June 30, 2021

The Honorable Claudia Balducci

Chair, King County Council
Room 1200
COURTHOUSE

Dear Councilmember Balducci:

This letter transmits a proposed Ordinance that, if enacted, would adopt the 2021 King County
Countywide Planning Policies (Countywide Planning Policies) as approved by the Growth
Management Planning Council (GMPC) on June 23, 2021. This proposed legislation will
update the Countywide Planning Policies to be consistent with the Multicounty Planning
Policies and Regional Growth Strategy in VISION 2050, the region’s long-range plan for
growth.

The 2021 Countywide Planning Policies create a shared and consistent framework for growth
management planning for all jurisdictions in King County in accordance with RCW
26.70A.210. The Countywide Planning Policies inform how local comprehensive plans are to
be developed. These policies include numeric growth targets that will form the land use
assumptions in each jurisdiction’s comprehensive plan.

Over the past eighteen months, the GMPC held several meetings dedicated to reviewing the
Countywide Planning Policies. The public comment period for the Policies was open from
April 5 through May 5, 2021. During this period and in the months prior, the County received
written and verbal comments from jurisdictions, non-profit organizations, community groups,
and individuals. These comments have been combined into one document and posted on King
County’s Countywide Planning Policies website. Additionally, staff met with nineteen city
councils, two planning commissions, the King County Planning Directors, and the GMPC’s
Affordable Housing Committee to gather feedback.

As part of the County’s continuing efforts to advance pro-equity policies, the interjurisdictional
staff team, comprised of staff from the County and cities, prepared an equity impact review,
which is available on the GMPC’s website. As part of public outreach, King County staff met
with members of the Metro Mobility Equity Cabinet, the King County Immigrant and Refugee
The Honorable Balducci
June 30, 2021
Page 2

Commission, and the Climate Equity Community Task Force. Materials posted on the
County’s website were translated into eleven languages.

This proposed legislation furthers the King County Strategic Plan healthy environment goal of
preserving open space and rural character, addressing climate change, and the goal’s objectives
of maintaining rural character by focusing new growth in urban areas and protect and
supporting healthy and productive farms, forests, and open spaces. Land use planning plays a
vital role in shaping an environmentally sustainable and economically viable future for all
people in King County. The County’s role in the GMPC fosters the ethic of working together
for “One King County” by actively participating in regional organizations and defining King
County’s role in regional issues.

Environmental Review was conducted on the draft 2021 Countywide Planning Policies,
including the Urban Growth Capacity Report, pursuant to Revised Code of Washington
43.21C, King County Code 20.44 and Washington Administrative Code 197-11. The review
finds that the proposals fit within the range of past environmental reviews and do not
substantially change the analysis of significant impacts and alternatives in the environmental
documents listed in the Determination of Significance and Notice of Adoption of Existing
Environmental Documents. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement is not required.

Thank you for your consideration of this proposed Ordinance.

If your staff have any questions about this legislation, please contact Lauren Smith, Deputy
Director for Regional Planning, Office of Performance, Strategy, and Budget, at 206-263-9306.

Sincerely,

for

Dow Constantine
King County Executive

Enclosure

cc: King County Councilmembers

ATTN: Carolyn Busch, Chief of Staff
Melani Pedroza, Clerk of the Council
Shannon Braddock, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Executive
Karan Gill, Council Relations Director, Office of the Executive
Dwight Dively, Director, Office of Performance, Strategy, and Budget
Lauren Smith, Deputy Director, Regional Planning, Office of Performance, Strategy,
and Budget
 Date Created: May 25, 2021
Drafted by: Karen Wolf
Sponsors:
Attachments: A. GMPC Motion No. 21-1
1 ..Title

2 AN ORDINANCE adopting and ratifying Growth

3 Management Planning Council Motion 21-1.

4 ..Body

5 BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:

6 SECTION 1. Findings:

7 A. Growth Management Planning Council Motion 21-1 recommends

8 amendments to the King County Countywide Planning Policies to the King County

9 Council as the 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies.

10 B. On June 23, 2021, the Growth Management Planning Council approved

11 Motion 21-1.

12 SECTION 2. The 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies, attached to

13 this ordinance via Growth Management Planning Council Motion 21-1 as Attachment A

14 to this ordinance, is hereby adopted by King County and ratified on behalf of the

15 population of unincorporated King County.

 Attachment A

6/23/21

Sponsored By: Executive Committee

2 GMPC MOTION NO. 21-1

3 A MOTION recommending amendments to the King County

4 Countywide Planning Policies to the King County Council
5

6 WHEREAS; the Countywide Planning Policies were initially adopted in 1992 in

7 conformance with Growth Management Act requirements; and

8 WHEREAS, the Countywide Planning Policies were comprehensively reviewed

9 and amended in 2012 to be consistent with the Multicounty Planning Policies and Regional

10 Growth Strategy in VISION 2040; and

11 WHEREAS, the Puget Sound Regional Council General Assembly adopted

12 VISION 2050 and the Multicounty Planning Policies in 2020; and

13 WHEREAS, the Multicounty Planning Policies call for the Countywide Planning

14 Policies to be updated, where necessary, prior to December 31, 2021; and

15 WHEREAS, the Growth Management Planning Council directed staff to develop

16 recommendations for a limited scope update of the Countywide Planning Policies in

17 accordance with a set of Guiding Principles that included basing the update on the 2012

18 Countywide Planning Policies, centering social equity and health, integrating regional

19 policy and legislative changes, providing clear, concise, and actionable direction for

20 comprehensive plans, and implementing the Regional Growth Strategy with 2044 growth

21 targets that will form the land use basis for periodic comprehensive plan updates; and
22 WHEREAS, staff from King County and the cities in King County have worked

23 cooperatively to analyze and recommend updated policies, including the 2019-2044

24 housing and employment targets, for consideration by the Growth Management Planning

25 Council; and

26 WHEREAS, a Public Review Draft of the 2021 Countywide Planning Policies was

27 shared with the public and comments were received from numerous stakeholders; and

28 WHEREAS, the Growth Management Planning Council considered comments and

29 made adjustments to the Public Review Draft and have concluded their nineteen-month

30 review; and

31 WHEREAS, House Bill 1220 (adopted by the Washington State Legislature in

32 2021) requires that jurisdictions’ housing elements under the Growth Management Act

33 include an inventory and analysis of existing and projected housing needs that identifies

34 the number of housing units necessary to manage projected growth, as provided by the

35 Department of Commerce, including: (i) units for moderate, low, very low, and extremely

36 low-income households; and (ii) emergency housing, emergency shelters, and permanent

37 supportive housing; and

38 WHEREAS, the Department of Commerce anticipates providing the existing and

39 projected housing need data and methodology guidance required by House Bill 1220 in

40 summer 2022; and

41 WHEREAS, the Affordable Housing Committee of the Growth Management

42 Planning Council will, no later than early 2022, commence a collaborative effort to:

43 1. monitor and report jurisdictional housing supply, housing affordability, housing

44 needs, and income-restricted housing levels, including disparities between subregions and
45 comparisons to established housing goals and targets, through the Regional Affordable

46 Housing Dashboard and reporting;

47 2. establish subregional or jurisdictional affordable housing needs, informed by

48 local data and the data and methodology provided by the Department of Commerce;

49 3. recommend to the Growth Management Planning Council an accountability and

50 implementation framework for equitably meeting affordable housing needs across the

51 region. The Affordable Housing Committee will consider, at a minimum, the range of

52 Development Patterns Chapter and Housing Chapter amendments proposed by Growth

53 Management Planning Council members in June 2021 regarding understanding and

54 accommodating housing need, holding jurisdictions accountable, and allocating resources;

55 and

56 4. recommend to the Growth Management Planning Council any Countywide

57 Planning Policy amendments necessary to implement their recommendations; and

58 WHEREAS, the Affordable Housing Committee will complete its housing needs

59 work by the end of 2022 and will report back to the Growth Management Planning Council

60 quarterly on its progress:

61 THEREFORE, the King County Growth Management Planning Council

62 recommends the 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies, included with this

63 motion as Attachment A, to the King County Council. The Interjurisdictional Staff Team

64 is authorized to make technical changes to the policies, text, maps, and tables such as

65 fixing grammatical errors, correcting spelling, or aligning policy references without

66 changing the meaning prior to transmittal to the King County Council.

67

68

69 _________________________________________

70 Dow Constantine, Chair, Growth Management Planning Council

71

72 Appendix A: 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

 Appendix A

2012 2021 King County

Countywide Planning Policies
With amendments ratified by June 25, 2016 Approved by the King County Growth Management
Planning Council on June 23, 2021
2012 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

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2012 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

CONTENTS
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................................... 5
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 6
VISION & FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................................ 8
Vision for King County 20302050 ................................................................................................ 8
General Framework Policies ...................................................................................................... 12
ENVIRONMENT ....................................................................................................................... 15
Environmental Sustainability ..................................................................................................... 15
Earth and Habitat....................................................................................................................... 16
Flood Hazards ............................................................................................................................ 17
Water Resources........................................................................................................................ 18
Open Space ................................................................................................................................ 18
Restoration & Pollution ............................................................................................................. 19
Air Quality and Climate Change................................................................................................. 20
DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS ...................................................................................................... 22
Urban Growth Area ................................................................................................................... 22
Urban Lands ........................................................................................................................... 23
Growth Targets....................................................................................................................... 25
Amendments to the Urban Growth Area............................................................................... 31
Review and Evaluation Program ............................................................................................ 33
Joint Planning and Annexation............................................................................................... 34
Centers and Station Areas ......................................................................................................... 36
Urban Regional Growth Centers ............................................................................................ 36
Countywide and Local Centers ............................................................................................... 38
Manufacturing/ Industrial Centers......................................................................................... 38
Urban Design and Historic Preservation ................................................................................... 39
Rural Area and Natural Resource Lands .................................................................................... 41
Chapter: CONTENTS

HOUSING................................................................................................................................. 44
Housing Inventory and Needs Analysis ..................................................................................... 46
Strategies to Meet Housing Needs ............................................................................................ 46

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2012 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

Regional Cooperation ................................................................................................................ 48

Measuring Results ..................................................................................................................... 49
Conduct a Housing Inventory and Analysis ............................................................................... 52
Collaborate Regionally ............................................................................................................... 54
Implement Policies and Strategies to Meet Housing Needs Equitably ..................................... 54
Adjust Strategies to Meet Housing Needs................................................................................. 60
ECONOMY ............................................................................................................................... 61
Business Development .............................................................................................................. 62
People ........................................................................................................................................ 63
Places ......................................................................................................................................... 64
TRANSPORTATION ................................................................................................................. 67
Supporting Growth .................................................................................................................... 67
Mobility...................................................................................................................................... 69
System Operations .................................................................................................................... 71
PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES .......................................................................................... 74
Urban and Rural Levels of Service ............................................................................................. 74
Collaboration Among Jurisdictions ............................................................................................ 74
Utilities ....................................................................................................................................... 75
Locating Facilities and Services.................................................................................................. 78
Siting Public Capital Facilities .................................................................................................... 80
Public Facility and Disaster Preparedness ................................................................................. 80
Appendix 1: Generalized Land Use Categories Map............................................................... 81
Appendix 2: Potential Annexation Areas Map ....................................................................... 82
Appendix 3: Urban Separators Map ........................................................................................ 83
Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix .............................................................................. 84
Appendix 5: King County School Siting Task Force Report ................................................... 116
Appendix 6: King County Centers Designation Framework .................................................. 117
Appendix 7: CPP Historical Framework ................................................................................ 123
Glossary ................................................................................................................................ 126
Chapter: CONTENTS

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2012 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Countywide Planning Policies guide how King County jurisdictions work together and plan
for growth that will occur on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish peoples. In respect for and
acknowledgement of their legacy, the Countywide Planning Policies seek to create a livable,
equitable, and sustainable home for current and future generations.

Chapter: LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

INTRODUCTION
The King County Countywide Planning Policies
The Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs) create a shared and consistent framework for growth
management planning for all jurisdictions in King County in accordance with RCW 36.70A.210,
which requires the legislative authority of a county to adopt a countywide planning policy in
cooperation with cities located in the county. The comprehensive plan for King County and city
comprehensive plans the comprehensive plans for cities and towns in King County are
developed from the framework that the CPPs establish. The 2021 Countywide Planning Policies
were designed to provide guidance in advance of the 2024 statutory update of comprehensive
plans to reflect a number of changes to the regional policy framework and to reflect new
priorities addressing equity and social justice within our communities

The CPPs implement VISION 2050, which is the region’s plan for growth. VISION 2050 is the
product of a regional planning process led by the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC), an
association of cities, towns, four counties (King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish), ports, tribes,
and state agencies. VISION 2050 is the region’s plan for growth. By 2050, the region’s
population is projected to reach 5.8 million people. The region’s vision for 2050 is to provide
exceptional quality of life, opportunity for all, connected communities, a spectacular natural
environment, and an innovative, thriving economy.

King County is home to 39 cities, all of which have a role in accommodating the approximately
660,000 people and 490,000 jobs projected to come to King County by 2044.

The Growth Management Planning Council

The Growth Management Planning Council (GMPC) brings together elected officials from King
County and the cities and develops and recommends the CPPs to the King County Council. The
GMPC is chaired by the King County Executive and includes members from the King County
Council, the Mayor of Seattle, members from the Seattle City Council, representatives from the
other 38 cities in King County through the Sound Cities Association, and ex-officio membership
from special purpose districts, school districts, and the Port of Seattle.

The GMPC is supported by the Interjurisdictional Staff Team (IJT), which reflects membership of
Chapter: INTRODUCTION

the GMPC. The IJT is comprised of senior planning staff from King County and the cities. The
IJT operates on a consensus basis and prepares all documents for GMPC review and
consideration.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

The Countywide Planning Policies and all amendments to the CPPs become effective following
approval by the GMPC, adoption by the King County Council, and ratification by King County
cities.

About the 2021 Update

With the update to VISION 2050 and the approaching 2024 statutory update of comprehensive
plans, King County jurisdictions updated the Countywide Planning Policies for the next decade.
Recognizing the existing Countywide Planning Policies as a starting place for the update, the
Growth Management Planning Council approved Guiding Principles to establish the context and
parameters for the update. The Guiding Principles call for a limited scope for the update based
on the following:
• 2012 Countywide Planning Policies
• Centering social equity and health
• Integrating regional policy and legislative changes
• Providing clear, concise, and actionable direction for comprehensive plans
• Implementing the Regional Growth Strategy with 2044 growth targets that form the
land use basis for periodic comprehensive plan updates

Equity and Social Justice

The GMPC established the guiding principle of “centering social equity and health” through the
Countywide Planning Policies. As noted in VISION 2050, historical land use and housing policies
have played a role in creating and maintaining racial inequities. While some explicitly
discriminatory laws have been overturned, their legacy and effects have remained, preventing
Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color from sharing the recent prosperity of the
county. Centering equity and health in the CPPs will continue through improvements to
policies and resource allocation that explicitly counter and remedy disparities in determinants
of equity and are informed by those most affected by these disparities. The policies’ collective
vision for the county’s shared future will have a significant effect on local plans that shape how
jurisdictions allocate public resources and set policy to achieve a future where everyone enjoys
a safe and healthy place to live, work, and play.

King County Demographics and Geography

King County is the most populous county in Washington State and the 13th most populous
Chapter: INTRODUCTION

county in the nation. In 2021, King County is home to about 2.3 million people and 1.5 million
jobs. King County’s population continues to diversify each year. In 2019, communities of color
comprised 40 percent of the population, 23 percent of the population was born outside the
United States, and 28 percent of people over age five spoke a language other than English at

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

home. People under 18 comprise 20 percent of the population, while seniors over 65 comprise
about 14 percent of the population.

King County’s land area is 2,130 square miles and is characterized by cities large and small, by
beautiful scenery and geographic variety, stretching from the Puget Sound in the west to the
crest of the Cascade Mountains in the east. King County has a variety of working farms and
forestlands, as well as a significant open space network.

VISION 2040 STATEMENT

The 2012 King County Countywide Planning Policies were prepared to address changes to the
Growth Management Act, take into account the passage of 20 years since their initial adoption,
and to specifically reflect the regional direction established in VISION 2040.

Vision 2040 is the product of the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC), an association of cities,
towns, counties, ports, tribes, and state agencies that serves as a forum for developing policies
and making decisions about regional growth management, environmental, economic, and
transportation issues in the four-county central Puget Sound region of Washington state (King,
Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties). Vision 2040’s Regional Growth Strategy outlines how
the four-county Puget Sound region should plan for additional population and employment
growth.

As made clear in the Regional Growth Strategy, all jurisdictions in King County have a role in
accommodating growth, using sustainable and environmentally responsible development
practices. The 2012 King County Countywide Planning Policies support this strategy and
provide direction at the county and jurisdiction level with appropriate specificity and detail
needed to guide consistent and useable local comprehensive plans and regulations.

While VISION 2040 is consistent with the overall growth management strategy of the 1992 King
County Countywide Planning Policies, restructuring the Countywide Planning Policies—into the
six chapters of Environment, Development Patterns, Housing, Economy, Transportation, and
Public Facilities and Services—was done to match the structure of VISION 2040.
Chapter: VISION & FRAMEWORK

VISION & FRAMEWORK

Vision for King County 20302050
It is the year 2030 2050 and our county has changed significantly in the roughly 40 60 years that
have elapsed since the first Countywide Planning Policies were adopted in 1992. In 2050: In
many ways this is a result of the successful public-private partnership that has supported a

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

diversified, sustainable regional economy and has managed and accommodated growth while
maintaining the quality of life and the natural environment throughout King County.
• Communities across King County are welcoming places where every person can thrive.
• All residents have access to opportunity and displacement from development is
lessened.
• The cities are vibrant and inviting hubs for people with a safe, affordable, and efficient
transportation system that connects people to where they want to go.
• Housing is characterized by a full range of options that are healthy, safe, affordable, and
open to all.
• The county’s critical areas are protected and have been restored.
• Open spaces are well distributed and inviting to all users.
• The Rural Area is viable and permanently protected with a clear boundary between
urban and rural areas.
• The county boasts of bountiful agricultural areas and productive forest lands.
• The economy provides opportunities to everyone and includes locally owned business,
global corporations, women owned business, and businesses with Black, Indigenous,
immigrant, and other owners of color.

King County in 2030 is characterized by:

• Protected Critical Areas. Effective stewardship of the environment has preserved
and protected the critical areas in the County, including wetlands, aquifer recharge
areas, and fish and wildlife conservation areas.
These critical areas continue to provide beneficial functions and values for
reducing flooding, protecting water quality, supporting biodiversity, and
enriching our quality of life for future generations as the as the region’s
population continues to grow.
• Viable Rural Area. The Rural Area, established in 1992, is permanently protected
with a clear boundary between Rural and Urban Areas.
The successful protection of these lands is due in large part to continued
innovation within the Urban Growth Area to create new ways to use land
efficiently and sustainably. In this way, there is minimal pressure to convert rural
lands. The Rural Area is a viable option for those seeking a lifestyle contrast to
Chapter: VISION & FRAMEWORK

the Urban Growth Area. The pressure to urbanize the Rural Area has also been
lessened by market pressures to use the land for agriculture.
• Bountiful Agricultural Areas and Productive Forest Lands.
More people are farming and a greater number of residents are benefiting from
King County agricultural products, which can be purchased through a network of
farmers markets and farm stands throughout the county. Since 2010, the
increase in productive farming in the Agricultural Production District and in the
Rural Area has accelerated as more residents seek locally grown food. Thriving

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

markets now exist throughout the county for these products. The forests of the
Pacific Northwest remain as some of the most productive in the world with large
scale commercial forestry prevalent in the eastern half of the county.
• Vibrant, diverse and compact urban communities.
Within the Urban Growth Area little undeveloped land now exists and urban
infrastructure has been extended to fully serve the entire Urban Growth Area.
Development activity is focused on redevelopment to create vibrant
neighborhoods where residents can walk, bicycle or use public transit for most of
their needs. Improvements to the infrastructure now focus on maintaining
existing capacity as opposed to extending the infrastructure into previously
unserved areas. Because of the innovations developed in public and private
partnerships, there is still ample capacity to accommodate the planned
population and employment growth targets within the Urban Growth Area.

Much of the growth in employment and new housing occurs in the Urban Centers. These
centers successfully provide a mixture of living, working, cultural, and recreational activities for
all members of the community. All the centers are linked together by a high-capacity transit
system, including light rail and high capacity bus transit. Transit stations and hubs are within
walking distance to all parts of the center and the high capacity transit system facilitates people
moving easily from one center to another. Within the collection of Urban Centers there is
balance between jobs and housing. Each center has developed its own successful urban
character and all are noted for their livability, vibrancy, healthy environment, design, and
pedestrian focus.

Smaller concentrations of businesses are distributed throughout the Urban Growth Area to
provide goods and services to surrounding residential areas. Most residents are within walking
distance of commercial areas, fostering a healthy community through physical exercise and a
sense of neighborhood. Local transit systems provide convenient connections to the Urban
Centers and elsewhere within the Urban Growth Area.

Manufacturing/ Industrial Centers continue to thrive and function as important hubs of the
regional economy. These areas too are well served by transportation systems that emphasize
the efficient movement of people, goods and information to and within Manufacturing/
Chapter: VISION & FRAMEWORK

Industrial Centers as well as connecting to other regions.

The entire Urban Growth Area is characterized by superior urban design with an open space
network that defines and separates, yet links, the various jurisdictions and central places.
Countywide and regional facilities have been equitably dispersed—located where needed, sited
unobtrusively—and have provided appropriate incentives and amenities to the surrounding
neighborhoods.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

Rural Cities have created unique urban environments within the Rural Area and provide
commercial services and employment opportunities for their residents. These include retail,
business, educational and social services for residents both of cities and the surrounding Rural
Area while protecting and supporting the surrounding Rural Area and Resource Lands.

Federal, state and regional funds have been used to further this land use plan and to fund
needed regional facilities while local resources focus on funding local and neighborhood
facilities. The sharing of resources to accomplish common goals is done so that the regional
plan can succeed and all can benefit.

The economy is vibrant, vital, and sustainable, and emphasizes diversity in the range of goods
and information produced and the services provided. Regional cooperation has focused on
economic development activities that have retained and expanded key industries such as
aerospace, software, and biotechnology while using the resources of the region to attract new
business clusters such as in renewable energy. Businesses continue to locate in our county
because of the high quality of life; the preservation of the natural environment; the emphasis
on providing a superior education; the predictability brought about by the management of
growth and the effectiveness of public-private partnerships supporting these attributes.

Housing opportunities for all incomes and lifestyles exist throughout the county and with the
balanced transportation system access to employment is convenient and reliable. Innovation in
the development of a diverse range of housing types has been fundamental in accommodating
population growth. The diversity of housing types has allowed residents to stay within their
community as their housing needs change.

King County communities are extraordinarily diverse culturally and this has been embraced and
celebrated by the residents of King County. The needs of residents are attended to by a social
service system that emphasizes prevention but stands ready to respond to direct needs as well.
There is a sense of social equity within our communities and all share equitably in the
distribution of and access to parks, open space, and vibrant neighborhood centers.

The Urban Growth Area is completely located within cities, which are the primary providers of
urban services. Where appropriate, sub-regional consortia have been created for certain
Chapter: VISION & FRAMEWORK

services, and King County government is recognized as a significant provider of regional services
as well as the coordinator of local services to the Rural Area and Resource Lands.

Residents and businesses have recognized that, over time, through clear and reasonable
timelines and financing commitments, issues will be addressed. Residents and businesses trust
in their local governments because the plans and promises made to manage growth starting in
1992 have been followed. Change is accepted and proceeds in an orderly fashion based on the
locally adopted and embraced growth management plans.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

(Framework section moved to Appendix 7)

General Framework Policies

Unless otherwise noted, the Countywide Planning Policies apply to the Growth Management
Planning Council, King County, and all of the cities within King County.

Amendments. While much has been accomplished, the Countywide Planning Policies were
never intended to be static and will require amendment over time to reflect changed
conditions. While the formal policy development is done by the Growth Management Planning
Council, ideas for new policies begin in a variety of areas including individual jurisdictions. Policy
G-1 below describes the process for amending the Countywide Planning Policies:

G-FW-1 Maintain the currency of the Countywide Planning Policies through periodic review
and amendment. Initiate and review all amendments at the Growth Management Planning
Council through the process described below:
a) Only the Growth Management Planning Council may propose amendments to the
Countywide Planning Policies except for amendments to the Urban Growth Area that
may also be proposed by King County in accordance with policies DP-15 and DP-16
through DP-18;
b) Growth Management Planning Council recommends amendments to the King County
Council for consideration, possible revision, and approval; proposed revisions by the
King County Council that are of a substantive nature may be sent to the Growth
Management Planning Council for their consideration and revised recommendation
based on the proposed revision;
c) A majority vote of the King County Council both constitutes approval of the
amendments and ratification on behalf of the residents of Unincorporated King
County.;
d) After approval and ratification by the King County Council, amendments are forwarded
to each city and town for ratification. Amendments cannot be modified during the city
ratification process; and
Chapter: VISION & FRAMEWORK

e) Amendments must be ratified within 90 days of King County approval and require
affirmation by the county and cities and towns representing at least 70 percent of the
county population and 30 percent of those jurisdictions. Ratification is either by an
affirmative vote of the city’s or town’s council or by no action being taken within the
ratification period.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

Monitoring. Periodically evaluating the effectiveness of the Countywide Planning Policies is key
to continuing their value to the region and local jurisdictions. In 1994 King County and cities
established the current Benchmarks program to monitor and evaluate key regional indicators.

G FW-2 Monitor and benchmark the progress of the Countywide Planning Policies towards
achieving the Regional Growth Strategy inclusive of the environment, development patterns,
housing, the economy, transportation and the provision of public services, as well as reducing
disparities in equity and health outcomes for King County residents. Identify corrective actions
to be taken if progress toward benchmarks is not being achieved.

Investment. Key to ensuring the success of the Countywide Planning Policies is investment in
regional infrastructure and programs. Balancing the use of limited available funds between
regional and local needs is extremely complex.

G FW-3 Work collaboratively to identify and seek regional, state, and federal funding sources
to invest in infrastructure, strategies, and programs to enable the full implementation of the
Countywide Planning Policies. Balance needed regional investments with countywide and local
needs when making funding determinations.

FW-4 Support fiscal sustainability of Rural Areas. Rural Areas provide an overall benefit for all
residents of King County and strategies to fund infrastructure and services in Rural Areas may
be needed to support a defined rural level-of-service.

Consistency. The Countywide Planning Policies provide a common framework for local
planning and each jurisdiction is required to update its comprehensive plans to be consistent
with the Countywide Planning Policies. The full body of the Countywide Planning Policies is to
be considered for decision-making within the context of each city’s needs and situations.

G-4 FW-5 Adopt comprehensive plans that are consistent with the Countywide Planning
Policies as required by the Growth Management Act.

Equity. The Countywide Planning Policies coordinate planning for an a more equitable future
where all King County residents have access to housing, transportation, education, and
Chapter: VISION & FRAMEWORK

employment choices and open space amenities regardless of their race, ethnicity, or income.
Through their comprehensive plans, jurisdictions will create targeted policies and strategies
unique to their local circumstances to achieve this goal.

FW-6 Enable culturally and linguistically appropriate equitable access to programs and services
and help connect residents to service options, particularly for those most disproportionately
cost-burdened or historically excluded.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

FW-7 Develop and use an equity impact review tool when developing plans and policies to test
for outcomes that might adversely impact Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and other
communities. Regularly assess the impact of policies and programs to identify actual outcomes
and adapt as needed to achieve intended goals.

FW-8 Involve community groups especially Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and other
communities continuously in planning processes to promote civic engagement, government
accountability, transparency, and personal agency.

Chapter: VISION & FRAMEWORK

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

ENVIRONMENT
Overarching Goal: The quality of the natural environment in King County is restored and
protected for future generations.

Environmental Sustainability
Local governments have a key role in shaping sustainable communities by integrating
sustainable development and business practices with ecological, social, and economic concerns.
Local governments also play a pivotal role in ensuring environmental justice by addressing
environmental impacts on minority and low-income populations and by pursuing fairness in the
application of policies and regulations.

EN-1 Incorporate environmental protection and restoration efforts including climate action,
mitigation, and resilience into local comprehensive plans to ensure that the quality of the
natural environment and its contributions to human health and vitality are sustained now and
for future generations.

EN-2 Develop and implement environmental strategies using integrated and interdisciplinary
approaches for environmental assessment and planning, in coordination with local jurisdictions,
tribes, and countywide planning groups.

EN-2 EN-3 Encourage Ensure public and private projects incorporate locally appropriate low
impact development approaches, developed using a watershed planning framework, for
managing stormwater, protecting water quality, minimizing flooding and erosion, protecting
habitat, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

EN-3 EN-4 Encourage the transition to a sustainable energy future by reducing demand
through planning for efficiency and conservation, supporting the development of energy
management technology such as advanced thermostats or software that optimizes usage, and
by meeting reduced needs from sustainable sources.

(EN-4 moved to EN-22)

Chapter: ENVIRONMENT

EN-5 Ensure all residents of the region regardless of race, social, or economic status have a
clean and healthy environment. Identify, and mitigate, and correct for unavoidable negative
impacts of public actions that disproportionately affect people of color and low‐income
populations those frontline communities impacted by existing and historical racial, social,

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

environmental, and economic inequities, and who have limited resources or capacity to adapt
to a changing environment.

Earth and Habitat

Healthy ecosystems and environments are vital to the sustainability of all plant and animal life,
including humans. Protection of biodiversity in all its forms and across all landscapes is critical
to continued prosperity and high quality of life in King County. The value of biodiversity to
sustaining long-term productivity and both economic and ecological benefits is evident in
fisheries, forestry, and agriculture. For ecosystems to be healthy and provide healthful benefits
to people, local governments must prevent negative human impacts and work to ensure that
this ecosystem remains diverse and productive over time. With the impending effects of
climate change, maintaining biodiversity becomes even more critical to the preservation and
resilience of resource-based activities and too many social and ecological systems. Protection of
individual species, including Chinook salmon, also plays an important role in sustaining
biodiversity and quality of life within the county. Since 2000, local governments, citizens, tribes,
conservation districts, non-profit groups, and federal and state fisheries managers have
cooperated to develop and implement watershed-based salmon conservation plans, known as
Water Resource Inventory Area plans, to conserve and restore habitat for Chinook salmon
today and for future generations.

