Revised Code of Washington
Chapter 39.104 - Local Revitalization Financing.
39.104.020 - Definitions.

RCW 39.104.020
Definitions.

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Annual state contribution limit" means two million five hundred thousand dollars statewide per fiscal year, plus the additional amounts approved for demonstration projects in RCW 82.14.505.
(2) "Approving agency" means the department of revenue for project awards approved before June 9, 2016, and the department of commerce for project awards approved after June 9, 2016.
(3) "Assessed value" means the valuation of taxable real property as placed on the last completed assessment roll.
(4) "Bond" means a bond, a note or other evidence of indebtedness, including but not limited to a lease-purchase agreement or an executory conditional sales contract.
(5) "Department" means the department of revenue.
(6) "Fiscal year" means the twelve-month period beginning July 1st and ending the following June 30th.
(7) "Local government" means any city, town, county, and port district.
(8) "Local property tax allocation revenue" means those tax revenues derived from the receipt of regular property taxes levied on the property tax allocation revenue value and used for local revitalization financing.
(9) "Local revitalization financing" means the use of revenues from local public sources, dedicated to pay the principal and interest on bonds authorized under RCW 39.104.110 and public improvement costs within the revitalization area on a pay-as-you-go basis, and revenues received from the local option sales and use tax authorized in RCW 82.14.510, dedicated to pay the principal and interest on bonds authorized under RCW 39.104.110.
(10) "Local sales and use tax increment" means the estimated annual increase in local sales and use taxes as determined by the local government in the calendar years following the approval of the revitalization area by the department from taxable activity within the revitalization area.
(11) "Local sales and use taxes" means local revenues derived from the imposition of sales and use taxes authorized in RCW 82.14.030.
(12) "Ordinance" means any appropriate method of taking legislative action by a local government.
(13) "Participating local government" means a local government having a revitalization area within its geographic boundaries that has taken action as provided in RCW 39.104.070(1) to allow the use of all or some of its local sales and use tax increment or other revenues from local public sources dedicated for local revitalization financing.
(14) "Participating taxing district" means a taxing district that:
(a) Has a revitalization area wholly or partially within its geographic boundaries;
(b) Levies or has levied for it regular property taxes as defined in this section; and
(c) Has not taken action as provided in RCW 39.104.060(2).
(15) "Permanently affordable housing" means housing, regardless of ownership, for which there is a legally binding, recorded document in effect that limits the price at which the owner may sell or restricts the occupancy of the unit to a qualified, low-income household, for a period of at least forty years for a property used for shelter or rental housing, or for a period of at least twenty-five years for a property to be owned by a low-income household. These documents include, but are not limited to, affordability covenants, deed restrictions, and community land trust leases. Resale restrictions exercised by providers of permanently affordable housing can include, but are not limited to:
(a) Continuous ownership of land by a public entity or nonprofit housing provider with a lease allowing ownership of the structure by an income-eligible household;
(b) A nonpossessory interest or right in real property, such as a deed restriction, restrictive covenant, resale restriction[,] or other contractual agreement, that ensures affordability.
(16) "Property tax allocation revenue base value" means the assessed value of real property located within a revitalization area, less the property tax allocation revenue value.
(17)(a)(i) "Property tax allocation revenue value" means seventy-five percent of any increase in the assessed value of real property in a revitalization area resulting from:
(A) The placement of new construction, improvements to property, or both, on the assessment roll, where the new construction and improvements are initiated after the revitalization area is approved;
(B) The cost of new housing construction, conversion, and rehabilitation improvements, when the cost is treated as new construction for purposes of chapter 84.55 RCW as provided in RCW 84.14.020, and the new housing construction, conversion, and rehabilitation improvements are initiated after the revitalization area is approved;
(C) The cost of rehabilitation of historic property, when the cost is treated as new construction for purposes of chapter 84.55 RCW as provided in RCW 84.26.070, and the rehabilitation is initiated after the revitalization area is approved.
(ii) Increases in the assessed value of real property in a revitalization area resulting from (a)(i)(A) through (C) of this subsection are included in the property tax allocation revenue value in the initial year. These same amounts are also included in the property tax allocation revenue value in subsequent years unless the property becomes exempt from property taxation.
(b) "Property tax allocation revenue value" includes seventy-five percent of any increase in the assessed value of new construction consisting of an entire building in the years following the initial year, unless the building becomes exempt from property taxation.
(c) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, "property tax allocation revenue value" does not include any increase in the assessed value of real property after the initial year.
(d) There is no property tax allocation revenue value if the assessed value of real property in a revitalization area has not increased as a result of any of the reasons specified in (a)(i)(A) through (C) of this subsection.
(e) For purposes of this subsection, "initial year" means:
(i) For new construction and improvements to property added to the assessment roll, the year during which the new construction and improvements are initially placed on the assessment roll;
(ii) For the cost of new housing construction, conversion, and rehabilitation improvements, when the cost is treated as new construction for purposes of chapter 84.55 RCW, the year when the cost is treated as new construction for purposes of levying taxes for collection in the following year; and
(iii) For the cost of rehabilitation of historic property, when the cost is treated as new construction for purposes of chapter 84.55 RCW, the year when such cost is treated as new construction for purposes of levying taxes for collection in the following year.
(18) "Public improvement costs" means the costs of:
