Quality of Life Research Briefs

In an effort to provide you with a variety of resources on growth management policies, we are providing you with the following policy briefs by the Washington Research Council. These papers have been prepared as part of a series of research briefs developed for our Quality of Life research program. We hope you find these resources to be helpful in your efforts to improve the Quality of Life in your communities and the marketability of property in your neighborhoods by ensuring economic vitality, providing housing opportunities and building better communities, and useful in your advocacy efforts with state and local policy-makers.

Local Government and Climate Change: Effective Local Responses to a Global Problem
State and local governments establish many of the public policies that shape individual and organizational decisions with respect to greenhouse gas emissions. But the disconnect between the global scope of the issue and the local venue for action makes it difficult to balance costs and benefits. At the same time, however, a local focus on energy efficiency and waste reduction can have far reaching benefits beyond their possible impact on climate change…Comprehensive plan updates will increasingly contain components related to climate change and energy.

Buildable Lands Process 2007 – Part 1 and Part 2
The Buildable Lands process is designed to provide a feedback loop for the Growth Management Act (GMA). The primary goals of the process are to determine if city and county comprehensive plans are achieving the goals of higher densities and compact development, and to estimate if the supply of land within urban growth areas (UGAs) is sufficient to meet projected growth needs. The Research Council study notes that without better information about infrastructure availability and an array of market forces, local governments cannot make accurate assessments of the sufficiency of the land supply.

Part I looks at the Buildable Lands process itself and the methodologies used and the degree to which they provide sufficient information for good growth planning at the local level. Part II examines each individual report to assess whether the development capacity identified within the urban growth areas is sufficient to meet development needs over the next 15 years.

Infrastructure in Washington, Part I:
Policy Brief: Connecting to Growth - This policy brief looks at the challenges facing state and local agencies as they try to keep up with the infrastructure needs of a growing state. It begins with a look at growth trends and how they are likely to affect infrastructure networks. It continues with some specific policy dilemmas faced by state and local agencies, followed by a discussion of priority-setting processes that determine how money gets spent. The brief concludes with a review of funding sources now in use and the degree to which they can be used to fund system expansions and extensions needed for growth.

Infrastructure in Washington, Part II:
Policy Brief: Letting Growth Pay for Growth - State government and many local governments have taken serious steps to address deficiencies in basic infrastructure. Significant amounts of money are being spent on highways and sewage treatment plants, as well as local roads. Most of these expenditures are aimed at remedying deficiencies rather than extending systems to accommodate growth in urban areas. This brief discusses policy changes and specific revenue mechanisms that could create additional funding for the infrastructure needed to support the growth that will head our way in the next decades. The brief begins with a short discussion of the political environment within which governments make growth and infrastructure funding decisions, followed by a set of principles that should guide efforts to expand infrastructure capacity to meet the needs of growth. It concludes with a series of recommendations for revenue strategies to provide infrastructure funding specifically to accommodate housing and job growth.

Give ‘Em Shelter, Part 1:
POLICY BRIEF: Housing for Economic Development
This brief looks at the various ways that housing interacts with the economy and describes ways that the dynamics within the housing market can both help and hurt the economy of the state. Efforts to improve economic development and the business climate in Washington State must recognize that, along with transportation, education and the regulatory environment, the state’s housing stock has a great influence on the health of the economic environment.

Give ‘Em Shelter, Part 2:
POLICY BRIEF: Buildable Lands Process Flawed
This brief examines the implications of the buildable lands process as it relates to the availability of land for housing. The buildable lands process was intended to provide data to city and county governments as they update the comprehensive plans they use to manage growth. The process used for the first round of buildable lands reviews has proven to be far from sufficient. The problem is that a whole host of factors not considered during the process will determine whether a parcel deemed “buildable” will actually see new housing construction in the next 20 years.