EN-6 Locate development and supportive infrastructure in a manner that minimizes impacts to
natural features. Promote the use of traditional and innovative environmentally sensitive
development practices, including design, materials, construction, and on-going maintenance.

EN-6 EN-7 Coordinate approaches and standards for defining and protecting critical areas,
especially where such areas and impacts to them cross jurisdictional boundaries.

(EN-7 moved to EN-17)

EN-8 Use the best available science when establishing and implementing environmental
standards.

EN-8 EN-9 Develop an integrated and comprehensive approach to managing fish and wildlife
habitat conservation, especially protecting to accelerate recovery focusing on enhancing the
Chapter: ENVIRONMENT

habitat of iconic species like salmon, orca, and other endangered, threatened, and sensitive
species.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

EN-10 Reduce and mitigate air, noise, and light pollution caused by transportation, industries,
public facilities, hazards, and other sources. Prioritize reducing these impacts on vulnerable
populations and areas that have been disproportionately affected.

EN-11 Ensure that new development, open space protection efforts, and mitigation projects
support the State’s streamflow restoration law, in order to promote robust, healthy, and
sustainable salmon populations, and other ecosystem functions working closely within Water
Resource Inventory Areas that encompass King County, and utilizing adopted watershed plans,

EN-9 EN-12 Implement salmon habitat protection and restoration priorities in approved Water
Resource Inventory Area plans.

EN-13 Enhance the urban tree canopy to provide wildlife habitat, support community
resilience, mitigate urban heat, manage stormwater, conserve energy, protect and improve
mental and physical health, and strengthen economic prosperity. Prioritize places where Black,
Indigenous, and other people of color, low-income, and frontline community members live,
work, and play.

Flood Hazards
Flooding is a natural process that affects human communities and natural environments in King
County. Managing floodplain development and conserving aquatic habitats are the main
challenges for areas affected by flooding. The King County Flood Control District exists to
protect public health and safety, regional economic centers, public and private property, and
transportation corridors. Local governments also have responsibility for flood control within
their boundaries.

EN-10 EN-14 Coordinate and fund holistic flood hazard management efforts through the King
County Flood Control District.

EN-11 EN-15 Work cooperatively to meet Meet regulatory standards for floodplain
development as these through interjurisdictional collaboration. These standards are regularly
updated for consistency with relevant federal requirements, including those related to the
Endangered Species Act.
Chapter: ENVIRONMENT

EN-12 EN-16 Work cooperatively with the Cooperate with federal, state, and regional agencies
and forums to develop regional levee maintenance standards that ensure public safety and
protect habitat.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

Water Resources
The flow and quality of water is are impacted by water withdrawals, land development,
stormwater management, and climate change. Since surface and ground waters do not respect
political boundaries, cross-jurisdictional coordination of water is required to ensure its
functions and uses are protected and sustained. The Puget Sound Partnership was created by
the Washington State Legislature as the state agency with the responsibility for assuring the
preservation and recovery of Puget Sound and the freshwater systems flowing into the Sound.
King County plays a key role in these efforts because of its large population and its location in
Central Puget Sound.

EN-17 Encourage basin‐wide approaches to wetland protection, emphasizing preservation and

enhancement of the highest quality wetlands and wetland systems.

EN-13 EN-18 Collaborate with the Puget Sound Partnership to implement the Puget Sound
Action Agenda and to coordinate land use and transportation plans and actions for the benefit
of Puget Sound and its watersheds.

EN-14 EN-19 Manage natural drainage systems to improve water quality and habitat
functions, minimize erosion and sedimentation, protect public health, reduce flood risks, and
moderate peak storm water stormwater runoff rates. Work cooperatively among local,
regional, state, national and tribal jurisdictions to establish, monitor, and enforce consistent
standards for managing streams and wetlands throughout drainage basins.

EN-20 Support and incentivize environmental stewardship on private and public lands to
protect and enhance habitat, water quality, and other ecosystem services, including protection
of watersheds. In particular, protect wellhead areas that are sources of the region’s drinking
water supplies.

EN-15 EN-21 Establish a multi-jurisdictional multijurisdictional approach for funding and

monitoring water quality, quantity, biological conditions, and outcome measures and for
improving the efficiency and effectiveness of monitoring efforts.

Open Space
Chapter: ENVIRONMENT

EN-4 EN-22 Identify and preserve regionally significant open space networks in both Urban
and Rural Areas through implementation of the Regional Open Space Plan. Develop strategies
and funding to protect lands that provide the following valuable functions:
• Ecosystem linkages and migratory corridors crossing jurisdictional boundaries;

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

• Physical or visual separation delineating growth boundaries or providing buffers

between incompatible uses;
• Active and passive outdoor recreation opportunities;
• Wildlife habitat and migration corridors that preserve and enhance ecosystem resiliency
in the face of urbanization and climate change;
• Preservation of ecologically sensitive, scenic, or cultural resources;
• Urban green space, habitats, and ecosystems;
• Forest resources; and
• Food production potential.

EN-23 Preserve and restore native vegetation and tree canopy, especially where it protects
habitat and contributes to overall ecological function.

EN-24 Provide parks, trails, and open space within walking distance of urban area residents.
Prioritize historically underserved communities for open space improvements and investments.

Restoration & Pollution

EN-25 Reduce and promote alternatives to the use of toxic pesticides, fertilizers, and other
products, such as integrated pest management strategies, to minimize risks to human health
and the environment.

EN-26 Restore ecological function and value to the region’s freshwater and marine shorelines,
watersheds, estuaries, and other waterbodies to a natural condition for ecological function and
value, where appropriate and feasible.

EN-27 Prevent, mitigate, and remediate harmful environmental pollutants and hazards,
including light, air, noise, soil, and structural hazards, where they have contributed to racially
disparate environmental and health impacts, and to increase environmental resiliency in low-
income communities.

EN-28 Adopt policies, regulations, and processes, related to new or existing fossil fuel facilities,
which are designed to:
• Protect public health, safety, and welfare from all impacts of fossil fuels facilities;
Chapter: ENVIRONMENT

• Mitigate and prepare for any impacts of fossil fuel facility disasters on all communities;
• Protect and preserve natural ecosystems from the construction and operational impacts
of fossil fuel facilities;
• Manage impacts on public services and infrastructure in emergency management,
resilience planning, and capital spending;

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

• Ensure comprehensive environmental review, and extensive community engagement,

during initial siting, modifications, and on a periodic basis; and
• Reduce climate change impacts from fossil fuel facility construction and operations.

Air Quality and Climate Change

Greenhouse gas emissions are resulting in a changing and increasingly variable climate. King
County’s snow-fed water supply is especially vulnerable to a changing climate. Additionally, the
patterns of storm events and river and stream flow patterns are changing and our shorelines
are susceptible to rising sea levels. Carbon dioxide reacts with seawater and reduces the
water’s pH, threatening the food web in Puget Sound. While local governments can individually
work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, more significant emission reductions can only be
accomplished through countywide coordination of land use patterns and promotion of
transportation systems that provide practical alternatives to single occupancy vehicles.
Efficient energy consumption is both a mitigation and an adaptation strategy. Local
governments can improve energy efficiency through the development of new infrastructure as
well as the maintenance and updating of existing infrastructure.

EN-29 Adopt and implement policies and programs that substantially reduce greenhouse gas
emissions to meet state, regional, and local emissions reduction goals, including targets
adopted by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

EN-16 EN-30 Plan for land use patterns and transportation systems that minimize air pollution
and greenhouse gas emissions, including:
• Maintaining or exceeding existing standards for carbon monoxide, ozone, and
particulates;
• Directing growth to Urban Centers and other mixed use/ high density locations that
support mass transit, encourage non-motorized modes of travel, and reduce trip
lengths;
• Facilitating modes of travel other than single occupancy vehicles including transit,
walking, bicycling, and carpooling;
• Incorporating energy-saving strategies in infrastructure planning and design;
• Encouraging interjurisdictional planning to ensure efficient use of transportation
infrastructure and modes of travel;
Chapter: ENVIRONMENT

• Encouraging new development to use low emission construction practices, low or zero
net lifetime energy requirements, and “green” building techniques; and
• Reducing building energy use through green building and retrofit of existing buildings;
and.
• Increasing the use of low emission vehicles, such as efficient electric-powered vehicles.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

EN-17 EN-31 Establish a Align countywide greenhouse gas emissions reduction target that
meets or exceeds the statewide reduction requirement that is stated as the 2050 goal of a 50
percent reduction below 1990 levels goals and targets with the latest international climate
science and statewide targets aiming to limit the most severe impacts of climate change and
keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius.

EN-18 EN-32 Reduce countywide sources of greenhouse gas emissions, compared to a 2007
baseline, by 25% by 2020, 50% by 2030, and 80% by 2050 by 50% by 2030, 75% by 2040; and
95% and net zero emissions by 2050. Assuming 1% annual population growth, these targets
translate to per capita emissions of approximately 8.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent
(MTCO2e) by 2020, 5 MTCO2e, and 1.5 MTCO2e by 2050.

EN-18A EN-33 King County shall assess and report countywide greenhouse gas emissions
associated with resident, business, and other local government buildings, on road vehicles, and
solid waste at least every two years. King County shall also update its comprehensive
greenhouse gas emissions inventory that quantifies all direct local sources of greenhouse gas
emissions as well as emissions associated with local consumption at least every five years.
Require King County to develop city specific-emissions inventories and data, in partnership with
cities.

EN-19 EN-34 Promote energy efficiency, conservation methods, and sustainable energy
sources, electrifying the transportation system, and limiting vehicle miles traveled to reduce air
pollution, greenhouse gases, and consumption of fossil fuels to support state, regional, and
local climate change reduction goals.

EN-20 Plan and implement land use, transportation, and building practices that will greatly
reduce consumption of fossil fuels.

EN-21 Formulate and implement climate change adaptation strategies that address the
impacts of climate change to public health and safety, the economy, public and private
infrastructure, water resources, and habitat.

EN-35 Address rising sea water by siting and planning for relocation of hazardous industries
and essential public services away from the 500‐year floodplain.
Chapter: ENVIRONMENT

EN-36 Protect and restore natural resources such as forests, farmland, wetlands, estuaries, and
urban tree canopy, which sequester and store carbon.

EN-37 Support the production and storage of clean renewable energy.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS
The policies in this chapter address the location, types, design, and intensity of land uses that
are desired in King County and its cities. They guide implementation of the vision for physical
development within the county. The policies also provide a framework for how to focus
multimodal improvements to transportation, public services, the environment, and affordable
housing, as well as how to incorporate concerns about climate change, social equity, and public
health into planning for new growth. Development patterns policies are at the core of growth
management efforts in King County; they further the goals of VISION 2040 2050 and recognize
the variety of local communities that will be taking action to achieve those goals.

Overarching Goal: Growth in King County occurs in a compact, centers-focused pattern that
uses land and infrastructure efficiently, connects people to opportunity, and that protects Rural
and Resource Lands.

The Countywide Planning Policies designate land as Urban, Rural, or Resource. The Generalized
Land Use Categories Map in Appendix 1 shows the Urban Growth Area boundary and Urban,
Rural, and Resource Lands within King County. Further sections of this chapter provide more
detailed descriptions and guidance for planning within each of the three designations.

DP-1 All Designate all lands within King County are designated as subject to Growth
Management Act planning as:
● a) Urban land within the Urban Growth Area, where new growth is focused and
accommodated;
● b) Rural land, where farming, forestry, and other resource uses are protected, and very
low-density residential uses, and small-scale non-residential uses are allowed; or
● c) Resource land, where permanent regionally significant agricultural, forestry, and mining
lands are preserved.
In each of these lands, environmentally sensitive critical areas may exist and these are to be
conserved through regulations, incentives, and programs. Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

Urban Growth Area

The Urban Growth Area encompasses all of the urban designated lands within King County.
These lands include all cities as well as a portion of unincorporated King County. Consistent
with the Growth Management Act and VISION 2040, urban lands are intended to be the focus
of future growth that is compact, includes a mix of uses, and is well-served by public
infrastructure. Urban lands also include a network of open space where ongoing maintenance is
a local as well as a regional concern.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

The pattern of growth within the Urban Growth Area implements the Regional Growth Strategy
through the allocation of targets to local jurisdictions. The targets create an obligation to plan
and provide zoning for future potential growth, but do not obligate a jurisdiction to guarantee
that a given number of housing units will be built or jobs added during the planning period.

Several additional elements in the Development Patterns chapter reinforce the vision and
targeted growth pattern for the Urban Growth Area. Procedures and criteria for amending the
Urban Growth Area boundary address a range of objectives and ensure that changes balance
the needs for land to accommodate growth with the overarching goal of preventing sprawl
within the county. A review and evaluation program provides feedback for the county and cities
on the effectiveness of their efforts to accommodate and achieve the desired land use pattern.
Joint planning facilitates the transition of governance of the Urban Growth Area from the
county to cities, consistent with the Growth Management Act, and helps ensure equitable
governance and service provision.

Urban form and development within the Urban Growth Area are important settings to provide
people with access to jobs and housing, choices to engage in more physical activity, eat healthy
food, and minimize exposure to harmful environments and substances. In particular, the
quality and safety of walking and biking routes children use to reach school is known to affect
their health. Access to sidewalks and pathways, healthy food, and open space is not shared
equally across the urban area. Historical underinvestment in neighborhoods where
communities of color have been concentrated and exclusion of communities of color from high-
opportunity areas persists today. The stability and sustainability of the Urban Growth Area
depend on fostering development patterns that provide access to opportunity for all.

Goal Statement: The Urban Growth Area accommodates boundary is stable and capacity within
it shall increase over time to accommodate growth consistent with the Regional Growth
Strategy and growth targets through land use patterns and practices that create vibrant,
healthy equitable, and sustainable communities.

Urban Lands
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

DP-2 Accommodate housing and employment growth first and foremost in cities and centers
within the Urban Growth Area, where residents and workers have higher access to opportunity
and high capacity transit. Promote a pattern of compact development within the Urban Growth
Area that includes housing at a range of urban densities, commercial and industrial
development, and other urban facilities, including medical, governmental, institutional, and
educational uses and schools, and parks and open space. The Urban Growth Area will include a

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

mix of uses that are convenient to and support public transportation in order to reduce reliance
on single occupancy vehicle travel for most daily activities.

DP-3 Efficiently develop Develop and use residential, commercial, and manufacturing land
efficiently in the Urban Growth Area to create healthy, and vibrant, and equitable urban
communities with a full range of urban services, and to protect the long-term viability of the
Rural Area and Resource Lands. Promote the efficient Efficient use of land within the Urban
Growth Area by using includes methods such as:
● a) Directing concentrations of housing and employment growth to high opportunity areas
like designated centers and station areas, consistent with the numeric goals in the
regional growth strategy;
● b) Encouraging compact and infill development with a mix of compatible residential,
commercial, and community activities;
c) Provide opportunities for greater housing growth closer to areas of high employment to
reduce commute times;
● d) Maximizing Optimizing the use of the existing capacity for housing and employment;
● e) Redeveloping underutilized lands, in a manner that considers equity and mitigates
displacement; and
● f) Coordinating plans for land use, transportation, schools, capital facilities and services.

DP-4 Concentrate housing and employment growth within the designated Urban Growth Area.
Focus housing growth in the Urban Growth Area within cities, countywide designated Urban
Centers designated regional centers, countywide centers, and locally designated local centers,
areas of high employment, and other transit supported areas to promote access to opportunity.
Focus employment growth within regional and countywide designated Urban and
Manufacturing/Industrial Centers manufacturing/industrial centers and within locally
designated local centers.

DP-5 Decrease Reduce greenhouse gas emissions through land use strategies that promote a
mix of housing, employment, and services at densities sufficient to promote walking, bicycling,
transit, and other alternatives to auto travel and look for opportunities to reduce overall
commute distances by locating housing closer to areas of high employment.
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

DP-6 Plan for development patterns Adopt land use and community investment strategies that
promote public health and address racially and ethnically disparate health outcomes and
promote access to opportunity. by providing all Focus on residents with the highest needs in
providing and enhancing opportunities for employment, safe and convenient daily physical
activity, social connectivity, and protection from exposure to harmful substances and
environments, and housing in high opportunity areas.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

DP-7 Plan for development patterns street networks that provide a high degree of connectivity
to encourage walking, bicycling, and transit use, and that promote safe and healthy routes to
and from public schools.

DP-8 Increase access to healthy and culturally relevant food in communities throughout the
Urban Growth Area by encouraging the location of healthy food purveyors, such as grocery
stores and, farmers markets, urban agriculture programs, and community food gardens in
proximity to residential uses and transit facilities, especially in those areas with limited access
to healthy food.

DP-9 Designate Urban Separators as permanent low-density incorporated and unincorporated

areas within the Urban Growth Area. Urban Separators are intended to protect Resource Lands,
the Rural Area, and environmentally sensitive areas, and create open space and wildlife
corridors within and between communities while also providing public health, environmental,
visual, and recreational benefits. Changes to Urban Separators are made pursuant to the
Countywide Planning Policies amendment process described in policy G-1. Designated Urban
Separators within cities and unincorporated areas are shown in the Urban Separators Map in
Appendix 3.

DP-10 Discourage incompatible land uses from locating adjacent to general aviation airports
throughout the county.

DP-10 No new Fully Contained Communities shall be approved in unincorporated King County.

DP-11 When large mixed-use developments are permitted adjacent to the Rural Area, then
permitting cities collaborate with King County during the development process so that impacts
on surrounding Rural Area and Natural Resource Lands are avoided and mitigated.

Growth Targets

Under the Growth Management Act, King County, in coordination with the cities in King County,
adopts growth targets for the ensuing 20-year planning period. Growth targets are policy
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

statements about the amount of housing and employment growth each jurisdiction is planning
to accommodate within its comprehensive plan. Growth targets are adopted for each
jurisdiction and unincorporated urban King County in the Countywide Planning Policies. Growth
targets for the cities in the rural area include the incorporated area and the associated Potential
Annexation Area, as shown in the map in Appendix 2.

DP-11 DP-12 GMPC shall allocate residential and employment growth to each city and urban
unincorporated urban area in the county. This allocation is predicated on:

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

● a) Accommodating the most recent 20-year population projection from the state Office of
Financial Management and the most recent 20-year regional employment forecast from
the Puget Sound Regional Council, informed by the 20-year projection of housing units
from the state Department of Commerce;
● b) Planning for a pattern of growth that is consistent with the Regional Growth Strategy
including focused growth within cities and Potential Annexation Areas with countywide
designated centers and within other larger cities high capacity transit station areas,
limited development in the Rural Area, and protection of designated Resource Lands;
● c) Efficiently using existing zoned and future planned development capacity as well as the
capacity of existing and planned infrastructure, including sewer and, water, and
stormwater systems;
● d) Promoting a land use pattern that can be served by a connected network of public
transportation services and facilities and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and
amenities;
● e) Improving the jobs/housing balance connection consistent with the Regional Growth
Strategy, both within between counties in the region and within subareas in the county;
● f) Promoting sufficient opportunities for housing and employment development that is
distributed throughout the Urban Growth Area and within all jurisdictions in a manner
that promotes racial and social equity;
● g) Allocating growth to individual each Potential Annexation Areas within the urban
unincorporated area generally proportionate to its share of unincorporated capacity for
housing and employment growth.

DP-12 DP-13 GMPC shall:

• a) Update housing and employment targets periodically to provide jurisdictions with up-
to-date growth allocations to be incorporated used as the land use assumption in state-
mandated comprehensive plan updates;
• b) Adopt housing and employment growth targets in the Countywide Planning Policies
pursuant to the procedure described in policy G-1;
• c) Create a coordinated countywide process to reconcile and set growth targets that
implements the Regional Growth Strategy through countywide shares of regional
housing and jobs, allocations to Regional Geographies, and individual jurisdictional
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

growth targets;
• d) At the outset of a growth target setting process, ensure that each jurisdiction sets
growth targets that are commensurate with their role in the Regional Growth Strategy
by establishing a set of objective criteria and principles to guide how jurisdictional
targets are determined (however targets can be exceeded if needed to meet affordable
housing requirements); and

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

• e) Adjust targets administratively upon annexation of unincorporated Potential

Annexation Areas by cities. Growth targets for the 2006-2031 planning period are
shown in table DP-1.

DP-13 DP-14 All jurisdictions shall plan Plan to accommodate housing and employment targets
in all jurisdictions. This includes:
• a) Using the adopted targets as the land use assumption for their comprehensive plan;
• b) Establishing local growth targets for regional growth centers and regional
manufacturing-industrial centers, where applicable;
• c) Adopting Ensuring adopted comprehensive plans and zoning regulations that provide
capacity for residential, commercial, and industrial uses that is sufficient to meet 20-
year growth needs targets and is consistent with the desired growth pattern described
in VISION 2040 2050;
• d) Coordinating Ensuring adopted local water, sewer, transportation, utility, and other
infrastructure plans and investments among agencies, including special purpose districts
district plans, are consistent in location and timing with adopted targets as well as
regional and countywide plans; and
• e) Transferring and accommodating unincorporated area housing and employment
targets as annexations occur.

Table DP-1: King County Jurisdiction Growth Targets 2006-2031

Net New Units 2006-2031 Net New Jobs 2006-2031
Potential Annexation Potential
Housing Employment
Area Annexation Area
Target Target
Housing Target Emp Target
Metropolitan Cities
Bellevue 17,000 290 53,000
Seattle 86,000 146,700
Metropolitan Cities Subtotal 103,000 199,700
Auburn 9,620 19,350
Bothell 3,000 810 4,800 200
Burien 4,440 4,960
Federal Way 8,100 2,390 12,300 290
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS
Core Cities

Kent 9,270 90 13,280 210

Kirkland 8,570 20,850
Redmond 10,200 640 23,000
Renton 14,835 3,895 29,000 470
SeaTac 5,800 25,300
Tukwila 4,800 50 15,500 2,050
Core Cities Subtotal 78,638 168,340
Des Moines 3,000 5,000
a
L

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

Table DP-1: King County Jurisdiction Growth Targets 2006-2031

Net New Units 2006-2031 Net New Jobs 2006-2031
Potential Annexation Potential
Housing Employment
Area Annexation Area
Target Target
Housing Target Emp Target
Issaquah 5,750 290 20,000
Kenmore 3,500 3,000
Maple Valley 1,800 1,060 2,000
Mercer Island 2,000 1,000
Sammamish 4,000 350 1,800
Shoreline 5,000 5,000
Woodinville 3,000 5,000
Larger Cities Subtotal 28,050 42,800
Algona 190 210
Beaux Arts 3 3
Black Diamond 1,900 1,050
Carnation 330 370
Clyde Hill 10 0
Covington 1,470 1,320
Duvall 1,140 840
Enumclaw 1,425 735
Small Cities

Hunts Point 1 0
Lake Forest Park 475 210
Medina 19 0
Milton 50 90 160
Newcastle 1,200 735
Normandy Park 120 65
North Bend 665 1,050
Pacific 285 135 370
Skykomish 10 0
Snoqualmie 1,615 1,050
Yarrow Point 14 0
Small Cities Subtotal 10,922 8,168
Potential Annexation 10,090 3,220
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS
Urban Unincorp

Areas
North Highline 820 2,170
Bear Creek UPD 910 3,580
Unclaimed Urban 650 90
Uninc.
Urban Incorporated Subtotal 12,470 9,060
Urban Growth Area Total 233,077 428,068

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

Table DP-1: King County Jurisdiction Growth Targets 2019-2044

Net New Units and Jobs
2019-2044 2019-2044
Jurisdiction Housing Target Job Target
Bellevue 35,000 70,000
Metro
Cities

Seattle 112,000 169,500

Metropolitan Cities Subtotal 147,000 239,500

Auburn 12,000 19,520

Bothell 5,800 9,500
Burien 7,500 4,770
Federal Way 11,260 20,460
Core Cities

Issaquah 3,500 7,950

Kent 10,200 32,000
Kirkland 13,200 26,490
Redmond 20,000 24,000
Renton 17,000 31,780
SeaTac 5,900 14,810
Tukwila 6,500 15,890
Core Cities Subtotal 112,860 207,170

Des Moines 3,800 2,380

High Capacity Transit Communities

Federal Way PAA 1,020 720

Kenmore 3,070 3,200
Lake Forest Park 870 550
Mercer Island 1,239 1,300
Newcastle 1,480 500
North Highline PAA 1,420 1,220
Renton PAA - East Renton 170 0
Renton PAA - Fairwood 840 100
Renton PAA - Skyway/West Hill 670 600
Shoreline 13,330 10,000
Woodinville 2,033 5,000
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

High Capacity Transit 29,942 25,570

Communities Subtotal

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

Table DP-1: King County Jurisdiction Growth Targets 2019-2044

Net New Units and Jobs
2019-2044 2019-2044
Jurisdiction Housing Target Job Target
Algona 170 325
Beaux Arts 1 0
Black Diamond 2,900 680
Carnation 799 450
Clyde Hill 10 10
Covington 4,310 4,496
Duvall 890 990
Enumclaw 1,057 989
Cities and Towns

Hunts Point 1 0
Maple Valley 1,720 1,570
Medina 19 0
Milton 50 900
Normandy Park 153 35
North Bend 1,748 2,218
Pacific 135 75
Sammamish 700 305
Skykomish 10 0
Snoqualmie 1,500 4,425
Yarrow Point 10 0
Cities and Towns Subtotal 16,183 17,468

Auburn PAA 12 0
Bellevue PAA 17 0
Urban Unincorporated

Black Diamond PAA 328 0

Issaquah PAA 35 0
Kent PAA 3 300
Newcastle PAA 1 0
Pacific PAA 134 0
Redmond PAA 120 0
Sammamish PAA 194 0
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

Unaffiliated Urban Unincorporated 448 400

Urban Unincorporated Subtotal 1,292 700

Urban Growth Area Total 307,277 490,408

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

Amendments to the Urban Growth Area

The following policies guide the decision-making process by both the GMPC and King County
regarding proposals to expand amend the Urban Growth Area.

DP-14 DP-15 Review the Urban Growth Area at least every ten years. In this review consider
monitoring reports and other available data. As a result of this review, and based on the criteria
established in policies DP-15 and DP-16 through DP-19, King County may propose and then the
Growth Management Planning Council may recommend amendments to the Countywide
Planning Policies and King County Comprehensive Plan that make changes to the Urban Growth
Area boundary.

DP-15 DP-16 Allow amendment of the Urban Growth Area only when the following steps have
been satisfied:
a) The proposed expansion amendment is under review by the County as part of an
amendment process of the King County Comprehensive Plan;
b) King County submits the proposal to the Growth Management Planning Council for the
purposes of review and recommendation to the King County Council on the proposed
amendment to the Urban Growth Area;
c) The King County Council approves or denies the proposed amendment; and
d) If approved by the King County Council, the proposed amendment is ratified by the cities
following the procedures set forth in policy GFW-1.

DP-16 DP-17 Allow expansion of the Urban Growth Area only if at least one of the following
criteria is met:
a) A countywide analysis determines that the current Urban Growth Area is insufficient in
size and additional land is needed to accommodate the housing and employment
growth targets, including institutional and other non-residential uses, and there are no
other reasonable measures, such as increasing density or rezoning existing urban land,
that would avoid the need to expand the Urban Growth Area; or
b) A proposed expansion of the contiguous Urban Growth Area is accompanied by
dedication of permanent open space to the King County Open Space System, where the
acreage of the proposed open space:
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

1) is at least a minimum of four times the acreage of the land added to the Urban
Growth Area; and
2) is contiguous with the original 1994 Urban Growth Area with at least a portion of the
dedicated open space surrounding the proposed Urban Growth Area expansion; and
3) Preserves is onsite and preserves high quality habitat, critical areas, or unique
features that contribute to the band of permanent open space along the edge of the
Urban Growth Area; or

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c.) The area is currently a King County park being transferred to a city to be maintained as a
park in perpetuity or is park land that has been owned by a city since 1994 and is less
than thirty acres in size.

DP-17 DP-18 If Add land to the Urban Growth Area only if expansion of the Urban Growth
Area is warranted based on the criteria in DP-16(a) or DP-16(b) DP-17(a) or DP-17(b), add land
to the Urban Growth Area only if and it meets all of the following criteria:
a) Is adjacent to the existing Urban Growth Area;
b) For expansions based on DP-16(a) DP-17(a) only, is no larger than necessary to promote
compact development that accommodates anticipated growth needs and is adjacent to
the existing Urban Growth Area;
b) For expansions based on DP-17(b), is:
1) adjacent to the original 1994 contiguous Urban Growth Area;
2) only residential development is allowed on the new urban lands;
3) no development on the property shall occur until the property is annexed by the city.
These Urban Growth Area expansions require an agreement between the property
owner, the annexing city, and the County;
c) Can be efficiently provided with urban services and does not require any supportive
facilities, services, roads, or any infrastructure to cross or be located in the Rural Area,
Resource Lands, or new open space area, and does not overly burden King County road
networks in the Rural Area;
d) Follows topographical features that form natural boundaries, such as rivers and ridge
lines and does not extend beyond natural boundaries, such as watersheds, that impede
the provision of urban services;
e) Is not currently designated as Resource Land;
f) Is sufficiently free of environmental constraints to be able to support urban development
without significant adverse environmental impacts, unless the area is designated as an
Urban Separator by interlocal agreement between King County and the annexing city;
and
g) Is subject to an agreement between King County and the city or town adjacent to the
area that the area will be added to the city’s Potential Annexation Area. Upon ratification
of the amendment, the Countywide Planning Policies will reflect both the Urban Growth
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

Area change and Potential Annexation Area change.

DP-18 DP-19 Allow redesignation of Urban land currently within the Urban Growth Area to
Rural land outside of the Urban Growth Area if the land is not needed to accommodate
projected urban growth, is not served by public sewers, is contiguous with the Rural Area, and:
a) Is not characterized by urban development;
b) Is currently developed with a low density lot pattern that cannot be realistically
redeveloped at an urban density; or

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c) Is characterized by environmentally sensitive areas making it inappropriate for higher

density development.