(a) Design, planning, acquisition, including land acquisition, site preparation including land clearing, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement, and installation of public improvements;
(b) Demolishing, relocating, maintaining, and operating property pending construction of public improvements;
(c) Relocating utilities as a result of public improvements;
(d) Financing public improvements, including interest during construction, legal and other professional services, taxes, insurance, principal and interest costs on general indebtedness issued to finance public improvements, and any necessary reserves for general indebtedness; and
(e) Administrative expenses and feasibility studies reasonably necessary and related to these costs, including related costs that may have been incurred before adoption of the ordinance authorizing the public improvements and the use of local revitalization financing to fund the costs of the public improvements.
(19) "Public improvements" means:
(a) Infrastructure improvements within the revitalization area that include:
(i) Street, road, bridge, and rail construction and maintenance;
(ii) Water and sewer system construction and improvements;
(iii) Sidewalks, streetlights, landscaping, and streetscaping;
(iv) Parking, terminal, and dock facilities;
(v) Park and ride facilities of a transit authority;
(vi) Park facilities, recreational areas, and environmental remediation;
(vii) Stormwater and drainage management systems;
(viii) Electric, gas, fiber, and other utility infrastructures;
(b) Expenditures for any of the following purposes:
(i) Providing environmental analysis, professional management, planning, and promotion within the revitalization area, including the management and promotion of retail trade activities in the revitalization area;
(ii) Providing maintenance and security for common or public areas in the revitalization area; or
(iii) Historic preservation activities authorized under RCW 35.21.395; and
(c) Expenditures to purchase, rehabilitate, retrofit for energy efficiency, and construct housing for the purpose of creating or preserving permanently affordable housing.
(20) "Real property" has the same meaning as in RCW 84.04.090 and also includes any privately owned improvements located on publicly owned land that are subject to property taxation.
(21)(a) "Regular property taxes" means regular property taxes as defined in RCW 84.04.140, except: (i) Regular property taxes levied by public utility districts specifically for the purpose of making required payments of principal and interest on general indebtedness; (ii) regular property taxes levied by the state for the support of common schools under RCW 84.52.065; and (iii) regular property taxes authorized by RCW 84.55.050 that are limited to a specific purpose.
(b) "Regular property taxes" do not include:
(i) Excess property tax levies that are exempt from the aggregate limits for junior and senior taxing districts as provided in RCW 84.52.043; and
(ii) Property taxes that are specifically excluded through an interlocal agreement between the sponsoring local government and a participating taxing district as set forth in RCW 39.104.060(3).
(22)(a) "Revenues from local public sources" means:
(i) The local sales and use tax amounts received as a result of interlocal agreement, local sales and use tax amounts from sponsoring local governments based on its local sales and use tax increment, and local property tax allocation revenues, which are dedicated by a sponsoring local government, participating local governments, and participating taxing districts, for payment of bonds under RCW 39.104.110 or public improvement costs within the revitalization area on a pay-as-you-go basis; and
(ii) Any other local revenues, except as provided in (b) of this subsection, including revenues derived from federal and private sources and amounts received by taxing districts as set forth by an interlocal agreement as described in RCW 39.104.060(4), which are dedicated for the payment of bonds under RCW 39.104.110 or public improvement costs within the revitalization area on a pay-as-you-go basis.
(b) Revenues from local public sources do not include any local funds derived from state grants, state loans, or any other state moneys including any local sales and use taxes credited against the state sales and use taxes imposed under chapter 82.08 or 82.12 RCW.
(23) "Revitalization area" means the geographic area adopted by a sponsoring local government and approved by the approving agency, from which local sales and use tax increments are estimated and property tax allocation revenues are derived for local revitalization financing.
(24) "Sponsoring local government" means a city, town, county, or any combination thereof, that adopts a revitalization area.
(25) "State contribution" means the lesser of:
(a) Five hundred thousand dollars;
(b) The project award amount approved by the approving agency as provided in RCW 39.104.100 or 82.14.505; or
(c) The total amount of revenues from local public sources dedicated in the preceding calendar year to the payment of principal and interest on bonds issued under RCW 39.104.110 and public improvement costs within the revitalization area on a pay-as-you-go basis. Revenues from local public sources dedicated in the preceding calendar year that are in excess of the project award may be carried forward and used in later years for the purpose of this subsection (25)(c).
(26) "State property tax increment" means the estimated amount of annual tax revenues estimated to be received by the state from the imposition of property taxes levied by the state for the support of common schools under RCW 84.52.065 on the property tax allocation revenue value, as determined by the sponsoring local government in an application under RCW 39.104.100 and updated periodically as required in RCW 82.32.765.
(27) "State sales and use tax increment" means the estimated amount of annual increase in state sales and use taxes to be received by the state from taxable activity within the revitalization area in the years following the approval of the revitalization area as determined by the sponsoring local government in an application under RCW 39.104.100 and updated periodically as required in RCW 82.32.765.
(28) "State sales and use taxes" means state retail sales and use taxes under RCW 82.08.020(1) and 82.12.020 at the rate provided in RCW 82.08.020(1), less the amount of tax distributions from all local retail sales and use taxes, other than the local sales and use taxes authorized by RCW 82.14.510 for the applicable revitalization area, imposed on the same taxable events that are credited against the state retail sales and use taxes under RCW 82.08.020(1) and 82.12.020.
(29) "Taxing district" means a government entity that levies or has levied for it regular property taxes upon real property located within a proposed or approved revitalization area.

[ 2020 c 280 § 3; 2016 c 207 § 1; 2010 c 164 § 1; 2009 c 270 § 102.]
NOTES:

Reviser's note: The definitions in this section have been alphabetized pursuant to RCW 1.08.015(2)(k).