Give ‘Em Shelter, Part 3:
POLICY BRIEF: Housing Supply: The Quiet Job Killer
This brief takes a look at the demand and supply dynamics of the housing market, showing what happens when supply does not respond adequately to signals from the demand side. State and local governments in Washington are undertaking aggressive economic development programs designed to create jobs for people in a wide range of skill levels. A lack of land capacity for housing in urban areas hampers these efforts. Land use policies have to recognize that the opportunity for middle income jobs depends on the availability of middle income housing.

Give ‘Em Shelter, Part 4:
POLICY BRIEF: Housing Supply: State Actions
While most plans and regulations that govern homebuilding are made at the local level, the framework for those plans and regulations is created by the state. Many areas of Washington State are experiencing a housing supply crisis, with the homebuilding industry unable to keep up with demand and prices rising by double-digit rates. State policies helped create this situation and it is incumbent on the state to take action to remedy it. This brief outlines ways that action at the state level can help remedy the situation.

Give ‘Em Shelter, Part 5:
POLICY BRIEF: Housing Supply: Local Actions
The housing supply in Washington State is ultimately determined by local government: cities and counties approve and record every new plat and issue every building permit. Local zoning and development regulations govern density and building envelopes. Local governments also set standards for streets and for water and sewer utilities. Housing is a regional and state need, but the supply is ultimately regulated by cities and counties. Local governments need to embrace change in their communities and welcome new additions to their housing stock. This brief describes actions that should be taken at the city and county level to increase the housing supply.

Washington's Infrastructure Needs, Part 1:
POLICY BRIEF: Plans, Funds and Gaps - Whether Washington State and the communities within it grow with grace depends, in large part, on the ability of state and local governments to keep up basic infrastructure needs. This policy brief provides an overview of the state's identified infrastructure needs and funding gaps, focusing on roads and highways and water and sewer utilities.

Washington's Infrastructure Needs, Part 2:
POLICY BRIEF: Current Funding and Financing Tools - State and local agencies pay for infrastructure projects through a combination of user fees, general funds, operating revenue and grants, and leverage through various debt instruments. This paper provides an overview of the basic fund sources and financing tools available to state and local governments, followed by a description of how those tools are used by various agencies.

Washington's Infrastructure Needs, Part 3:
POLICY BRIEF: Innovative Funding, Financing and Management Tools - As state and local government agencies find traditional funding and financing mechanisms inadequate to meet fully our infrastructure needs, they increasingly seek out new ways to pay for projects. This paper reviews new sources of money available to agencies and ways the agencies may make more efficient use of their existing sources.

Washington's Infrastructure Needs, Part 4:
POLICY BRIEF: Governance and Decision-Making - Major infrastructure projects can involve all three levels of government, with decisions taking place in legislative, executive and judicial settings. This brief outlines the array of participants in infrastructure decisions, describes some of the challenges inherent in decision-making about projects, and suggests actions that could help bring order to the chaos.

Growth in Perspective, Part 1:
POLICY BRIEF: A Decade of Growth and Prosperity - Ten years after the legislature adopted the Growth Management Act, Washingtonians continue to grapple with the effects of growth and economic development. Without question, the state's economic prosperity, concentrated in the Puget Sound region, has spurred population growth. And that increased population has, in turn, generated increased economic activity. In a series of reports, the Washington Research Council will address some of the issues attending economic and population growth. This first report examines the relationship between growth and prosperity.

Growth in Perspective, Part 2:
POLICY BRIEF: A Firm Foundation for Growth - Adequate infrastructure roads, water and sewer systems, schools - can assure that accommodating the influx of new population works to the benefit of communities in fast-growing regions of our state. Today, however, Washington faces significant backlogs in necessary infrastructure investment. While road construction and maintenance represents the most immediate and critical demand, reliable research documents substantial need for local government infrastructure investment, as well.

Growth in Perspective, Part 3:
POLICY BRIEF: Managing Growth is a Balancing Act - Imbalances in the location of jobs and housing are an increasing problem in the most heavily urbanized areas of Washington. These imbalances contribute to a deterioration of the regional quality of life, extending commute times and increasing congestion.