Review and Evaluation Program

The following policies guide the decision-buildable lands program conducted by the GMPC and
King County.

DP-19 DP-20 Conduct a buildable lands program that meets or exceeds the review and
evaluation requirements of the Growth Management Act. The purposes of the buildable lands
program are:
• a) To collect and analyze data on development activity, including land supply, zoning,
development standards, land uses, critical areas, and capacity for residential,
commercial, and industrial land uses in urban areas;
• To evaluate the consistency of actual development densities with current
comprehensive plans; and
• b) To determine whether jurisdictions are achieving urban densities and planned growth
consistent with comprehensive plans, countywide planning policies, and multicounty
planning policies; and
• c) To evaluate the sufficiency of land capacity to accommodate growth for the
remainder of the planning period.

DP-20 If necessary based on the findings of a periodic buildable lands evaluation report, adopt
reasonable measures, other than expansion of the Urban Growth Area, to increase land
capacity for housing and employment growth within the Urban Growth Area by making more
efficient use of urban land consistent with current plans and targets.

DP-21 The County and the cities, through the Growth Management Planning Council, will
collaboratively determine whether reasonable measures other than amending the Urban
Growth Area are necessary to ensure sufficient additional capacity if a countywide urban
growth capacity report, informed by local data and analysis where appropriate, determines
that:
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

a) the current Urban Growth Area is insufficient in capacity to accommodate the housing
and employment growth targets; or
b) any jurisdiction:
1) contains insufficient capacity to accommodate the housing and employment growth
targets;
2) has established regulatory or programmatic barriers to growth that prevent progress
toward achieving the housing and employment growth targets; or
3) has not achieved urban densities consistent with the adopted comprehensive plan.

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Reasonable measures should be adopted to help implement local targets in a manner

consistent with the Regional Growth Strategy.

DP-22 Adopt any necessary reasonable measures in comprehensive plans, and these may
include increased land capacity for housing and employment or other measures to promote
growth that is consistent with planned urban densities and adopted housing and employment
targets. Jurisdictions will report adopted reasonable measures to the GMPC and will collaborate
to provide data periodically on the effectiveness of those measures.

Joint Planning and Annexation

DP-21 DP-23 Coordinate the preparation of comprehensive plans among with adjacent and
other affected jurisdictions as a means, military facilities, tribal governments, ports, airports,
and other related entities to avoid or mitigate the potential cross-border impacts of urban
development and encroachment of incompatible uses.

DP-22 DP-24 Designate Potential Annexation Areas in city comprehensive plans and adopt
them in the Countywide Planning Policies. Ensure that Affiliate all Potential Annexation Areas
with adjacent cities and ensure they do not overlap or leave urban unincorporated urban
islands between cities. Except for parcel or block-level annexations that facilitate service
provision, commercial areas, and low- and high-income residential areas shall be annexed
holistically rather than in a manner that leaves residential urban unincorporated areas
stranded. Annexation is preferred over incorporation.

DP-23 DP-25 Facilitate the annexation of unincorporated areas within the Urban Growth Area
that are already urbanized and are within a city’s Potential Annexation Area in order to provide
increase the provision of urban services to those areas. Annexation is preferred over
incorporation. To move Potential Annexation Areas towards annexation, cities and the County
shall work to establish pre-annexation agreements that identify mutual interests, and ensure
coordinated planning and compatible development until annexation is feasible.

DP-26 Develop agreements between King County and cities with Potential Annexation Areas to
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

apply city-compatible development standards that will guide land development prior to
annexation. Utilize tools and strategies such as service and infrastructure financing, transferring
permitting authority, or identifying appropriate funding sources to address infrastructure and
service provision issues.

DP-24 DP-27 Allow cities to annex territory only within their designated Potential Annexation
Area as shown in the Potential Annexation Areas Map in Appendix 2. Phase annexations to

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coincide with the ability of cities or existing special purpose districts to coordinate the provision
of a full range of urban services to areas to be annexed.
a) For areas that have received approval for annexation from the King County Boundary
Review Board, the City shall include a process that includes collaboration with King
County for annexation in the next statutory update of their Comprehensive Plan.
b) Jurisdictions may negotiate with one another regarding changing boundaries or
affiliations of Potential Annexation Areas and may propose such changes to GMPC as an
amendment to Appendix 2. In proposing any new or revised PAA boundaries or city
affiliation, jurisdictions should consider the criteria in DP-29. In order to ensure that any
changes can be included in local comprehensive plans, any proposals resulting from
such negotiation should be brought to GMPC for action no later than two years prior to
the statutory deadline for the major plan update.

DP-25 DP-28 Within the North Highline unincorporated area, where Potential Annexation
Areas overlapped prior to January 1, 2009, strive Strive to establish alternative non-overlapping
Potential Annexation Area boundaries within the North Highline unincorporated area, where
Potential Annexation Areas overlapped prior to January 1, 2009, through a process of
negotiation. Absent a negotiated resolution, a city may file a Notice of Intent to Annex with the
Boundary Review Board for King County for territory within its designated portion of a Potential
Annexation Area overlap as shown in the Potential Annexation Areas Map in Appendix 2 and
detailed in the city’s comprehensive plan after the following steps have been taken:
a) The city proposing annexation has, at least 30 days prior to filing a Notice of Intent to
annex with the Boundary Review Board, contacted in writing the cities with the PAA
overlap and the county to provide notification of the city’s intent to annex and to
request a meeting or formal mediation to discuss boundary alternatives, and;
b) The cities with the Potential Annexation Area overlap and the county have either:
i) 1) Agreed to meet but failed to develop a negotiated settlement to the overlap within
60 days of receipt of the notice, or
ii) 2) Declined to meet or failed to respond in writing within 30 days of receipt of the
notice.

(DP-26 moved from this location to earlier in chapter given policy number changes)
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

DP-27 DP-29 Evaluate proposals to annex or incorporate urban unincorporated land based on
the following criteria, as applicable:
a) Conformance with Countywide Planning Policies including the Urban Growth Area
boundary;
b) The ability of the annexing or incorporating jurisdiction to efficiently provide urban
services at standards equal to or better than the current service providers; and
c) Annexation The effect of the annexation or incorporation in a manner that will avoid
avoiding or creating unincorporated islands of development;

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d) The ability to serve the area in a manner that addresses social equity and promotes
access to opportunity; and
e) Based upon joint outreach to community, the ability and interest of a city in moving
forward with a timely annexation of the area, consistent with these criteria.

DP-28 DP-30 Resolve the issue of unincorporated road islands within or between cities.
Roadways Annexation of roadways and shared streets within or between cities, but still under
King County jurisdiction, should be annexed by considered by cities that are adjacent cities to
them. Cities and the county shall work to establish timeframes for annexation of road islands.

Centers and Station Areas

A centers strategy is the linchpin for King County to achieve the Regional Growth Strategy as
well as a range of other objectives, particularly providing a land use framework for an efficient
and effective regional transit system, and guiding growth to locations planned for greater
access to opportunity. Countywide designation of Urban Centers Designated regional centers
and local designation of local centers provide for locations of mixed-use zoning, infrastructure,
and concentrations of services and amenities to accommodate both housing and employment
growth. Manufacturing/Industrial Centers preserve lands for family-wage jobs in basic
industries and trade and provide areas where that employment may grow in the future.

Goal Statement: King County grows in a manner that reinforces and expands upon a system of
existing and planned high capacity transit in central places within which concentrated
residential communities and economic activities can flourish.

Urban Regional Growth Centers

DP-29 DP-31 Concentrate Focus housing and employment growth within into designated
Urban Centers regional growth centers, at levels consistent with the Regional Growth Strategy,
and at densities that maximize high capacity transit. Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

DP-30 DP-32 Designate Urban Centers regional growth centers in the Countywide Planning
Policies where city-nominated locations meet the criteria in policies DP-31 and DP-32 and
where the city’s commitments will help ensure the success of the center. the King County
Centers Designation Framework, as adopted in Appendix 6. Urban Centers Regional growth
centers will be limited in number and located on existing or planned high capacity transit
corridors to provide a framework for targeted private and public investments that support
regional land use and transportation goals. The Land Use Map in Appendix 1 shows the
locations of the designated Urban Centers.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

DP-31 Allow designation of new Urban Centers where the proposed Center:
a) Encompasses an area up to one and a half square miles; and
b) Has adopted zoning regulations and infrastructure plans that are adequate to accommodate
i) A minimum of 15,000 jobs within one-half mile of an existing or planned high-capacity
transit station;
ii) At a minimum, an average of 50 employees per gross acre within the Urban Center; and
iii) At a minimum, an average of 15 housing units per gross acre within the Urban Center.

DP-33 The King County Centers Designation Framework establishes designation processes and
timelines, minimum existing and planned density thresholds, and subarea planning
expectations. King County designated centers are shown on the Generalized Land Use
Categories Map in Appendix 1.

DP-32 Adopt a map and housing and employment growth targets in city comprehensive plans
for each Urban Center, and adopt policies to promote and maintain quality of life in the Center
through:
• A broad mix of land uses that foster both daytime and nighttime activities and
opportunities for social interaction;
• A range of affordable and healthy housing choices;
• Historic preservation and adaptive reuse of historic places;
• Parks and public open spaces that are accessible and beneficial to all residents in the
Urban Center;
• Strategies to increase tree canopy within the Urban Center and incorporate low-impact
development measures to minimize stormwater runoff;
• Facilities to meet human service needs;
• Superior urban design which reflects the local community vision for compact urban
development;
• Pedestrian and bicycle mobility, transit use, and linkages between these modes;
• Planning for complete streets to provide safe and inviting access to multiple travel
modes, especially bicycle and pedestrian travel; and
• Parking management and other strategies that minimize trips made by single-occupant
vehicle, especially during peak commute periods.
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

DP-33 Form the land use foundation for a regional high-capacity transit system through the
designation of a system of Urban Centers. Urban Centers should receive high priority for the
location of transit service.

DP-34 Establish subarea plans for designated regional and countywide centers that comport
with the expectations in the King County Centers Designation Framework adopted in Appendix
6.

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DP-35 Evaluate the potential physical, economic, and cultural displacement of residents and
businesses in regional growth centers and high capacity transit station areas, particularly for
Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and other communities at greatest risk. Use a range of strategies
to mitigate identified displacement impacts.

Countywide and Local Centers

DP-36 Designate countywide centers in the Countywide Planning Policies where locations meet
the criteria in the King County Centers Designation Framework. Countywide centers shall have
zoned densities that support high capacity transit and be located on existing or planned transit
corridors.

DP-38 DP-37 Identify in comprehensive plans Support the designation of local centers, such as
city or neighborhood centers, transit station areas, or other activity nodes, where housing,
employment, and services are accommodated in a compact form and at sufficient densities to
support transit service and to make efficient use of urban land.

Manufacturing/ Industrial Centers

DP-37 DP-38 Designate additional Manufacturing/ Industrial Centers and accommodate

industrial employment growth in a network of regional and countywide industrial centers to
support economic development and middle-wage jobs in King County. The Generalized Land
Use Categories Map in Appendix 1 shows the locations of the designated
Manufacturing/Industrial Centers. Designate these centers in the Countywide Planning Policies
pursuant to the procedures described in policy G-1 based on nominations from cities and after
determining that:
a) the nominated locations meet the criteria set forth in policy DP-35 the King County
Centers Designation Framework and the criteria established by the Puget Sound
Regional Council for Regional Manufacturing/ Industrial Centers regional
manufacturing/ industrial centers;
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

b) the proposed center’s location will promote a countywide system of

Manufacturing/Industrial Centers manufacturing/ industrial centers with the total
number of centers representing a realistic growth strategy for the county; and
c) the city’s commitments will help ensure the success of the center.

DP-34 Concentrate manufacturing and industrial employment within countywide designated

Manufacturing/ Industrial Centers. The Land Use Map in Appendix 1 shows the locations of the
designated Manufacturing/Industrial Centers.

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DP-35 Adopt in city comprehensive plans a map and employment growth targets for each
Manufacturing/ Industrial Center and adopt policies and regulations for the Center to:
• Provide zoning and infrastructure adequate to accommodate a minimum of 10,000 jobs;
• Preserve and enhance sites that are appropriate for manufacturing or other industrial
uses;
• Strictly limit residential uses and discourage land uses that are not compatible with
manufacturing and industrial uses, such as by imposing low maximum size limits on
offices and retail uses that are not accessory to an industrial use;
• Facilitate the mobility of employees by transit and the movement of goods by truck, rail,
air or waterway, as appropriate;
• Provide for capital facility improvement projects which support the movement of goods
and manufacturing/industrial operations;
• Ensure that utilities are available to serve the center;
• Avoid conflicts with adjacent land uses to ensure the continued viability of the land in
the Manufacturing/ Industrial Center for manufacturing and industrial activities; and
• Attract and retain the types of businesses that will ensure economic growth and
stability.

DP-36 DP-38 Minimize or mitigate potential health impacts of the activities in

Manufacturing/Industrial Centers manufacturing/industrial centers on residential communities,
schools, open space, and other public facilities.

(DP-37 moved to DP-38)

(Local Centers and DP-38 moved to DP-37)

Urban Design and Historic Preservation

The countywide vision includes elements of urban design and form intended to integrate urban
development into existing built and natural environments in ways that enhance both the urban
and natural settings to create vibrant places. These elements promote public health, include
high quality design, context sensitive infill and redevelopment, historic preservation, and
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

cultural awareness, as well as the interdependence of urban and rural and agricultural lands
and uses.

Goal statement: The built environment in both urban and rural settings achieves a high degree
of high quality design that recognizes and enhances, where appropriate, existing natural and
urban settings and human health and dignity.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

DP-39 Develop neighborhood planning and design processes that encourage infill
development, redevelopment, and reuse of existing buildings and that, where appropriate
based on local plans, enhance the existing community character and mix of uses. Plan for
neighborhoods or subareas to encourage infill and redevelopment, provision of adequate public
spaces, and reuse of existing buildings and underutilized lands, as well as enhance public
health, existing community character, and mix of uses. Neighborhood and subarea planning will
include equitable engagement with low-income households, Black, Indigenous, and other
communities of color, and immigrants, including people facing language barriers.

DP-40 Promote a high quality of design and site planning in publicly-funded and private
development throughout the Urban Growth Area. Provide for connectivity in the street
network to accommodate walking, bicycling, and transit use to promote health and well-being.

DP-41 Preserve significant historic, visual, archeological, cultural, architectural, artistic, and
environmental features, especially where growth could place these resources at risk. Support
cultural resources that reflect the diversity of the community. Where appropriate, designate
individual features or areas for protection or restoration. Encourage land use patterns and
adopt regulations that protect historic resources and sustain historic community character
while allowing for equitable growth and development.

DP-42 Design new development to create Create and protect systems of green infrastructure,
such as urban forests, parks, green roofs, and natural drainage systems, in order to reduce
climate-altering pollution and increase resilience of communities to climate change impacts.
Prioritize neighborhoods with historical underinvestment in green infrastructure. Use natural
features crossing jurisdictional boundaries to help determine the routes and placement of
infrastructure connections and improvements.

DP-43 Design communities, neighborhoods, and individual developments using techniques that
reduce heat absorption, particularly in Urban Centers. Regional and Countywide Centers and
residential neighborhoods with less tree canopy and open spaces.

DP-44 Adopt flexible design standards, parking requirements, incentives, or guidelines that
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

foster green building, multimodal transportation, and infill development that is compatible with
enhances the existing or desired urban character. Ensure adequate code enforcement so that
flexible regulations are appropriately implemented.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

Rural Area and Natural Resource Lands

The Rural Area and Natural Resource Lands encompass all areas outside of the Urban Growth
Area and include Vashon Island in Puget Sound and the area just east of the Urban Growth Area
all the way to the crest of the Cascade Mountains.

Rural Area
The Rural Area is characterized by low density development with a focus on activities that are
dependent on the land such as small scale farming and forestry. The Rural Area also provides
important environmental and habitat functions and is critical for salmon recovery. The location
of the Rural Area, between the Urban Growth Area and designated Resource Lands, helps to
protect commercial agriculture and timber from incompatible uses. The Rural Area, outside of
the Rural Cities in the Rural Area, is to remain in unincorporated King County and is to be
provided with a rural level of service.

Rural Area
Goal Statement: The Rural Area provides geography is stable and the level and pattern of
growth within it provide for a variety of landscapes and open space lands, maintains diverse
low density communities, and supports rural economic activities based on sustainable
stewardship of the land.

DP-45 Provide opportunities for residential and employment growth within Cities in the Rural
Area at levels consistent with adopted growth targets. Growth levels should not create
pressure for conversion of nearby Rural or Resource lands, nor pressure for extending or
expanding urban services, infrastructure, and facilities such as roads or sewer across or into the
Rural Area.

DP-45 DP-46 Limit growth in the Rural Area to prevent sprawl and the overburdening of rural
services, reduce and avoid the need for new rural infrastructure, maintain rural character, and
protect open spaces and the natural environment. Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

DP-46 DP-47 Limit residential development in the Rural Area to housing at low densities that
are compatible with rural character and comply with the following density guidelines:
a) One home per 20 acres where a pattern of large lots exists and to buffer Forest
Protection Districts and Agricultural Districts;
b) One home per 10 acres where the predominant lot size is less than 20 acres; or
c) One home per five acres where the predominant lot size is less than 10 acres.

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d) Allow limited clustering within development sites to avoid prevent development on

environmentally critical lands or on productive forest or agricultural lands, but not to exceed
the density guidelines cited in (a) through (c).

DP-47 DP-48 Limit the extension of urban infrastructure improvements through the Rural Area
to only cases where it is necessary to serve the Urban Growth Area and where there are no
other feasible alignments. Such limited extensions may be considered only if land use controls
are in place to restrict uses appropriate for the Rural Area and only if access management
controls are in place to prohibit tie-ins to the extended facilities. Transit service may cross non-
urban lands to serve cities in the Rural Area.

DP-48 DP-49 Establish rural development standards to protect and strategies to ensure all
development protects the natural environment, including farmlands and forest lands, by using
seasonal and maximum clearing limits for vegetation, limits on the amount of impervious
surface, surface water management standards that preserve natural drainage systems, water
quality and groundwater recharge, and best management practices for resource -based
activities.

DP-49 DP-50 Prevent or, if necessary, mitigate negative impacts of urban development to the
adjacent Rural Area. Mitigate negative impacts of industrial-scale development that occurs
within the Rural Area.

DP-50 DP-51 Except as provided in Appendix 5 (March 31, 2012 School Siting Task Force
Report), limit new nonresidential uses located in the Rural Area to those that are demonstrated
to serve the Rural Area, unless the use is dependent upon a rural location. Such uses shall be of
a size, scale, and nature that is consistent with rural character.

DP-51 DP-52 Allow cities that own property in the Rural Area to enter into interlocal
agreements with King County to allow the cities to provide services to the properties they own
as long as the cities agree to not annex the property or serve it with sewers or any
infrastructure at an urban level of service. The use of the property must be consistent with the
rural land use policies in the Countywide Planning Policies and the King County Comprehensive
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

Plan.

Natural Resource Lands

The Natural Resource Lands are designated areas with long -term commercial significance for
agriculture, forestry, and mining, and are depicted in the Land Use Map in Appendix 1 as Forest
Product Districts, Agricultural Production Districts, and Mineral Resource Lands. The use and
designation of these lands are to be permanent, in accordance with the Growth Management
Act. King County has maintained this base of agriculture and forest lands despite the rapid

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growth of the previous decades. The Resource Lands are to remain in unincorporated King
County but their benefit and significance is felt throughout the county into the cities. Within
cities, farmers markets are becoming important and sought after neighborhood amenities.

The forests of the Pacific Northwest are some of the most productive in the world and King
County has retained two-thirds of the county in forest cover. Large scale forestry is a
traditional land use in the eastern half of King County and remains a significant contributor to
the rural economy. In addition, forests provide exceptional recreational opportunities,
including downhill and cross-country skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and backpacking.

Goal Statement: Resource Lands are valuable long-term assets of King County and are
renowned for their productivity and sustainable management.

DP-52 DP-53 Promote and support forestry, agriculture, mining, and other resource-based
industries outside of the Urban Growth Area as part of a diverse and sustainable regional
economy. Avoid redesignating natural resource lands to rural.

DP-53 DP-54 Conserve commercial agricultural and forestry resource lands primarily for their
long-term productive resource value and for the open space, scenic views, wildlife habitat, and
critical area protection they provide. Limit Avoid redesignation to non-resource uses and limit
the subdivision of land so that parcels remain large enough for commercial resource
production.

DP-54 DP-55 Encourage best practices in agriculture and forestry operations for long-term
protection of the natural resources, habitat, and workers. Develop programs and strategies
based on collaborative watershed processes that balance the needs of resource-based
industries with habitat and species protection.

DP-55 DP-56 Prohibit annexation of lands within designated Agricultural Production Districts
or within Forest Production Districts by cities.

DP-56 DP-57 Retain the Lower Green River Agricultural Production District as a regionally
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

designated resource that is to remain in unincorporated King County.

DP-57 DP-58 Discourage Prevent incompatible land uses adjacent to designated Resource
Lands to prevent avoid interference with their continued use for the production of agricultural,
mining, or forest products.

DP-58 DP-59 Support agricultural, farmland, and aquatic uses that enhance the food system,
and promote local production and processing of food to reduce the need for long distance
transport and to increase the reliability and security of local food. Promote activities and

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

infrastructure, such as farmers markets, farm worker housing and agricultural processing
facilities, that benefit both cities and farms by improving access to locally grown agricultural
products.

DP-59 DP-60 Support institutional procurement policies that encourage purchases of locally
grown food products.

DP-60 DP-61 Ensure that extractive industries and industrial-scale operations on resource
lands maintain environmental quality and, minimize negative impacts on adjacent lands, and
that an appropriate level of reclamation occurs prior to redesignation.

DP-61 DP-62 Use a range of tools, including land use designations, development regulations,
level-of-service standards, and transfer or purchase of development rights to preserve Rural
and Resource Lands and focus urban development within the Urban Growth Area.

DP-62 DP-63 Use transfer of development rights to shift potential development from the Rural
Area and Resource Lands into the Urban Growth Area, especially cities. Implement transfer of
development rights within King County through a partnership between the county and cities
that is designed to:
• a) Identify rural and resource sending sites that satisfy countywide conservation goals
and are consistent with regionally coordinated transfer of development rights efforts;
• b) Preserve rural and resource lands of compelling interest countywide and to
participating cities;
• c) Identify appropriate transfer of development rights receiving areas within cities;
• d) Identify incentives for city participation in regional transfer of development rights (i.e.
county-to-city transfer of development rights);
• e) Develop interlocal agreements that allow rural and resource land development rights
to be used in city receiving areas;
• f) Identify and secure opportunities to fund or finance infrastructure within city transfer
of development rights receiving areas; and
• g) Be compatible with existing within-city transfer of development rights programs.

HOUSING
The Countywide Planning Policies provide a framework for all jurisdictions to plan for and
Chapter: HOUSING

promote a range of affordable, accessible, and healthy housing choices for current and future
residents. Within King County, there is an unmet need for housing that is affordable for
households earning less than 80 percent of area median income (AMI). Households within this
category include low-wage workers in services and other industries; persons on fixed incomes

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

including many disabled and elderly residents; and homeless individuals and families. A high
proportion of these households spend a greater percentage of their income on housing than is
typically considered appropriate. This is especially true for low and very low income
households earning 50 percent or less (low) and 30 percent or less (very-low) of area median
income. The county and all cities share in the responsibility to increase the supply of housing
that is affordable to these households.

While neither the county nor the cities can guarantee that a given number of units at a given
price level will exist, be preserved, or be produced during the planning period, establishing the
countywide need clarifies the scope of the effort for each jurisdiction. The type of policies and
strategies that are appropriate for a jurisdiction to consider will vary and will be based on its
analysis of housing. Some jurisdictions where the overall supply of affordable housing is
significantly less than their proportional share of the countywide need may need to undertake a
range of strategies addressing needs at multiple income levels, including strategies to create
new affordable housing. Other jurisdictions that currently have housing stock that is already
generally affordable may focus their efforts on preserving existing affordable housing through
efforts such as maintenance and repair, and ensuring long-term affordability. It may also be
appropriate to focus efforts on the needs of specific demographic segments of the population.

The policies below recognize the significant countywide need for affordable housing to focus on
the strategies that can be taken both individually and in collaboration to meet the countywide
need. These policies envision cities and the county following a four step process

1. Conduct an inventory and analysis of housing needs and conditions;

2. Implement policies and strategies to address unmet needs;
3. Measure results; and
4. Respond to measurement with reassessment and adjustment of strategies.

The provision of housing affordable to very-low income households, those earning less than
30% of AMI, is the most challenging problem and one faced by all communities in the county.
Housing for these very-low income households cannot be met solely through the private
market. Meeting this need will require interjurisdictional cooperation and support from public
agencies, including the cities and the county.

Overarching Goal: The housing needs of all economic and demographic groups are met within
all jurisdictions.
Chapter: HOUSING

H-1 Address the countywide need for housing affordable to households with moderate, low
and very-low incomes, including those with special needs. The countywide need for housing by
percentage of Area Median Income (AMI) is:
50-80% of AMI (moderate) 16% of total housing supply

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

30-50% of AMI (low) 12% of total housing supply

30% and below AMI (very-low) 12% of total housing supply

H-2 Address the need for housing affordable to households at less than 30% AMI (very low
income), recognizing that this is where the greatest need exists, and addressing this need will
require funding, policies and collaborative actions by all jurisdictions working individually and
collectively.

Housing Inventory and Needs Analysis

The Growth Management Act requires an inventory and analysis of existing and projected
housing needs as part of each jurisdiction’s comprehensive plan housing element. Assessing
local housing needs provides jurisdictions with information about the local housing supply, the
cost of housing, and the demographic and income levels of the community’s households. This
information on current and future housing conditions provides the basis for the development of
effective housing policies and programs. While some cities may find that they meet the current
need for housing for some populations groups, the inventory and needs analysis will help
identify those income levels and demographic segments of the population where there is the
greatest need. Further guidance on conducting a housing inventory and analysis is provided in
Appendix 4.

H-3 Conduct an inventory and analysis of existing and projected housing needs of all economic
and demographic segments of the population in each jurisdiction. The analysis and inventory
shall include:
a. Characteristics of the existing housing stock, including supply, affordability and
diversity of housing types;
b. Characteristics of populations, including projected growth and demographic change;
c. The housing needs of very-low, low, and moderate-income households; and
d. The housing needs of special needs populations.

Strategies to Meet Housing Needs

VISION 2040 encourages local jurisdictions to adopt best housing practices and innovative
techniques to advance the provision of affordable, healthy, sustainable, and safe housing for all
residents. Meeting the county’s affordable housing needs will require actions by a wide range
of private for profit, non-profit and government entities, including substantial resources from
Chapter: HOUSING

federal, state, and local levels. No single tool will be sufficient to meet the full range of needs in
a given jurisdiction. The county and cities are encouraged to employ a range of housing tools to
ensure the countywide need is addressed and to respond to local conditions. Further detail on

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the range of strategies for promoting housing supply and affordability is contained in Appendix
4.

Jobs-housing balance, addressed in H-9, is a concept that advocates an appropriate match

between the number of existing jobs and available housing supply within a geographic
area. Improving balance means adding more housing to job-rich areas and more jobs to
housing-rich areas.

H-4 Provide zoning capacity within each jurisdiction in the Urban Growth Area for a range of
housing types and densities, sufficient to accommodate each jurisdiction’s overall housing
targets and, where applicable, housing growth targets in designated Urban Centers.

H-5 Adopt policies, strategies, actions and regulations at the local and countywide levels that
promote housing supply, affordability, and diversity, including those that address a significant
share of the countywide need for housing affordable to very-low, low, and moderate income
households. These strategies should address the following:
a. Overall supply and diversity of housing, including both rental and ownership;
b. Housing suitable for a range of household types and sizes;
c. Affordability to very-low, low, and moderate income households;
d. Housing suitable and affordable for households with special needs;
e. Universal design and sustainable development of housing; and
f. Housing supply, including affordable housing and special needs housing, within
Urban Centers and in other areas planned for concentrations of mixed land uses.

H-6 Preserve existing affordable housing units, where appropriate, including acquisition and
rehabilitation of housing for long-term affordability.

H-7 Identify barriers to housing affordability and implement strategies to overcome them.

H-8 Tailor housing policies and strategies to local needs, conditions and opportunities,
recognizing the unique strengths and challenges of different cities and sub-regions.
Jurisdictions may consider a full range of programs, from optional to mandatory, that will assist
in meeting the jurisdictions’s share of the countywide need for affordable housing.

H-9 Plan for housing that is accessible to major employment centers and affordable to the
workforce in them so people of all incomes can live near or within reasonable commuting
distance of their places of work. Encourage housing production at a level that improves the
Chapter: HOUSING

balance of housing to employment throughout the county.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

H-10 Promote housing affordability in coordination with transit, bicycle, and pedestrian plans
and investments and in proximity to transit hubs and corridors, such as through transit oriented
development and planning for mixed uses in transit station areas.

H-11 Encourage the maintenance of existing housing stock in order to ensure that the
condition and quality of the housing is safe and livable.

H-12 Plan for residential neighborhoods that protect and promote the health and well-being of
residents by supporting active living and healthy eating and by reducing exposure to harmful
environments.

H-13 Promote fair housing and plan for communities that include residents with a range of
abilities, ages, races, incomes, and other diverse characteristics of the population of the county.

Regional Cooperation

Housing affordability is important to regional economic vitality and sustainability. Housing

markets do not respect jurisdictional boundaries. For these reasons, multijurisdictional efforts
for planning and adopting strategies to meet regional housing needs are an additional tool for
identifying and meeting the housing needs of households with moderate, low, and very-low
incomes. Collaborative efforts, supported by the work of Puget Sound Regional Council and
other agencies, contribute to producing and preserving affordable housing and coordinating
equitable, sustainable development in the county and region. Where individual cities lack
sufficient resources, collective efforts to fund or provide technical assistance for affordable
housing development and preservation, and for the creation of strategies and programs, can
help to meet the housing needs identified in comprehensive plans. Cities with similar housing
characteristics tend to be clustered geographically. Therefore, there are opportunities for
efficiencies and greater impact through interjurisdictional cooperation. Such efforts are
encouraged and can be a way to meet a jurisdiction’s share of the countywide affordable
housing need.

