Ordinance 3088-08 - Laserfiche WebLink

EVERETT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN CHAPTER 6 CAPITAL FACILITIES I. Introduction The State of Washington Growth Management Act of 1990 (GMA), as amended, requires that communities adopt comprehensive plans that are designed to guide the orderly development of growth over the next twenty years. Originally adopted in 1994 and amended annually this is the required 10-year update of the Comprehensive Plan. Future updates are scheduled on a 7-year interval under current state requirements. Capital facilities and utilities are defined as mandatory elements for inclusion in the comprehensive plan. The long range Capital Facilities Plan and the short range Capital Improvement Program make up the Capital Facilities Element required by GMA. Specifically,the GMA requires a plan that consists of: • An inventory of existing capital facilities owned by public entities, showing the locations and capacities of the capital facilities; • A forecast of the future needs for such capital facilities; • The proposed locations and capacities of expanded or new capital facilities; • At least a six-year plan that will finance such capital facilities within projected funding capacities and clearly identifies sources of public money for such purposes; and • A requirement to reassess the Land Use Element if probable funding falls short of meeting existing needs. Capital facilities and utilities represent the infrastructure, or foundation, of a community and are integral to accommodating growth. These facilities include: water, sanitary sewer and storm water, police and fire, solid waste/recycling,parks and recreation,transportation, library and public housing. Utilities include private and public enterprises that supply Everett with electricity, telecommunications, cable television and natural gas services. While some of these capital facilities and utilities are provided by the City, private companies and special districts provide others. The Capital Facilities Plan contains policies and strategies for the provision of adequate public facilities and services, funding and ongoing budgeting, a selection process, and maintenance of capital facilities for economic development. The plan provides the long-range policy guidance for development of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The plan also contains an inventory of existing and proposed capital facilities; forecasts future needs for facilities, and identifies deficiencies in capital facilities and the actions necessary to eliminate such deficiencies. The CIP contains the six-year finance plan for all capital facilities and lists sources of funding and scheduling of individual projects for all capital facilities. Due to their similar nature and function,the City of Everett has chosen to combine capital facilities and utilities within one element. However,the GMA addresses capital facilities and utilities independently regarding planning requirements, particularly concerning funding issues. CAPITAL FACILITIES ELEMENT