Growth in Perspective, Part 4:
POLICY BRIEF: Local Government Efforts to Promote Economic Growth and Development - Local governments often set the tone for a community's success in attracting economic growth. By laying the proper groundwork-coordinating planning and permit review processes, providing infrastructure, ensuring land availability through zoning ordinances, implementing effective development regulations, providing information-a community can set the stage for successful efforts of working with the business community for job retention, expansion and recruitment.

Growth in Perspective, Part 5:
POLICY BRIEF: Growth Management Effects on Real Estate - The Growth Management Act presents several challenges for the real estate development industry. The help of local governments in meeting these challenges is critical to the success of Smart Growth.

Growth in Perspective, Part 6:
POLICY BRIEF: Accommodating Growth Through Infill Development - Encouraging infill development is universally accepted as good public policy. But in spite of all the advantages, developers of infill housing face a number of impediments. Cities should work to remove these impediments.

Growth in Perspective, Part 7:
POLICY BRIEF: The Contribution of Real Estate to the Washington State Economy - Real estate is the base upon which the state's economy is built. Directly and indirectly, it accounts for a quarter of state employment. Taxes on real estate and real estate related industries provide much of state and local governments' tax revenues. As federal, state and local governments consider land use controls, development regulations, and other growth management measures that restrict the use of real estate, it would be wise to consider the potential consequences in lost jobs, personal income, and tax revenue.

Growth in Perspective, Part 8:
POLICY BRIEF: Smart Growth and Buildable Land - In this brief, we discuss buildable land, as it is defined by the Growth Management Act (GMA), explain the challenge of knowing how much is available in any given urban area, and consider the constraints to developing these lands.

Growth in Perspective, Part 9:
POLICY BRIEF: Impact of Government Regulations and Fees on Housing Costs -Governments impose regulations on development for reasons they consider sound, but such regulations result in higher prices for homebuyers. Urban growth boundaries, impact fees, sensitive area and wetland ordinances, and complicated, prolonged permitting processes are not only contributing to the costs of developing new housing, but inflating the prices of existing housing throughout Washington and the country.

Growth in Perspective, Part 10:
POLICY BRIEF: Taxes and Fees on the Construction of a House - The construction of a new home generates a considerable amount of revenue for state and local government. About half of all of the tax and fee revenue goes to the state rather than to local governments. At the state level, nearly all of the revenues go into the general fund, to pay for ongoing state services. At the local level, 70 percent of the revenues are dedicated to fund the construction of public facilities, while 30 percent pay for general operations. As we have pointed out, building activity provides very attractive tax revenues to the state and local government.

State and local governments may find it prudent (and a wise use of funds) to direct these one-time revenues to fund the gap in infrastructure needs. If a community wants to get a handle on growth, it should facilitate quality growth through more effective use of its capital improvements program, and more effective use of the one-time tax revenues generated from home construction. Local governments should finance infrastructure projects that encourage economic growth and quality development. The construction of these community revitalization projects will encourage investments in job-producing private development, and expand the tax base. These investments will encourage the economic growth and prosperity the community wants and needs, bringing with it the increased on-going tax revenues from property, sales, and business taxes that will pay for the public services
the community demands.

Growth in Perspective, Part 11:
POLICY BRIEF: Rural Development - The Growth Management Act (GMA) requires each county planning under the Act to include a chapter in its comprehensive plan on rural lands, encouraging them to set aside areas for rural uses, resource conservation, and environmental protection. Rural planning elements "shall permit land uses that are compatible with the rural character of such lands and provide for a variety of densities." In addition to the GMA's requirement that counties designate certain lands as rural, the state, for certain grant purposes, classifies any county with fewer than 100 people per square mile as a "rural county." Problems with planning and developing in rural areas persist. Making appropriate adjustments to legislative and regulatory rules and requirements that acknowledge these circumstances would seem a reasonable place to start.

