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Bill to restore industrial‑land bank designation authority spotlights rural development needs
Summary
House Bill 2006 would extend the deadline allowing certain rural counties that enacted a sales/use tax for economic development to designate up to two industrial land bank locations under the Growth Management Act; supporters said this authority helps counties attract family‑wage jobs, while planners raised concerns about parcel size and protecting agricultural lands.
Committee staff Elizabeth Rudd briefed House Bill 2,006 as restoring a narrowly tailored authority that had expired in 2016 and would let qualifying rural counties that enacted an economic development sales and use tax designate up to two master‑planned industrial land banks outside urban growth areas if they act by the next periodic comprehensive‑plan date before the end of 2027.
Supporters from Kittitas County and local economic‑development organizations argued the authority helps counties without ports or strong industrial footprints attract family‑wage employers. Kittitas County Commissioner Corey Wright said the county needs options to diversify its local economy and called the bill an important tool for local jobs.
Opponents and some land‑use advocates, including FutureWise, urged caution. They said the historical, time‑limited designation existed to limit long‑term encroachment on agricultural lands and that the master‑planned industrial sites are typically very large and risk incompatible uses with surrounding agricultural designations. Several witnesses suggested amendments to clarify parcel sizing and to avoid unintentional impacts to designated agricultural lands.
The committee received requests for more detailed local analysis and for staff to consider changes to the bill’s timeframes and the size or siting criteria for industrial land banks. The hearing closed without a formal vote.
