Sponsor says bill gives counties flexibility on 10‑year comp plan reviews; advocates warn of delays and county‑city conflicts

Senate Bill 5173, which would allow counties and cities to choose whether to review and revise comprehensive plans and development regulations on the staggered statutory schedule or 10 years from their previous adoption, was discussed in committee.

Committee staff Greg Gold briefed the Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs Committee on the bill and noted that under the Growth Management Act (GMA) jurisdictions already review and revise plans on a statutory timetable; the bill would explicitly allow jurisdictions to opt to take the 10‑year interval from their last adoption date instead of the staggered statutory deadline.

Sponsor Senator Shelley Short, 7th Legislative District, said the bill “was more a product of giving counties and cities the option” and emphasized that “it's totally theirs to choose. There's no mandate here.” She and staff said the intent is to give jurisdictions more time when their planning processes are lengthy.

Opponents included Bracey Hayden of FutureWise, who testified in opposition and said the change could substantially delay jurisdictions’ compliance with updated GMA requirements — citing the 10‑year window could defer implementation of new state mandates such as housing targets. Hayden observed counties are responsible for countywide planning policies and warned that allowing counties to delay could create conflicts when cities update their plans on a different timetable.

John Worthington testified in support, saying in his view the bill provided helpful finality in some counties and arguing local control over land‑use decisions.

The committee did not vote on the bill at the hearing. Witnesses and staff said they were working on clarifying language and that questions remained about the bill’s precise scope across counties of varying size.