StffRrpt_Resolution_Exhibit A_Exhibit B_Exhibit C 07282026

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BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COUNTY OF KITTITAS STATE OF WASHINGTON RESOLUTION NO. 2026- EXTENDING THE MORATORIUM ON ALL NEW APPLICATIONS INTENDING THE USE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 17.13, TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS, OF THE KITTITAS COUNTY CODE WHEREAS, on June 8, 2026, the Kittitas County Board of County Commissioners adopted Resolution No. 2026-101, enacting an emergency moratorium on the acceptance of any new Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) applications within Kittitas County for a period of at least six (6) months from June 8, 2026, in direct response to concerns raised by Community Development Staff and the Washington State Department of Commerce regarding the County's TDR program under KCC Chapter 17.13; and WHEREAS, the Washington State Department of Commerce, in its May 22, 2026 comment letter on the County's 60-day notice of intent to amend development regulations (Exhibit B), strongly recommended that Kittitas County amend or rescind its current TDR program because implementation guidelines are ambiguous and misapplication may have the opposite effect of the program's intent, which is encouraging growth in rural areas rather than directing it toward cities and Urban Growth Areas consistent with the Growth Management Act; and WHEREAS, Commerce specifically identified the following deficiencies in KCC Chapter 17.13 that must be addressed to align with GMA requirements: (a) definitions in KCC 17.13.015, particularly the definition of "Receiving site," which broadly designates all rural lands without differentiation based on existing public infrastructure, services, or urban character, inconsistent with the GMA's UGA framework under RCW 36.70A.110; (b) eligible receiving sites under KCC 17.13.030(1)(e), (f), and (g) (unincorporated PUDs, long plats increasing density, and all parcels designated as Rural Land), which allow broad rural -to -rural transfers without requiring proximity to infrastructure or consistency with urban growth policies; and (c) the exchange rate table and application process in KCC 17.13.080, which lack clarity on whether "additional units" are calculated on top of underlying zoning or represent total allowed density, and which include a "Rural Development" category that undermines rural character protections; and WHEREAS, TDR programs are intended under the GMA to protect natural resource lands (RCW 36.70A.070(5)) and rural character (RCW 36.70A.030(38)) by extinguishing development rights on sending sites (farm, forest, and rural lands) and directing density credits to appropriate urban