. The bill was amended to clarify that jurisdictions already deferring impact fees were exempt from implementing an impact fee deferral program. The bill moves back to the House for agreement on the amendment. We will continue to track the bill and provide updates here.
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April 10, 2013
Permits Point to Recovery
In yet more positive news for the housing industry in the Portland/Vancouver Metropolitan region, building permits are up in Clark County and Oregon. Oregon’s five month average exceeded 1,100 permits for the first time since July 2008. Clark County’s numbers, while well short of that number, have more than doubled from 2012 during the first quarter.
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April 9, 2013
Clark County Stormwater Update
Here is a good article from the Vancouver Business Journal on the status of the stormwater lawsuits involving Clark County. It also mentions this letter that Clark County received from Maia Bellon, Washington Department of Ecology’s new director, who is getting Ecology back to the table with Clark County to work on an alternative flow control program that will address issues raised by the Pollution Control Hearings Board in the Rosemere case.
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April 9, 2013
Plat Extension Bill Just Passes Washington Senate
The Washington Senate just unanimously passed House Bill 1074 (47 for, 2 absent). The Senate did not amend the bill. It now moves to the Governor’s desk for signature. We will keep you posted on when the Governor signs the bill and when it becomes effective. As previously discussed here and here on this blog, this bill extends plats up to a maximum of ten years. Unlike previous bills it applies to plats not only in city limits, but also [...]
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April 9, 2013
Remember the Big Picture
Remember the big picture. This phrase became indelibly etched on my mind by my father when I began learning the craft of being an attorney. Just before the last real estate recession, many people who were trying to make a quick buck in real estate let the fundamentals go out the window; they were looking for short cuts, but they found disastrous results. Now that the real estate market is heating up again, it is a good time to remember [...]
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April 3, 2013
Spring Brings Renewal
Over the course of the past month, there has been a flood of data indicating that housing is making a strong recovery. Furthermore, according to many economists housing is currently one of the strong sectors of the national economy. According to the latest Case Shiller report, which was released Tuesday, March 26, the Portland metropolitan market showed price increases of approximately 8.3% from January 2012 to January 2013. Additionally, the Seattle metropolitan area showed an increase of 8.7% during that period. [...]
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March 27, 2013
Modern Homes Tour Follow-up
A couple of weeks ago I posted here about a new style of infill house that would be showcased on the Modern Homes tour. As promised, I went on the tour and visited all but three of the houses. I wanted to give a brief report on what I saw. The first house I went to is part of a three-plex off of Vancouver Avenue in the up-and-coming area near Failing and Williams. This house provides one parking spot per [...]
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March 22, 2013
Washington Supreme Court Says Annexed Lands Can Remain
A unanimous court decision reversed an earlier ruling of the Washington Court of Appeals Division II today, holding that lands annexed to the cities of Ridgefield and Camas would remain annexed. In 2007, the Clark County Board of County Commissioners adopted new Urban Growth Areas (“UGAs”) for six of Clark County’s seven cities. John Karpinski and Futurewise challenged the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board (“Growth Board”) over the inclusion of several parcels throughout the various cities for the improper [...]
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March 7, 2013
Getting Things Shovel Ready. Oregon House Bill 2284 Provides Hope.
Years ago during former Governor Kulongoski’s first run for Governor, I was asked to provide a list to his campaign of land use items that I saw as extremely important to creating jobs in Oregon. I identified three: First, the Columbia River Crossing to help freight mobility. Second, streamlining permitting processes (even back then I was puzzled by the fact that multiple agencies at all levels – federal, state and local – regulate wetlands). Third, the need to get more industrial and [...]
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