(1) This capital facilities element has been developed in accordance with RCW 36.70A.070 of the Growth Management Act to address the financing of capital facilities in the City of Forks. It represents the community’s policy plan for the financing of the public facilities for the next twenty (20) years, and includes a six (6) year financing plan for capital facilities from 1994 to 1999. The policies and objectives in this plan will be used to guide public decisions on the use of capital funds. They will also indirectly guide private development decisions by providing a strategy of planned public capital expenditures. The element has also been developed in accordance with the County-wide Planning Policies, and has been integrated with all other planning elements to ensure consistency throughout the Comprehensive Plan. The element specifically evaluates the City’s fiscal capability to provide the public facilities necessary to support the other Comprehensive Plan elements. The capital facilities element includes:

(2) Level of Service Standards. Due to the small size of the City of Forks, level of services standards will not be used to assess capital facility needs, except for transportation facilities, as required by the Growth Management Act.

(3) Major Capital Facilities Considerations and Goals. The capital facilities element is the mechanism the City uses to coordinate its physical and fiscal planning. This planning effort required ongoing communication and cooperation between various disciplines, including the Planning Director, Utilities Director and Clerk/Treasurer. The Comprehensive Plan is realistic and achievable as a result of integrating the concerns of various local administrators and coordinating all of the Comprehensive Plan elements.

The capital facilities element promotes efficiency by requiring the local government to prioritize capital improvements for a longer period of time than the single budget year. Long-range financial planning presents the opportunity to schedule projects so that the various steps in development logically follow one another, with regard to relative urgency, economic desirability, and community benefit. In addition, the identification of adequate funding sources results in the prioritization of needs, and allows the trade-offs between projects to be evaluated explicitly. The Capital Facilities Plan in the element will guide decision-making to achieve the community goals as articulated in the vision statement.