H-14 Work cooperatively among jurisdictions to provide mutual support in meeting countywide
housing growth targets and affordable housing needs.

H-15 Collaborate in developing sub-regional and countywide housing resources and programs,
including funding, to provide affordable housing for very-low, low-, and moderate-income
Chapter: HOUSING

households.

H-16 Work cooperatively with the Puget Sound Regional Council and other agencies to identify
ways to expand technical assistance to local jurisdictions in developing, implementing and

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monitoring the success of strategies that promote affordable housing that meets changing
demographic needs. Collaborate in developing and implementing a housing strategy for the
four-county central Puget Sound region.

Measuring Results

Maintaining timely and relevant data on housing markets and residential development allows
the county and cities to evaluate the effectiveness of their housing strategies and to make
appropriate changes to those strategies when and where needed. In assessing efforts to meet
their share of the countywide need for affordable housing, jurisdictions need to consider public
actions taken to encourage development and preservation of housing affordable to households
with very low-, low- and moderate-incomes, such as local funding, development code changes,
and creation of new programs, as well as market and other factors that are beyond local
government control. Further detail on monitoring procedures is contained in Appendix 4.

H-17 Monitor housing supply, affordability, and diversity, including progress toward meeting a
significant share of the countywide need for affordable housing for very-low, low, and
moderate income households. Monitoring should encompass:

a. Number and type of new housing units;

b. Number of units lost to demolition, redevelopment, or conversion to non-residential
use;
c. Number of new units that are affordable to very-low, low-, and moderate-income
households;
d. Number of affordable units newly preserved and units acquired and rehabilitated
with a regulatory agreement for long-term affordability for very-low, low-, and
moderate-income households;
e. Housing market trends including affordability of overall housing stock;
f. Changes in zoned capacity for housing, including housing densities and types;
g. The number and nature of fair housing complaints and violations; and
h. Housing development and market trends in Urban Centers.

H-18 Review and amend, a minimum every five years, the countywide and local housing
policies and strategies, especially where monitoring indicates that adopted strategies are not
resulting in adequate affordable housing to meet the jurisdiction’s share of the countywide
Chapter: HOUSING

need.

The Countywide Planning Policies in the Housing Chapter support a range of affordable,
accessible, and healthy housing choices for current and future residents. Further, they respond

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to the legacy of discriminatory housing and land use policies and practices (e.g. redlining,
racially restrictive covenants, exclusionary zoning, etc.) that have led to significant racial and
economic disparities in access to housing and neighborhoods of choice. These disparities affect
equitable access to well-funded schools, healthy environments, open space, and employment.

The policies reflect the region’s commitment to addressing the 2018 findings of the Regional
Affordable Housing Task Force (Task Force). Key findings include:
• Dramatic housing price increases between 2012 and 2017 resulted in an estimated
156,000 extremely low-, very low-, and low-income households spending more than 30
percent of their income on housing (housing cost burdened); and
• Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and extremely low-income households are among those
most disproportionately impacted by housing cost burden.

While significant housing market activity is needed to reach overall King County housing growth
targets, the ability of the region’s housing market to address the housing needs of low-income
households is limited. A large majority of the need will need to be addressed with units
restricted to income-eligible households – both rent-restricted units and resale restricted
homes (“income-restricted units”).

Building on the Task Force’s work, this chapter establishes a countywide need for affordable
housing defined as the additional housing units needed in King County by 2044 so that no
household at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) is housing cost burdened.
While the need is expressed in countywide terms, housing affordability varies significantly
across jurisdictions. In addressing housing needs, less affordable jurisdictions will need to take
significant action to increase affordability across all income levels while more affordable
jurisdictions will need to take significant action to preserve affordability. To succeed, all
communities must address housing need where it is greatest - housing affordable to extremely
low-income households.

When taken together, all the comprehensive plans of King County jurisdictions must “plan for
and accommodate” the existing and projected housing needs of the county (RCW 36.70A.020
and 36.70A.070). The policies below set a framework for individual and collective action and
accountability to meet the countywide need and eliminate disparities in access to housing and
neighborhoods of choice. These policies guide jurisdictions through a four-step process:
1. Conduct a housing inventory and analysis;
2. Implement policies and strategies to meet housing needs equitably;
3. Measure results and provide accountability; and
Chapter: HOUSING

4. Adjust strategies to meet housing needs.

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Overarching Goal: Provide a full range of affordable, accessible, healthy, and safe housing
choices to every resident in King County. All jurisdictions work to:
• preserve, improve, and expand their housing stock;
• promote fair and equitable access to housing for all people; and
• take actions that eliminate race-, place-, ability-, and income-based housing disparities.

H-1 All comprehensive plans in King County combine to address the countywide need for
housing affordable to households with low-, very low-, and extremely low-incomes, including
those with special needs, at a level that calibrates with the jurisdiction’s identified affordability
gap for those households and results in the combined comprehensive plans in King County
meeting countywide need. The countywide need for housing in 2044 by percentage of AMI is:
30 percent and below AMI (extremely low) 15 percent of total housing supply
31-50 percent of AMI (very low) 15 percent of total housing supply
51-80 percent of AMI (low) 19 percent of total housing supply

Table H-1 provides additional context on the countywide need for housing.1
Table H-1: King County Affordable Housing Need
30% AMI 31% - 50% AMI 51% - 80% AMI 80% AMI
Housing Units by Affordability
(2019)
Number of Units 44,000 122,000 180,000 346,000
As Share of Total Units 5% 13% 19% 36%
Additional Affordable Housing Units Needed (2019-2044)
Additional Housing Units Needed
105,000 31,000 23,000 159,000
to Address Existing Conditions 2
Housing Units Needed to
39,000 32,000 33,000 104,000
Address Growth Through 2044 3
Total Additional Affordable
144,000 63,000 56,000 263,000
Housing Units Needed
Total Affordable Housing Units Needed by 2044 (Includes Current Housing Units)
Number of Units 188,000 185,000 236,000 609,000
As Share of Total Units 15% 15% 19% 49%

1 Table H-1 includes both homeownership and rental units.

2 Estimates of additional affordable units needed to address existing cost burden and provide housing for persons experiencing
homelessness. The estimates are based on a model in which adding units for households within a given low-income category
(e.g., < 30% AMI) allows those households to vacate units affordable within the next income category (e.g., greater than 30%
Chapter: HOUSING

AMI and less than or equal to 50% of AMI), in turn addressing needs of cost-burdened households in that income level.
(Estimates shown assume that housing units equal to 1/25th of cost burdened households in each category are added annually
in each income category until cost burden is eliminated; a range of estimates is possible depending on inputs to this model.)
3Estimates of housing units needed to address growth assume income distribution of households added through growth is the
same as existing income distribution.

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Refer to Appendix 4 for the methodology used to calculate countywide need and 2019
jurisdictional affordability levels as compared to countywide need.

H-2 Prioritize the need for housing affordable to households at or below 30 percent AMI
(extremely low-income) by implementing tools such as:
• increasing capital, operations, and maintenance funding;
• adopting complementary land use regulations;
• fostering welcoming communities, including people with behavioral health needs;
• adopting supportive policies; and
• supporting collaborative actions by all jurisdictions.

H-3: Update existing and projected countywide and jurisdictional housing needs using data and
methodology provided by the Washington State Department of Commerce, in compliance with
state law.

Conduct a Housing Inventory and Analysis

The Growth Management Act requires an inventory and analysis of existing and projected
housing needs as part of each jurisdiction’s comprehensive plan housing element. The
inventory and needs analysis, together with an evaluation of recent progress to address
housing needs, helps cities identify the greatest needs and prioritize strategies to address them.
Understanding the impact of discriminatory housing and land use practices and current
disparities in access to housing and neighborhoods of choice helps focus policies and programs
to achieve equitable housing outcomes. For example, understanding disparities in access to
opportunity areas (i.e. areas with high quality schools, jobs, transit and access to parks, open
space, and clean air, water, and soil) can identify a need for increased affordability in those
areas. Appendix 4 provides further guidance on conducting a housing inventory and analysis.

H-4 Conduct an inventory and analysis in each jurisdiction of existing and projected housing
needs of all segments of the population and summarize the findings in the housing element.
The inventory and analysis shall include:
a. affordability gap of the jurisdiction’s housing supply as compared to countywide need
percentages from policy H-1 (see table H-3 in Appendix 4) and needs for housing
affordable to moderate income households;
b. number of existing housing units by housing type, age, number of bedrooms, condition,
Chapter: HOUSING

tenure, and AMI limit (for income-restricted units);

c. number of existing emergency housing, emergency shelters, and permanent supportive
housing facilities and units or beds, as applicable;

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d. percentage of residential land zoned for and geographic distribution of moderate- and
high-density housing in the jurisdiction;
e. number of income-restricted units and, where feasible, total number of units, within a
half-mile walkshed of high capacity or frequent transit service where applicable and
regional and countywide centers;
f. household characteristics, by race/ethnicity:
1) income (median and by AMI bracket)
2) tenure (renter or homeowner)
3) size
4) housing cost burden and severe housing cost burden;
g. current population characteristics:
1) age by race/ethnicity;
2) disability

h. projected population growth;

i. housing development capacity within a half-mile walkshed of high capacity or frequent
transit service, if applicable;
j. ratio of housing to jobs in the jurisdiction;
k. summary of existing and proposed partnerships and strategies, including dedicated
resources, for meeting countywide housing need, particularly for populations
disparately impacted;
l. the housing needs of people who need supportive services or accessible units, including
but not limited to people experiencing homelessness, persons with disabilities, people
with medical conditions, and older adults;
m. the housing needs of communities experiencing disproportionate harm of housing
inequities including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); and
n. areas in the jurisdiction that may be at higher risk of displacement from market forces
that occur with changes to zoning development regulations and public capital
investments.

H-5 Evaluate the effectiveness of existing housing policies and strategies to meet a significant
share of countywide need. Identify gaps in existing partnerships, policies, and dedicated
resources for meeting the countywide need and eliminating racial and other disparities in
access to housing and neighborhoods of choice.

H-6 Document the local history of racially exclusive and discriminatory land use and housing
practices, consistent with local and regional fair housing reports and other resources. Explain
Chapter: HOUSING

the extent to which that history is still reflected in current development patterns, housing
conditions, tenure, and access to opportunity. Identify local policies and regulations that result
in racially disparate impacts, displacement, and exclusion in housing, including zoning that may
have a discriminatory effect, disinvestment, and infrastructure availability. Demonstrate how

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current strategies are addressing impacts of those racially exclusive and discriminatory policies
and practices. The County will support jurisdictions in identifying and compiling resources to
support this analysis.

Collaborate Regionally
Housing affordability is important to regional economic vitality and sustainability. Housing
markets do not respect jurisdictional boundaries. For these reasons, this section promotes
cross-sectoral and interjurisdictional coordination and collaboration to identify and meet the
housing needs of households with extremely low-, very low-, and low-incomes. Collaborative
efforts, supported by the work of the Affordable Housing Committee, the Puget Sound Regional
Council and other bodies, contribute to producing and preserving affordable housing and
coordinating equitable, sustainable development in the county and region. Where individual
jurisdictions lack sufficient resources, collective efforts to fund or provide technical assistance
for affordable housing development and preservation, and for the creation of strategies and
programs, can help to meet the housing needs identified in comprehensive plans. Jurisdictions
with similar housing characteristics tend to be clustered geographically. Therefore, there are
opportunities for efficiencies and greater impact through interjurisdictional cooperation. Such
efforts are encouraged and can be a way to meet a jurisdiction’s share of the countywide
affordable housing need.

H-7 Collaborate with diverse partners (e.g. employers, financial institutions, philanthropic,
faith, and community-based organizations) on provision of resources (e.g. funding, surplus
property) and programs to meet countywide housing need.

H-8 Work cooperatively with the Puget Sound Regional Council, subregional collaborations and
other entities that provide technical assistance to local jurisdictions to support the
development, implementation, and monitoring of strategies that achieve the goals of this
chapter.

Implement Policies and Strategies to Meet Housing Needs Equitably

VISION 2050 encourages local jurisdictions to implement strategies to preserve, improve, and
expand their housing stock to provide a range of affordable, accessible, healthy, sustainable,
and safe housing choices to every resident. This section supports equitably meeting housing
needs through strategies and actions that promote:
Chapter: HOUSING

• distributional equity: An individual’s income race, ethnicity, immigration status, sexual

orientation, ability, or income doesn’t impact their ability to access housing in the
neighborhood of their choice;

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• cross-generational equity: The impact of the housing policies we create result in fair and
just distribution of benefits and burdens to future generations;
• process equity: The housing policy development, decision-making, and implementation
process is inclusive, open, fair, and accessible to all stakeholders; and
• reparative policies: The policies implemented will actively seek to repair harms caused
by racially biased policies.

The strategies are grouped by theme:

• equitable processes and outcomes;
• increased housing supply, particularly for households with the greatest needs;
• expanded housing options and increased affordability accessible to transit and
employment;
• expanded housing and neighborhood choice for all residents; and
• housing stability, healthy homes, and healthy communities

Further detail on the range of strategies for equitably meeting housing needs is contained in
Table H-4 in Appendix 4.

Implement Policies and Strategies to Meet Housing Needs Equitably

Working together with households most impacted by the affordable housing crisis helps to
tailor solutions to best meet their needs. Taking intentional action to overcome past and
current discriminatory policies and practices helps to reduce disparities in access to housing and
neighborhoods of choice.

H-9 Collaborate with populations most disproportionately impacted by housing cost burden in
developing, implementing, and monitoring strategies that achieve the goals of this chapter.
Prioritize the needs and solutions articulated by these disproportionately impacted
populations.

H-10 Adopt intentional, targeted actions that repair harms to Black, Indigenous, and People of
Color (BIPOC) households from past and current racially exclusive and discriminatory land use
and housing practices (generally identified through Policy H-6). Promote equitable outcomes in
partnership with communities most impacted.

Increased housing supply, particularly for households with the greatest needs
Chapter: HOUSING

VISION 2050 encourages local cities to adopt best practices and innovative techniques to meet
housing needs. Meeting the countywide affordable housing need will require actions, including
commitment of substantial financial resources, by a wide range of private for profit, non-profit,

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and government entities. Multiple tools will be needed to meet the full range of needs in any
given jurisdiction.

H-11 Adopt policies, incentives, strategies, actions, and regulations that increase the supply of
long-term income-restricted housing for extremely low-, very low-, and low-income households
and households with special needs.

H-12 Identify sufficient capacity of land for housing including, but not limited to: income-
restricted housing; housing for moderate-, low-, very low-, and extremely low-income
households; manufactured housing; multifamily housing; group homes; foster care facilities;
emergency housing; emergency shelters; permanent supportive housing; and within an urban
growth area boundary, duplexes, triplexes, and townhomes.

H-13 Implement strategies to overcome cost barriers to housing affordability. Strategies to do

this vary but can include updating development standards and regulations, shortening permit
timelines, implementing online permitting, optimizing residential densities, reducing parking
requirements, and developing programs, policies, partnerships, and incentives to decrease
costs to build and preserve affordable housing.

H-14 Prioritize the use of local and regional resources (e.g. funding, surplus property) for
income-restricted housing, particularly for extremely low-income households, populations with
special needs, and others with disproportionately greater housing needs. Consider projects that
promote access to opportunity, anti-displacement, and wealth building for Black, Indigenous,
and People of Color communities to support implementation of policy H-10.

Expanded housing options and increased affordability accessible to transit and employment
The Regional Growth Strategy accommodates growth in urban areas, focused in designated
centers and near transit stations, to create healthy, equitable, vibrant communities well-served
by infrastructure and services. As the region invests in transit infrastructure, it must also
support affordability in transit areas.

Lack of housing affordability negatively impacts the region’s resilience to climate change as
people are forced to live far from work, school, and transit, which contributes to climate change
through increased transportation emissions and sprawl.

H-15 Increase housing choices for everyone, particularly those earning lower wages, that is
Chapter: HOUSING

co-located with, accessible to, or within a reasonable commute to major employment centers
and affordable to all income levels. Ensure there are zoning ordinances and building policies in
place that allow and encourage housing production at levels that improve jobs-housing balance
throughout the county across all income levels.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

H-16 Expand the supply and range of housing types, including affordable units, at densities
sufficient to maximize the benefits of transit investments throughout the county.

H-17 Support the development and preservation of income-restricted affordable housing that
is within walking distance to planned or existing high capacity and frequent transit.

Expanded housing and neighborhood choice for all residents

Extremely low-, very low-, and low-income residents often have limited choices when seeking
an affordable home and neighborhood. The King County Consortium’s Analysis of Impediments
to Fair Housing Choice found that many BIPOC and immigrant groups face disparities in access
to opportunity areas with high quality schools, jobs, transit and access to parks, open space,
and clean air, water, and soil. Some of the same groups are significantly less likely to own their
home as compared to the countywide average, cutting them off from an important tool for
housing stability and wealth building. Further, inequities in housing and land use practices as
well as cycles of public and private disinvestment and investment have also resulted in
communities vulnerable to displacement. Intentional actions to expand housing choices
throughout the community will help address these challenges.

H-18 Adopt inclusive planning tools and policies whose purpose is to increase the ability of all
residents in jurisdictions throughout the county to live in the neighborhood of their choice,
reduce disparities in access to opportunity areas, and meet the needs of the region’s current
and future residents by:
a. providing access to affordable housing to rent and own throughout the jurisdiction, with
a focus on areas of high opportunity;
b. expanding capacity for moderate-density housing throughout the jurisdiction, especially
in areas currently zoned for lower density single-family detached housing in the Urban
Growth Area, and capacity for high-density housing, where appropriate, consistent with
the Regional Growth Strategy;
c. evaluating the feasibility of, and implementing, where appropriate, inclusionary and
incentive zoning to provide affordable housing; and
d. providing access to housing types that serve a range of household sizes, types, and
incomes, including 2+ bedroom homes for families with children and/or adult
roommates and accessory dwelling units, efficiency studios, and/or congregate
residences for single adults.
Chapter: HOUSING

H-19 Lower barriers to and promote access to affordable homeownership for extremely low-,
very low-, and low--income, households. Emphasize:

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a. supporting long-term affordable homeownership opportunities for households at or

below 80 percent AMI (which may require up-front initial public subsidy and policies
that support diverse housing types); and
b. remedying historical inequities in and expanding access to homeownership
opportunities for Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities.

H-20 Adopt policies and strategies that promote equitable development and mitigate
displacement risk, with consideration given to the preservation of historical and cultural
communities as well as investments in low-, very low-, extremely low-, and moderate-
income housing production and preservation; dedicated funds for land acquisition;
manufactured housing community preservation, inclusionary zoning; community planning
requirements; tenant protections; public land disposition policies; and land that may be used
for affordable housing. Mitigate displacement that may result from planning efforts, large-scale
private investments, and market pressure. Implement anti-displacement measures prior to or
concurrent with development capacity increases and public capital investments.

H-21 Implement, promote and enforce fair housing policies and practices so that every person
in the county has equitable access and opportunity to thrive in their communities of choice,
regardless of their race, gender identity, sexual identity, ability, use of a service animal, age,
immigration status, national origin, familial status, religion, source of income, military status, or
membership in any other relevant category of protected people.

Housing stability, healthy homes, and healthy communities

H-22 Adopt and implement policies that protect housing stability for renter households;
expand protections and supports for low-income renters and renters with disabilities.

H-23 Adopt and implement programs and policies that ensure healthy and safe homes.

H-24 Plan for residential neighborhoods that protect and promote the health and well-being of
residents by supporting equitable access to parks and open space, safe pedestrian and bicycle
routes, clean air, soil and water, fresh and healthy foods, high-quality education from early
learning through K-12, affordable and high-quality transit options and living wage jobs and by
avoiding or mitigating exposure to environmental hazards and pollutants.

Measure Results and Provide Accountability

Chapter: HOUSING

Each jurisdiction has a responsibility to address its share of the countywide housing need. The
county and cities will collect and report housing data to help evaluate progress in meeting this
shared responsibility. The county will help coordinate a transparent data collection and sharing
process with cities. Further detail on monitoring procedures is contained in Appendix 4.

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H-25 Monitor progress toward meeting countywide housing growth targets, countywide need,
and eliminating disparities in access to housing and neighborhood choices. Where feasible, use
existing regional and jurisdictional reports and monitoring tools and collaborate to reduce
duplicative reporting.
a) Jurisdictions, including the county for unincorporated areas, will report annually to the
county using guidance developed by the County on housing AMI levels:
1) in the first reporting year, total income-restricted units, by tenure, AMI limit,
address, and term of rent and income restrictions, for which the city is a party to
affordable housing covenants on the property title created during the reporting
period. In future years, report new units created and units with affordability terms
that expired during the reporting period.
2) description and magnitude of land use or regulatory changes to increase zoned
residential capacity including, but not limited to, single-family, moderate-density,
and high-density;
3) new strategies (e.g. land use code changes, dedicated fund sources, conveyance of
surplus property) implemented during the reporting period to increase housing
diversity or increase the supply of income-restricted units in the jurisdiction; and
b) The county where feasible consolidate housing data across jurisdictions to provide
clarity and assist jurisdictions with housing data inventory will report annually:
1) countywide housing inventory of:
i. total housing units, by affordability to AMI bands;
ii. total income-restricted units, by AMI limit;
iii. number of units lost to demolition, redevelopment, or conversion to non-
residential use during the reporting period;
iv. of total housing units, net new housing units created during the reporting
period and what type of housing was constructed, broken down by at least
single-family, moderate-density housing types, and high-density housing
types; and
v. total income-restricted units by tenure, AMI limit, location, created during
the reporting period, starting in 2021.
vi. total net new income-restricted units and the term of rent and income
restrictions created during the reporting period, starting in December 2022;
vii. share of households by housing tenure by jurisdiction; and
viii. zoned residential capacity percentages broken down by housing
type/number of units allowed per lot;
2) the county’s new strategies (e.g. dedicated fund sources, conveyance of surplus
Chapter: HOUSING

property) implemented during the reporting period to increase the supply of

restricted units in the county, including geographic allocation of resources;

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3) the county’s new strategies implemented during the reporting period to reduce
disparate housing outcomes and expand housing and neighborhood choice for
BIPOC households and other population groups identified through policy H-6.
4) number of income-restricted units within a half mile walkshed of a high capacity or
frequent transit stations in the county;
5) share of households with housing cost burden, by income band, race, and ethnicity;
6) tenant protection policies adopted by jurisdiction; and
7) number of individuals and households experiencing homelessness, by race and
ethnicity.
c) Where feasible, jurisdictions will also collaborate to report:
1) net new units accessible to persons with disabilities.

H-26 The county will provide guidance to jurisdictions on goals for housing AMI levels annually
provide transparent, ongoing information measuring jurisdictions’ progress toward meeting
countywide affordable housing need, according to H-25, using public-facing tools such as the
King County’s Affordable Housing Dashboard.

Adjust Strategies to Meet Housing Needs

H-27 Review and amend countywide and local housing strategies and actions when monitoring
in Policy H-25 and H-26 indicates that adopted strategies are not resulting in adequate
affordable housing to meet the countywide need. Consider amendments to land use policies
and the land use map where they present a significant barrier to the equitable distribution of
affordable housing.

Chapter: HOUSING

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ECONOMY
Overarching Goal: People All people throughout King County have opportunities to prosper and
enjoy a high quality of life through economic growth and job creation.

The Countywide Planning Policies in the Economy Chapter support the economic growth and
sustainability of King County’s economy. A strong and healthy economy results in business
development, job creation, and investment in our communities. The Economy Chapter reflects
and supports the Regional Economic Strategy and VISION 2040 2050’s economic policies, which
emphasize the economic value of business, people, and place.

The Regional Economic Strategy is the region’s comprehensive economic development strategy
and serves as the VISION 2040 economic functional plan. VISION 2040 integrates the Regional
Economic Strategy with growth management, transportation, and environmental objectives to:
• support critical economic foundations, such as education, infrastructure, technology,
and quality of life; and
• promote the region’s specific industry clusters: aerospace, advanced manufacturing,
clean technology, information technology, life sciences, logistics and international trade,
military, and tourism.

Each local community will have an individual focus on economic development, while the
region’s prosperity will benefit from coordination between local plans and the regional vision
that take into account the county’s and the region’s overall plan for growth.

EC-1 Coordinate local and countywide economic policies and strategies with VISION 2040 2050
and the Regional Economic Strategy.

EC-2 Support economic growth that accommodates employment growth targets (see table DP-
1) through local land use plans, infrastructure development, and implementation of economic
development strategies. Prioritize growth of a diversity of middle- wage jobs and prevent the
loss of such jobs from the region.

EC-3 Identify and support Support industry clusters and their related subclusters within King
County that are integral components of the Regional Economic Strategy or that may otherwise
emerge as having significance to and King County’s economy. Emphasize support for clusters
Chapter: ECONOMY

that: are vulnerable or threatened by market forces; that provide middle-wage jobs; that play
an outsized role in the local economy; or that have significant growth potential.

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EC-4 Evaluate the performance of economic development policies and strategies in business
development and middle-wage job creation. Identify and track key economic metrics to help
jurisdictions and the county as a whole evaluate the effectiveness of local and regional
economic strategies.

Business Development
Business creation, retention, expansion, and recruitment are the foundations of a strong
economy. The success of the economy in the county depends on opportunities for business
formation and growth. Our communities play a significant role through local government
actions, such as by making regulations more predictable, by engaging in public-private
partnerships, and by nurturing a business-supportive culture, particularly for Black, Indigenous,
and communities of color, as well as women-owned businesses.

These policies also seek to integrate the concept of healthy communities as part of the county’s
economic objectives, by calling for support of the regional food economy, including production,
processing, wholesaling and distribution of the region’s agricultural food and food products.

EC-5 Help businesses thrive through:

• Transparency, efficiency, and predictability of local regulations and policies;
• Communication and partnerships between business, government, schools, civic and
community organizations, and research institutions; and
• Government contracts with local businesses.

EC-6 Foster the retention and development of those businesses and industries that export their
goods and services outside the region manufacture goods and provide services for export.

EC-7 Promote an economic climate that is supportive of business formation, expansion, and
retention, and emphasizes the importance of small businesses, locally owned businesses,
women-owned businesses, and businesses with Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and other
owners of color, in creating jobs.

EC-8 Foster a broad range of public-private partnerships to implement economic development

policies, programs, and projects, including partnerships involving community groups, and
ensure such partnerships share decision-making power with and spread benefits to community
groups. Use partnerships to foster connections between employers, local vocational and
Chapter: ECONOMY

educational programs, and community needs.

EC-9 Identify, and support the retention of support, and leverage key regional and local assets
to the economy, including assets that are unique to our region's position as an international

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gateway, such as major airports, seaports, educational facilities, research institutions, health
care facilities, long-haul trucking facilities, and manufacturing facilities., and port facilities.

EC-10 Support the regional food economy including the production, processing, wholesaling,
and distribution of the region’s agricultural food and food products to all King County
communities. Emphasize increasing improving access to those for communities with limited
presence of healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant food options.

People
People, through their training, knowledge, skills, and cultural background, add value to the
region’s economy. Additionally, creating an economy that provides opportunities for all,
particularly with a focus on those communities historically most disadvantaged, helps alleviate
problems of poverty and income disparity.

A diversity of jobs at a variety of wages, skill levels, and educational requirements ensure a
robust economy that provides access to opportunity for everyone. Those jobs that can support
a household or family without significant educational requirements, often referred to as
“middle wage” jobs, and potentially including trade jobs, play a unique role in advancing equity.
Given the barriers in access throughout the educational, banking, and other institutional
systems, these middle wage jobs provide key avenues for financial self-sufficiency and wealth
building. Jobs in this range predominate in more locally held, smaller and medium sized
business and manufacturers, such as accountants, machinists, or technicians. King County seeks
to encourage new small business formation whenever possible and prevent displacement of
industries and businesses that have a diversity of occupations or concentrations in those middle
skills most associated with middle wage.

To support middle-wage jobs and career training for residents of economically distressed areas,
King County supports a priority hire policy that requires developers to hire local workers and
businesses when their development projects are above a certain budget threshold and receive
public funding.

EC-11 Work with schools and other institutions to increase graduation rates and sustain a
highly-educated and skilled local workforce. This includes aligning job training and education
offerings that are consistent with the skill needs of the region’s industry clusters. Identify
partnership and funding opportunities where appropriate. Align and prioritize workforce
Chapter: ECONOMY

development efforts with Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color and immigrant
communities.

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EC-12 Celebrate the cultural diversity of local communities as a means to enhance social
capital, neighborhood cohesion, the county’s global relationships, and support for cultural and
arts institutions.

EC-13 Address the historic disparity Eliminate and correct for historical and ongoing disparities
in income, and employment, and wealth building opportunities for economically disadvantaged
populations, including minorities and women by committing resources to human services;
community development; housing; economic development; and public infrastructure women,
Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. Steer investments to community and economic
development initiatives that elevate economic opportunity for those communities most
marginalized and impacted by disinvestment and economic disruptions.

EC-14 Promote the local workforce through priority hire programs that create middle-wage
employment opportunities in historically disadvantaged communities.

Places
Economic activity in the county predominantly occurs within the Urban Growth Area, including
Urban Centers and Manufacturing/ Industrial Centers, which tend to be where middle wage
jobs predominate. Continuing to guide local investments to these centers will help provide the
support needed to sustain the economy and provide greater predictability to businesses about
where capital improvements will be located, as well as meet other goals related to supporting
equitable growth. In addition to making productive use of urban land, economic activity adds to
the culture and vitality of our local communities.

While King County as a whole moves towards an economy dominated by high-tech and medical
services, subregions within the County are hosts to concentrations in other sectors and have
experienced job growth in the construction, warehousing, and transportation sectors as real
estate pricing recalibrates the geography of jobs. Even as Seattle’s share of manufacturing
sector jobs has fallen since 2008, South King County’s cities such as Kent, Auburn, and Renton
have seen commensurate increases in manufacturing—and are competing with neighboring
Snohomish and Pierce County to retain this critical industry. The policies below take a proactive
approach to maintaining King County’s role as the home to internationally significant
Manufacturing and Industrial Centers and the industries and businesses that make them what
they are.
Chapter: ECONOMY

Businesses create active, attractive places to live and visit, and make significant contributions to
the arts. The Rural Area and Resource Lands are important for their contribution to the regional
food network, mining, timber and craft industries, while Rural Cities in the Rural Area are

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important for providing services to and being the economic centers for the surrounding Rural
Area.

