RCW 36.70B.080

(1)(a) Development regulations adopted pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040 must establish and implement time periods for local government actions for each type of project permit application and provide timely and predictable procedures to determine whether a completed project permit application meets the requirements of those development regulations. Except for modifications by a jurisdiction provided for in (e) of this subsection, the time periods for local government actions for each type of complete project permit application or project type may not exceed those specified in this section.

(b) For project permits submitted after January 1, 2025, the development regulations must, for each type of permit application, specify the contents of a completed project permit application necessary for the complete compliance with the time periods and procedures.

(c) A jurisdiction may exclude certain permit types and timelines for processing project permit applications as provided for in RCW 36.70B.140.

(d) The time periods for local government action to issue a final decision for each type of complete project permit application or project type subject to this chapter should not exceed the following time periods unless modified by the local government pursuant to this section or RCW 36.70B.140:

(i) For project permits which do not require public notice under RCW 36.70B.110, a local government must issue a final decision within 65 days of the determination of completeness under RCW 36.70B.070;

(ii) For project permits which require public notice under RCW 36.70B.110, a local government must issue a final decision within 100 days of the determination of completeness under RCW 36.70B.070; and

(iii) For project permits which require public notice under RCW 36.70B.110 and a public hearing, a local government must issue a final decision within 170 days of the determination of completeness under RCW 36.70B.070.

(e) A jurisdiction may modify the provisions in (d) of this subsection to add permit types not identified, change the permit names or types in each category, address how consolidated review time periods may be different than permits submitted individually, and provide for how projects of a certain size or type may be differentiated, including by differentiating between permits that include a residential land use as a principal use of the land and permits that do not. Unless otherwise provided for the consolidated review of more than one permit, the time period for a final decision shall be the longest of the permit time periods identified in (d) of this subsection or as amended by a local government.

(f) If a local government does not adopt an ordinance or resolution modifying the provisions in (d) of this subsection, the time periods in (d) of this subsection apply.

(g) The number of days an application is in review with the county or city shall be calculated from the day completeness is determined under RCW 36.70B.070 to the date a final decision is issued on the project permit application. The number of days shall be calculated by counting every calendar day and excluding the following time periods:

(i) Any period between the day that the county or city has notified the applicant, in writing, that additional information is required to further process the application, an applicable fee must be paid, or a required notice must be posted, and the day when responsive information is resubmitted by the applicant, the fee is paid, or the notice is posted;

(ii) Any period after an applicant informs the local government, in writing, that they would like to temporarily suspend review of the project permit application until the time that the applicant notifies the local government, in writing, that they would like to resume the application. A local government may set conditions for the temporary suspension of a permit application;

(iii) Any period that the local government has completed all possible work on the application but must wait for necessary action by a government entity subject to subsection (2) or (3) of this section;

(iv) Any period during which a draft or final environmental impact statement is being prepared following a determination of significance under chapter 43.21C RCW;

(v) Any period between issuance of a final decision and the expiration of the applicable administrative appeal period; and

(vi) Any period after an administrative appeal is filed until the administrative appeal is resolved and any additional time period provided by the administrative appeal has expired.

(h) The time periods for a local government to process a permit shall start over if an applicant proposes a change in use that adds or removes commercial or residential elements from the original application that would make the application fail to meet the determination of procedural completeness for the new use, as required by the local government under RCW 36.70B.070.

(i) If, at any time, an applicant informs the local government, in writing, that the applicant would like to temporarily suspend the review of the project for more than 60 days, or if an applicant is not responsive for more than 60 consecutive days after the county or city has notified the applicant, in writing, that additional information is required to further process the application, an additional 30 days may be added to the time periods for local government action to issue a final decision for each type of project permit that is subject to this chapter. Any written notice from the local government to the applicant that additional information is required to further process the application must include a notice that nonresponsiveness for 60 consecutive days may result in 30 days being added to the time for review. For the purposes of this subsection, "nonresponsiveness" means that an applicant is not making demonstrable progress on providing additional requested information to the local government, or that there is no ongoing communication from the applicant to the local government on the applicant's ability or willingness to provide the additional information.

