The county functions as a regional and as a local provider of services and facilities depending upon the particular facility or service and area served. The county role as an urban service provider is expected to decline and the cities are to assume the dominant role in most urban services under the goals established by the GMA. The county, however, is expected to play a more important role as a regional service provider. Managing this transition is one of the principal challenges of the GMA and will take many years to achieve.

The county functions as a review agency for some public agencies and as a permitting agency and financial resource for others. These multiple roles make capital facility planning a special challenge for the county. Distinguishing between the several types of public facilities and services which the county may either provide, help plan, help finance, or regulate is necessary when developing goals, objectives, and policies to guide future decision-making.

This chapter will address those facilities for which the county must plan and budget as part of its six-year capital improvement program. They include land transportation (addressed in the transportation element), surface water management, solid waste disposal, law and justice (enforcement, prosecution, correction/detention, and related services), general government, parks and recreation, and the airport. Each of these functions will be considered in a separate section.

Snohomish County is committed to improving the adequacy of public facilities in its own facility planning as well as working with other key providers of public infrastructure, particularly sewer, water and school districts. The county prepares six-year capital improvement programs annually. This regular review and updating of capital investment has been significantly enhanced to comply with the requirements of the GMA.

The GMA places great importance on local determination of appropriate measures and extent of various facility needs as expressed through the concept of level of service. The county has established level of service (LOS) measures for land transportation, surface water management, and parks facilities necessary to support development, as described in the capital facilities plan and transportation element. The county has established facility service guidelines for other public facilities within the capital plan. These guidelines are for planning purposes only and do not obligate the county to achieve specific projects or service levels. The process used by the county in measuring and establishing levels of service standards for public facilities necessary to support development and guidelines for all other facilities was first presented in a report entitled, Capital Facility Requirements 1994 99 (and to 2013) (Snohomish County, 1994).

This process was developed to be used by the county in evaluating the LOS for land transportation facilities and other facilities considered “necessary to support development”. Facilities necessary for urban development are distinguished from those necessary for rural development. There is a smaller listing of facilities necessary to support rural development and for some rural facilities, different levels of service. It also established the parameters for the 20-year facilities plan and the six-year financing program delineated in the CIP. These parameters may be revised as the specifics of the six-year financing program are developed. The county will periodically evaluate and refine LOS measures to improve the linkage between land transportation facilities, services and demand and to reflect changing fiscal and jurisdictional circumstances.

A similar process was used to establish the facility service guidelines for the other public facilities of this plan. These guidelines were then used in developing a forecast of future needs, the 20-year facilities plan and the six-year financing program. These guidelines are not prescriptive in nature and constitute only one of many factors to be used in making final decisions regarding facilities to be built or improved. The county will periodically evaluate and refine these guidelines to improve the usefulness of this planning tool in light of changing priorities, fiscal impacts, and inter-jurisdictional cooperation.

Snohomish County prepares annual six-year capital improvement programs (CIPs) to guide capital spending decisions. CIPs are directly linked to a longer term capital facilities plan and to the land use element of the comprehensive plan. They reflect a realistic assessment of future revenues to meet the GMA specifications for the six-year financing program. The CIPs should also reflect an assessment of the fiscal implications of capital projects on the county's operational budget.

The GMA expressly gives cities and counties the authority and choice to impose impact fees on new development to help finance capital facility expansions required to serve that new development. This authorization applies to parks, schools, and transportation. Snohomish County has adopted GMA-based impact fee programs for parks, roads, and schools, which are codified at Chapters 30.66A, 30.66B, and 30.66C, respectively.

The fee programs comply with GMA requirements and conditions concerning their basis in the six year CIP, appropriate credits for future property tax payments for debt retirement, use of other supplemental funding sources, and use of fee receipts.

An important feature of comprehensive planning under the GMA is the concurrency requirement. This refers to the goal of providing adequate public facilities at the time that private development or its direct impacts occur. This means that not only must the long range plan provide for these necessary public facilities but also that they must be in place or planned to be in place within six years of (concurrent with) development.

This concurrency test must be met for transportation facilities in order for development to proceed. The Transportation Element and Chapter 30.66B SCC define the concurrency management system for Snohomish County's transportation facilities. Concurrency is encouraged but not expressly required for other types of public facilities. A concurrency system under the GMA requires a complete facilities plan and financing program in the capital facilities element in order to support a regulatory program that could result in denial or deferral of development permits. A formal concurrency system is only utilized for the county road system because of the difficulty for counties in meeting these specifications for the numerous independent providers of several important facilities (see the transportation element). Snohomish County could consider expanding the concept to other public facilities through future amendments to this plan as it gains experience with the administration of concurrency management. A concurrency system for sanitary sewers, public water supply, drainage, and electric power veritably exists because development proponents must demonstrate that such facilities are available to secure development approvals.

