AGO Opinion Topics: CITIES AND TOWNS

It would be a violation of Article VIII, § 7 of the state constitution for a municipal utility or public utility district to advance funds to its customers in order to enable them to purchase conservation materials notwithstanding a projected resulting benefit to utility customers, generally.

The Growth Management Act does not obligate a county to require the replatting or resubdivision of lands in the county which are outside any urban growth area and which were platted before 1937, but allows local flexibility in applying GMA standards to such lands.

RCW 41.16.020 creates a municipal firemen's pension board and provides that one member is the city comptroller or clerk.  If a charter city eliminates the position of comptroller and assigns those functions to a director of finance, the city can assign the director of finance to the pension board instead of the clerk.

1.  Chapter 17.21 RCW authorizes the Department of Agriculture to regulate pesticide application and use.  This chapter preempts cities and counties from regulating pesticide application and use, except the first class cities and the counties in which they are located can regulate structural pest control operators, exterminators, and fumigators. 2.  Chapter 15.58 RCW authorizes the Department of Agriculture to regulate formulation, distribution, storage, and disposal of pesticides.  This chapter does not preempt cities and counties from regulating these activities, so long as the local regulations do not conflict with state law.   

During the pendency of proceedings under a resolution of the legislative body of an incorporated city to change its governmental classification to that of a noncharter code city under the optional municipal code (Title 35A RCW), an initiative petition signed by the requisite percentage of electors and calling for a change in classification to that of a charter code city, as provided for in RCW 35A.08.030, may not be accepted for filing.

1.  The requirements of chapter 58.17 RCW, enacted in 1969 and relating to platting and subdivisions, apply to land platted before 1937 under chapter 58.08 RCW or its predecessor statutes. 2.  Cities and towns may accept plats and subdivisions filed pursuant to the 1937 platting act (chapter 58.16 RCW, repealed in 1969), but are not obligated to do so.

1.When one government disposes of property to another government pursuant to chapter 39.33 RCW, RCW 43.09.210 requires that the transferring government receive "full value" for the transfer; "full value" has a flexible meaning depending on the circumstances of the transfer.2.RCW 39.33.020, which requires public notice and a hearing before a government disposes of property having a value of more than $50,000, applies only to intergovernmental transfers of property made pursuant to chapter 39.33 RCW.

Where, within an existing land subdivision established pursuant to either chapter 58.16 or 58.17 RCW, the owner of an individual lot proposes to divide that lot into four or fewer smaller lots for the purpose of sale or lease, such action will not constitute the establishment of a "short subdivision" as defined in RCW 58.17.020(6) and, thereby, be subject to the city or county's short subdivision ordinance as enacted pursuant to RCW 58.17.060; instead, such action will constitute a "resubdivision" and thus be subject to the general provisions of chapter 58.17 RCW relating to subdivisions.

RCW 35.21.830 and 36.01.130 preempt local governments from imposing rent controls on residential structures or sites.  An ordinance that prohibits landlords from terminating residential tenancies by increasing rent is a type of rent control and is preempted by these statutes. 

1.  The reference to the “most recently published regional power plan” in RCW 19.285.040(1)(a), which was enacted as part of Initiative Measure 937, refers to the Pacific Northwest Electric Power And Conservation Planning Council power plan in existence at the time the statute was enacted.
2. The term “methodologies” in RCW 19.285.040(1)(a) means a set of methods or procedures employed in the solution of a problem.
3. The phrase “conservation calculator” in WAC 194-37-070 refers not only to the calculator employed in the power plan in existence at the time RCW 19.285.040 was enacted, but also refers to calculators based on the most recently published power plan.
4. RCW 19.285.040(1)(b) requires a consumer-owned utility to review and update its achievable cost-effective conservation potential every two years, including any necessary update to biennial targets based on new information.