Northwest Real Estate Law Blog : Northwest Real Estate Lawyer & Attorney : Davis Wright Tremaine Law Firm : Land Use, Development, Commercial Property : Seattle, Portland, Alaska, Washington, Oregon

Authored by:  Craig Gannett, Lauren Giles Wishnie, and Clayton P. Graham

On May 27, the Washington Department of Ecology (“Ecology”) released draft Guidance regarding the analysis of climate change impacts under Washington’s State Environmental Policy Act ("SEPA"). The Guidance, which will be open for comment until June 25, proposes extensive analysis of both direct and indirect greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions potentially resulting from government actions covered under SEPA. Among the government actions that are subject to SEPA’s requirements are local governments’ issuance of land use and construction permits for many types of projects, especially commercial, industrial, or larger residential developments. The Guidance also describes potential mitigation measures that project proponents may be required to undertake. Given the broad scope of the Guidance, it is essential that owners and developers of real estate, as well as any business or institution with expansion plans, become familiar with these proposed requirements.

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This post is authored by:  Clayton Graham & Thomas Goeltz

Landowners and developers in Washington state should be aware of a spate of recent legislation aimed at prolonging the life of active land development permits. Developers who request these extensions in a timely manner could effectively extend the life of their development approvals—including certain building permits, use permits, subdivision and other land use approvals—and may be able to save themselves the hassle and expense of having to restart the entitlement process for stalled development projects.

Financial difficulties faced by many developers in the state have prompted a number of cities and counties to adopt ordinances that authorize extensions to certain permit expiration dates. These ordinances apply to a variety of development approvals and permits, and a few of them implement automatic permit extensions.

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If you have ever wondered what environmental and land use approvals and permits are required for a land development project located within the state of Washington, especially a complex project involving multiple agencies and permits, then you should know about the"Environmental Permit Handbook," a very useful website that neatly describes and organizes many federal, state, and local environmental and land use permits.

The link to the handbook is:  apps.ecy.wa.gov/permithandbook/allpermits.asp .

The handbook was prepared by the Washington State Governor's Office of Regulatory Assistance under its director Faith Lumsden, an experienced former land use planner and planning manager for several local planning agencies in Washington.

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