(j) Annual amendments to the comprehensive plan are not subject to the requirements of this section.

(k) A county's or city's adoption of a resolution or ordinance to implement this subsection shall not be subject to appeal under chapter 36.70A RCW unless the resolution or ordinance modifies the time periods provided in (d) of this subsection by providing for a review period of more than 170 days for any project permit.

(l)(i) When permit time periods provided for in (d) of this subsection, as may be amended by a local government, and as may be extended as provided for in (i) of this subsection, are not met, a portion of the permit fee must be refunded to the applicant as provided in this subsection. A local government may provide for the collection of only 80 percent of a permit fee initially, and for the collection of the remaining balance if the permitting time periods are met. The portion of the fee refunded for missing time periods shall be:

(A) 10 percent if the final decision of the project permit application was made after the applicable deadline but the period from the passage of the deadline to the time of issuance of the final decision did not exceed 20 percent of the original time period; or

(B) 20 percent if the period from the passage of the deadline to the time of the issuance of the final decision exceeded 20 percent of the original time period.

(ii) Except as provided in RCW 36.70B.160, the provisions in (l)(i) of this subsection are not applicable to a local government which has implemented at least three of the options in RCW 36.70B.160(1) (a) through (j) at the time an application is deemed procedurally complete.

(2)(a) Any government entity other than a local government, special purpose district, or public utility district, that imposes a fee on an applicant for review of a project permit application, or a portion thereof, related to a residential project must complete its review of the project permit application within the time periods established in subsection (1)(d) of this section, unless the applicant agrees in writing to waive the application of the time period for review. Such a waiver may occur at any time prior to the denial of the project permit application or the exhaustion of the time period for review. If an applicant has agreed to waive the application of the time period, then the provisions of this subsection (2) do not apply to the review of the project permit application.

(b) The time that a government entity has taken to review a project permit application must be determined as provided for in subsection (1)(g) of this section, and is exclusive of the time that a local government or other entity has taken to conduct its review of its portion of the project permit application.

(c) A government entity that does not complete its review within the required time periods must refund or forgo 20 percent of the fee that it collected or would have collected for its review. A government entity that does not collect a fee for its review of a portion of a project permit application is not required to provide any refund under this section.

(3)(a) When a local government requires a special purpose district's or public utility district's determination in order to complete review of a residential project permit application including approval of a preliminary plat or other land division, the review must be conducted as provided for in this subsection (3).

(b)(i) A special purpose district's or public utility district's review period begins when a local government provides a complete referral to the district. A referral is complete if it includes civil plans and supporting materials based on the district's adopted engineering and design standards in effect on the date of the referral, and when the referral includes all materials required to constitute a complete application under the district's adopted procedures.

(ii) Within 15 calendar days of receipt of the referral, the district must notify the local government and applicant in writing if the referral is incomplete and identify the additional information required. If a referral is deemed incomplete, a district has an additional 15 calendar days from the receipt of the requested information to notify the local government and applicant in writing if the referral is still incomplete and identify the additional information required. If the district does not provide notice within 15 calendar days of the initial referral or of the submission of additional information, the referral is deemed complete for purposes of this section.

(c)(i) For routine infrastructure extensions or connections that do not require specialized engineering analysis or external regulatory approval, the district shall issue its written technical determination in the form of written comments within 45 business days of its receipt of a complete referral. A written response may include:

(A) Confirmation of consistency with adopted engineering and design standards;

(B) Identification of revisions required to achieve compliance;

(C) Conditions of service or infrastructure improvements authorized by law; or

(D) Identification of capacity, regulatory, or system limitations that preclude approval.