GMA: Goals and Promises Reviewed, Part 1:
POLICY BRIEF: Washington's Growth Management Act - Goals and Promises -Thirteen goals were specified in the GMA. The goals reflect their genesis in the politics of compromise, embracing property rights and economic development while mandating efforts to curb sprawl and protect the environment. Local governments planning under the GMA will be expected to update and revise their comprehensive plans and development regulations. At the same time, citizens should be asking if the GMA is meeting the goals envisioned a decade ago. If not, what should be changed?

GMA: Goals and Promises Reviewed, Part 2:
POLICY BRIEF: Economic Development: GMA's Missing Link - The GMA recognizes economic development as one of the Act's thirteen goals. With the state mired in recession, political and business leaders increasingly recognize that economic vitality must be encouraged. Planning and public policy affect business retention, location, and expansion decisions. Communities that want to manage growth successfully plan for healthy economic development. The reason for including an economic element in the comprehensive plan is to assure that local officials, in consultation with their constituents, identify what they want to accomplish with regard to economic vitality. Elevating economic development within the context of the GMA not only makes sense, it is essential to successful implementation of growth management. For the goal to have meaning, however, it must be attached to a plan. Specifically, it needs to be incorporated in the comprehensive plan of each community subject to the GMA.

GMA: Goals and Promises Reviewed, Part 3:
POLICY BRIEF: Reviewing Growth Management - Planning for Housing - The GMA is specific in its requirements for comprehensive plan housing elements. Each community must provide an analysis of existing and projected housing needs that identifies the number of housing units necessary to manageprojected growth; includes a statement of goals, policies, objectives, and mandatory provisions for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing; (c) identifies sufficient land for housing; and (d) makes adequate provisions for existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. As communities update their comprehensive plans, the keys to success require the basics: Predictability, certainty, timeliness, flexibility, and a cooperative relationship between community planners and the development community. For the GMA to work, local governments must maximize development in urban areas to offset lower density development objectives in rural areas. Unless this happens, the supply of housing will fall short of demand. This will, in turn, lead to higher housing prices and increase traffic congestion.

GMA: Goals and Promises Reviewed, Part 4:
POLICY BRIEF: New Population Projections for GMA Planning - Counties planning under GMA are required to update their comprehensive plans to accommodate projected growth. The census provides the basis for new projections by the Office of Financial Management of future population growth for the state's counties. Changes in the planning targets for population will affect several elements in the comprehensive plans: If a county's population planning targets rise, the housing element of the comprehensive plan must identify land to meet the housing needs of the additional residents. Traffic forecasts must be updated and the transportation element of the comprehensive plan must set out specific actions to assure that local transportation facilities continue to meet established level-of-service standards. Similarly, the capital facilities element of the comprehensive plan must be adjusted to accommodate the additional population. However, this intent will be frustrated if the population projections used by the counties understate the growth that actually occurs. When plans fail to provide sufficient housing near to centers of employment growth, house prices are pushed up and workers are forced to commute longer distances to their jobs. The long commutes exacerbate the regional traffic congestion. There is a clear asymmetry in the consequences error in planning for the growth of demand for housing in a location: the cost of under forecasting the demand is less than the cost of over forecasting the demand. To compensate counties should choose
population planning targets toward the high end of the range provided by OFM.

GMA: Goals and Promises Reviewed, Part 5:
POLICY BRIEF: Build for Vitality - By financing infrastructure projects that encourage economic vitality, accommodate growth, and provide the amenities that build better communities, communities will promote investments in job-producing private development and help to expand the tax base for other necessary public services and facilities.

GMA: Goals and Promises Reviewed, Part 6:
POLICY BRIEF: Trends in Washington Housing - Two distinct trends in housing preferences stand out in Washington's housing market; large single-family homes typically located outside of the central city and dense, multifamily residences in downtown city centers. The demand for both types of housing has produced substantial development in downtowns and suburban corridors for several years. Demand for these distinct choices represents the diversity of preferences among consumers, and both choices merit equal representation when discussing housing needs of local communities. Housing choices have been determined by the ups and downs in state population and the economy. The influx of residents and job growth over the decade fueled a growing housing market in both single and multifamily homes. Population in the state will continue to grow near employment centers. Affordable housing development in and around the urban core can prosper if local regulations support its growth.

