Growth Management Act - Table of Contents

Overview

• Growth Management Act Basics – Overview of the GMA, including its goals, legal requirements, urban growth areas, the Growth Management Hearings Board, and other key resources.

Comprehensive Planning 

• Comprehensive Planning – Describes comprehensive planning and the comprehensive plan update process, including overviews of all required comprehensive plan elements under the GMA: land use, housing, capital facilities plan, utilities, rural development, transportation, climate change and resiliency, and Ports.
• Capital Facilities Planning – Information about capital facilities planning, including statutes and regulations, and sample plans and policies.
• Transportation Plans and Plan Elements – Examples of local transportation plans, including transportation elements of comprehensive plans, transportation improvement plans, and transportation studies.
• Park Planning, Design, and Open Space – Includes information on parks, recreation, and open space planning and design, including general guidelines, standards, and local examples.
• Planning for Economic Development – Information to help local governments in Washington State plan for economic development, including reference guides and examples of local economic development plans.

Environmental Regulations

• Critical Areas – Provides information on the critical areas regulations required of all cities, towns, and counties in Washington State under the GMA.
• Wetlands – Overview of wetlands protection, including relevant laws, examples of local ordinances, and resources for further information.
• Shoreline Management Act – Overview of the Shoreline Management Act, focusing on significant court decisions and sample master programs.
• Flexibility in Environmental Regulation –  Information on flexibility in environmental regulations, including examples of code provisions.

Other GMA Related Pages

• Affordable Housing – Links to MRSC's resources related to affordable housing.
• Community Engagement Resources – Highlights a variety of approaches for obtaining public feedback and for involving residents in shaping the plans and programs that significantly affect their lives.
• Climate Change – Links to MRSC's resources related to climate change and its impacts.
• Historic Preservation – Overview of historic preservation, including state and national designations, examples of local historic preservation programs and ordinances, relevant court decisions, and related resources.
• Rural Land Use Regulation/Development – Information on rural land use and development for local governments in Washington State, particularly those areas that are not designated for long-term resource uses such as agricultural and timber production or mineral extraction.
• Development Regulations and Zoning – Provides information on development regulations and zoning codes, including examples of unified development codes, development review procedures codes, moratoria, interim zoning ordinances, and other recommended resources.
• Streamlining Local Permit Review Procedures – Overview of the legal requirements for project review and examples of permit review procedures as well as examples of streamlined processes.
• Impact Fees – Provides overview of impact fees, including information on how they may be used, rate calculations, waivers and exemptions, deadlines for collecting and expending funds, and sample documents from selected jurisdictions.
• Concurrency – Overview of concurrency under the GMA, including relevant statutes and examples of local concurrency requirements.
• Growth Management and Planning Interlocal Agreements – Examples of interlocal agreements in Washington State related to growth management and planning.
• Agricultural Lands - Laws, Regulations, and Court Decisions – Information on Washington State laws related to agricultural lands, as well as selected court and Growth Management Hearings Board decisions.

Blog Posts

• Recent blog posts about Growth Management – Articles written by MRSC staff and contributors about specific aspects of growth management and comprehensive planning, including new legislation and court decisions. Articles are listed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent first.