EC-14 15 Foster economic and employment growth in designated Urban Regional,

Countywide, and Local Centers and Manufacturing/ Industrial Centers through local
investments, planning, and financial policies.

EC-15 16 Make local investments to maintain and expand infrastructure and services that
support local and regional economic development strategies. Focus investment where it
encourages growth in designated centers and helps achieve employment targets.

EC-16 17 Add to the vibrancy and sustainability of our communities and the health and well-
being of all people through safe and convenient access to local services, neighborhood-oriented
retail, purveyors of healthy food (e.g. grocery stores and farmers markets), and transportation
choices.

EC-17 18 Promote the natural environment as a key economic asset and work to improve
access to it as an economic driver. Work cooperatively with local businesses to protect and
restore the natural environment in a manner that is equitable, efficient and, predictable, and
minimizes impacts on businesses complements economic prosperity. Encourage private, public,
and non-profit sectors to incorporate environmental stewardship and social responsibility into
their practices. Encourage development of established and emerging industries, technologies
and services that promote environmental sustainability, especially those addressing climate
change and resilience.

EC-18 19 Maintain an adequate supply of land within the Urban Growth Area to support
economic development. Inventory, plan for, and monitor the land supply and development
capacity for, manufacturing/ industrial, commercial, and other employment uses that can
accommodate the amount and types of economic activity anticipated during the planning
period.

EC-19 20 Support Manufacturing/Industrial Centers manufacturing/industrial centers by

adopting industrial siting with land use policies that limit the loss of protect industrial land,
retain and expand industrial lands, maintain the region’s economic diversity, and employment,
support family-wage jobs a diverse regional economy, and provide for the evolution of these
Centers to reflect industrial business trends, including in technology and automation. Prohibit
Chapter: ECONOMY

or strictly limit non-supporting or incompatible activities that can may interfere with the
retention or and operation of industrial businesses, especially in Manufacturing/ Industrial
Centers while recognizing that a wider mix of uses, in targeted areas and circumstances, may be
appropriate when designed to be supportive of and compatible with industrial employment.

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EC-20 21 Facilitate redevelopment of contaminated sites through local, county and state
financing and other strategies that assist with planning, site design, and funding for
environmental remediation.

EC-21 22 Encourage economic activity within Rural Cities in the Rural Area, at an appropriate
size, scale, and type that does not create adverse impacts to the surrounding Rural Area and
Resource Lands and will not create the need to provide urban services and facilities to those
areas

EC-23 Encourage commercial and mixed-use development that provide a range of job
opportunities throughout the region to create a closer balance and match between the location
of jobs and housing.

EC-24 Develop and implement systems that provide a financial safety net during economic
downturns and recovery, and direct resources in ways that reduce inequities and build
economic resiliency for those communities most negatively impacted by asset poverty.

EC-25 Ensure public investment decisions protect culturally significant economic assets and
advance the business interests of immigrants, and Black, Indigenous, and other communities of
color.

EC-26 Stabilize and prevent economic displacement of small, culturally relevant businesses and
business clusters during periods of growth, contractions, and redevelopment. Track and
respond to key indicators of displacement and mitigate risks through data collection, analyses,
and adaptive responses.

Chapter: ECONOMY

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TRANSPORTATION
The Regional Growth Strategy identifies a network of walkable, compact, and transit-oriented
communities that are the focus of urban development, as well as industrial areas with major
employment concentrations. In the Countywide Planning Policies, these communities include
countywide designated Urban Centers and Manufacturing/ Industrial Centers, and locally
designated local centers. An essential component of the Regional Growth Strategy is an
efficient transportation system that provides multiple options for moving people and goods
into and among the various centers. Transportation system, in the context of this chapter, is
defined as a comprehensive, integrated network of travel modes (e.g. airplanes, automobiles,
bicycles, buses, feet, ferries, freighters, trains, trucks) and infrastructure (e.g. sidewalks, trails,
streets, arterials, highways, waterways, railways, airports) for the movement of people and
goods on a local, regional, national and global scale.

Goals and policies in this chapter build on the 1992 King County Countywide Planning Policies
and the Multicounty Planning Policies in VISION 2040 2050. Policies are organized into three
sections:
• Supporting Growth – focusing on serving the region with a transportation system that
furthers the Regional Growth Strategy;
• Mobility – addressing the full range of travel modes necessary to move people and
goods efficiently within the region and beyond; and
• System Operations – encompassing the design, maintenance and operation of the
transportation system to provide for safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

Overarching Goal: The region is well served by an integrated, multi-modal transportation

system that supports the regional vision for growth, efficiently moves people and goods, and is
environmentally and functionally sustainable over the long term.

Supporting Growth
An effective transportation system is critical to achieving the Regional Growth Strategy in an
equitable manner and ensuring that centers are functional and appealing to the residents and
businesses they are designed to attract. The policies in this section reinforce the critical
Chapter: TRANSPORTATION

relationship between development patterns and transportation and they are intended to guide
transportation investments from all levels of government that effectively support local, county,
and regional plans to accommodate growth. Policies in this section take a multi-modal
approach to serving growth, with additional emphasis on transit and non-motorized modes to
support planned development in centers.

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Goal Statement: Local and regional development of the transportation system is consistent with
and furthers realization of the Regional Growth Strategy.

T-1 Work cooperatively with the Puget Sound Regional Council, the state, and other relevant
agencies to finance and develop an equitable and sustainable multi-modal transportation
system that enhances regional mobility and reinforces the countywide vision for managing
growth. Use VISION 20402050, Transportation 2040 the Regional Transportation Plan, and the
Regional Growth Strategy as the policy and funding framework for creating a system of Urban
Centers regional, countywide, locally designated local centers, and Manufacturing/ Industrial
Centers manufacturing/industrial centers linked by a multimodal network including high -
capacity transit, frequent bus transit and an interconnected system of roadways, freeways and
high-occupancy vehicle lanes.

T-2 Avoid construction of major roads and capacity expansion on existing roads in the Rural
Area and Resource Lands. Where increased roadway capacity is warranted to support safe and
efficient travel through the Rural Area, appropriate rural development regulations and effective
access management should be in place prior to authorizing such capacity expansion in order to
make more efficient use of existing roadway capacity and prevent unplanned growth in the
Rural Area.

T-3 Increase the share of trips made countywide by modes other than driving alone through
coordinated land use planning, public and private investment, and programs focused on centers
and connecting corridors, consistent with locally adopted mode split goals.

T-4 Reduce the need for new capacity roadway improvements through investments in
transportation system management and operations, pricing programs, and transportation
demand management strategies that improve the efficiency of and access to the current
system.

T-5 Prioritize transportation investments that provide and encourage alternatives to single
occupancy vehicle travel and increase travel options, especially to and within centers and along
corridors connecting centers.

T-4 T-6 Develop station area plans for high capacity transit stations and transit- mobility hubs
Chapter: TRANSPORTATION

based on community engagement. Plans should reflect the unique characteristics and, local
vision for each station area including transit supportive land uses, transit rights-of-way, stations
and related facilities, multi-modal linkages, safety improvements, and place-making elements
and minimize displacement.

T-5 T-7 Support countywide growth management and climate objectives by prioritizing transit
service to and pedestrian safety in areas where existing housing and employment densities

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support transit ridership and to Urban Centers designated regional and countywide centers and
other areas planned for housing and employment densities that will support transit ridership.
Address the mobility needs of transit-dependent populations in allocating transit service and
provide at least a basic level of service throughout the Urban Growth Area.

T-8 Implement transportation programs and projects that address the needs of and promote
access to opportunity for Black, Indigenous, and people of color, people with low and no-
incomes, and people with special transportation needs.

T-9 Implement transportation programs and projects that prevent and mitigate the
displacement of Black, Indigenous, and people of color, people with low and no- incomes, and
people with special transportation needs.

T-6 T-10 Foster transit ridership by designing Integrate transit facilities and services as well as
non-motorized active transportation infrastructure so that they are integrated with public
spaces and private developments to create an safe and inviting public realm waiting and
transfer environments and encourage transit ridership countywide.

T-7 T-11 Ensure Advocate for policies and actions in state and capital improvement policies
and actions programs that promote equity and sustainability, which are consistent with the
Regional Growth Strategy, and support VISION 2040 2050, and the Countywide Planning
Policies.

T-8 T-12 Prioritize federal, state, regional and local funding to transportation investments that
support adopted countywide growth targets and are focused on multi-modal mobility and
safety, equity, and climate change goals, as well as centers (local, countywide and regional)
where applicable and consistent with the Regional Growth Strategy.

Mobility
Mobility is necessary to sustain personal quality of life and the regional economy. For
individuals, mobility requires an effective transportation system that provides safe, reliable,
and affordable travel options for people of all ages, incomes, and abilities. While the majority
of people continue to travel by personal automobile, there are growing segments of the
Chapter: TRANSPORTATION

population (e.g. urban, elderly, teens, low -income, minorities, and persons with disabilities)
that rely on other modes of travel such as walking, bicycling, and public transportation to
access employment, education and training, goods and services. According to the 2009
American Community Survey, about 8.7 percent of all households in King County had no vehicle
available. For many minority populations, more than 20 percent had no vehicle available to
them.

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The movement of goods is also of vital importance to the local and regional economy.
International trade is a significant source of employment and economic activity in terms of
transporting freight, local consumption, and exporting of goods. The policies in this section are
intended to address use and integration of the multiple modes necessary to move people and
goods within and beyond the region. The importance of the roadway network, implicit in the
policies of this section, is addressed more specifically in the System Operations section of this
chapter.

Goal Statement: A well-integrated, multi-modal transportation system transports people and

goods effectively and efficiently to destinations within the region and beyond.

T-13 Advocate for and pursue new, innovative, sustainable, and progressive transportation
funding methods including user fees, tolls, and other pricing mechanisms, that reduce the
volatility of transit funding and funds the maintenance, improvement, preservation, and
operation of the transportation system.

T-9 T-14 Promote the mobility of people and goods through a multi-modal transportation
system based on regional priorities consistent with VISION 2040 2050 and local comprehensive
plans.

T-15 Determine if capacity needs can be met from investments in transportation system
operations and management, pricing programs, transportation demand management, public
transportation and system management activities that improve the efficiency of the current
transportation system, prior to implementing major roadway capacity expansion projects.
Focus on investments that are consistent with the Regional Growth Strategy and produce the
greatest net benefits to people, especially communities and individuals where needs are
greatest, and goods movement that minimize the environmental impacts of transportation.

T-10 T-16 Support effective management, maintenance, and preservation of existing air,
marine and rail transportation capacity, and infrastructure to address current and future
capacity needs in cooperation with responsible agencies, affected communities, and users.

T-17 Promote coordination planning and effective management to optimize the movement of
Chapter: TRANSPORTATION

people and goods in the region’s aviation system in a manner that minimizes health, air quality,
and noise impact to the community, especially frontline communities. Consider demand
management alternatives as future aviation growth needs are analyzed, recognizing capacity
constraints at existing facilities and the time and resources necessary to build new ones.
Support the ongoing process of development of a new commercial aviation facility in
Washington State.

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T-11 T-18 Develop and implement freight mobility strategies that strengthen, preserve, and
protect King County’s role as a major regional freight distribution hub, an international trade
gateway, and a manufacturing area while minimizing negative impacts on the community.

T-12 T-19 Address the needs of non-driving populations, people who do not drive, either by
choice or circumstances (e.g., elderly, teens, low-income, and persons with disabilities), in the
development and management of local and regional transportation systems.

T-13 T-20 Site Consider mobility options, connectivity, active transportation access, and safety
in the siting and design of transit stations and transit mobility hubs, to promote connectivity
and access for pedestrian and bicycle patrons especially those that are serviced by high
capacity transit.

T-21 Invest in transportation to improve economic and living conditions so that industries and
workers are retained and attracted to the region, and to improve quality of life for all workers.

T-22 Respond to changes in mobility patterns and needs for both people and goods,
encouraging partnerships with nonprofit providers and the private sector where applicable.

System Operations
The design, management, and operation of the transportation system are major factors that
influence the region’s growth and mobility and have significant impacts on equity, addressing
historical inequities and our environment. Policies in this section stress the need to make
efficient use of the existing infrastructure, serve the broad needs of the users, address safety
and public health issues, and design facilities that are a good fit for the surroundings.
Implementation of the policies will require the use of a wide range of tools including, but not
limited to:
• technologies such as intelligent transportation systems and alternative fuels;
• demand management programs for parking, commute trip reduction and congestion;
and
• incentives, pricing systems and other strategies to encourage choices that increase
mobility while improving public health and environmental sustainability.
Chapter: TRANSPORTATION

Goal Statement: The regional A transportation system that is well-designed and managed to
protect public investments, promote equitable access, provide mobility, promote public health
and safety, and achieve optimum efficiency.

T-14 T-23 Prioritize essential maintenance, preservation, and safety improvements of the
existing transportation system to protect mobility, extend useful life of assets, and avoid more

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costly replacement projects.

T-15 T-24 Design and operate transportation facilities in a manner that is compatible with and
integrated into the natural and built environments in which they are located. Incorporate
features such as natural drainage, native plantings, and local design themes that facilitate
integration and compatibility.

T-25 Reduce stormwater pollution from transportation facilities and improve fish passage
through retrofits and updated design standards. When feasible, integrate with other
improvements to achieve multiple benefits and cost efficiencies.

T-16 T-26 Protect the Develop a resilient transportation system (e.g. roadway, rail, transit,
sidewalks, trails, air, and marine) and protect against major disruptions by developing and
climate change impacts. Develop prevention, adaptation, mitigation, and recovery strategies
and by coordinating coordinate disaster response plans.

T-17 T-27 Promote the use of tolling and other pricing strategies and transportation system
management and operations tools to effectively manage the transportation system and
provide an equitable, stable, and sustainable transportation funding source and to improve
mobility.

T-18 Develop a countywide monitoring system to determine how transportation investments

are performing over time consistent with Transportation 2040 recommendations.

T-28 Promote road and transit facility design that includes well-defined, safe, and appealing
spaces for pedestrians and bicyclists.

T-19 T-29 Design roads and streets, including retrofit projects, to accommodate a range of
motorized and non-motorized travel modes within the travel corridor in order to reduce
injuries and fatalities, contribute to achieving the state goal of zero deaths and serious injuries,
and to encourage non-motorized travel physical activity. The design should include well-
defined, safe and appealing spaces for pedestrians and bicyclists

T-20 T-30 Develop a transportation system that minimizes negative health and environmental
Chapter: TRANSPORTATION

impacts to human health, including exposure to environmental toxins generated by vehicle

emissions all communities, especially Black, indigenous, and other communities of color and
low-income communities, that have been disproportionately affected by transportation
decisions.

T-21 T-31 Provide equitable opportunities for an active, healthy lifestyle by integrating the
needs of pedestrians and bicyclists in the local transit, countywide, and regional transportation

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plans and systems.

T-22 T-32 Plan and develop a countywide transportation system that supports the connection
between land use and transportation, and essential travel that reduces greenhouse gas
emissions by advancing strategies that shorten trip length or replace vehicle trips to decrease
reduce vehicle miles traveled.

T-23 T-33 Apply technologies, programs, and other strategies (e.g. intelligent transportation
systems (ITS), first and last mile connections) where needed to that optimize the use of existing
infrastructure and support equity in order to improve mobility, reduce congestion and vehicle
miles traveled, increase energy-efficiency, reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and reduce the
need for new infrastructure.

T-24 T-34 Promote the expanded use of alternative fuel (e.g. electric) and zero emission
vehicles by the general public with measures such as converting transit and public and private
fleets, applying incentive programs, and providing for electric vehicle charging stations
throughout the Urban Growth Area.

Chapter: TRANSPORTATION

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PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES

Overarching Goal: County residents in both Urban and Rural Areas have timely and equitable
access to the public services needed in order to advance public health and safety, protect the
environment, and carry out the Regional Growth Strategy.

Urban and Rural Levels of Service

The Growth Management Act directs jurisdictions and special purpose districts to provide
public facilities and services to support development. The Growth Management Act
distinguishes between urban and rural services and states that land within the Urban Growth
Area should be provided with a full range of services necessary to sustain urban communities
while land within the Rural Area should receive services to support a rural lifestyle. Certain
services, such as sanitary sewers, are allowed only in the Urban Growth Area, except as
otherwise authorized. The Growth Management Act also requires jurisdictions to determine
which facilities are necessary to serve the desired growth pattern and how they will be
financed, in order to ensure timely provision of adequate services and facilities.

PF-1 Provide a full range of urban services in the Urban Growth Area to support the Regional
Growth Strategy and adopted growth targets and limit the availability of urban services in the
Rural Area consistent with VISION 2040 2050. Avoid locating urban serving facilities in the Rural
Area.

Collaboration Among Jurisdictions

More than 100 special purpose districts, including water, sewer, flood control, stormwater, fire,
school, and other districts, provide essential services to the residents of King County. While
cities are the primary providers of services in the Urban Growth Area, in many parts of the
county special purpose districts also provide essential services. Coordination and collaboration Chapter: PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES
among all of these districts, the cities, King County, the tribes, and neighboring counties is key
to providing efficient, high-quality and reliable services to support the Regional Growth
Strategy.

PF-2 Provide affordable and equitable access to public services to all communities, especially
the historically underserved. Prioritize investments to address disparities.

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PF-2 PF-3 Coordinate among jurisdictions and service providers to provide Provide reliable and
cost-effective services to the public through coordination among jurisdictions and service
providers.

PF-3 PF-4 Cities are Recognize cities as the appropriate providers of services to the Urban
Growth Area, either directly or by contract. Extend urban services through the use of special
districts only where there are agreements with the city in whose Potential Annexation Area the
extension is proposed. Within the Urban Growth Area, as time and conditions warrant, cities
will assume local urban services provided by special service districts.

Utilities
Utilities include infrastructure and services that provide water supply, sewage treatment and
disposal, solid waste disposal, energy, and telecommunications. Providing these utilities in a
cost-effective way is essential to maintaining the health and safety of King County residents and
to implementing the Regional Growth Strategy.

Water Supply
Conservation and efficient use of water resources are vital to ensuring the reliability of the
region’s water supply, the availability of sufficient water supplies for future generations, and
the environmental sustainability of the water supply system.

PF-4 PF-5 Develop plans for long-term water provision to support growth and to address the
potential impacts of climate change and fisheries protection on regional water resources.

PF-5 PF-6 Support efforts to ensure Ensure that all consumers residents have access to a safe,
reliably maintained, and sustainable drinking water source that meets present and future
needs.

PF-6 PF-7 Coordinate water supply among local jurisdictions, tribal governments, and water Chapter: PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES
purveyors to provide reliable and cost-effective sources of water for all users and needs,
including for residents, businesses, fire districts, and aquatic species.

PF-7 PF-8 Plan and locate water systems in the Rural Area that are appropriate appropriately
sized for rural uses and densities and that do not increase the development potential of in the
Rural Area.

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PF-8 PF-9 Recognize and support agreements with water purveyors in adjacent cities and
counties to promote effective conveyance of water supplies and to secure adequate supplies
for emergencies.

PF-9 PF-10 Implement water conservation and efficiency efforts to protect natural resources,
reduce environmental impacts, and support a sustainable long-term water supply to serve the
growing population.

PF-10 PF-11 Encourage Require water reuse and reclamation, where feasible, especially for
high-volume non-potable water users such as parks, schools, and golf courses.

Sewage Treatment and Disposal

Within the Urban Growth Area, connection to sanitary sewers is necessary to support the
Regional Growth Strategy and to accommodate urban densities. Alternatives to the sanitary
sewer system and the typical septic system are becoming more cost effective and therefore,
more available. Alternative technology may be appropriate when it can perform as well or
better than sewers in the Urban Growth Area. Septic systems are not considered to be
alternative technology within the Urban Growth Area.

In the Rural Area and Resource Lands, which are characterized by low-density development,
sewer service is not typically provided. In cases where public health is threatened, sewers can
be provided in the Rural Area but only if connections are strictly limited. Alternative
technology may be necessary to substitute for septic systems in the Rural Area.

PF-11 PF-12 Require all development in the Urban Growth Area to be served by a public sewer
system except:
a) single-family residences on existing individual lots that have no feasible access to sewers
may utilize individual septic systems on an interim basis; or
b) development served by alternative technology other than septic systems that:
● 1) provide equivalent performance to sewers;
● 2) provide the capacity to achieve planned densities; and Chapter: PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES
● 3) will not create a barrier to the extension of sewer service within the Urban Growth
Area.

PF-12 PF-13 Prohibit sewer service in the Rural Area and on Resource Lands except:
a) where needed to address specific health and safety problems threatening existing
structures; or
b) as allowed by Countywide Planning Policy DP-47 DP-48; or
c) as provided in Appendix 5 of the (March 31, 2012 School Siting Task Force Report).

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Sewer service authorized consistent with this the policy shall be provided in a manner that
does not increase development potential in the Rural Area.

Solid Waste
King County and the entire Puget Sound region are recognized for successful efforts to collect
recyclable waste. Continuing to reduce and reuse waste will require concerted and coordinated
efforts well into the future. It is important to reduce the waste stream going into area landfills
to extend the usable life of existing facilities and reduce the need for additional capacity.

PF-13 PF-14 Reduce the solid waste stream and encourage reuse and recycling.

Energy
While King County consumers have access to electrical energy derived from hydropower, there
are challenges for securing long-term reliable energy and for becoming more energy efficient.

PF-14 PF-15 Reduce the rate of energy consumption through efficiency and conservation as a
means to lower energy costs and mitigate environmental impacts associated with traditional
energy supplies.

PF-15 PF-16 Promote Invest in and promote the use of low-carbon, renewable, and alternative
energy resources to help meet the county’s long-term energy needs, reduce environmental
impacts associated with traditional energy supplies, and increase community sustainability.

Telecommunications
A telecommunications network throughout King County is essential to fostering broad
economic vitality and equitable access to information, goods and services, and opportunities
for social connection.

PF-16 PF-17 Plan for the equitable provision of telecommunication infrastructure to serve Chapter: PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES
growth and development in a manner consistent with the regional and countywide vision and
affordable, convenient, and reliable broadband internet access to businesses, and to
households of all income levels, with a focus on underserved areas.

Human and Community Services

Public services beyond physical infrastructure are also necessary to sustain the health and
quality of life of all King County residents. In addition, these services play a role in
distinguishing urban communities from rural communities and supporting the Regional Growth
Strategy.

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PF-17 PF-18 Provide human and community services to meet the needs of current and future
residents in King County communities through coordinated, equitable planning, funding, and
delivery of services by the county, cities, and other agencies.

Locating Facilities and Services

VISION 2040 2050 calls for a full range of urban services in the Urban Growth Area to support
the Regional Growth Strategy, and for limiting the availability of services in the rural area. In the
long term, there is increased efficiency and cost effectiveness in siting and operating facilities
and services that serve a primarily urban population within the Urban Growth Area. At the
same time, those facilities and services that primarily benefit rural populations provide a
greater benefit when they are located within neighboring cities and rural towns.

PF-18 PF-19 Locate schools, institutions, and other community facilities and services that
primarily serve urban populations within the Urban Growth Area, where they are accessible to
the communities they serve, except as provided in Appendix 5 (March 31, 2012 School Siting
Task Force Report) and as provided specifically for in Pierce County by RCW 36.70A.211. Locate
If possible, locate these facilities in places that are well served by transit and pedestrian and
bicycle networks. Jurisdictions shall work collaboratively with school districts to ensure the
availability of sufficient land and the provision of necessary educational facilities within the
Urban Growth Area through compliance with PF-21 and PF-22 and through the land use
element and capital facilities element of local comprehensive plans.

PF-19 PF-20 Locate new schools and institutions primarily serving rural residents in
neighboring cities and rural towns, except as provided in Appendix 5 (March 31, 2012 School
Siting Task Force Report) and as provided specifically for in Pierce County by RCW
36.70A.211and Iocate . Locate new community facilities and services that primarily serve rural
residents in neighboring cities and rural towns, with the limited exceptions when their use is
dependent upon a rural location and their size and scale supports rural character.
Chapter: PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES
Public school facilities to meet the needs of growing communities are an essential part of the
public infrastructure. Coordination between each jurisdiction’s land use plan and regulations
and their respective school district[s] facility needs are essential for public school capacity
needs to be met. The following policy applies countywide and requires engagement between
each school district and each city that is served by the school district. The policy also applies to
King County as a jurisdiction for areas of unincorporated King County that are within a school
district’s service boundary. The policy initiates a periodic procedure to identify if there are
individual school district siting issues and if so, a process for the school district and jurisdiction
to cooperatively prepare strategies for resolving the issue.

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PF-19A PF-21 Plan, through a cooperative process between jurisdictions and school districts,
that public school facilities are available, to meet the needs of existing and projected residential
development consistent with adopted comprehensive plan policies and growth forecasts.
Cooperatively work with each school district located within the jurisdiction’s boundaries to
evaluate the school district’s ability to site school facilities necessary to meet the school
district’s identified student capacity needs. Use school district capacity and enrollment data
and the growth forecasts and development data of each jurisdiction located within the school
district’s service boundaries.

By Commencing in January 2016 and continuing every two years thereafter, each jurisdiction
and the school district(s) serving the jurisdiction shall confer to share information and
determine if there is development capacity and the supporting infrastructure to site the needed
school facilities.

If not, cooperatively prepare a strategy to address the capacity shortfall. Potential strategies
may include:
• Shared public facilities such as play fields, parking areas and access drives
• School acquisition or lease of appropriate public lands
• Regulatory changes such as allowing schools to locate in additional zones or revised
development standards
• School design standards that reduce land requirements (such as multi-story structures
or reduced footprint) while still meeting programmatic needs
In 2017, and every two years thereafter, King County shall report to the GMPC on whether the
goals of this policy are being met. The GMPC shall identify corrective actions as necessary to
implement this policy.

PF-22 Coordinate and collaborate with school districts to build new and expand existing school
facilities within the Urban Growth Area. Jurisdictions and school districts should work together
to employ strategies such as:
a) Identifying surplus properties and private properties that could be available for new Chapter: PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES
school sites;
b) Creating opportunities for shared use of buildings, fields, and other facilities;
c) Reviewing development regulations to increase the areas where schools can be located
and to enable challenging sites to be used for new, expanded, and renovated schools;
d) Prioritizing and simplifying permitting of schools;
e) Considering the feasibility of locating playfields on land in the rural area directly
adjacent to school sites located within the urban area and with direct access from the
urban area;

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f) Partnering with school districts in planning and financing walking and biking routes for
schools; and
g) Encouraging more walking, biking, and transit ridership for students, teachers, and staff.
Strategies should recognize the school district’s adopted educational program requirements,
established and planned school service areas, limited availability of developable sites, and
established and planned growth patterns and enrollment projections.

Siting Public Capital Facilities

While essential to growth and development, regional capital facilities can disproportionately
affect the communities in which they are located. It is important that all jurisdictions work
collaboratively and consider environmental justice principles when siting these facilities to
foster the development of healthy communities for all.

PF-20 PF-23 Site or expand public capital facilities of regional or statewide importance within
the county in a way using a process that incorporates broad public involvement, especially from
historically marginalized and disproportionately burdened communities, and equitably
disperses impacts and benefits and supports while supporting the Countywide Planning
Policies.

PF-24 Consider climate change, economic, equity, and health impacts when siting and building
essential public services and facilities.

Public Facility and Disaster Preparedness

Community resilience is the ability to prepare for anticipated hazards, adapt to changing
conditions, and withstand and recover rapidly from disruptions. The King County Regional
Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was approved in 2020, assesses natural and human-caused
hazards that can impact the county. Coordinated planning across all jurisdictions and agencies
in King County is the best way to establish broad community resilience. Lack of planning for Chapter: PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES
resilience leads to disproportionate impacts on vulnerable populations.

PF-25 Support coordinated planning for public safety services and programs, including
emergency management, in partnership with communities most vulnerable to the impacts of
emergencies and natural disasters.

PF-26 Establish new or expanded sites for public facilities, utilities, and infrastructure in a
manner that ensures disaster resiliency and public service recovery.

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Appendix 1: Generalized Land Use Categories Map

Chapter: Appendix 1: Generalized Land Use Categories Map

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Appendix 2: Potential Annexation Areas Map

Chapter: Appendix 2: Potential Annexation Areas Map

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Appendix 3: Urban Separators Map

Chapter: Appendix 3: Urban Separators Map

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Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

Affordable Housing Need
Each jurisdiction, as part of its Comprehensive Plan housing analysis, will need to address
affordability and condition of existing housing supply as well as its responsibility to
accommodate a significant share of the countywide need for affordable housing. In order for
each jurisdiction to address its share of the countywide housing need for very-low, low and
moderate income housing, a four step approach has been identified:
1. Conduct an inventory and analysis of housing needs and conditions;
2. Implement policies and strategies to address unmet needs;
3. Measure results; and
4. Respond to measurement with reassessment and adjustment of strategies.

The methodology for each jurisdiction to address countywide affordable housing need is
summarized as follows:

Countywide need for Housing by Percentage of Area Median Income (AMI)

1. Moderate Income Housing Need. Census Bureau estimates1 indicate that approximately
16 percent of households in King County have incomes between 50 and 80 percent of
area median income; establishing the need for housing units affordable to these
moderate income households at 16 percent of each jurisdiction’s total housing supply.
2. Low Income Housing Need. Census Bureau estimates1 indicate that approximately 12
percent of households in King County have incomes between 30 and 50 percent of area
median income; establishing the need for housing units affordable to these low income
households at 12 percent of each jurisdiction’s total housing supply.
3. Very-Low Income Housing Need. Census Bureau estimates1 indicate that approximately
12 percent of households in King County have incomes between 0 and 30 percent of
area median income; establishing the need for housing units affordable to these very-

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

low income households at 12 percent of each jurisdiction’s total housing supply. This is
where the greatest need exists, and should be a focus for all jurisdictions.