A less rigorous form of adequacy test for public facilities other than transportation facilities is needed to address GMA Goal 12. It directs that development not cause the level of service for those facilities and services necessary to support development to decline below established minimum levels. Such a test is utilized in reviewing development applications and updates to the six-year CIP. This generally involves a review of development applications to ascertain their impact upon existing or planned infrastructure systems. The county will require a solution, such as temporary or permanent facility construction by the developer, longer project phasing or build-out periods, or other appropriate measure where added capacity or other facility improvements to systems are needed to support a development proposal.

A form of facility/funding adequacy monitoring occurs each year during the county budget process. "Statements of assessment" are prepared to accompany updates to the CIP. These statements evaluate the adequacy of projected funding and current regulations to meet GMA Goal 12. This process is described in more detail in the Capital Facilities Plan.

Surface water management encompasses the structural and nonstructural work related to the public, health and safety aspects of capturing, conveying and safely discharging rainfall runoff. It also includes the protection and restoration of the natural surface water system that serves the county.

One of the vital facilities used to manage stormwater, particularly in the urban areas, is drainage systems. This includes both publicly and privately maintained systems.

Dikes and levees have also been used to control surface water and reduce flooding, primarily along river corridors. The federal government and special districts are responsible for maintaining many other dikes and levees in the county, though the responsibility for maintaining up to nine miles of existing dikes and levees is currently uncertain. The system of levees and dikes in the county has been steadily improved as flood hazard plans have been completed and implemented in cooperation with special districts in the county. It is unlikely that extensive new levees will be constructed given the current threatened status of Puget Sound Chinook Salmon. However, ongoing inspection, maintenance, repair, and incorporation of features that reduce impacts to fish remain important capital work for flood hazard management along the major county rivers.

Overall capital costs may be reduced, to the extent that regulations can preserve the existing functions, corridors, and uses of the county’s natural surface water systems. The county is also subject to major federal law with respect to the water quality and habitat of the county’s surface water systems.

Discharge of the county’s drainage system to the natural surface water system results in the county being subject to the provisions of the federal Clean Water Act: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. The county’s response to the NPDES permit includes, among other things, the provision of certain improvements, retrofits of existing facilities and programs to improve water quality.

The county is also undertaking a watershed - based planning project pursuant to the County’s Phase I Municipal Stormwater Permit. The project will prioritize the Little Bear Creek area and projects for aquatic habitat restoration. This action is a part of the response to the federal Endangered Species Act listing of Puget Sound Chinook Salmon and bull trout.

Ultimately, the system of constructed and natural systems is interrelated and improvements to one part of the system are considered in the context of their benefits and impacts to other parts of the natural and constructed systems. Watersheds are the organizing principle for analyzing such systems, however, the jurisdictional boundaries that exist complicate ongoing overall improvements. This plan encourages the seamless provision of drainage, water quality and habitat improvements across jurisdictional borders to enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of public resources applied to this category of work.

The Surface Water Management Division of the county’s Public Works Department implements numerous surface water capital facility projects. These projects address surface water problems reported by citizens, such as drainage or water quality complaints, as well as problems identified through basin-wide planning efforts conducted by the county and other agencies. Examples of basin-wide planning efforts that lead to capital facilities include urban stormwater master plans (such as the Drainage Needs Report), watershed plans (such as the French Creek Watershed Management Plan), salmon recovery plans (such as the Draft Snohomish River Basin Salmon Conservation Plan), and flood hazard reduction plans (such as the Stillaguamish River Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan).

Solid waste disposal is a primary function of county government. Waste collection is managed at the municipal level. A system of rural drop boxes and transfer stations owned and operated by the county's solid waste division are the intermediary collection points between the waste generators (primarily homes, apartments, and businesses) and the ultimate disposal sites. Many residents in rural areas transport their own solid waste to one of these facilities.

About one-third of the county's solid waste stream is recovered presently through recycling. The remainder is deposited at a landfill outside of the county through a long term contract.