(ii) When a proposal involves complex infrastructure or requires specialized engineering review, regulatory coordination, or third-party technical consultation, the time review period for completing the review or issuing a decision may be extended by up to 60 business days over the time period provided for in (c)(i) of this subsection. If a time period is extended in this way, the district must provide written notice to the local government and applicant identifying the basis for extended review and an estimated time frame for completion. No review period may exceed a total of more than 120 calendar days, exclusive of any excluded periods provided for in (d) of this subsection. Complex infrastructure includes, but is not limited to:

(A) Sewage lift stations or pump stations;

(B) Mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, or supervisory control and data acquisition systems;

(C) Directional drilling, boring, or installation within state or county rights-of-way;

(D) Construction of new off-site capital facilities that are not existing or previously approved for construction and that are required to provide system capacity beyond a direct connection to existing infrastructure;

(E) System-wide hydraulic or capacity modeling;

(F) Projects requiring specialty engineering consultation; and

(G) Projects in critical aquifer protection areas, where additional assessment is required.

(d)(i) The time periods that a district has been reviewing an application under (c) of this subsection may not include any period in which the district is awaiting:

(A) Approval or other authorization from a state or federal agency;

(B) Right-of-way permits from the state or a local government;

(C) Franchise utility coordination or relocation approval;

(D) Final land use conditions, site layout decisions, or building design necessary to complete engineering review; or

(E) Any other approvals required by state or federal law that are outside the authority of the district.

(ii) The review period also does not include any period in which the district is awaiting revisions from the applicant in response to written review comments from the district. The period excluded under this subsection begins on the date the written comments are transmitted to the applicant and ends on the date the district receives revised materials that are responsive to those comments. After an initial period is excluded under this subsection, subsequent excluded periods are limited to those related to review comments arising from revised materials and may not reopen issues previously resolved unless required for public health, safety, or regulatory compliance.

(iii) Nothing in this subsection (3) limits the authority of a district to issue additional comments if revised materials introduce new deficiencies or design changes.

(e)(i) If a district does not provide written comments within the time periods established in (c) of this subsection, exclusive of any periods excluded under (d) of this subsection, the district must refund or forgo 20 percent of the fee that it collected or would have collected for its review of the application.

(ii) Only that portion of the fee attributable to civil plan or infrastructure review under this section is subject to a refund.

(iii) A district's failure to complete review within the applicable time period does not constitute approval of service.

(f) Nothing in this subsection (3):

(i) Expands or limits the substantive authority of a special purpose district or public utility district;

(ii) Authorizes the imposition of requirements not otherwise authorized by law;

(iii) Creates a cause of action for damages; or

(iv) Requires provision of service that cannot be safely or legally delivered.

(g) Districts subject to this section shall provide review performance information to a local government that referred the residential project permit application to the district if the local government is required to create a performance report under subsection (4) of this section. The information must include:

(i) The date the referral was received;

(ii) The date the referral was deemed complete;

(iii) Whether the referral was for an application eligible for an extension of the initial time period as provided for in (c)(ii) of this subsection;

(iv) The date that written comments were issued; and

(v) Whether a refund was issued under (e) of this subsection.

(4)(a) Counties subject to the requirements of RCW 36.70A.215 and the cities within those counties that have populations of at least 20,000 must, for each type of permit application, identify the total number of project permit applications for which decisions are issued according to the provisions of this chapter. For each type of project permit application identified, these counties and cities must establish and implement a deadline for issuing a notice of final decision as required by subsection (1) of this section and minimum requirements for applications to be deemed complete under RCW 36.70B.070 as required by subsection (1) of this section.

