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The Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA) requires that transportation improvements or strategies to accommodate development be available when the impacts of development occur. "Concurrency" for transportation facilities is defined in the Growth Management Act and the Washington Administrative Code to mean that any needed transportation improvements or programs be in place at the time of development or that a financial commitment exists to complete the improvements or strategies within six years.
As part of the requirement to develop a comprehensive plan, jurisdictions are required to establish level-of-service standards for arterials, transit service, and other facilities. Once a jurisdiction sets a standard, it is used to determine whether the impacts of a proposed development can be met through existing capacity and/or to decide what level of mitigation will be required. Transportation is the only area of concurrency that specifies denial of development.
Local governments have a significant amount of flexibility regarding how to apply transportation concurrency within their plans, regulations, and permit systems.
A Regional Perspective
Although the bulk of work related to concurrency and level-of-service is done at the local level, Washington State law provides for regionwide perspectives. The Regional Transportation Planning Organization legislation requires regional review of level-of-service methodologies used by cities and counties to promote a consistent regional evaluation of transportation facilities and corridors. Regional transportation planning organizations are also required to work with cities, counties, transit agencies, the department of transportation, and others to develop level-of-service standards or alternative transportation performance measures.
For additional information on the concurrency project, contact Ivan Miller, 206-464-7549 or Rocky Piro, 206-464-6360.