Housing Supply and Needs Analysis

Context: As set forth in policy H‐3, each jurisdiction must include in its comprehensive plan an
inventory of the existing housing stock and an analysis of both existing housing needs and
housing needed to accommodate projected population growth over the planning period. This
policy reinforces requirements of the Growth Management Act for local Housing Elements. The
housing supply and needs analysis is referred to in this appendix as the housing analysis. As is
noted in policy H‐1, H-2, and H-3, the housing analysis must consider local as well as

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countywide housing needs because each jurisdiction has a responsibility to address a significant
share of the countywide affordable housing need.

The purpose of this section of Appendix 4 is to provide further guidance to local jurisdictions on
the subjects to be addressed in their housing analysis. Additional guidance on carrying out the
housing analysis is found in the Puget Sound Regional Council’s report, “Puget Sound Regional
Council Guide to Developing an Effective Housing Element,” and the Washington Administrative
Code, particularly 365‐196‐410 (2)(b) and (c). The state Department of Commerce also provides
useful information about housing requirements under the Growth Management Act.

Housing Supply
Understanding the mix and affordability of existing housing is the first step toward identifying
gaps in meeting future housing needs. Combined with the results of the needs analysis, these
data can provide direction on appropriate goals and policies for both the housing and land use
elements of a jurisdiction’s comprehensive plan. A jurisdiction’s housing supply inventory
should address the following:
• Total housing stock in the community;
• Types of structures in which units are located (e.g., single‐family detached, duplex or
other small multiplex, townhome, condominium, apartment, mobile home, accessory
dwelling unit, group home, assisted living facility);
• Unit types and sizes (i.e., numbers of bedrooms per unit);
• Housing tenure (rental vs. ownership housing);
• Amount of housing at different price and rent levels, including rent-restricted and
subsidized housing;
• Housing condition (e.g. age, general condition of housing, areas of community with
higher proportion of homes with deferred maintenance);
• Vacancy rates;
• Statistics on occupancy and overcrowding;

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

• Neighborhoods with unique housing conditions or amenities;
• Location of affordable housing within the community, including proximity to transit;
• Transportation costs as a component of overall cost burden for housing;
• Housing supply, including affordable housing, within designated Urban Centers and local
centers;
• Capacity for additional housing, by type, under current plans and zoning; and
• Trends in redevelopment and reuse that have an impact on the supply of affordable
housing.

Housing Needs
The housing needs part of the housing analysis should include demographic data related to
existing population and demographic trends that could impact future housing demand (e.g.

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aging of population). The identified need for future housing should be consistent with the
jurisdiction’s population growth and housing targets. The information on housing need should
be evaluated in combination with the housing supply part of the housing analysis in order to
assess housing gaps, both current and future. This information can then inform goals, policies,
and strategies in the comprehensive plan update.

A comprehensive housing needs analysis should address the following population, household,
and community characteristics:
• Household sizes and types;
• Age distribution of population;
• Ethnic and racial diversity;
• Household income, including the following income groupings:
o 30 percent of area median income or lower (very‐low‐income),
o Above 30 percent to 50 percent of area median income (low‐income)
o Above 50 percent to 80 percent of area median income (moderate‐income)
o Above 80 percent to 100 percent of area median income (middle-income)
o Above 100 percent to 120 percent of area median income (middle-income)
o Above 120 percent of median income;
• Housing growth targets and countywide affordable housing need for very-low, low and
moderate income households as stated in the Countywide Planning Policies;
• The number and proportion of households that are “cost‐burdened.” Such households
pay more than thirty percent of household income toward housing costs. “Severely‐
cost‐burdened” households pay more than fifty percent of household income toward
housing costs.
• Trends that may substantially impact housing need during the planning period. For
example, the impact that a projected increase in senior population would have on
demand for specialized senior housing, including housing affordable to low‐ and
moderate‐income seniors and retrofitted single family homes to enable seniors to age in
place.

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

• Housing demand related to job growth, with consideration of current and future jobs-
housing balance as well as the affordable housing needs of the local and subregional
workforce.
• Housing needs, including for low‐ and moderate‐income households, within designated
Urban Centers and local centers.

Note on Adjusting for Household Size

As currently calculated, the affordable housing targets do not incorporate differences in
household size. However, the reality is that differently sized households have different housing
needs (i.e., unit size, number of bedrooms) with different cost levels. A more accurate
approach to setting and monitoring housing objectives would make adjustments to reflect
current and projected household sizes and also unit sizes in new development. Accounting for

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household size in providing affordable units could better inform local policies and programs as
well as future updates of the Countywide Planning Policies and affordable housing targets.

Implementation Strategies
As stated in policy H‐5, local jurisdictions need to employ a range of strategies for promoting
housing supply and housing affordability. The Puget Sound Regional Council’s Housing
Innovations Program Housing Toolkit 4 presents a range of strategies. The strategies are
identified as being generally applicable to single family development, multifamily development,
ownership housing, rental housing, market rate projects, and subsidized projects. Strategies
marked as a “Featured Tool” are recommended as being highly effective tools for promoting
affordable and diverse housing in the development markets for which they are identified.

Measuring Results
Success at meeting a community’s need for housing can only be determined by measuring
results and evaluating changes to housing supply and need. Cities are encouraged to monitor
basic information annually, as they may already do for permits and development activity.
Annual tracking of new units, demolitions, redevelopment, zoning changes, and population
growth will make periodic assessments easier and more efficient. A limited amount of annual
monitoring will also aid in providing timely information to decision makers.

Policy H-18 requires jurisdictions to review their housing policies and strategies at least every
five years to ensure periodic reviews that are more thorough and that provide an opportunity
to adapt to changing conditions and new information. This five-year review could be aligned
with a jurisdiction’s five-year buildable lands reporting process.

Policy H-1: Countywide Need

Each jurisdiction, as part of its Comprehensive Plan housing analysis, will need to address

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

affordability and the condition of existing housing supply as well as its responsibility to
accommodate its share of the countywide need for affordable housing as defined in policy H-1.
In order for each jurisdiction to address its share of the countywide housing need for extremely
low-, very low-, and low-income housing, a four-step approach should be followed:
1. Conduct a housing inventory and analysis;
2. Implement policies and strategies to equitably meet housing needs;
3. Measure results and provide accountability; and
4. Adjust strategies to meet housing needs.

4 PSRC Housing Innovations Program Housing Toolkit http://psrc.org/growth/hip/

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Countywide need, also called the countywide affordable housing need, is the number of
additional, affordable homes needed by 2044 so that no household at or below 80 percent AMI
spends more than 30 percent of their income on housing. The countywide need for housing is
estimated at 263,000 affordable homes affordable at or below 80 percent AMI that need to be
built or preserved by 2044 as shown in Table H-1.The countywide need estimate includes both
homeownership and rental units and accounts for people experiencing homelessness. The
estimates are based on a model in which adding units for households within a given low-income
category (e.g., < 30 percent AMI) allows those households to vacate units affordable within the
next highest income category (e.g., greater than 30 percent AMI and less than or equal to 50
percent of AMI) each year, in turn addressing needs of cost-burdened households in that
income level. The estimates in Table H-1 assume that housing units equal to 1/25th of the cost
burdened households in each category in 2019 are added annually in each income category
until cost burden is eliminated, which occurs in different years for different income categories
due to the vacating unit process described earlier. The estimates of housing units needed to
address growth also assume income distribution of households added through growth is the
same as existing income distribution.

Estimating Local Housing Need

While the CPPs do not prescribe a jurisdictional share of countywide affordable housing need,
per RCW 36.70A.070 jurisdictions must include in the housing element of their comprehensive
plan:
an inventory and analysis of existing and projected housing needs that identifies
the number of housing units necessary to manage projected growth, as provided
by the department of commerce, including:
(i) Units for moderate, low, very low, and extremely low-income households;

Countywide housing need, housing affordability, and income-restricted housing unit data

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

provided in Tables H-1 and H-2 and through the King County Regional Affordable Housing
Dashboard can assist jurisdictions in estimating their local affordable housing needs. Sample
calculations using a simplified methodology and potential policy responses for three
jurisdictions of varying size and affordability are provided below. As a reminder, Policy H-1 and
Table H-1 provides that the countywide need for housing in 2044 by percentage of AMI is:
30 percent and below AMI (extremely low) 15 percent of total housing supply
31-50 percent of AMI (very low) 15 percent of total housing supply
51-80 percent of AMI (low) 19 percent of total housing supply

The sample jurisdictional calculations use fictional data from Table H-3.

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Table H-2: Fictional Jurisdictional Data

Current Housing Units (HU) (2013-2017)
0-30% AMI 31-50% AMI 51-80% AMI Over 80% AMI All Incomes
Jurisdiction
# of % of % of % of % of
# of HU # of HU # of HU Total HU
HU Total HU Total HU Total HU Total HU
Jurisdiction A 2,000 3% 3,000 4% 7,000 10% 58,000 83% 70,000
Jurisdiction B 2,500 4% 20,000 33% 18,000 30% 20,000 33% 60,500
Jurisdiction C 300 3% 600 6% 1,600 17% 7,000 74% 9,500
Source: 2013 - 2017 CHAS

Income-Restricted Housing Units (HU) (2019)

Jurisdiction 0-30% AMI 31-50% AMI 51-80% AMI
# of HU % of Total HU # of HU % of Total HU # of HU % of Total HU

Jurisdiction A 300 0.4% 500 0.7% 2,100 3.0%

Jurisdiction B 300 0.5% 1,200 2.0% 1,800 3.0%
Jurisdiction C 0 0.0% 70 0.7% 80 0.8%
Source: King County Income-restricted Housing Database

Future Affordable Housing Need (2044 total units * Countywide Housing Need)
0-30% AMI 31-50% AMI 51-80% AMI 2044 Total
Current
Jurisdiction % of Housing Housing
# of % of # of % of Total Housing
# of HU Total Growth Units in
HU Total HU HU HU Units
HU Target 2044
Jurisdiction A 15,750 15% 15,750 15% 19,950 19% 70,000 35,000 105,000
Jurisdiction B 10,875 15% 10,875 15% 13,775 19% 60,500 12,000 72,500
Jurisdiction C 1,710 15% 1,710 15% 2,166 19% 9,500 1900 11,400
Note: This applies the countywide need for affordable housing to each jurisdiction’s projected total
housing units in 2044

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

Difference from Current Housing Units to 2044 Need
Jurisdiction 0-30% AMI 31-50% AMI 51-80% AMI
# of HU # of HU # of HU
Jurisdiction A 13,750 12,750 12,950
Jurisdiction B 8,375 -9,125 -4,225
Jurisdiction C 1,410 1,110 566
Note: This table shows the gap or overage between the 2044 Housing Unit Need and Current Housing
Units

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Difference from Current Income-Restricted Housing Units to 2044 Need

Jurisdiction 0-30% AMI 31-50% AMI 51-80% AMI
# of HU # of HU # of HU
Jurisdiction A 15,450 15,250 17,850
Jurisdiction B 10,575 9,675 11,975
Jurisdiction C 1,710 1,640 2,086
Note: This shows the gap or overage between the 2044 Housing Unit Need and Current Income-
Restricted Housing Units

Jurisdiction A: Large, generally unaffordable

Analysis: Jurisdiction A is a larger jurisdiction with a relatively limited supply of housing

affordable to households at or below 80 percent AMI (3 percent, 4 percent, and 10 percent of
housing units for 0-30 percent, 31-50 percent, and 51-80 percent AMI respectively). Based on
its housing growth target, to meet a proportional share of countywide housing need by 2044,
the jurisdiction will need 15,750 units affordable to 0-30 percent AMI, 15,750 units affordable
to 31-50 percent AMI and 19,950 units affordable to 51-80 percent AMI. This is a sizeable need
compared to current levels of affordability.

Potential Policy Response: Given the low levels of currently affordable and income-restricted
housing in the community, the jurisdiction will need to employ a diversity of tools – from public
subsidy to policy tools like increasing the amount of land zoned for multifamily housing to meet
affordability needs. For example, currently, only 3 percent, or 2,000 units, in the jurisdiction are
affordable to households at or below 30 percent AMI. Of these units, only 300 are income-
restricted. This means the jurisdiction will need to focus significant attention on creating new
deeply affordable units as well as preserving any currently affordable units that are not income-
restricted. Given the scale of the affordability gap, however, the jurisdiction’s primary focus
should be on income-restricted housing production strategies. This could also include

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

purchasing currently unaffordable housing units and holding rents relatively steady until they
are affordable, a strategy recently employed by the King County Housing Authority. As the
impact of overall housing supply increases on prices are uncertain, the jurisdiction should
monitor affordability levels as overall supply of unrestricted housing units increases.

Jurisdiction B: Medium, currently affordable to all but the lowest incomes

Analysis: Jurisdiction B is a medium-sized jurisdiction with a large supply of housing affordable

to households at 31-80 percent of AMI. If that housing was preserved at current affordability
levels, it would more than provide a proportional share of housing to meet countywide
affordable housing need. However, the jurisdiction lacks housing affordable to households at

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the lowest income level (0-30 percent AMI) and only a small portion of its housing is income-
restricted, leaving prices vulnerable to market forces and residents vulnerable to displacement.

Potential Policy Response: Given the current levels of affordability in the community,
Jurisdiction B should focus on rehabilitation and preservation of both income-restricted housing
at or below 80 percent AMI and unrestricted housing affordable at all income levels, and
production of housing affordable to households at or below 30 percent AMI. Preservation may
entail supporting affordable housing providers in the purchase of housing units that are
currently affordable to households at or below 80 percent AMI, as well as investing in programs
that improve the quality and safety of existing housing stock.

Jurisdiction C: Small, moderately affordable, low growth target, limited transit, large lot sizes

Analysis: Jurisdiction C is a smaller jurisdiction with some existing housing affordable to

households at or below 80 percent AMI, but very little income-restricted housing. Compared to
jurisdictions A and B, it has a low growth target, meaning that its future need for affordable
housing is much larger than its projected growth. In addition, the jurisdiction lacks significant
plans for transit investment and most of the current housing is on very large-sized lots, as
prescribed by current zoning.

Potential Policy Response: Jurisdiction C will need to explore preservation and production tools
appropriate to its context to increase its supply of affordable housing, particularly income-
restricted housing. Likely, it will need to use land use policies to increase the diversity of
housing types in the jurisdiction, as well as use public resources to support affordable housing
production. The jurisdiction may also wish to engage with neighboring jurisdictions with better
transit and employment access to determine if it makes sense to contribute to affordable
housing production elsewhere in its sub-region in order to support job and service access for
residents of affordable housing. However, this approach should be balanced with attention to

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

providing equitable access to high opportunity areas, such as areas with quality schools and
open space, to low-income residents and residents of color.

Policy H-2: Extremely Low-Income Households

The countywide need is the greatest for households at or below 30 percent AMI (extremely
low-income). It will take significant cross-sector and cross-jurisdictional collaboration and
resources to effectively and equitably meet the needs of these households. Jurisdictions are
encouraged to explore emerging best practices to effectively meet the needs of extremely low-
income households, including but not limited to:
• mitigating environmental concerns for compromised properties with proposed
permanent supportive housing (PSH) projects;
• prioritizing vacant lands for PSH over other uses;

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• making surplus publicly-owned lands suitable for 0-30 percent AMI housing
development available for long-term lease or purchase at a reduced cost for extremely
low-income housing;
• creating a unique dwelling type for PSH coupled with cost reduction strategies for this
housing type;
• reducing fees, taxes, permit and hookup fees for PSH projects;
• streamlining design and permit review for PSH projects;
• increasing buildable height and/or floor area ratio for PSH; and
• reducing or removing cost requirements such as vehicular parking requirements for
PSH.

Policy H-3: Housing Supply and Needs Analysis

As set forth in policy H-4, each jurisdiction must include in its comprehensive plan an inventory
of the existing housing stock and an analysis of both existing housing needs and housing
needed to accommodate projected population growth over the planning period. This policy
reinforces requirements of the Growth Management Act for local Housing Elements. The
housing supply and needs analysis is referred to in this appendix as the housing analysis. As is
noted in policy H-1, H-2, and H-4, the housing analysis must consider local as well as
countywide housing needs because each jurisdiction has a responsibility to address its share of
the countywide affordable housing need.

The purpose of this section is to provide further guidance to local jurisdictions on the subjects
to be addressed in their housing analysis. Additional guidance on carrying out the housing
analysis is found in the Puget Sound Regional Council’s report, “Housing Element Guide: A PSRC
Guidance Paper (July 2014),” Washington State Department of Commerce’s report, “Guidance
for Developing a Housing Needs Assessment” (March 2020); and the Washington
Administrative Code, particularly 365-196-410 (2)(b) and (c). The Washington State Department

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

of Commerce also provides useful information about housing requirements under the Growth
Management Act in the “Growth Management Planning for Housing - Washington State
Department of Commerce” portion of their website

Housing Supply
Understanding the mix and affordability of existing housing is the first step toward identifying
gaps in meeting future housing needs.

Table H-3 shows the current housing supply by jurisdiction and affordability levels, using data
from 2013-2017 CHAS broken out by different income segments and 2019 housing unit data
estimated by the Washington State Office Financial Management (OFM) which OFM does not
break out by income segments. The 2019 OFM data serves as the base year for each

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jurisdiction’s 2044 housing growth targets and appears in Table H-1. The OFM housing units
were allocated to different AMI bands by applying the percent share of total housing supply in
each income segment as reported in the 2013-2017 CHAS data to the total housing units
reported by OFM for 2019.These 2019 current housing units in each income segment are added
to the countywide need (the total additional affordable housing units needed between 2019-
2044) by AMI reported in Table H-1 to determine the Total Affordable Housing Units Needed by
2044.

Figures in Table H-3 include both rental and ownership units. Note that while some jurisdictions
have an adequate supply of housing affordable to low-income households (51 to 80 percent of
AMI) and very low-income households (31-50 percent of AMI), no jurisdiction in the county has
sufficient housing affordable to extremely low-income households (0 to 30 percent of AMI) to
meet a proportional share of existing needs as shown in Table H-1. This is where the greatest
need exists and should be a focus for all jurisdictions.

Table H-3 will be updated annually and will be made publicly available on the Regional
Affordable Housing Dashboard. While Table H-3 provides a starting point for understanding
current housing supply by jurisdiction, other metrics are required to fully measure housing
need. Jurisdictions may choose to supplement the data in Table H-3 with other data sources,
such as PUMS, ACS, or their own housing inventories that may be more current or use different
underlying assumptions. Because data sources vary in the time period they measure, the
assumptions required to analyze the data, and the sampling techniques they use, they may
produce results that do not perfectly align with Table H-3. Jurisdictions should use the
methodology documented here to explain the causes and implications of differences between
alternative methodologies and the information presented in Table H-3.

The methodology used to calculate current housing units in Table H-3 is summarized as follows:
1. CHAS data is downloaded from the HUD website. Select the most recent vintage of data

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

(in this instance it was 2013-2017 ACS 5-year average data”) for the data year, select the
“Counties split by Place” Geographic Summary Level, which provides data at a
jurisdictional level, select “csv” for the file type, and then download the data. This will
download all the CHAS tables, as well as a data dictionary.
2. Tables 17A, 17B, 18A, 18B, and 18C have data on housing units and what AMI brackets
they are affordable at. Tables 17A and 17B include data on vacant units for ownership
and rental units respectively. These vacant units are included in the totals, because
while vacant units are not currently being rented, they are still a part of a jurisdiction’s
housing supply, and many vacant units are available to rent or buy. Tables 18A, 18B, and
18C include data on occupied ownership units with a mortgage, occupied ownership

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units without a mortgage, and occupied rental units respectively. All these units are also
included in the totals in Table H-3.
3. To calculate how many units are in each jurisdiction at each AMI band, calculate those
totals for tables 17A, 17B, 18A, 18B, and 18C and then sum them all together. To
calculate total numbers of units by AMI, use the subtotal columns of the CHAS data. The
data dictionary that comes with the CHAS tables shows which columns are subtotal
columns. Multiple subtotal columns must be added together to get the total number of
units affordable at a certain AMI. For example, in Table 18A, to get the total number of
units affordable at 0-50 percent AMI, the columns T18B_est3, T18B_est28, T18B_est53,
T18B_est78 must be summed, as each column represents a different number of units in
the structure. The columns that must be summed together differ slightly based on the
table. Refer to the data dictionary to ensure that the correct columns are chosen, as
these may change slightly year to year.
4. CHAS uses RHUD for rental units and VHUD for ownership units as measures of
affordability that correspond to AMI. For example, units that have a value of “less than
or equal to RHUD30” are marked as being affordable at 0-30 percent AMI. Unlike with
rental units, for the home ownership units found in tables 17A, 18A, and 18B, CHAS
does not differentiate between VHUD0 to VHUD30 units and VHUD 30 to VHUD50 units.
It instead combines them all into a “Value less than or equal to VHUD50” category. Since
affordability is measured at 0-30 percent AMI and 30-50 percent AMI separately in
Table H-3, assume that all units in the "Value less than or equal to VHUD50” are actually
only affordable at 30-50 percent AMI, and are included in that column. Thus, all 0-30
percent AMI units in Table H-3 are rental units. This assumption is made because of the
distribution of home prices in King County, where almost no homes are affordable to
households making 0-30 percent AMI.

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

5. Once each of Tables 17A, 17B, 18A, 18B, and 18C have been totaled to get the number
of units available at each AMI band, and the home ownership units in the “Value less
than or equal to VHUD50” category have been recoded to be equal to 30-50 percent
AMI, combine the totals of each table to get countywide totals. RHUD and VHUD
categories should now line up for all categories up to 80 percent AMI and can thus be
combined and re-labeled with the AMI categories seen in Table H-3. While categories
above 80 percent don’t align between renter and ownership tables, they can all be
combined into one over 80 percent AMI category.
6. Then take the sum of each AMI band to get the value in the “All Incomes” column.
These values may differ slightly from the total units calculated using the CHAS “Total”
columns, as individual “Subtotal” columns round units in the “Subtotal” columns (see
here for more information on CHAS’s rounding methodology). This has only a minimal

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impact on overall totals. Then, calculate what percentage of each jurisdiction’s housing
supply is in each AMI band by dividing the number of units in each AMI band by the
total number of units. Note that the totals included in the “% of Total HU” columns in
table H-3 are rounded. The actual, unrounded percentages are used in the following
steps. To calculate the unrounded percentages, in the “Housing Units (HU) 2017”
section of the table divide the “# of HU” column amounts by the “Total HU” column
amount for each jurisdiction.
7. To find the “All Housing” units data in the “2019 HU” column refer to the King County
rows in the "2019 Postcensal Estimate of Total Housing Units” column in the
Washington State Office of Financial Management’s (OFM) April 1 postcensal estimates
of housing: 1980, 1990-present. Sum these values to get the total estimated housing
units for 2019 countywide.
8. To break out OFM’s reported total countywide housing unit number, apply the percent
share of housing units by AMI found in the “% of Total HU” columns to the total housing
units reported by OFM for each jurisdiction in the “Total HU” column in the “HU 2019”
section of the table for each jurisdiction and each AMI band. Then sum all jurisdictions
totals together for each AMI band, then round the total to the nearest thousandth. This
will give you the total units reported in “Countywide Total HU, 2019” row.
9. Add the current “Countywide Total HU, 2019” totals by AMI with the “Total Additional
Affordable Housing Units Needed” (2019-2044) by AMI reported in Table H-1 to
determine the Total Affordable Housing Units Needed by 2044 in Table H-1, which
includes current housing units.

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

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Table H-3: Housing Affordability for King County Jurisdictions by Regional Geographies
Housing Units (HU) 2017 5 HU 2019 6
Regional Geography and 0-30% AMI 31-50% AMI 51-80% AMI Over 80% AMI 0-30% AMI 31-50% AMI
Jurisdiction % of Total % of % of % of Total
# of HU # of HU # of HU # of HU Total HU Total HU
HU Total HU Total HU HU
Metropolitan Cities
Bellevue 1,750 3% 2,814 5% 6,363 11% 46,400 81% 57,327 62,372
Seattle 19,330 6% 32,655 10% 55,910 17% 212,875 66% 320,770 367,806
Core Cities
Auburn 1,335 5% 9,400 38% 6,590 26% 7,660 31% 24,985 27,391
Bothell 390 4% 1,200 11% 2,075 19% 7,215 66% 10,880 12,208
Burien 985 5% 4,879 26% 5,155 27% 8,003 42% 19,022 20,793
Federal Way 1,430 4% 9,170 26% 12,450 35% 12,695 36% 35,745 37,257
Issaquah 715 5% 845 6% 1,770 12% 11,750 78% 15,080 16,801
Kent 1,970 4% 11,195 25% 14,769 33% 16,720 37% 44,654 48,228
Kirkland 1,125 3% 2,325 6% 4,775 13% 28,405 78% 36,630 39,312
Redmond 640 3% 1,325 5% 2,705 11% 20,365 81% 25,035 28,619
Renton 1,720 4% 7,285 19% 10,160 26% 20,133 51% 39,298 42,855
SeaTac 350 3% 3,400 34% 3,460 35% 2,799 28% 10,009 10,855
Tukwila 385 5% 2,150 30% 2,680 38% 1,909 27% 7,124 8,445
High Capacity Transit Communities
Des Moines 585 5% 3,015 25% 2,999 25% 5,244 44% 11,843 12,898
Kenmore 255 3% 1,070 12% 1,190 14% 6,135 71% 8,650 9,485
Lake Forest Park 105 2% 344 7% 419 8% 4,325 83% 5,193 5,494
Mercer Island 270 3% 380 4% 400 4% 9,015 90% 10,065 10,506
Newcastle 60 1% 115 3% 480 11% 3,699 85% 4,354 5,214
Shoreline 1,180 5% 2,090 9% 4,440 20% 14,425 65% 22,135 24,127
Woodinville 150 3% 280 6% 495 10% 3,825 81% 4,750 5,450
Cities & Towns
Algona 8 1% 404 43% 350 38% 169 18% 931 1,053
Beaux Arts - 0% 8 6% 4 3% 114 90% 126 119
Black Diamond 40 2% 350 21% 230 14% 1,070 63% 1,690 1,808
Carnation 34 5% 119 19% 134 21% 354 55% 641 817
Clyde Hill 10 1% 39 3% 15 1% 1,055 94% 1,119 1,100
Covington 160 2% 790 11% 2,280 33% 3,770 54% 7,000 7,102
Duvall 50 2% 200 8% 250 10% 2,085 81% 2,585 2,684
Enumclaw 265 6% 1,469 31% 1,495 32% 1,515 32% 4,744 5,228
Hunts Point 4 3% 12 8% 4 3% 139 87% 159 186
Maple Valley 220 2% 530 6% 1,450 16% 6,650 75% 8,850 9,280
Medina 15 1% 19 2% 10 1% 1,125 96% 1,169 1,233
Milton 20 6% 99 28% 59 17% 175 50% 353 608
Normandy Park 150 5% 235 8% 220 8% 2,200 78% 2,805 2,876
North Bend 95 4% 340 14% 390 16% 1,565 65% 2,390 2,783
Pacific 40 2% 934 39% 840 35% 600 25% 2,414 2,460
Sammamish 180 1% 365 2% 853 4% 19,615 93% 21,013 22,159
Skykomish 4 6% 23 34% 8 12% 33 49% 68 173
Snoqualmie 45 1% 169 4% 293 7% 3,664 88% 4,171 4,748
Yarrow Point 4 1% 4 1% 8 2% 419 96% 435 416
Urban Unincorporated & Rural
Unincorporated King County 2,465 3% 7,287 10% 12,223 17% 48,920 69% 70,895 93,179
Countywide Total HU, 20175 38,539 5% 109,333 13% 160,401 19% 538,834 64% 847,107 956,128

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

Countywide Total HU, 2019 7 44,000 5% 122,000 13% 180,000 19% 610,000 64% 956,000
Countywide Total HU Needed
by 2044 188,000 15% 185,000 15% 236,000 19% 644,000 51% 1,253,000

5 Source: CHAS 2013-2017 (released August 25, 2020)

6Source: 2019 data from Office of Financial Management’s April 1 postcensal estimates of housing: 1980, 1990-present.
Percentages are rounded.
7Extrapolated using the percent share of total housing units from CHAS 2013-2017 and 2019 total housing unit data from
Washington State Office of Financial Management’s April 1 postcensal estimates of housing: 1980, 1990-present. Figures are
rounded, see methodology above for how to recreate unrounded totals.

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Housing Needs
The housing needs part of the housing analysis should include demographic data related to
existing population, household and community trends that could impact future housing
demand (e.g. aging of population). This data will be derived from a mixture of jurisdictional
records, county datasets, state datasets, and federal datasets. The identified need for future
housing should be consistent with the jurisdiction’s population growth and housing targets.
Combined with the results of the needs analysis, these data can provide direction on
appropriate goals and policies for both the housing and land use elements of a jurisdiction’s
comprehensive plan.

The following guidance is offered to ensure the housing inventory and analysis data is
consistently utilized and reported by all jurisdictions in King County:
• Affordability gap means the comparison of a jurisdiction’s housing supply as compared
to the countywide need percentages expressed in policy H-1. 2013-2017 housing supply
is included in table H-3 in this appendix. The County will update this table annually and
make it available online.
• Age means built in 2014 or later, built 2010 to 2013, built 2000 to 2009, built 1990-1999,
built 1980 to 1989, built 1970 to 1979, built 1960 to 1969, built 1950 to 1959, built 1940
to 1949, built 1939 or earlier.
• Number of bedrooms means no bedroom, 1 bedroom, 2 or 3 bedrooms, and 4 or more
bedrooms.
• Condition means lacking complete plumbing facilities, lacking complete kitchen facilities,
and/or no telephone service available.
• Tenure means renter-occupied and owner-occupied.
• Income-restricted units should be reported by AMI limit (i.e. ≤ 30 percent AMI, ≤ 50
percent AMI, and ≤ 80 percent AMI).

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

• Moderate-density housing means the following housing types: 1-unit attached; 2 units; 3
or 4 units; 5 to 9 units; 10 to 19 units. High-density housing means the following housing
types: 20 or more units.
• Household income by AMI means equal to or less than 30 percent AMI, above 30
percent to 50 percent AMI; above 50 percent to 80 percent AMI, above 80 percent to
100 percent AMI, above 100 percent to 120 percent AMI, and above 120 percent AMI.
• Housing cost burden means a household spends more than 30 percent of their
household income on housing costs.
• Severe housing cost burden means a household spends more than 50 percent of their
household income on housing costs.