(b) Counties and cities subject to the requirements of this subsection also must prepare an annual performance report that includes information outlining time periods for certain permit types associated with housing. The report must provide:

(i) Permit time periods for certain permit processes in the county or city in relation to those established under this section, including whether the county or city has established shorter time periods than those provided in this section;

(ii) The total number of decisions issued during the year for the following permit types: Preliminary subdivisions, final subdivisions, binding site plans, permit processes associated with the approval of multifamily housing, and construction plan review for each of these permit types when submitted separately;

(iii) The total number of decisions for each permit type which included consolidated project permit review, such as concurrent review of a rezone or construction plans;

(iv) The average number of days from a submittal to a decision being issued for the project permit types listed in (b)(ii) of this subsection. This shall be calculated from the day completeness is determined under RCW 36.70B.070 to the date a decision is issued on the application. The number of days shall be calculated by counting every calendar day;

(v) The total number of days each project permit application of a type listed in (b)(ii) of this subsection was in review with the county or city. This shall be calculated from the day completeness is determined under RCW 36.70B.070 to the date a final decision is issued on the application. The number of days shall be calculated by counting every calendar day. The days the application is in review with the county or city does not include the time periods in *subsection (1)(g)(i) through (iii) of this section;

(vi) The total number of days that were excluded from the time period calculation under *subsection (1)(g)(i) through (iii) of this section for each project permit application of a type listed in (b)(ii) of this subsection; and

(vii) Any information received from a special purpose district or public utility district under subsection (3)(g) of this section.

(c) Counties and cities subject to the requirements of this subsection must:

(i) Post the annual performance report through the county's or city's website; and

(ii) Submit the annual performance report to the department of commerce by March 1st each year.

(d) No later than July 1st each year, the department of commerce shall publish a report which includes the annual performance report data for each county and city subject to the requirements of this subsection and a list of those counties and cities whose time periods are shorter than those provided for in this section.

The annual report must also include key metrics and findings from the information collected.

(e) The initial annual report required under this subsection must be submitted to the department of commerce by March 1, 2025, and must include information from permitting in 2024.

(5) Nothing in this section prohibits a county or city from extending a deadline for issuing a decision for a specific project permit application for any reasonable and certain period of time specified and mutually agreed upon in writing by the applicant and the local government. If an applicant has agreed to extend the deadline for issuing a decision on a specific project permit application, then the provisions of subsection (1) of this section do not apply to the review of the project permit application. Such an extension may occur at any time prior to the denial of the project permit application or the exhaustion of the time period for review. No local government may require or request an extension of an applicable deadline for issuance of a decision for a specific project permit application as a condition or an option at initial submission of a project permit application.

*Reviser's note: This section was amended by 2026 c 236 s 4, changing subsection (1)(g)(iii) to subsection (1)(g)(vi). Reference to subsection (1)(g)(i) through (vi) was apparently intended.

Effective date—2023 c 338 s 7: "Section 7 of this act takes effect January 1, 2025." [ 2023 c 338 s 13.]

Findings—Intent—2004 c 191: "The legislature finds that the timely issuance of project permit decisions by local governments serves the public interest. When these decisions, that are often responses to land use and building permit applications, are issued according to specific and locally established time periods and without unnecessary or inappropriate delays, the public enjoys greater efficiency, consistency, and predictability in the permitting process.

The legislature also finds that full access to relevant performance data produced annually by local governments for each type of permit application affords elected officials, project proponents, and the general public the opportunity to review and compare the permit application and processing performance of jurisdictions. Furthermore, the legislature finds that the review and comparison of this data, and the requirement to provide convenient and direct internet access to germane and consistent reports, will likely foster improved methods for processing applications, and issuing project permit decisions in a timely manner.

The legislature, therefore, intends to continue and clarify the requirements for certain jurisdictions to produce and provide access to annual permitting performance reports." [ 2004 c 191 s 1.]

Effective date—1995 c 347 s 410: "Section 410, chapter 347, Laws of 1995 shall take effect July 1, 2000." [ 1998 c 286 s 10; 1995 c 347 s 412.]

Expiration date—1995 c 347 s 409: "The amendments to RCW 36.70B.080 contained in section 409, chapter 347, Laws of 1995 shall expire July 1, 2000." [ 1998 c 286 s 9; 1995 c 347 s 411.]

Severability—1994 c 257: See note following RCW 36.70A.270.

Development regulations must provide sufficient land capacity for development: RCW 36.70A.115.