Ron Sims - Critical Area Ordinance

Critical Area Ordinance

On October 26, 2004, the King County Council passed the controversial Critical Area Ordinance (CAO) to protect environmentally sensitive areas (such as wetlands and streams) and restrict development in hazardous areas (such as floodplains and landslide prone steep slopes). The plan drew the ire of many property rights groups, rural landowners, and developers as the ordinance prevented land owners from developing areas of their property that met the critical area definition. This included a requirement that landowners in rural areas that haven't already cleared their land to keep 50% to 65% of their property in its "natural state". Three referendums to repeal the ordinance gathered over 17,000 signatures each, far more than the 6,900 required to qualify to be on the ballot. However, a lawsuit filed by King County and a pro-growth management group prevented the referendum from being put on the ballot and a ruling by the state Supreme Court decided that a state law requiring local governments to protect critical areas prevented local referendums to overturn critical area ordinances. On July 7, 2008, a Washington State Appeals Court found that the portion of the CAO known as the clearing and grading ordinance is an indirect and illegal "tax, Fee, or charge", and that prior to restricting the clearing of land for lawn or pasture, King County must demonstrate how that act could cause harm.