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• Displacement risk means where residents and businesses are at greater risk of
displacement based on PSRC’s index or equivalent composite set of risk indicators such
as: socio-demographics, transportation qualities, neighborhood characteristics, housing,
and civic engagement.

Policy H-5: Evaluate Effectiveness

Prior to updating their comprehensive plan, a jurisdiction must evaluate the effectiveness of
existing housing policies and strategies to meet a significant share of countywide need. This will
help a jurisdiction identify the need to adjust current policies and strategies or implement new
ones. Where possible, jurisdictions are encouraged to identify actual housing units created, by
affordability level, since their last comprehensive plan update.

This evaluation also must also identify gaps in existing partnerships, policies, and dedicated
resources for meeting the countywide need and eliminating racial and other disparities in
access to housing and neighborhoods of choice. This exercise helps a jurisdiction understand
what other strategies it should pursue beyond updating the comprehensive plan to meet the
goals of this chapter. Some strategies, like inclusionary housing or new dedicated resources, will
be easier to evaluate a quantitative impact and for others, it may be more qualitative.
Jurisdictions without the ability to identify the impact of each policy may wish to describe the
policies and programs that contributed to creating or preserving a given number of income-
restricted units, special needs housing units, etc.

Policy H-6: Racial Exclusion and Discrimination

To inform a comprehensive plan strategy, a jurisdiction must also document the local history of
racially exclusive and discriminatory land use and housing practices, consistent with local and

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

regional fair housing reports and other resources.

A jurisdiction must also explain the extent to which that history is still reflected in current
development patterns, housing conditions, tenure, and access to opportunity. Examples of
suitable data include, but are not limited to:
• homeownership rates by race/ethnicity and age;
• concentration or dispersion of affordable housing or housing choice voucher usage
within the jurisdiction;
• affordability of housing in the jurisdiction to the median income household of different
races and ethnicities;
• racial demographics by neighborhood, e.g. degrees of integration and segregation;

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• access to areas of opportunity by race and ethnicity;

• demographics of residents in areas of high displacement risk; and
• results of fair housing testing performed or fair housing complaint data within a
jurisdiction.

Jurisdictions must also identify local policies and regulations that result in racially disparate
impacts, displacement, and exclusion in housing, including but not limited to:
• zoning that may have a discriminatory effect;
• disinvestment; and
• infrastructure availability.

Racially restrictive housing covenants, unrecognized treaties with tribes, current exclusionary
zoning, and lack of investment in affordable housing are examples of discriminatory practices or
policies a jurisdiction could include in an assessment. Jurisdictions should not limit their review
to local policies and regulations. The region should share resources and work together to
develop a shared understanding of how racist or discriminatory housing practices and
disparities were perpetuated by all levels of government as well as the private sector. While
each jurisdiction’s assessment will be unique, King County jurisdictions are encouraged to
identify federal, state, and regional practices as well as local.

Finally, a jurisdiction must demonstrate how current strategies are addressing impacts of those
racially exclusive and discriminatory policies and practices. Using this information jurisdictions
should identify and implement policies and regulations to address and begin to undo racially
disparate impacts, displacement, and exclusion in housing caused by local policies, plans, and
actions consistent with the policies in the “Implement Policies and Strategies to Equitably Meet

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

Housing Needs” section.

Jurisdictions are encouraged to refer to the 2019 King County Analysis of Impediments to Fair
Housing Choice (Analysis of Impediments) to understand current barriers to fair housing choice.
In addition to the guidance offered in this technical appendix, the County will support
jurisdictions in identifying and compiling resources, such as University of Washington reports
and databases, to support this analysis.

Policy H-7: Collaborate Regionally

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The lack of homes affordable to low-income households is a regional problem that requires
regional solutions. Jurisdictional collaboration with diverse partners is key to an effective
regional response. Jurisdictions in their collaboration are encouraged to:
• address the countywide housing need;
• engage and collaborate with other entities in efforts to fund, site, and build affordable
housing;
• join resources;
• raise public and private resources together to provide the additional subsidies required
to develop housing at deeper levels of affordability;
• support affordable housing development or preservation in each other’s jurisdictions;
and
• take other collaborative action to address the countywide housing need.

Partners collaborating with jurisdictions are encouraged to support the following needs:
• technical assistance;
• organizational capacity building;
• land donations;
• financial contributions for operating and capital needs to support affordable housing
development, maintenance and operations needs;
• funding for other needs such as data and monitoring infrastructure; and
• advocate for efforts to fund, site, and build affordable housing.

Policies H-9 through H-24: Implement Policies and Strategies to Meet Housing Needs
Equitably
Jurisdictions need to employ a range of policies, incentives, strategies, actions, and regulations

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

tailored to equitably meet their housing need. The Puget Sound Regional Council’s Housing
Innovations Program 8 presents a range of strategies. The strategies can be filtered by objective,
project type, and affordability level. Strategies marked with an asterisk include more detail and
are proven to be particularly effective at meeting regional housing goals. The Municipal
Research and Services Center (MSRC) and Washington State Department of Commerce also
offers affordable housing-related resources on their websites, including information about
techniques and incentives for encouraging and planning for housing affordability.

Local jurisdictions may also refer to this table for suitable strategies, largely derived from
recommendations from the December 2018 Regional Affordable Housing Task Force Final
Report and Recommendations. King County’s Department of Community and Human Services

8 PSRC Housing Innovations Program https://www.psrc.org/hip

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will work to periodically update these suggestions on the King County website if new strategies
and best practices emerge.

Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
H-9 Collaborate with populations most Suggested strategies to ensure the process to
disproportionately impacted by housing cost plan for meeting countywide housing need is
burden in developing, implementing and equitable include:
monitoring strategies that achieve the goals of • Providing capacity grants to
this chapter. Prioritize the needs and solutions organizations representing target
articulated by these disproportionately impacted communities to support engagement
populations. • Providing other support to ensure those
most disproportionately impacted have
equitable access to participate in
planning discussions (e.g. evening
meetings, translation services, food, and
childcare or travel stipends)
• Establishing clear decision-making
structures that ensures
disproportionately impacted
populations’ needs and solutions are
prioritized and community members and
leaders, organizations, and institutions
share power, voice, and resources

H-10 Adopt intentional, targeted actions that A suggested approach to identifying reparative
repair harms to Black, Indigenous, and People of strategies includes:
Color (BIPOC) households from past and current • Looking at how current policies are
racially exclusive and discriminatory land use and working to undo past racially exclusive
housing practices (generally identified through and discriminatory land use and housing

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

Policy H-6). Promote equitable outcomes in practices or where they might be
partnership with communities most impacted. perpetuating that history
• When current policies are perpetuating
the harm, implementing equitable
countermeasures to remove those
policies and their impacts and mitigate
disparate impacts on housing choice,
access, and affordability
• Using PSRC’s Regional Equity Strategy
and associated tools and resources to
center equity in comprehensive planning
processes and intended outcomes
Specific policies and strategies include:

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
• Reduce or eliminate exclusionary zoning
• Implement anti-displacement strategies,
which include addressing housing
stability for low-income renters and
owners as well as preserving cultural
diversity of the community
• Implement policies that increase
affordable homeownership opportunities
for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
communities
• Distribute affordable housing throughout
a jurisdiction, with a focus on areas of
opportunity
• Consider environmental health of
neighborhoods where affordable housing
exists or is planned and plan for
environmentally healthy neighborhoods
• Support and prioritize projects that
promote access to opportunity, anti-
displacement, and wealth building
opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and
People of Color communities

Strategies for promoting equitable outcomes in

partnership with communities most impacted
include:
• Utilize an equity impact review tool when
developing or implementing policies or

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

strategies
• Create and utilize a community
engagement toolkit
• Intentionally include and solicit
engagement from members of
communities of color or low-income
households in policy decision-making and
committees
H-11 Adopt policies, incentives, strategies, Suggested strategies to help meet the need at
actions, and regulations that increase the supply these affordability levels include:
of long-term income-restricted housing for • Increase financial contributions to build,
extremely low-, very low-, and low-income preserve, and operate long-term income-
households and households with special needs. restricted housing

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
• Increase the overall supply and diversity
of housing throughout a jurisdiction,
including both rental and ownership
• Provide housing suitable for a range of
household types and sizes, including
housing suitable and affordable for
households with special needs, low-, very
low-, and extremely low-incomes
Implement policies that incentivize the
creation of affordable units, such as
Multifamily Tax Exemption, inclusionary
zoning, and incentive zoning, and density
bonus
• Coordinate with local housing authorities
to use project-based rental subsidies with
incentive/ inclusionary housing units to
achieve deeper affordability
• Implement policies that reduce the cost
to develop affordable housing
• Implement universal design principles to
ensure that buildings and public spaces
are accessible to people with or without
disabilities
• Support sustainable housing
development
• Promote units that accommodate large
households and/or multiple bedrooms
• Prioritize strategies for implementation

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

that will result in the highest impact
towards addressing the affordable
housing gap at the lowest income levels
H-12 Identify sufficient capacity of land for An approach to identifying sufficient capacity for
housing including, but not limited to: income- housing types is:
restricted housing; housing for moderate-, low-, • Consider the local and regional housing
very low-, and extremely low-income households; needs and available land capacity
manufactured housing; multifamily housing; identified in H-4. For example, a
group homes; foster care facilities; emergency jurisdiction that doesn’t have any
housing; emergency shelters; permanent unhoused people may still need to
supportive housing; and within an urban growth provide sufficient capacity for this
area boundary, duplexes, triplexes, and population if unmet need exists within
townhomes. the county or subregion

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
• Determine if current capacity is sufficient
to meet future needs. For example, most
permanent supportive housing will
require multifamily zoning
Collaborate with other jurisdictions to
identify the subregional or countywide
capacity needed for these housing types
if current need within a jurisdiction is
substantially less than the countywide
need for that housing type
H-13 Implement strategies to overcome cost Suggested strategies to overcome cost barriers to
barriers to housing affordability. Strategies to do housing affordability to consider addressing
this vary but can include updating development include:
standards and regulations, shortening permit • Reduce vehicular parking requirements
timelines, implementing online permitting, • Reduce permitting timelines
optimizing residential densities, reducing parking • Increase the predictability of the
requirements, and developing programs, policies, permitting process
partnerships, and incentives to decrease costs to • Reduce sewer fees for affordable housing
build and preserve affordable housing. • Reduce utility, impact and other fees for
affordable housing and Accessory
Dwelling Units (ADUs)
• Streamline permitting process for
affordable housing development and
ADUs
• Update building codes to promote more
housing growth and innovative, low-cost
development
• Explore incentives similar to the

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

Multifamily Tax Exemption for the
development of ADUs for low-income
households
• Maximize and expand use of the
Multifamily Tax Exemption
• Offer suitable public land at reduced or
no cost for affordable housing
development
• Before implementing a policy, consider
how it will impact the cost to build
affordable homes
H-14 Prioritize the use of local and/ regional Suggested strategies to effectively prioritize the
resources (e.g. funding, surplus property) for use of resources include:
income-restricted housing, particularly for

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
extremely low-income households, populations • Partner with communities most
with special needs, and others with disproportionately impacted by the
disproportionately greater housing needs. housing crisis, including extremely low-
Consider projects that promote access to income households and Black,
opportunity, anti-displacement, and wealth Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
building for Black, Indigenous, and People of communities to inform resource design
Color communities to support implementation of and allocation decisions. These decisions
policy H-10. should prioritize strategies that reduce
and undo disproportionate harm to these
communities consistent, recognizing that
specific needs of these communities may
vary based on location
• Identify and prioritize underutilized
publicly owned land and nonprofit/ faith
communities for the creation of income-
restricted housing, both rental and
homeownership
• Prioritize sites near transit, quality
schools, parks and other neighborhood
amenities
• Fund acquisition and development of
prioritized sites
• Prioritize public funding resources in a
manner consistent with policy H-9
• Consider the countywide median income
levels of BIPOC households when
designing affordable homeownership
programs and set the affordability levels

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

such that they are accessible to the
median BIPOC households considered
H-15 Increase housing choices for everyone— Strategies to increase housing choice near
particularly those earning lower wages—that is employment and affordable to all include but are
co-located with, accessible to, or within a not limited to 9:
reasonable commute to major employment • Update zoning and land use regulations
centers and affordable to all income levels. (including in single-family low-rise zones) to
Ensure there are zoning ordinances and building increase density and diversify housing
policies in place that allow and encourage choices, including but not limited to:
housing production at levels that improve jobs-

9PSRC’s Housing Innovations Program (HIP) website provides a searchable database of dozens of suggested strategies. Please
refer to their database for a more comprehensive list of strategies.

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
housing balance throughout the county across all o Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) and
income levels. Detached Accessory Dwelling Units
(DADUs)
o Duplex, Triplex, Four-plex
o Zero lot line townhomes, row houses,
and stacked flats
o Micro/efficiency units
o Manufactured housing preservation
o Group homes
o Foster care facilities
o Emergency housing
o Emergency shelters
o Permanent supportive housing
o Low-rise and high-density multifamily
development
o Housing development that
accommodates large households and/or
multiple bedrooms
• Implement strategies that provide for
affordable housing near employment centers,
such as:
o Project-level tools like affordability
covenants when funding income-
restricted units or development
agreements
o Incentives such as density bonuses,
incentive zoning, or Multifamily Tax
Exemption
o Other regulatory tools such as

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

commercial linkage fees, inclusionary
zoning, or TOD overlays
o Other financial tools such as public land
for affordable housing
H-16 Expand the supply and range of housing Suggested zoning, regulation, and incentive
types—including affordable units—at densities strategies to be applied near transit station areas
sufficient to maximize the benefits of transit and transit corridors served by high capacity or
investments throughout the county. frequent transit include:
• Requiring minimum densities in these
areas
• Providing enough multifamily zoning to
accommodate a significant amount of

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
the jurisdictional share of affordable
housing in these areas
• Implementing comprehensive
inclusionary/ incentive housing policies
in existing and planned frequent transit
service areas to achieve the deepest
affordability possible through land use
incentives, which may include increased
density; reduced parking requirements,
reduced permit fees, exempted impact
fees, Multifamily Tax Exemption, and
programmatic Environmental Impact
Statements
• Evaluate and update zoning in transit
areas in advance of transit infrastructure
investments
• Evaluate the impact of development fee
reductions in transit areas and
implement reductions if positive impact
• Implement comprehensive
inclusionary/incentive housing policies in
all existing and planned frequent transit
service to achieve the deepest
affordability possible through land use
incentives
• Coordinate with local housing authorities
to use project-based rental subsidies
with incentive/ inclusionary housing

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

units to achieve deeper affordability
near transit
H-17 Support the development and preservation Preservation strategies to consider include:
of income-restricted affordable housing that is • Identify areas that may be at higher risk
within walking distance to planned or existing of displacement from market forces that
high capacity and frequent transit. occur with changes to zoning
development regulations and public
capital investments and establish anti-
displacement policies, with consideration
given to the preservation of historical and
cultural communities as well as:
o investments in low-, very low-, and
extremely low-income housing
equitable development initiatives

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
o inclusionary zoning
o community planning requirements;
tenant protections
o public land disposition policies
o consideration of land that may be
used for affordable housing
• Collect data to better understand the
impacts of growth, and the risks of
residential, economic, and cultural
displacement. Verify this data with
residents at the greatest risk of
displacement, particularly those most
disproportionately impacted by housing
cost burden and neighborhood-based
small business owners. Supplement this
information with regional data about
displacement risk and ongoing
displacement trends that can inform and
drive policy and programs.
• Prioritize affordable housing
investments, incentives, and
preservation tools in areas where
increases in development capacity and
new public capital investments are
anticipated to allow current low-income
residents to stay
• Support the acquisition, rehabilitation,
and preservation of income-restricted
and naturally occurring affordable

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

housing in areas with a high
displacement risk, for long-term
affordability serving households at or
below 80 percent AMI
• Leverage new development to fund
affordable housing in the same
geography using zoning tools such as
incentive/ inclusionary zoning
• Implement anti-displacement policies
(e.g. community preference, tenant
opportunity to purchase, no net loss of
affordable units, right-to-return,
community benefits agreements)

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
• Prioritize publicly owned land for
affordable housing in areas at high risk of
displacement
• Support community land trust and other
permanent affordability models
• Identify, preserve, and improve cultural
assets
• Increase education to maximize use of
property tax relief programs to help
sustain homeownership for low-income
individuals
• Expand targeted foreclosure prevention
• Preserve manufactured housing
communities and improve the quality of
the housing and associated
infrastructure to improve housing
stability and health for the residents
while also expanding housing choices
affordable to these residents, including
opportunities to cooperatively own their
communities
• Encourage programs to help
homeowners access support needed to
participate in and benefit from infill
development
H-18 Adopt inclusive planning tools and policies Other inclusive planning tools and policies that
whose purpose is to increase the ability of all increase neighborhood choice include:
residents in jurisdictions throughout the county • Plan for moderate or high-density

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

to live in the neighborhood of their choice, housing and complete neighborhoods
reduce disparities in access to opportunity areas, within a half-mile walkshed of high
and meet the needs of the region’s current and capacity or frequent transit service in
future residents by: areas already zoned for residential
a. providing access to affordable housing to housing and where exposure to air
rent and own throughout the jurisdiction, pollution and particulate matter is low to
with a focus on areas of high opportunity; moderate.
b. expanding capacity for moderate-density • Plan for complete neighborhoods around
housing throughout the jurisdiction, existing and planned essential services
especially in areas currently zoned for throughout a jurisdiction
lower density single-family detached • Establish a designation that allows more
housing in the Urban Growth Area, and housing types within single-family zoned
capacity for high-density housing, where areas near parks, schools, and other
services

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
appropriate, consistent with the Regional • Housing types to allow development that
Growth Strategy; is compatible in scale with existing
c. evaluating the feasibility of, and housing
implementing, where appropriate, • Revise parking regulations to prioritize
inclusionary and incentive zoning to housing and public space for people over
provide affordable housing; and space to park cars
d. providing access to housing types that • Allow the conversion of existing houses
serve a range of household sizes, types, into multiple units
and incomes, including 2+ bedroom • Allow additional units on corner lots, lots
homes for families with children and/or along alleys and arterials, and lots on
adult roommates and accessory dwelling zone edges
units, efficiency studios, and/or • Incentivize the retention of existing
congregate residences for single adults. houses by making development
standards more flexible when additional
units are added
• Provide technical and design resources
for landowners and communities to
redevelop and maintain ownership.
• Reduce or remove minimum lot size
requirements
• Create incentives for building more than
one unit on larger than average lots
• Limit the size of new single-unit
structures, especially on larger than
average lots
• Retain and increase family-sized and
family-friendly housing
• Remove the occupancy limit for

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

unrelated persons in single-family zones,
if applicable
H-19 Lower barriers to and promote access to Suggested strategies to increase access to
affordable homeownership for extremely low-, affordable homeownership for lower-income
very low-, and low--income, households. households include:
Emphasize: • Support alternative homeownership
a. supporting long-term affordable models that lower barriers to ownership
homeownership opportunities for and provide long-term affordability, such
households at or below 80 percent AMI as community land trusts, and limited or
(which may require up-front initial public shared equity co-ops
subsidy and policies that support diverse • Encourage programs to help
housing types); and homeowners, particularly low-income
b. remedying historical inequities in and homeowners, access financing, technical
expanding access to homeownership support or other tools needed to

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
opportunities for Black, Indigenous and participate in and benefit from infill
People of Color communities. development opportunities
• Increase educational efforts to ensure
maximum use of property tax relief
programs to help sustain homeownership
for low-income individuals
• Expand targeted foreclosure prevention
• Preserve existing manufactured housing
communities through use-specific zoning
or transfer of development rights
H-20 Adopt policies and strategies that promote Suggested equitable development and anti-
equitable development and mitigate displacement strategies include:
displacement, with consideration given to the • Consider and plan for socioeconomic
preservation of historical and cultural diversity and cultural stability
communities as well as investments in low-, • Encourage homeownership opportunities
very low-, extremely low-, and moderate- for low-income households
income housing production and preservation; • Acquire and preserve manufactured
dedicated funds for land acquisition; housing communities to prevent
manufactured housing community preservation, displacement
inclusionary zoning; community planning • Acquire land for affordable housing
requirements; tenant protections; public land ahead of planned infrastructure
disposition policies; and land that may be used investments or other investments that
for affordable housing. Mitigate displacement may increase land and housing costs
that may result from planning efforts, large-scale • Implement a community preference
private investments, and market pressure. policy that allows housing developments
Implement anti-displacement measures prior to to prioritize certain applicants when
or concurrent with development capacity leasing or selling units in communities at
increases and public capital investments. high risk of displacement.

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

• Implement tenant protections that
increase stability such as:
o Notice of rent increase
o Right to live with family
o Just cause eviction for tenants on
termed leases
o Tenant relocation assistance
• Establish programs to invest in
underrepresented communities to
promote community-driven development
and/ or prevent displacement
H-21 Implement, promote and enforce fair Suggested fair housing policies and practices
housing policies and practices so that every include:
person in the county has equitable access and

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
opportunity to thrive in their communities of • Invest in programs that provide fair
choice, regardless of their race, gender identity, housing education for both renters and
sexual identity, ability, use of a service animal, landlords, enforcement, and testing
age, immigration status, national origin, familial • Engage underrepresented communities
status, religion, source of income, military status, on an ongoing basis to better understand
or membership in any other relevant category of Remove barriers to housing and increase
protected people. access to opportunity
• Provide more housing for vulnerable
populations
• Provide more housing choices for people
with large families
• Support efforts to increase housing
stability.
• Preserve and increase affordable housing
in communities at high risk of
displacement
• Review and update zoning to increase
housing options and supply in urban
areas
• Work with communities to guide
investments in historically underserved
communities.
• Report annually on fair housing goals and
progress
H-22 Adopt and implement policies that protect Tenant protection policies to consider include:
housing stability for renter households; expand • Just cause eviction for tenants with
protections and supports for low-income renters termed leases
and renters with disabilities. • Increase time periods for notice of rent

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

increases
• Prohibit discrimination in housing against
tenants and potential tenants with arrest
records, conviction records, and criminal
history
• Tenant relocation assistance
• Increase access to legal services
• Rental inspection programs

Supports for landlords that promote tenant

stability include:

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
• Establish a fund that landlords can access
to make repairs so costs are not passed
on to low-income renters
• Increase education for tenants and
property owners regarding their
respective rights and responsibilities

Supports for low-income renters and people with

disabilities to consider include:
• Shallow and deep rent subsidies
• Emergency rental assistance
• Services to address barriers to housing,
including tenant screening reports and
civic legal aid
• Increased funding for services that help
people with disabilities stay in their
homes and/or age in place
H-23 Adopt and implement programs and Strategies to improve the quality and safety of
policies that ensure healthy and safe homes. housing include:
• Establish and promote healthy housing
standards
• Provide home repair assistance for
households earning at or below 80
percent AMI
• Implement proactive rental inspection
programs
• Implement just cause eviction to protect
tenants from landlords retaliating if they

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

request basic maintenance and repairs
to maintain a healthy and safe living
environment
• Partner with Aging & Disability
organizations to integrate accessibility
services
See the King County Board of Health Guideline
and Recommendation on Healthy Housing for
additional guidance. 10

10See link: https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/board-of-health/~/media/depts/health/board-of-

health/documents/guidelines/guideline-recommendation-18-01-attachment-A.ashx

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Table H-4 Suggested Strategies for Achieving Policy Goals

Policy Suggested Strategies
H-24 Plan for residential neighborhoods that When planning for residential neighborhoods
protect and promote the health and well-being of that protect and promote health and well-being
residents by supporting equitable access to parks of residents, suggested strategies include:
and open space, safe pedestrian and bicycle • Plan for housing in conjunction with
routes, clean air, soil and water, fresh and other infrastructure investments to
healthy foods, high-quality education from early support equitable access to opportunity
learning through K-12, affordable and high- for households with a range of incomes
quality transit options and living wage jobs and and ensure the siting of homes is not in
by avoiding or mitigating exposure to close to environmental hazards and
environmental hazards and pollutants. pollutants
• Analyze disparities in access to amenities
and invest in affordable housing in areas
with high access to these amenities while
providing services and investment in
areas where low-income people live

Policies H-25 and H-26: Measure Results and Provide Accountability

Success at meeting a community’s need for housing can only be determined by measuring
results and evaluating changes to housing supply and need. Cities and the County will
collaborate to monitor basic information annually, as they may already do for permits and
development activity. Annual tracking of information such as new policies, new units, and
zoning changes will make periodic assessments easier and more efficient. A limited amount of
annual monitoring will also aid in providing timely information to decision makers

The purpose of “measuring results and providing accountability” is to motivate and enhance
learning, collaboration, and progress. While some CPPs clearly lend themselves to quantitative
measures and straightforward evaluation, some do not. This is often true when factors like the

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

result of engagement with disproportionately impacted community members significantly
shape implementation or where quantitative data is lacking. In these cases, jurisdictions have
the liberty to make any reasonable interpretation of the policy and report as completely and
honestly as possible how well the policy has been met.

Policy H-25 requires cities and the County to collaborate in this monitoring to ensure continual
review of the effectiveness of local strategies at meeting the countywide need. The information
will be collected by King County and reported annually in a public-facing, interactive regional
affordable housing dashboard.

Policy H-27: Adjust Strategies to Meet Housing Needs

The data collected annually provides an opportunity for cities and the County to adapt to
changing conditions and new information when monitoring finds that the adopted strategies

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are insufficient for meeting the countywide need or result in the perpetuation of the
inequitable distribution of affordable housing. Adaptation strategies can occur before the next
comprehensive planning cycle during annual comprehensive plan updates, updates to the land
use map, and/or a jurisdiction’s urban growth strategy (buildable lands) reporting process. The
King County Affordable Housing Committee can serve as a venue for discussing regional
progress and challenges jurisdictions face. The results of these conversations and
recommended actions to meet countywide need more effectively can be shared with the
Growth Management Planning Council.

Chapter: Appendix 4: Housing Technical Appendix

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

Appendix 5: King County School Siting Task Force Report

On March 31, 2012 the School Siting Task Force issued the following report and
recommendations related to 18 undeveloped school sites in King County, and future school
siting. Countywide Planning Policies DP-50, PF-12, PF-18 and PF-19 DP-51, PF-13, PF-19, and
PF-20 contain references to this report, and in particular the Site Specific Solutions table found
on pages 15-19 of the School Siting Task Force Report.

The complete report and associated documents can be found on the Countywide Planning
Policies website at:

• https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/executive/performance-strategy-
budget/regional-planning/CPPs.aspx

Chapter: Appendix 5: King County School Siting Task Force Report

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Appendix 6: King County Centers Designation Framework

Metro Growth Centers Urban Growth Centers Countywide Growth Centers Industrial Employment Centers Industrial Growth Centers Countywide Industrial Centers
1. Purpose of Center Regional Metro Growth Centers Regional Urban Growth Centers Countywide growth centers 13
Regional Industrial Employment Regional Industrial Growth Countywide industrial centers
have a primary regional role. play an important regional role, serve important roles as places Centers are highly active Centers are clusters of industrial serve as important local
They have dense existing jobs with dense existing jobs and for equitably concentrating industrial areas with significant lands that have significant value industrial areas. These areas
and housing, high quality transit housing, high-quality transit jobs, housing, shopping, and existing jobs, core industrial to the region and potential for support equitable access to
service, and are planning for service, and planning for recreational opportunities. activity, evidence of long-term future equitable job growth. living wage jobs and serve a key
significant, equitable growth significant, equitable growth These are often smaller demand, and regional role. They These large areas of industrial role in the county’s
and opportunity. They serve as and opportunity. These centers downtowns, high capacity have a legacy of industrial land serve the region with manufacturing/industrial
major transit hubs for the may represent areas where transit station areas, or employment and represent international employers, economy.
region and provide regional major investments – such as neighborhood centers that are important long-term industrial industrial infrastructure,
services and serve as major civic high capacity transit –offer new linked by transit, provide a mix areas, such as deep-water ports concentrations of industrial
and cultural centers. opportunities for growth. of housing and services, and and major manufacturing and jobs, evidence of long- term
serve as focal points for local can be accessed by transit. potential, and can be accessed
and county investment. Designation is to, at a minimum, by transit. Designation will
preserve existing industrial jobs continue growth of industrial
and land use and to continue to employment and preserve the
equitably grow industrial region’s industrial land base for
employment and opportunity in long-term growth and
these centers where possible. retention.
2. Distribution of Centers Centers are designated to Same Same Same Same Same
achieve the countywide land
use vision and are based on

Chapter: Appendix 6: King County Centers Designation Framework

meeting the expectations of the
framework. No arbitrary limit
on the number of centers will
be established.
PART 1. DESIGNATION
PROCESS AND SCHEDULE
A. Designation Process
1. jurisdiction ordinance, Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
motion, or resolution
authorizing submittal of
application
2. Fill out Form Yes Yes KC to have an application form Yes Yes KC to have an application form
and process. and process.
3. Submit for eligibility review. Yes Yes IJT staff to review and present Yes Yes IJT staff to review and present
Staff review and report to GMPC. to GMPC.

