A bill that would prohibit the expansion of Urban Growth Areas into the 100-year floodplain was voted through the state House Wednesday. The measure was opposed by House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, as well as Rep. Gary Alexander, R-Olympia, who said the legislation was unnecessary and invasive to the rights of local governments. "The main concern is that it takes the determination out of the hands of our local officials and puts it in the hands of the Legislature to determine where and when development takes place," Alexander said. House Bill 1967 passed to the tune of a 61-35 vote, and now heads to the Senate, where it would need to be approved and signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire to ultimately take effect. The legislation dictates that a county, city or town is generally prohibited from planning future expansion and development into a 100-year floodplain of any river west of the Cascades that has a mean annual flow of 1,000 or more cubic feet per second. Still, the bill has numerous exemptions, including exclusions for UGAs that are fully contained within the floodplain or lack adjacent buildable areas. Lewis County Commissioner Ron Averill has said that parts of Lewis County would be protected by the exemption and that much of the noticeable development in the county has taken place behind the Airport Levee, which he maintains technically removes it from the floodplain anyway. Dave Williams, a municipal policy associate with the Association of Washington Cities, said that cities across the state were contacted for input on the bill and the exemptions were aimed at alleviating problems for specific governments. Williams testified in favor of the exemptions during a public hearing last month. "From what we heard they addressed most of the issues," Williams said. Alexander and Averill both maintain that the job of monitoring and regulating the floodplain already belongs to the Department of Ecology. The agency reviews local floodplain ordinances, provides technical guidance and helps jurisdictions through the permitting process. Alexander said local governments should be given more say-so than state government when it comes to expanding their borders. Centralia, for instance, is in the midst of passing a new Critical Areas Ordinance that would create large swaths of land barred from development, all in the floodplain The Olympia Republican said the legislation was an "anti-jobs and anti-business bill." "To me this is a local control issue," Alexander said. "It's subverting the responsibility of the local governments." Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, said he isn't sure what the likelihood is of the bill passing the Senate, and wasn't sure which way he would vote without having investigated the issue. Eric Schwartz: (360) 807-8245
