A City for Birch Bay?

Are Urban growth areas in Washington state better off being a city?

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Generated by Gemini:
The question of whether urban growth areas (UGAs) in Washington state are “better off” as incorporated cities is complex, with various pros and cons. The Growth Management Act (GMA) in Washington aims to encourage urban growth within UGAs to reduce sprawl and promote efficient use of resources. Cities are generally considered the most appropriate governmental units to provide urban services.

Here’s a breakdown of the considerations:

Arguments for UGAs becoming incorporated cities:

• More Efficient Service Delivery: Cities typically have broader revenue authority and more flexibility under state law, allowing them to provide urban services (like road maintenance, wastewater, stormwater, planning, public safety, parks, etc.) more efficiently than counties. The general principle is that “what is urban should be municipal.”
• Local Control and Accountability: Incorporating as a city gives residents more direct control over local governance, allowing them to tailor services and development to their specific community needs and priorities. This often translates to higher expectations for their municipal government.
• Stronger Tax Base and Financial Health: Annexation or incorporation expands a city’s tax base (property taxes, sales taxes, business and utility taxes), providing more resources for public services and infrastructure improvements. This can lead to long-term financial health for the community.
• Coordinated Development: Cities are better positioned to provide comprehensive planning and responsible development within their boundaries, ensuring that growth is contiguous, orderly, and linked with adequate public facilities. This helps prevent haphazard and unorganized development.
• Reduced Sprawl: The GMA encourages concentrating growth within existing urban areas and cities, which helps conserve natural resource lands, protect water quality, and reduce per capita greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging walking, biking, and transit.
• Economic Development: Cities are often the economic engines of the state, and incorporating an UGA can foster economic development by providing a more stable and well-serviced environment for businesses.

Arguments against (or complexities of) UGAs becoming incorporated cities:

• Potential for Exclusion: Some research suggests that incorporated suburbs can become less racially diverse and more economically exclusive than unincorporated areas, as incorporation can be used as a tool to control who lives in a community.
• Increased Costs for Residents: While a city may have a stronger tax base, residents within a newly incorporated city or annexed area may face increased taxes or fees to fund the broader range of services provided by a city compared to county services.
• Duplication and Inefficiency (if uncoordinated): If new cities are incorporated without proper coordination, it can lead to a complex pattern of multiple jurisdictions, potentially causing administrative confusion, inefficiency, duplication of services, and excessive costs. This is why annexation by an existing city is often preferred when feasible.
• Loss of Rural Character: For some residents in UGAs, the push to incorporate or be annexed into a city might be seen as a loss of their desired rural character, even if the area is technically designated for urban growth.
• Challenges with Infrastructure: While cities are generally better at providing urban services, a new incorporation might face significant upfront costs and challenges in developing the necessary infrastructure to meet urban demands if it was previously underserved.

Overall:

The prevailing policy in Washington state, guided by the Growth Management Act, generally favors urban growth occurring within designated urban growth areas and ultimately within incorporated cities. The Regional Growth Strategy of the Puget Sound Regional Council, for example, envisions that all urban growth areas will eventually be annexed by or incorporated as cities. This is because cities are seen as the most appropriate and efficient entities to manage urban development and provide the necessary services.

However, the decision to incorporate or annex is a local one, often driven by the specific needs, desires, and challenges of the community within the UGA. It involves weighing the benefits of increased local control and enhanced services against potential financial implications and shifts in community character.