13 King County does not yet have designated countywide centers, although many jurisdictions have local centers that may be equivalent. Local centers are eligible for regional and countywide funding, and this funding is distributed based on criteria and formula.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

Metro Growth Centers Urban Growth Centers Countywide Growth Centers Industrial Employment Centers Industrial Growth Centers Countywide Industrial Centers
4. GMPC recommendation to Yes Yes KC to have an application form Yes Yes KC to have an application form
PSRC and process. and process.
B. Schedule
1. Applications limited to major Yes Yes Yes. KC to have a 5 year cycle or Yes Yes Yes. KC to have a 5 year cycle
updates. Call for new consider following PSRC major or consider following PSRC
application approx. every 5 plan updates. major plan updates.
years.
C. Redesignation
1. Follows PSRC re-designation Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
process
PART 2: CENTER ELIGIBILITY
A. Local and Countywide
Commitment
1. center identified in Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Comprehensive Plan
2. demonstrate center is local Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes. And, commitment to Yes. And area has important
priority for growth and protecting and preserving county role and concentration
investments industrial uses, strategies, and of industrial land or jobs with
incentives to encourage evidence of long-term demand.
industrial uses in the center,
and established partnerships
with relevant parties to ensure
success of
manufacturing/industrial

Chapter: Appendix 6: King County Centers Designation Framework

center.
B. Planning
1. completed center plan Yes Yes Yes 15 Yes Yes. And, in consultation with Yes 10
meeting Plan Review Manual public ports and other affected
specifications 14 government entities.
2. environmental review shows Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
area appropriate for density
3. assessment of housing need Yes Yes Yes, as part of subarea plan or Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable
and cultural assets, including in dedicated Comprehensive
displacement of residents and Plan chapter
businesses

14 The PSRC Center Plan Checklist defines key concepts and provisions jurisdictions should use in planning for the designated centers. This includes the following: establishing a vision, considering natural and built environment topics, establishing geographic boundaries and growth targets,
planning for a mix of land uses, addressing design standards, planning for a variety of housing types including affordable housing in growth centers, addressing economic development, and providing for public services and facilities, including multimodal transportation, all as appropriate and
tailored to the center type and function.
15 For Countywide Centers the topics in the Center Plan Checklist should be addressed, except that growth targets are not required, and they can be met through inclusion of a dedicated chapter in the Comprehensive Plan that specifies how each required topic is addressed for each countywide
center, rather than in stand-alone subarea plans.

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Metro Growth Centers Urban Growth Centers Countywide Growth Centers Industrial Employment Centers Industrial Growth Centers Countywide Industrial Centers
4. documentation of tools to Yes Yes Yes, as part of subarea plan or Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable
provide range of affordable and in dedicated Comprehensive
fair housing Plan chapter
5. documentation of Yes Yes Yes, as part of subarea plan or Yes Yes Yes
community engagement, in dedicated Comprehensive
including with priority Plan chapter
populations 16
C. Jurisdiction and Location
1. new Centers should be in Yes Yes Cities or Unincorporated Yes Yes Cities or Unincorporated
cities Urban 17 Urban12
2. if unincorporated area: Not allowed in unincorporated Not allowed in unincorporated Encouraged Not allowed in unincorporated Not allowed in unincorporated Encouraged
a. it has link light rail and is urban area urban area urban area urban area
affiliated for annexation
b. joint planning is occurring Not allowed in unincorporated Not allowed in unincorporated Encouraged Not allowed in unincorporated Not allowed in unincorporated Encouraged
urban area urban area urban area urban area
c. plans for annexation or Not applicable (center type Not applicable (center type Encouraged Not allowed in unincorporated Not allowed in unincorporated Encouraged
incorporation are required does not exist in does not exist in urban area urban area
unincorporated area). unincorporated area).
D. Existing Conditions
1. infrastructure and utilities Yes Yes Yes Yes. Must include presence of Yes. Access to relevant Yes
can support growth irreplaceable industrial transportation infrastructure
infrastructure such as working including freight.
maritime port facilities, air and
rail freight facilities.

Chapter: Appendix 6: King County Centers Designation Framework

2. center has mix of housing Yes Yes Yes Not applicable The center has an economic Not applicable.
and employment impact.
E. Boundaries
1. justification for center Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
boundaries
2. boundary generally round or Yes Yes Compact, walkable size Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable
square
F. Transportation
1. center has bicycle and Yes Yes Yes. Supports multi-modal Defined transportation demand Defined transportation demand Defined transportation demand
pedestrian infrastructure and transportation, including management strategies in management strategies in management strategies in place
amenities pedestrian infrastructure and place. place.
amenities, and bicycle
infrastructure and amenities.

16 King County's "Fair and Just" Ordinance 16948, as amended, identifies four demographic groups, including: low-income, limited English proficiency, people of color, and immigrant populations.
17 For multi-jurisdiction centers, please describe the manner and structure (e.g. interlocal agreement, memorandum of understanding) with which the jurisdictions will plan together over the long-term.

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2012 Proposed 2021 King County Countywide Planning Policies

Metro Growth Centers Urban Growth Centers Countywide Growth Centers Industrial Employment Centers Industrial Growth Centers Countywide Industrial Centers
2. center has street pattern Yes Yes Yes. Supports multi-modal Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable
supporting walkability transportation, including street
pattern that supports
walkability.
3. freight access Yes To be addressed in subarea plan To be addressed in subarea plan Access to relevant Same To be addressed in subarea plan
transportation infrastructure
including freight.
PART 3: CENTER CRITERIA
A. Purpose
1. Compatibility with VISION Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
centers concept, Regional
Growth Strategy and
Multicounty Planning Policies
B. Activity level/Zoning 18
1. existing activity 19 60 activity unit density 30 activity unit density (AUs 18 activity unit density 10,000 jobs 4,000 jobs 1,000 existing jobs and/or 500
refer to combined jobs and acres of industrial land
population)
2. planned activity Above 120 activity unit density 60 activity unit density 30 activity unit density 20,000 jobs 10,000 jobs 4,000 jobs
3. sufficient zoned capacity Yes. Should be higher than Yes. Should be higher than Should have capacity and be Yes. Should be higher than Yes. Should be higher than Should have capacity and be
target and supports a compact, target. planning for additional growth target. target. planning for additional growth.
complete, and mature urban
form.
4. planning mix of housing Planning for at least 15% Planning for at least 15% Planning for at least 20% At least 50% of the employment At least 50% of the employment At least 50% of the employment
types and employment types residential and 15% residential and 15% residential and 20% must be industrial employment. must be industrial employment. must be industrial employment.
employment activity employment activity employment, unless unique Strategies to retain industrial Strategies to retain industrial Strategies to retain industrial

Chapter: Appendix 6: King County Centers Designation Framework

circumstances make these uses are in place. uses are in place. uses are in place.
percentages not possible to
achieve.
C. Geographic Size
1. minimum size 320 acres 200 acres 160 No set threshold; size based on 2000 acres 1,000 existing jobs and/or 500
justification for the boundary. acres of industrial land
2. maximum size 640 acres (larger if internal HCT) 640 acres (larger if internal HCT) 500 acres No set threshold; size based on No set threshold; size based on No set threshold; size based on
justification for the boundary. justification for the boundary. justification for the boundary.
D. Transit

18 PSRC’s 2015 guidance on Transit Supportive Densities and Land Uses cites an optimal level of 56-116 activity units per acre to support light rail, dependent on transit costs per mile. The guidance indicates an optimal threshold of at least 17 activity units per acre to support bus rapid transit.
Note: the existing threshold in the CPPs is roughly equivalent to 85 AUs existing activity for King County Urban Centers.
19 For existing centers, not meeting existing activity unit thresholds is not grounds for de-designation or re-designation by the Growth Management Planning Council.

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Metro Growth Centers Urban Growth Centers Countywide Growth Centers Industrial Employment Centers Industrial Growth Centers Countywide Industrial Centers
1. existing or planned transit Major transit hub, has high Fixed route bus, regional bus, Yes, has frequent, all-day, fixed- Must have existing or planned Same. Should have local fixed-route or
service levels quality/high capacity existing or Bus Rapid Transit or frequent route bus service (16 hours, 15- frequent, local, express, or flexible transit service.
planned service including all-day bus service (16 hours, 15 minute headways). flexible transit service.
existing or planned light rail, minute headways). High
commuter rail, ferry, or other capacity transit may substitute Should have documented
high capacity transit with similar for fixed route bus. strategies to reduce commute
frequent service as light rail. (18 impacts through transportation
hours, 15-minute headways) demand management that are
consistent with the Regional
TDM Action Plan.
2. transit supportive Provides transit priority (bus Provides transit priority (bus Supports connection/transfers Provides transit priority (bus Supports connection/transfers Supports connection/transfers
infrastructure lanes, queue jumps, signal lanes, queue jumps, signal between routes and other lanes, queue jumps, signal between routes and other between routes and other
priority, etc.) within the right- priority, etc.) within the right- modes. Provides infrastructure priority, etc.) within the right- modes, and increases amenities modes, and increases amenities
of-way to maintain speed and of-way to maintain speed and (i.e. pedestrian and bicycle) that of-way to maintain speed and to make transit an inviting to make transit an inviting
reliability of transit service. reliability of transit service. improves rider access to transit reliability of transit service. option. option.
Provides infrastructure (i.e. Provides infrastructure (i.e. service and increases amenities Provides infrastructure (i.e.
to make transit an inviting
pedestrian and bicycle) that pedestrian and bicycle) that pedestrian and bicycle) that
option.
improves rider access to transit improves rider access to transit improves rider access to transit
service and increases amenities service and increases amenities service and increases amenities
to make transit an inviting to make transit an inviting to make transit an inviting
option. option. option.
E. Market Potential
1. Evidence of future market Yes, with Market Study required Yes, with Market Study required Market Study encouraged Yes, with Market Study required Yes, with Market Study required Market Study encouraged
potential to support target and
planned densities

Chapter: Appendix 6: King County Centers Designation Framework

2. Market data will inform Required within Market Study Required within Market Study Encouraged within Market Required within Market Study, Required within Market Study, Encouraged within Market
adoption of land use, housing, Study tailored for industrial tailored for industrial Study, tailored for industrial
economic development, and employment. employment. employment.
investment strategies,
including equitable
development strategies. 20
F. Role
1. Evidence of regional or Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
countywide role by serving as
important destination
2. Planning for long-term, Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
significant, and equitable
growth
G. Zoning

20 For residential development, strategies and tools could include mandatory inclusionary housing, multifamily tax exemption, or others. For commercial and industrial development, strategies and tools could include priority hire policies, incentives for affordable commercial space, or others.

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Metro Growth Centers Urban Growth Centers Countywide Growth Centers Industrial Employment Centers Industrial Growth Centers Countywide Industrial Centers
1. specific zones required No No No At least 75% land area zoned for Same At least 75% of land area zoned
core industrial uses. This for core industrial uses.
includes manufacturing,
transportation, warehousing
and freight terminals.
2. specific zones prohibited No No No Commercial uses within core Same Same
industrial zones shall be strictly
limited.

Chapter: Appendix 6: King County Centers Designation Framework

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Appendix 7: CPP Historical Framework

(moved from General Chapter)

The year 1991 was one of tremendous change for the management of growth in King County
and this environment of change gave rise to the distinctive character of the 1992 Countywide
Planning Policies. While the Countywide Planning Policies have been amended periodically to
address specific issues or revisions required by the Growth Management Act, the first thorough
update of the Countywide Planning Policies was completed in 2012 to ensure that the
Countywide Planning Policies are consistent with VISION 2040, the Growth Management Act
and changes that had occurred in the previous twenty years within King County. In addition for
the 2012 update, the Growth Management Planning Council directed that the revised policies
include countywide direction on three new policy areas: climate change, healthy communities
and social equity. Understanding the history of the 1992 policies is important in order to
establish the context for the revised policies.

In 1991 five major conditions gave rise to the first Countywide Planning Policies and the process
used in their development and adoption:

1. In 1985, the King County Council adopted a Comprehensive Plan that for the
first time established a clear boundary between Urban and Rural Areas and set
forth standards to delineate a clear development character for each.

2. In 1991, the adoption of the Growth Management Act transformed the way
that local jurisdictions looked at land use planning as well as how they
interacted with neighboring jurisdictions.
A fundamental requirement of the Growth Management Act was

Chapter: Appendix 7: CPP Historical Framework

coordination between a shared countywide vision on how growth would be
planned for and accommodated and how this would be implemented by local
jurisdictions. In 1991, the Growth Management Act was amended to include
the requirement that Countywide Planning Policies be adopted to describe
this vision and how these relationships would be created. These provisions
gave rise to the creation of the Growth Management Planning Council – an
advisory group of elected officials from jurisdictions throughout the county
charged with overseeing the preparation of the Countywide Planning Policies.
Since the Growth Management Act was new and many jurisdictions had not
created a comprehensive plan before, the Countywide Planning Policies
became a guide for jurisdictions to follow in complying with the Growth

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Management Act in areas as diverse as critical area regulation to local growth

targets.

3. In 1991, the Puget Sound Council of Governments was dissolved and replaced
with the Puget Sound Regional Council that initially had significantly reduced
responsibilities for regional land use planning and coordination.
Without an effective regional body for land use planning, it was necessary for
the Puget Sound counties to identify their own process and organization for
developing the Countywide Planning Policies. In the case of King County, this
was the Growth Management Planning Council. Subsequently, as its
responsibilities were expanded over time, the Puget Sound Regional Council
developed VISION 2040, the multi-county vision and planning policies that set
the structure for these revised Countywide Planning Policies.

4. By 1991, the Suburban Cities Association had changed from a loose coalition of
cities outside of Seattle to a formal organization with the ability to represent
constituent jurisdictions in regional forums.

5. Prior to the development of the Countywide Planning Policies, King County and
METRO attempted and failed to win electoral support for merger.
This defeat left jurisdictions with concerns about the relationship between
city and county governments, and further confusion about the roles of
governments in the Urban Growth Area.

Because of these conditions and the environment they fostered, jurisdictions in King County
decided to go further than just meeting the specific statutory requirements for such policies.
The 1992 King County Countywide Planning Policies provided direction for many issues related
to growth management and established a policy structure for subsequent issue resolution.

Chapter: Appendix 7: CPP Historical Framework

Since their adoption, many of the initial Countywide Planning Policies have been codified into
local regulations or carried out in regional or statewide arenas and no longer need to be
included in them. Through amendments to the King County Charter and interlocal agreements,
the relationship between county and city governments has been clearly defined and
annexations and incorporations have brought most of the urban unincorporated urban area
into the cities.

Other key actions that were required by the 1992 Countywide Planning Policies along with their
current status are described below:

• Complete a fiscal and environmental review of the 1992 Countywide Planning

Policies – completed and adopted in 1994;

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• Establish housing and employment targets for each jurisdiction – completed in 1994
and periodically updated pursuant to the Countywide Planning Policies;
• Adopt local comprehensive plans pursuant to the Growth Management Act and
Countywide Planning Policies – each jurisdiction within King County has an adopted
plan that is periodically updated;
• Develop land use capacity and urban density evaluation program – developed and
then superseded by the King County Buildable Lands Program as required by the
Growth Management Act;
• Develop a growth management monitoring program – King County Benchmarks
program established in 1994 and annually updated as described in policy G-2; and
• Evaluate the need to change the Urban Growth Boundary and work to maintain a
permanent Rural Area – established in 1994 and periodically reviewed as described
in the Development Patterns chapter.

Chapter: Appendix 7: CPP Historical Framework

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Glossary

Affordable Housing: Housing that is affordable at 30 percent or less of a household’s monthly

income. This is a general term that may include housing affordable to a wide range of income
levels and includes income-restricted and non-income units.

Affordable Housing Committee: A committee of the King County Growth Management

Planning Council chartered to recommend actions and assess regional progress to advance
affordable housing solutions and function as a point of coordination and accountability for
affordable housing efforts across King County.

Agricultural Production District: A requirement of the Growth Management Act for cities and
counties to designate, where appropriate, agricultural lands that are not characterized by urban
growth, have soils suitable for agriculture, and that have long-term significance for commercial
farming. The King County Comprehensive Plan designates Agricultural Production Districts
where the principal land use should be agriculture.

Area Median Income: The annual household income for the Seattle-Bellevue, WA Metro Area
as published on approximately an annual basis by the. The U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development calculates median income for each metropolitan region. These are used to
determine income limits for government affordable housing programs.

Buildable Lands Program: A requirement of the Growth Management Act for certain counties
in western Washington to report on a regular basis the amount of residential and commercial
development that has occurred, the densities of that development, and an estimate of each
jurisdiction’s ability to accommodate its growth target based on the amount of development
that existing zoning would allow.

Clean renewable energy: Includes the production of electricity from wind, solar and
geothermal and does not include production of energy created by combustion of fuel that
causes greenhouse gas emissions or produces hazardous waste.

Climate Change: The variation in the earth’s global climate over time. It describes changes in
the variability or average state of the atmosphere. Climate change may result from natural
factors or processes (such as change in ocean circulation) or from human activities that change
the atmosphere’s composition (such as burning fossil fuels or deforestation.)
Chapter: Glossary

Climate Change Adaptation refers to actions taken to adapt to unavoidable impacts as a result
of climate change.

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Climate Change Mitigation refers to actions taken to reduce the future effects of climate
change.

Comprehensive Plan: A plan prepared by a local government following the requirements of the
Washington Growth Management Act, containing policies to guide local actions regarding land
use, transportation, housing, utilities, capital facilities, and economic development in ways that
will accommodate at least the adopted 20-year targets for housing and employment growth.

Cost Burden: When a household spends more than 30 percent of their gross monthly income
on housing costs.

Countywide Need: Also called the countywide affordable housing need, this is the number of
additional, affordable homes needed in King County by 2044 so that no household earning at or
below 80 percent of area median income is housing cost burdened. The countywide need for
housing is estimated at 263,000 affordable homes affordable at or below 80 percent area
median income built or preserved by 2044 as shown in Table H-1.

Displacement: The involuntary relocation of current residents or businesses from their current
residence. This is a different phenomenon than when property owners voluntarily sell their
interests to capture an increase in value. Physical displacement is the result of eviction,
acquisition, rehabilitation, or demolition of property, or the expiration of covenants on rent- or
income-restricted housing. Economic displacement occurs when residents and businesses can
no longer afford escalating housing costs. Cultural displacement occurs when people choose to
move because their neighbors and culturally related businesses have left the area.

Environmental Justice: The fair distribution of costs and benefits, based on a consideration for
social equity. Environmental justice is concerned with the right of all people to enjoy a safe,
clean, and healthy environment, and with fairness across income, ethnic, and racial groups in
the siting and operation of infrastructure, facilities, or other large land uses.

Equitable Development: Public and private investments, programs, and policies in

neighborhoods, characterized by high levels of chronic and recent displacement; a history of
racially driven disinvestment; and significant populations of marginalized communities. This
work is conducted in partnership with community stakeholders to meet the needs of
marginalized people and reduce disparities, taking into account history and current conditions,
so that quality of life outcomes such as access to quality education, living wage employment,
Chapter: Glossary

healthy environment, affordable housing and transportation, are equitably distributed for the
people currently living and working there, as well as for new people moving in.

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Extremely Low-Income Households: Households earning 30 percent of the area median income
or less for their household size.

Fossil fuels: Petroleum and petroleum products, coal, and natural gas such as methane,
propane, and butane, derived from prehistoric organic matter and used to generate energy.
Fossil fuels do not include:
A. Petrochemicals that are used primarily for non-fuel products, such as asphalt, plastics,
lubricants, fertilizer, roofing, and paints;
B. Fuel additives, such as denatured ethanol and similar fuel additives, or renewable fuels, such
as biodiesel or renewable diesel with less than five percent fossil fuel content; or
C. Methane generated from the waste management process, such as wastewater treatment,
anaerobic digesters, landfill waste management, livestock manure and composting processes.

Fossil fuel facility: A commercial facility used primarily to receive, store, refine, process,
transfer, wholesale trade or transport fossil fuels, such as, but not limited to, bulk terminals,
bulk storage facilities, bulk refining and bulk handling facilities. Fossil fuel facilities do not
include: individual storage facilities of up to thirty thousand gallons and total cumulative
facilities per site of sixty thousand gallons for the purposes of retail or direct-to-consumer sales,
facilities or activities for local consumption; noncommercial facilities, such as storage for
educational, scientific or governmental use; or uses preempted by federal rule or law.

Forest Production District. A requirement of the Growth Management Act for cities and
counties to designate, where appropriate, forest lands that are not characterized by urban
growth and that have long-term significance for the commercial production of timber. The King
County Comprehensive Plan designates Forest Production Districts where the primary use
should be commercial forestry.

Frequent Transit: Transit service that is “show-up and go,” that comes frequently enough that
passengers do not require a schedule.

Frontline communities: Those communities that are disproportionately impacted by climate

change due to existing and historical racial, social, environmental, and economic inequities, and
who have limited resources and/or capacity to adapt. These populations often experience the
earliest and most acute impacts of climate change, but whose experiences afford unique
strengths and insights into climate resilience strategies and practices. Frontline communities
include Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, immigrants and refugees,
people living with low incomes, communities experiencing disproportionate pollution exposure,
Chapter: Glossary

women and gender non-conforming people, LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
queer, intersex, asexual, + other) people, people who live and/or work outside, those with
existing health issues, people with limited English skills, and other climate vulnerable groups.

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Growth Management Act: State law (RCW 36.70A) that requires local governments to prepare
comprehensive plans (including land use, transportation, housing, capital facilities and utilities)
to accommodate 20 years of expected growth. Other provisions of the Growth Management
Act require developing and adopting countywide planning policies to guide local comprehensive
planning in a coordinated and consistent manner.

Growth Targets: The number of residents, housing, or jobs that a jurisdiction is expected to use
as the land use assumption in its comprehensive plan. Growth targets are set by countywide
planning groups for counties and cities to meet the Growth Management Act requirement to
allocate urban growth that is projected for the succeeding twenty-year period (RCW
36.70A.110). Countywide growth targets are articulated in the Development Patterns chapter.

Greenhouse Gas: Components of the atmosphere that contribute to global warming, including
carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. Human activities have added to
the levels of most of these naturally occurring gases.

Healthy Housing: Housing that protects all residents from exposure to harmful substances and
environments, reduces the risk of injury, provides opportunities for safe and convenient daily
physical activity, and assures access to healthy food and social connectivity.

High-capacity Transit: Various types of transit systems, such as light rail and bus rapid transit,
operating on fixed guideway or dedicated right-of-way designed to carry a large number of
riders at higher speeds.

High Capacity Transit: Transit modes that operate principally on exclusive rights-of-way which
provides a substantially higher level of passenger capacity, speed, and service frequency than
traditional public transportation systems operating principally in general purpose roadways,
including light rail, streetcar, commuter rail, ferry terminals, and bus rapid transit stations.

High-Density Housing: Multifamily housing of a certain density that is considered to be more

intensive than moderate-density housing. This designation includes housing types of 20 or more
units.

Housing Affordability: Refers to the balance (or imbalance) between incomes and housing
costs within a community or region. A common measurement compares the number of
households in certain income categories to the number of units in the market that are
affordable at 30 percent of gross income.
Chapter: Glossary

Industry Clusters: Specific economic segments and industry clusters that are the focus of the
Puget Sound Regional Council's Regional Economic Strategy. As of June 2011, the identified

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regional industry clusters included: aerospace, clean technology, information technology, life
sciences, logistics and international trade, military, and tourism.

Incentive Zoning: Incentive zoning is a broad regulatory framework for encouraging and
stimulating development that provides a desired public benefit as established in adopted
planning goals. An incentive zoning system is implemented on top of an existing base of
development regulations and works by offering developers regulatory allowances in exchange
for public benefits.

Income-Restricted Affordable Housing Units: Housing units that provide lower-income people
with an affordable place to live. To be eligible to live in one of these units, a prospective
tenant’s gross monthly income must be below a certain income threshold. The unit is also
limited in price so as to be affordable to households at certain income levels.

Inclusionary Zoning: Inclusionary zoning stipulates that new residential development in certain
zones includes some proportion or number of affordable housing units or meets some type of
alternative compliance. Inclusionary zoning taps into economic gains from rising real estate
values to create affordable housing for lower-income households. This mandatory approach
can create more affordable housing in neighborhoods with access to transportation and quality
jobs.

Jobs-Housing Balance: A planning concept which advocates that housing and employment be
located closer together, with an emphasis on matching housing options with nearby jobs, so
workers have shorter commutes or can eliminate vehicle trips. Improving balance means
adding more housing to job-rich areas and more jobs to housing-rich areas. It also means
ensuring a variety of housing choices available to a people earning variety of incomes in
proximity to job centers to provide opportunities for residents to live close to where they work
regardless of their income.

King County Open Space System: A regional system of county-owned parks, trails, natural
areas, working agricultural and forest resource lands, and flood hazard management lands.

Low-Income Households: Households earning between 31 51 percent and 50 80 percent of the

Area Median Income for their household size.

Manufacturing/ Industrial Centers: Designated locations within King County cities meeting
criteria detailed in policies DP 35-37 the King County Centers Designation Framework.
Chapter: Glossary

Mixed-Use Development: A building or buildings constructed as a single project which contains

more than one use, typically including housing plus retail and/or office uses.

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Moderate-Density Housing: Housing of a certain density that bridges a gap between single-
family housing and more intense multifamily and commercial areas and provides opportunities
for housing types that are inclusive to people of different ages, life stages, and incomes.
Moderate-density housing includes but is not limited to duplexes, townhomes, and low-rise
apartments and range in unit count from 1-unit attached up to 19 units.

Moderate-Income Households: Households earning between 51 81 percent and 80 120

percent of the Area Median Income for their household size.

Monitoring: An organized process for gathering and assessing information related to achieving
established goals and policies. The process uses performance indicators to show progress
toward, movement away from, or static state in policy implementation or policy achievement.
Implementation monitoring tracks whether agreed-upon actions are taking place. Performance
monitoring assesses whether desired results are achieved.

Open Space: A range of green places, including natural and resource areas (such as forests),
recreational areas (such as parks and trails), and other areas set aside from development (such
as plazas).

Opportunity Areas: Areas with high quality schools, jobs, transit; access to parks, open space,
and clean air, water, and soil; and other key determinants of social, economic, and physical
well-being.

Populations Disproportionately Impacted by Housing Cost Burden: When a household spends

more than 30 percent of their income on their housing, they are considered cost burdened.
Black, Indigenous, and Latinx households, as well as many immigrant and refugee households,
are disproportionately represented both among households earning less than 80 percent of
AMI as well as among cost burdened households, in part due to the legacy of structural racism
and discrimination in housing and land use policies and practices. Households earning at or
below 30 percent are also more disproportionately impacted by housing cost burden than
higher income households.

Potential Annexation Area: A portion of the urban unincorporated urban area in King County
that a city has identified it will annex at some future date. See Appendix 2: Interim Potential
Annexation Areas Map.

Purchase of Development Rights: Programs that buy and then extinguish development rights
Chapter: Glossary

on a property to restrict development and limit uses exclusively for open space or resource-
based activities such as farming and forestry. Covenants run with the land in perpetuity so that
the property is protected from development regardless of ownership.

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Regional Growth Strategy: The strategy defined in VISION 2040 2050 that was developed by
the Puget Sound Regional Council to help guide growth in the four-county region that includes
King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. VISION 2040 2050 directs most of the region’s
forecasted growth into designated Urban Areas, and concentrates growth within those areas in
designated centers planned for a mixes mix of uses and connection by high capacity transit

Regional Transportation Plan: A 30-year action plan, adopted by the Puget Sound Regional
Council, for transportation investments in the central Puget Sound region intended to support
implementation of VISION 2050.

Renewable energy: Energy created from sources that can be replenished in a short period of
time. The five renewable sources used most often are biomass (such as wood and biogas), the
movement of water, geothermal (heat from within the earth), wind, and solar.

Resource Lands: Designated areas within King County that have long-term significance for
agricultural, forestry, or mining. See Appendix 1: Generalized Land Use Categories Map.

Rural Area: Designated area outside the Urban Growth Area that is characterized by small-
scale farming and forestry and low-density residential development. See Appendix 1:
Generalized Land Use Categories Map.

Rural Cities in the Rural Area: Cities that are surrounded by Rural Area or Resource Lands.
Rural Cities in the Rural Area are part of the Urban Growth Area.

Special Needs Housing: Housing arrangements for populations with special physical or other
needs. These populations include: the elderly, disabled persons, people with medical
conditions, homeless individuals and families, and displaced people.

Stormwater Management: An infrastructure system that collects runoff from storms and
redirects it from streets and other surfaces into facilities that store and release it – usually back
into natural waterways.

Sustainable Development: Methods of accommodating new population and employment that

protect the natural environment while preserving the ability to accommodate future
generations.

Tenure: The legal status by which people have the right to occupy their accommodation.
Chapter: Glossary

Common housing tenure are renting (which includes public and private rented housing) and
homeownership (which includes owned outright and mortgaged).

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Transfer of Development Rights: Ability to transfer allowable density, in the form of permitted
building lots or structures, from one property (the “sending site”) to another (the “receiving
site”) in conjunction with conservation of all or part of the sending site as open space or
working farm or forest.

Transportation 2040: A 30-year action plan for transportation investments in the central Puget
Sound region intended to support implementation of VISION 2040.

Transportation Demand Management: Various strategies and policies (e.g. incentives,

regulations) designed to reduce or redistribute travel by single- occupancy vehicles in order to
make more efficient use of existing facility capacity.

Transportation System: A comprehensive, integrated network of travel modes (e.g. airplanes,

automobiles, bicycles, buses, feet, ferries, freighters, trains, trucks) and infrastructure (e.g.
sidewalks, trails, streets, arterials, highways, waterways, railways, airports) for the movement
of people and goods on a local, regional, national and global scale.

Universal Design: A system of design that helps ensure that buildings and public spaces are
accessible to people with or without disabilities.

Urban Centers: Designated locations within King County cities meeting criteria detailed in
Development Pattern chapter policies 31-32.

Urban Growth Area: The designated portion of King County that encompasses all of the cities
as well as other urban land where the large majority of the county’s future residential and
employment growth is intended to occur. See Appendix 1: Generalized Land Use Categories
Map.

Very Low-Income Households: Households earning between 30 to 50 percent of the Area

Median Income or less for their household size.

VISION 2040 2050: The integrated, long-range vision for managing growth and maintaining a
healthy region—including the counties of King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish. It contains an
environmental framework a numeric Regional Growth Strategy, the Multicounty Policies, and
implementation actions and measures to monitor progress.

Walkshed: The area around a transit center typically measured as one half-mile radius used to
Chapter: Glossary

measure the area in which walking or biking can serve as viable way to access a transit facility.

Water Resource Inventory Area: Major watershed basins in Washington identified for water-
related planning purposes.

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Workforce Housing: Housing that is affordable to households with one or more workers.
Creating workforce housing in a jurisdiction implies consideration of the wide range of income
levels that characterize working households, from one person working at minimum wage to
two or more workers earning the average county wage or above. There is a particular need for
workforce housing that is reasonably close to regional and sub-regional job centers and/or
easily accessible by public transportation.

Chapter: Glossary

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