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Yakima County approves sending draft MOU to Yakama Nation as part of GMA coordination
Summary
County staff will forward a draft memorandum of understanding to Yakama Nation staff so tribal departments can begin review, county officials said. The MOU is intended to satisfy Growth Management Act coordination requirements and codify routine intergovernmental practices.
Tommy Carroll and Aaron Cohen of Yakima County’s Public Services staff told the Board of Commissioners on Jan. 27 that a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Yakama Nation is ready to be sent to tribal staff for review.
The MOU was prepared in response to amendments to Washington’s Growth Management Act (GMA) that require local governments to coordinate certain comprehensive-plan updates with tribal governments. Carroll told the board he and county staff met with the Yakama Nation’s tribal council last year; tribal representatives suggested additional topics the nation wished to have included, and the county subsequently incorporated those items into the draft.
The nut graf: commissioners gave their consent to forward the draft to tribal staff so the nation’s corporate counsel and department reviewers can propose edits. Carroll said the county intends to circulate revised drafts back to the board as iterations progress, and that the final agreement would be memorialized by separate resolutions adopted by both the Yakama Nation and Yakima County.
Commissioner Lindy and others noted specific operational items in the draft that need further detail. Lindy asked staff to confirm language in section 2.2 related to property addressing and to coordinate with County Roads staff (Matt Petrosiewicz) on whether the county remains the sole property addresser or whether the MOU should clarify procedures where reservation parcels are deeded and surrounded by tribal land.
County staff and corporate counsel said the next steps are for the Yakama Nation to circulate the draft among its departments and counsel, propose edits, and return the draft for county review. Once both parties agree, Carroll said, each governing body will consider a resolution to adopt the MOU.
Commissioners praised the work as a continuation of routine collaboration and said the MOU can help formalize contact points and processes already used by both governments. Carroll described the present step as permission to send the current draft for tribal review rather than final approval of any particular clause.
