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AN ORDINANCE authorizing the King County executive to enter into an interlocal agreement with the city of Seattle to implement a regional program to transfer development rights from rural and resource lands in King County into the city of Seattle.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. The Washington state Growth Management Act, chapter 36.70A RCW, establishes a policy of directing growth and development into urban areas, protecting rural and resource land and encouraging the use of innovative tools like transfer of development rights to accomplish these outcomes.
2. The Growth Management Act encourages the conservation of productive agricultural and forest lands and the retention of open space to conserve fish and wildlife habitat and enhance recreational opportunities.
3. King County adopted a transfer of development rights program in 2001 to permanently preserve rural and resource lands by transferring rural development potential into existing incorporated and unincorporated urban areas; since 2001, the King County transfer of development rights program has protected one hundred forty-one thousand seven hundred sixty-five acres of rural and resource lands in unincorporated King County.
4. King County has worked with the city of Seattle to develop a means by which King County transfers of development rights may be used to increase density within the city to achieve conservation of rural farm and forest lands in the unincorporated areas.
5. The city of Seattle, by City Council Ordinance 124172, amended Seattle Municipal Code chapter 23.58 to allow the South Lake Union, Denny/Broad and Commercial Core areas of its downtown to be receiving areas for King County transfers of development rights, subject to an adopted interlocal agreement with King County.
6. The King County transfer of development rights bank currently holds one thousand two hundred six transferrable development rights, purchased from private rural farm and forest landowners, which would ...
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