Washington State Growth Management Act

The Washington State Growth Management Act was adopted because the Washington State Legislature found that uncoordinated and unplanned growth posed a threat to the environment, sustainable economic development, and the quality of life in Washington. Known as the GMA, the Act (Chapter 36.70A RCW) was adopted by the Legislature in 1990. In 1991 the GMA was amended to create the Growth Management Hearings Boards to hear and determine allegations of non-compliance with the GMA. (Click to see the RCW version of the GMA or a more detailed version on the CTED site.)

The GMA has been amended several times since, including 1996, when the boards’ jurisdiction was expanded to include allegations of non-compliance with certain provisions of the Shoreline Management Act (SMA, Chapter 90.58 RCW). In 1997, the Legislature again modified some of the Act’s provisions, including the boards’ standard of review.

The GMA requires state and local governments to manage Washington’s growth by identifying and protecting critical areas and natural resource lands, designating urban growth areas, preparing comprehensive plans and implementing them through capital investments and development regulations. This approach to growth management is unique among states.

Rather than centralize planning and decision-making at the state level, the GMA built on Washington’s strong traditions of local government control and regional diversity. The GMA established state goals, set deadlines for compliance, offered direction on how to prepare local comprehensive plans and regulations and set forth requirements for early and continuous public participation. Within the framework provided by the mandates of the Act, local governments have many choices regarding the specific content of comprehensive plans and implementing development regulations.

The GMA requires that the three boards meet jointly at least annually to share information that promotes the goals and purposes of the GMA. The boards have jointly adopted administrative rules of practice and procedure, which are found in the Washington Administrative Code (Title 242-02 WAC).

The boards have jointly adopted the following mission statement:

The shared mission of the three Growth Management Hearings Boards is to help local governments manage growth and to serve the citizens of the State of Washington. They do so by making informed decisions on appeals arising from the implementation of the Growth Management Act in a clear, consistent, timely and impartial manner that recognizes the diversity of the three board jurisdictional regions

[All material above, http://www.gmhb.wa.gov/gma/index.html]

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