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Washington’s Growth Management Act
and Global Climate Change
Eric Laschever
Stoel Rives LLP
Law Seminars International
February 11, 2008
Today’s Presentation
– Climate Change Basics
– Land Use and Climate
Change
– Growth Management Act
Tools
– Selected State and Local
Efforts
– Discussion
Climate Change Basics
• Significant increases in CO2 trap heat in atmosphere
• Fossil fuels large contributor
• Average temperatures have risen and are projected
to continue to rise
• Wedge theory for achieving reductions
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Vehicle efficiency
Wind turbines to replace coal
Nuclear
Decrease car travel
Capture and store greenhouse gases
Improve energy efficiency in buildings and appliances
Increase ethanol output
Land Use and Climate Change
• Development patterns drive transportation patterns
and emissions
• A gallon of gasoline produces 20 pounds of
greenhouse gas
• Transportation accounts for 1/3 of U.S Carbon
Emissions; projected to increase 41% between ’05
and ‘030
• In more compact cities people drive 20-40% less
Land Use and Climate Change (ULI
Recommendations)
• Require regional transportation plans to
pass conformity test for CO2
• “Green-Tea” Transportation Legislation
• Direct funding to metropolitan planning
organizations
The GMA and Climate Change
Existing Tools
• GMA started as a transportation management act
• Key provisions
– Regional Transportation Planning Organizations
– Goals
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Urban Growth
Reduce Sprawl
Transportation
Environment
– County-wide Planning Policies
The GMA and Climate Change
Existing Tools (cont.)
• Key provisions
– Urban Growth Areas
– Plan Elements
• Land Use
• Transportation
• Optional
Statewide and Local Efforts
• “Local Solutions” Proposal
– Climate change goal
– Carbon budgets and allocation
– Using CPPs or other regional planning for regional
approaches
– Climate Element-phased adoption based on
population
Local Solutions Proposal (cont.)
• Climate element
– Plans to reduce emissions to meet specific targets
– Evaluation of carbon footprint and plans to mitigate
– Enhancing protection for areas that sequester carbon (e.g.
forest of long term significance
– Enhancing conservation and green construction
– TDRs
– Plans to address climate related impacts (flooding, etc.)
Local Solutions Proposal-Phasing
• Phase 1
– Expansion of UGAs, master planned resorts or fully
contained communities
– Transit Orient Development at stations when transit plans
adopted and funded
• Phase 2 (starting in 2011)
– Planning Counties with population greater than 50,000
– Planning Cities with populations greater than 30,000
• Phase 3 (starting in 2018)
– Counties and cities reaching thresholds
Local Solutions: Current Version
• Adds a goal to the GMA of reducing greenhouse gas emissions
and adapting to expected impacts of global warming
• Directs CTED to provide tool to inventory, measure and estimate
land use related greenhouse gas emissions
• Creates a competitive grants program available for cities and
counties that are already taking action or are interested in
beginning to address climate change
• Requires a report to the legislature by the end of the year to
allow for any necessary policy actions to better implement this
GMA goal before the next major update
Local initiatives
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Snohomish County
King County
City of Seattle
Others
Discussion