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RESOLUTION NO. 4 0 6 8
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF AUBURN, WASHINGTON, STATING THE
CITY COUNCIL'S OPPOSITION TO INITIATIVE 933
WHEREAS, Initiative 933 would require local governments to compensate
the owner of property affected by regulations that prohibit or restrict "any use or
size, scope, or intensity of any use legally existing or permitted as of January 1,
1996"; and
WHEREAS, the terms of the Initiative are ill-defined and will be difficult to
implement with any fairness, in that, for instance, 1-933 appears to affect
adoption of critical areas regulations by defining damaging the use or value to
specifically include "prohibiting or restricting any use, or size, scope, or intensity
of any use legally existing or permitted as of January 1, 1996"; and
WHEREAS, there have been cities in this state that have incorporated
since January 1, 1996, and the implications to these cities from the initiative are,
at the least, uncertain; and
WHEREAS, the Initiative also defines damaging the use or value to
include "requiring a portion of property to be left in its natural state or without
beneficial use to its owner, unless necessary to prevent immediate harm to
human health and safety," even though many critical areas regulations prohibit
development in certain environmentally sensitive areas, such as steep slopes or
wetlands or in buffer areas around streams, so that local governments will be
required to compensate property owners before they can apply or enforce such
Resolution No. 4068
June 19, 2006
Page 1 of 3
regulations, regardless of when they were adopted, and regardless of the
legitimacy of their purposes; and
WHEREAS, the Initiative would impose upon local jurisdictions that are
acting in compliance with the requirements of state law - the Growth
Management Act (GMA), the obligation to compensate affected property owners,
so that the local jurisdictions are faced with the dilemma of either ignoring GMA
requirements (which they may not have legal authority to do) or paying property
owners impacted (according to the Initiative) for the local jurisdiction's
compliance with GMA and state law; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Auburn, is entitled to express its
collective position on ballot measures, in accordance with state law, RCW
42.17.130, including giving persons at the public meeting at which the collective
expression is given the opportunity to state opposing views.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AUBURN,
HEREBY RESOLVES as follows:
Section 1. The City Council hereby expresses its opposition to Initiative
933 in that it imposes an unfair burden on local jurisdictions who would have to
compensate property owners whose property is affected by the Initiative's terms
where the local jurisdiction is [merely] complying with the mandates of state law -
the GMA - and where the limitations imposed on the owner's property may be
the product of legitimate interests that may not (or may be argued to not) meet
the standard of "necessary to prevent immediate harm to human health and
safety," such as regulations that restrict development in certain environmentally
Resolution No. 4068
June 19, 2006
Page 2 of 3
sensitive areas, such as steep slopes or wetlands or in buffer areas around
streams.
Section 2. That the Mayor is authorized to implement such
administrative procedures as may be necessary to carry out the directives of this
legislation.
Section 3. If any portion of this resolution or its application to any
person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the resolution or
application of the provision to other persons or circumstances should not be
affected.
Section 4. That this Resolution shall take effect and be in full force
upon passage and signatures hereon.
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Dated and Signed thisu2/- day of . .
,2006.
UBURC
P ER B. LEWIS
MAYOR
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ATTEST:
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Danlelle E. Daskam,
City Clerk
Resolution No. 4068
June 19, 2006
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