GMA: Goals and Promises Reviewed, Part 7:
POLICY BRIEF: Property Rights and the Growth Management Act - Planning goals of the Growth Management Act aim both to protect the rights of individual property owners and to preserve large portions of the state's land area as undeveloped open space. These goals come into conflict when the land to be preserved is privately owned. The sixth goal of the GMA is a strong statement in support of property rights: "Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation having been made. The property rights of landowners shall be protected from arbitrary and discriminatory actions." Strong property rights are a key prerequisite for economic development in a market economy. Businesses only invest where the expected rate of return is sufficiently high to compensate for the risks that they face. Insecure property rights increase risks and decrease willingness to invest.

Other Research Council Policy Briefs and Special Reports:

SPECIAL REPORT: Myths and Facts Regarding the Costs of Growth in Washington - "No-growth" advocates have fixed on the notion that "growth does not pay for itself." Their contention widely misses the mark. Growth, obviously, does pay for itself. As Dr. Richard Morrill so succinctly put it, "if urban development did not pay for itself eventually, we would not have 200 million people thriving in our cities."1 Over time, growth generates economic activity, reflected in increased employment, investment, retail sales, government revenues, and charitable giving, creating the types of communities people want to live in. In short, the cumulative, long-term effects of sustained growth are seen in thriving metropolitan communities - the kind of communities that define the Puget Sound region today.

SPECIAL REPORT: Housing Affordability in the Puget Sound Metropolitan Area - This report examines the region's housing challenge, focusing on four areas of concern: 1) the relationship between the business cycle and the supply and price of housing, including rental housing; 2) the relative affordability of housing, with particular attention to the buying opportunities for households earning below the median income level in the region; 3) an assessment of the progress made toward meeting the housing goals established in the metropolitan counties' comprehensive plans; and 4) a comparison of the Seattle area with five metropolitan areas on the basis of housing affordability and several selected quality-of-life measures. (A Policy Brief summary of this report, Housing Prices Continue to Soar, is available in HTML or «.pdf»)

SPECIAL REPORT: The Balance Between Jobs and Housing - Housing affordability is a clearly stated goal of GMA. If housing is to be affordable, there must be an adequate supply of housing available near to the places where work is concentrated. Vision 2020 recognizes this and establishes a policy to promote a balance of jobs to housing within each part of the region to provide the opportunity for more residents to live nearer to jobs and urban activities. If residents are truly to have the chance to find affordable housing near to their jobs, jobs and housing need to be balanced in smaller geographic areas. This report examines the location of jobs and housing on a sub-county scale, and finds that recent growth of jobs and housing within King County has not been balanced: Seattle and the Eastside have added jobs much more rapidly than they have added housing. The result has been rapidly increasing costs for housing in these areas. In contrast, jobs and housing growth has been more balanced in south King County, and the cost of housing has increased less there

SPECIAL REPORT: Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy: Competitiveness Report - Washington's plunge from prosperity to recession caught many policymakers by surprise - and radically refocused the competitiveness debate. The slowdown has affected all parts of the state and no major sector of our economy remains unscathed. Our unemployment rate is among the nation's highest. Laid-off workers wonder if there will be jobs for them to return to; some see little prospect of re-employment here and plan to leave the state. Business owners worry that the recovery will occur too late for them. Public officials see declining tax revenues that are throwing state and local budgets out of balance. Public policy has impeded economic expansion. Too often, hurdles in the form of uncompetitive tax policies, unnecessary regulation, or inadequate infrastructure stand in the way of business development. As the economy slowed in the last year and a half, the challenges represented by these barriers loomed larger. Areas we examine include transportation and infrastructure, education and workforce preparation, taxation, regulation, housing, and quality of life.