31.05.190 Urban growth area issues.
(1) The Growth Management Act requires the designation of urban growth areas, within which growth will be encouraged and outside of which growth can occur only if it is not urban in nature. The Act defines urban growth as growth that makes intensive use of land for the location of buildings, structures, and impermeable surfaces to such a degree as to be incompatible with the primary use of such land for the production of food, other agricultural products, or fiber, or the extraction of mineral resources. When allowed to spread over wide areas, urban growth typically requires urban governmental services.
(2) Urban lands are the location of primary economic activities such as retail, wholesale, professional offices and industry. Commercial and industrial uses often encourage other urban development around it, and increase the need for extension or improvement of public services and facilities. Therefore, those types of commercial and industrial uses should generally be allowed only in urban growth areas.
(3) The communities of Joyce, Clallam Bay, Sekiu and Neah Bay are the major providers of urban services in the Straits Planning Region. Interim urban growth areas were established for Joyce and the Clallam Bay-Sekiu area in October of 1993. Neah Bay was not designated a UGA, because it is not under the jurisdiction of Clallam County. Other areas of commercial and high density residential growth characteristic of urban areas were not designated urban growth areas due to their small size, limited potential for expansion, and availability of land within designated urban growth areas to support the 20-year growth of the Straits Planning Region.
(4) The current Clallam County Comprehensive Plan and County-wide Planning Policies both work towards conserving rural and resource lands and providing efficient use of public resources through encouraging development within urban growth areas. County-wide Planning Policies coordinate planning efforts between the incorporated and unincorporated portions of the County. These policies provide the following guidance for designating and implementing urban growth areas:
(a) Urban growth areas should be established to avoid critical areas and designated resource lands. Where critical areas occur within the designated UGA, policies and regulations will be developed to ensure protection of such areas. (Landslide hazard areas exist between Clallam Bay and Sekiu. These areas should be designated as critical areas and building sites will be reviewed by a qualified engineer at the time of permit application.)
(b) Urban growth area designations shall consider the linkage with open space corridors within and between urban growth areas as required by the Growth Management Act.
(c) Urban services to be provided within UGAs should include, at a minimum, provision for sanitary waste, solid waste disposal systems, water systems, urban roads and pedestrian facilities, transit systems, stormwater systems, police and fire and emergency services systems, electrical and communication systems, school and health care facilities, and neighborhood and/or community parks.
(d) Urban services/facilities required to meet the needs of new development shall be provided, or shall be planned to be available within six years, to meet the levels of services established for such services within each UGA.
(e) Establish appropriate techniques for managing future growth consistent with the designation of urban growth areas, such as a minimum density within the UGA and a maximum density outside the UGA. A range of densities should be provided for lands within the UGA, including some lands for relatively low density single-family development and some lands at a range of densities both allowing and encouraging multifamily development.
(f) Urban growth area designations shall consider the need for future expansion of urban growth areas beyond the projected 20-year period required by the Growth Management Act. Special density considerations shall be given at the edge of urban growth areas, if determined necessary based on a land use analysis, so that future extension of urban growth areas and urban services allows conversion to more efficient urban patterns. Special density considerations could include reduced densities or cluster development options.