Cascade Land Conservancy

Lance Dickie / Seattle Times editorial columnist Environmental gains in a ...

For all the storm and stress of the 2011 legislative session, rays of progress broke through the financial carnage and budgetary wreckage.

Lawmakers used creativity and collaborative effort instead of a debit card to move ahead.

Two pieces of land-use legislation are prime examples of reworking old models for limiting sprawl, conserving valuable open space and preserving farmland.

The Cascade Land Conservancy was a persistent and eventually successful advocate for a proposal to help developers acquire development rights to timber and agricultural lands, and transfer them to participating cities and towns.

The device allows the owners of working farms and forests to make money, while resisting the lucrative temptations of beckoning urban sprawl.

They transfer their development rights to developers who use them to expand projects in urban centers.

Cities decide if they will receive the development rights and where they will apply. Those private investments typically increase existing market values. Incremental gains in property-tax revenues are captured to pay off investments in public infrastructure — roads, parks, water, sewers — that make private investment attractive and possible. The funding mechanism is known as tax-increment financing.

Making the alternative work meant finessing the legislation to accommodate the fits and starts of Washington state law. For now, the legislation applies to King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

Cash-strapped legislators were able to avoid public funding and still invite investment with a financing tool that is widely used in other states.

Inside cities there is an opportunity to use land more creatively and more intensely. Meanwhile, in rural areas, trees can be harvested, crops planted and taxpayer expense avoided by not extending urban services.

Preserving the economic viability of Washington's agricultural land while at the same time protecting environmentally sensitive habitat and watersheds rarely succeeds by government fiat. Headlines confirm it.

Decidedly out of the spotlight was legislation that nurtures another approach. The William D. Ruckelshaus Center, jointly hosted by Washington State University and the University of Washington, helped build a collaborative process eventually known as the Voluntary Stewardship Program.

Building on a framework began four years ago, a system of standards, benchmarks, expectations, reviews and enforcements was created to engage parties, not endlessly provoke them.

Mayor signs 'Complete Streets' law aimed at accommodating all ...

E dmonds Mayor Mike Cooper gathered with a group of stakeholders Friday to sign ordinance 3842, “Complete Streets,” into law.  The new ordinance will ensure that when the City of Edmonds plans for, designs and builds new transportation projects, it will provide appropriate accommodation for everyone, including pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users.

“Now people of all ages and abilities — including children, youth, families, older adults and individuals with disabilities — will have access to safe and convenient travel,” Cooper said.

Cooper thanked council President Strom Peterson for his work with city staff to find an ordinance that accommodates all of Edmonds. “Complete Streets will make Edmonds a safer, healthier and more environmentally sound community,” Peterson said.

The mayor noted that streets without a safe place to walk, bike, or catch a bus can be dangerous for non-motorized transportation users, particularly children, older adults, and people with disabilities. Public right-of-ways should be designed to safely accommodate all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities, he added.

“Our staff and city council recognize that Edmonds streets have an important impact on the livability of our communities.” Cooper said.  “Our city has a commitment to consider all users and alternate modes of transportation as part of the street design process.”

Street designs in the past have typically focused on the movement of vehicles as a priority over other users and alternate modes of travel. A national “Complete Streets” movement began several years ago to place more emphasis on the complete assessment of all needs when designing streets. At the local level, the city worked with Edmonds Bicycle Advisory Committee, Cascade Land Conservancy, Cascade Bicycle Club, and Transportation Choices Coalition to build momentum in the public.

20 year strategic plan

Best practices and emerging trends in transfer of development rights (TDR) programs

Saving Puget Sound, a conservation strategy for the 21st Century

Conservancy, The Land Trust Movement in America

Congressional Record, V. 153, Pt. 12, June 18, 2007 to June 26, 2007