The Public Works Department's solid waste division published its updated Comprehensive Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Plan in January 2013. It looks at intermediate and long-term solutions to solid waste problems which will intensify as the population grows and available land diminishes. Major goals include recovering more of the waste stream through recycling and recovering waste that is escaping the county’s solid waste system.

Other forms of waste recovery will also be explored to reduce the residual stream requiring landfill disposal. The primary facility focus is a critical review of existing transfer stations and drop box disposal sites for subsequent expansion and/or enhancement in order to facilitate recycling and cost-effective disposal of non-recyclables throughout the county.

The county’s law and justice system is a network of services including law enforcement, courts, detention facilities, alternative programs, and prevention programs. These responsibilities are currently fulfilled within the following divisions of county government:

The components of the law and justice system are interrelated. Workload changes in one part of the system tend to influence the rest of the system.

The need for facilities is related to the rates of criminal activity and civil actions initiated. Factors contributing to increasing workload include population growth and continued urbanization of the county, mandatory sentencing legislation at the state level, and other wide-reaching policy changes.

The county continues work to address the need for law and justice facilities. Past studies of operations and associated space requirements have resulted in the necessity to address changing facility needs and to identify potential capital and non-capital solutions.

County government provides numerous service and support functions which are performed by professional, administrative, managerial, and clerical staff working within general office space. These functions have been combined within this element because of their common requirement for general office space. All county departments' general office needs that are not addressed under other headings of this section are accounted for in this category.

Snohomish County currently utilizes office space for employees involved in general government operations in county-owned buildings located at the county’s central downtown campus at Rockefeller Avenue

and Wall Street in Everett. Airport facilities, parks facilities, correctional facilities, courts and the Sheriff’s Office are not considered in the category of general government facilities. The primary county agencies that require general government facilities are large departments in the executive branch, such as Public Works, Planning and Development Services and the operating offices with elected officials such as the Assessor, Treasurer and the Auditor. Many of these county operations require customer counter areas to facilitate access by the general public to those services dispensed on-call to customers.

More background and specific information is provided in the Capital Facilities Plan – a separate document that is also a component of the county’s GMA comprehensive plan.

The Snohomish County Airport at Paine Field is a major economic asset to the county and region. Paine Field comprises 1250 acres with three runways including the 9,010’ long Runway 16L-34R which pro-vides service for the largest aircraft in all weather conditions. The Boeing Company operates its wide-body aircraft assembly plant on 1,100 acres adjacent to Paine Field and also leases significant portions of the airport for its operations.

Over 50 businesses operate at the airport with total employment between 35,000 and 40,000. Over 650 general aviation aircraft are based at the airport. The airport is home to significant tourist venues including the Boeing Company tour, Future of Flight, Museum of Flight Restoration Center, the Historic Flight Foundation, The Flying Heritage Collection, and Legend Flyers which attract over 250,000 visitors per year.

The Airport Master Plan update was com-pleted in 1995 and was subsequently updat-ed and adopted by the county council in 2002. The Master Plan identifies aviation demand and facility requirements at Paine Field through 2021. Regional Air Service consistent with the 1978/79 Mediated Role Determination (MRD) encouraging General Aviation for the airport is included in the forecasts and projections and capital facili-ties to accommodate demand are included in the approved Development Plan (CIP) portion of the Airport Master Plan.

The County Executive established a panel in 2006 to review the Mediated Role Determination in light of continuing controversy on whether scheduled passenger airline service should be accommodated at the airport. The panel report stated:

The community panel process provided an understanding of three fundamental principles:

1. Current federal law does not allow the County to prohibit or limit scheduled passenger air service.

2. Current federal law does not require the County to encourage or subsidize scheduled passenger air service.

3. The County can and should insist that an airline pay its own way and mitigate its impacts.

The MRD Document is neither a talisman that wards away scheduled passenger service, nor is it relic consigned to the dustbin of County history. It expresses a policy preferring general aviation and industrial use over scheduled passenger air service. This policy preference is consistent with federal law, grant assurances and deed restrictions.

Snohomish County plans for, reviews, and permits rural and urban development that depends upon an array of local public agencies for support infrastructure. Among these types of facilities are schools, fire stations, water supply systems, and wastewater collection and treatment facilities.

Providing this infrastructure is the responsibility of an array of public agencies all of which have their own legislative bodies and staffs and operate more or less independently from the county. The challenge for the county’s comprehensive plan-CFP is to coordinate these numerous public bodies, and arrive at mutually agreed upon capital facility decisions consistent with the land use element. Level of service, financing strategies, construction timing, and other required components of the capital facilities element are considered in making decisions, especially for those public facilities that are identified in the CFP as necessary to support development.

The county has been able to work closely with the school districts to develop GMA-compliant school capital facility plans. These plans serve as the foundation for the GMA-based school impact fee program that began operating in 1999. Most school districts now participate in this program and prepare GMA capital facilities plans on a biennial basis. These plans are reviewed and adopted by Snohomish County as a part of its capital facilities element.

Impact fees are not part of the financial picture for most of the non-county capital facilities. Sewer and water supply systems have long utilized equity connection fees, hook-up charges, and similar funding mechanisms to recapture capital expenditures from new development.

These represent another form of impact fee, which are briefly discussed in the utilities element, as are other financial issues associated with these systems.

Financial strategies for facilities provided by other public agencies will be formulated by their staffs, consultants, and ultimately adopted by their own governing boards and commissions. The county may participate in these discussions to the extent that it can provide constructive assistance on possible consequences of particular strategies to the county itself.

Public education represents a major public investment at both the local and the state level. Fifteen separate school districts in Snohomish County provide a variety of educational programs for the children of our residents. The three large districts of southwest county (Edmonds, Everett and Mukilteo) represent about one half of the county's public school enrollment and serve populations that are predominantly urban and suburban in character. The other twelve districts are generally smaller, more geographically dispersed, and serve a more diverse population including suburban, small town, and rural residents.

Snohomish County operates a GMA-authorized school impact fee program that began in 1997 and became fully effective on January 1, 1999. The GMA requires that CFPs establish levels of service for all facilities/services that are deemed “necessary to support development.” School facilities have been identified as meeting this requirement, therefore, each school district has defined levels of service that they will provide for the population they serve. The levels of service have also been referred to as educational program standards or standards of service for schools.

School districts must prepare and adopt CFPs that meet the specifications of RCW 36.70A and RCW 82.02.020 to meet the requirements of the impact fee program. A school district’s CFP expires two years from the date of its adoption by the county council or when the county council adopts an updated plan that meets GMA requirements.

School districts must submit the CFPs to Snohomish County for adoption as a part of the county’s comprehensive plan.

Fire protection and emergency services are provided by either fire districts or city fire departments. Some cities, not large enough to support their own fire departments, contract for service with surrounding fire districts. There are currently 25 fire districts providing service in Snohomish County. Most do not prepare long range plans but respond to growth demands after the fact. Construction of new district fire stations is often funded by bonds approved by district residents, who thereby determine their acceptable level of service. Identifying a level of service for fire protection is difficult as services vary based upon the resources of the agency providing the services.

Service level standards can be expressed in terms of response times, equipment capacity, personnel training and fire flow. Response time is determined by geographic distribution of stations and access. Equipment capacity may limit ability to respond, for example some departments do not have equipment that can be effective above three stories. Some districts provide 24 hour trained fire fighter coverage and emergency medical staff. Areas with lower levels of development depend on response from volunteer fire fighters.

One level of fire protection service which is consistent regardless of which agency provides protection is water system fire flow. The levels of fire flow and sprinkler requirements are established in the building and fire codes adopted by the county. Fire flow is not provided for large lot residential development, but it is required for urban levels of development, thereby, making the level of service commensurate with the intensity of development.

Moreover, the requirement for installation of sprinklers and fire resistant construction in new structures is shifting the proportion of calls from fire response to emergency service calls for other emergency situations where aid is required.

The GMA requires that the comprehensive plan of each county planning under RCW 36.70A.040 shall include a process for identifying and siting essential public facilities. The GMA provides that no comprehensive plan or development regulations may preclude the siting of essential public facilities. If an essential public facility is of a regional, statewide, or federal nature and its location has been evaluated through a state, regional or federal siting process, the county cannot require the sponsor of the facility to go through any local siting process. The GMA allows counties to adopt comprehensive plan policies and development regulations related to the siting of essential public facilities of a local nature as long as those policies and regulations do not preclude the siting of any such facility. The county may impose reasonable conditions on any local, regional, state, or federal essential public facility. The county can require appropriate and reasonable mitigation of that development as long as the effect of the conditions and/or mitigation does not preclude the siting of the facility.

Essential public facilities include those facilities that are typically difficult to site such as airports, state education facilities, state and regional transportation facilities, state and local correctional facilities, solid waste handling facilities, and in-patient facilities including substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities, group homes, and secure community transition facilities.