Title 35, CITIES AND TOWNS

For the purpose of paying all or a portion of the cost of heating facilities, a municipality may form local improvement districts or utility local improvement districts, foreclose on, levy, and collect assessments, reassessments, and supplemental assessments; and issue local impr…

For the purpose of providing funds for defraying all or a portion of the costs of planning, purchase, leasing, condemnation, or other acquisition, construction, reconstruction, development, improvement, extension, repair, maintenance, or operation of a heating system, and the imp…

If the legislative authority of a municipality deems it advisable to finance all or a portion of the costs of planning, purchase, leasing, condemnation, or other acquisition, construction, reconstruction, development, improvement, and extension of a heating system, or for the imp…

Revenue warrants may be issued and such warrants and interest thereon may be payable out of the special fund or refunded through the proceeds of the sale of refunding revenue warrants or revenue bonds. Every revenue warrant and the interest thereon issued against the special fund…

If a municipality fails to set aside and pay into the special fund created for the payment of revenue bonds and warrants the amount which it has obligated itself in the ordinance or resolution creating the fund to set aside and pay therein, the holder of any bond or warrant issue…

The provisions of this title insofar as they are substantially the same as statutory provisions repealed by this chapter, and relating to the same subject matter, shall be construed as restatements and continuations, and not as new enactments. [ 1965 c 7 s 35.98.010.]

If any provision, section, or chapter of this title or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the provision, section, chapter, or title, or the application thereof to other persons or circumstances is not affected. [ 1965 c 7 s 35.98.030.]…

See 1965 c 7 s 35.98.040.

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise. (1) "Cable television service" means the one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming and other programming service and subscriber interaction, if any, that is…

A city or town may grant, issue, or deny permits for the use of the right-of-way by a service provider for installing, maintaining, repairing, or removing facilities for telecommunications services or cable television services pursuant to ordinances, consistent with chapter 83, L…

(1) Cities and towns may require a service provider to obtain a master permit. A city or town may request, but not require, that a service provider with an existing statewide grant to occupy the right-of-way obtain a master permit for wireline facilities. (a) The procedures for t…

(1) A city or town shall not adopt or enforce regulations or ordinances specifically relating to use of the right-of-way by a service provider that: (a) Impose requirements that regulate the services or business operations of the service provider, except where otherwise authorize…

A city or town shall not place or extend a moratorium on the acceptance and processing of applications, permitting, construction, maintenance, repair, replacement, extension, operation, or use of any facilities for personal wireless services, except as consistent with the guideli…

(1) Cities and towns may require service providers to relocate authorized facilities within the right-of-way when reasonably necessary for construction, alteration, repair, or improvement of the right-of-way for purposes of public welfare, health, or safety. (2) Cities shall noti…

A city or town may require that a service provider that is constructing, relocating, or placing ducts or conduits in public rights-of-way provide the city or town with additional duct or conduit and related structures necessary to access the conduit, provided that: (1) The city o…

Chapter 83, Laws of 2000 shall not preempt specific provisions in existing franchises or contracts between cities or towns and service providers. [ 2000 c 83 s 9.]

(1) The legislature finds: (a) The continued economic vitality of downtown and neighborhood commercial districts in our state's cities is essential to community preservation, social cohesion, and economic growth; (b) In recent years there has been a deterioration of downtown and …

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise. (1) "Community revitalization project" means: (a) Health and safety improvements authorized to be publicly financed under chapter 35.80 or 35.81 RCW; (b) Publicly owned or…

Local retail sales and use tax increment revenue, or any portion thereof, may be applied as follows: (1) To pay downtown or neighborhood commercial district community revitalization costs; (2) To pay into bond redemption funds established to pay the principal and interest on gene…

(1) The legislative authority of a city or town may authorize the use of local sales and use tax increment revenue for any purpose authorized in this chapter within the boundaries of a downtown or one or more neighborhood commercial districts. (2) Prior to authorizing the use of …

A city or town shall determine at its own cost the amount of local sales and use tax increment revenue that may be generated in the downtown and neighborhood commercial districts it designates. The department of revenue may, at its discretion, provide advice or other assistance t…

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter. (1) "Area" means a tourism promotion area. (2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, "legislative authority" means the legislative authority of any county, …

For the purpose of establishing a tourism promotion area, an initiation petition must be presented to the legislative authority having jurisdiction of the area in which the proposed tourism promotion area is to be located. The initiation petition must include the following: (1) A…

A legislative authority shall, after receiving a valid initiation petition under RCW 35.101.020, adopt a resolution of intention to establish an area. The resolution must state: (1) The time and place of a hearing to be held by the legislative authority to consider the establishm…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, no legislative authority may establish a tourism promotion area that includes within the boundaries of the area: (a) Any portion of an incorporated city or town, if the legislative authority is that of the county; and (b) …

A legislative authority may impose a charge on the furnishing of lodging by a lodging business located in the area. (1) There shall not be more than six classifications upon which a charge can be imposed. (2) Classifications can be based upon the number of rooms, room revenue, or…

(1) A legislative authority shall contract, prior to the effective date of an ordinance imposing a lodging charge under RCW 35.101.050, for the administration and collection of the charge by the state department of revenue. The department may deduct a percentage amount, as provid…

The lodging charge authorized in RCW 35.101.050 does not apply to temporary medical housing exempt under RCW 82.08.997, or any lodging business, lodging unit, or lodging guest so designated by the legislative authority. [ 2024 c 68 s 1; 2008 c 137 s 6.] Notes: Application—2024 c …

(1) In addition to the two dollar charge authorized by RCW 35.101.050, a legislative authority may impose an additional charge of up to three dollars per night of stay on the furnishing of lodging by a lodging business located in the area. To impose the additional charge, signatu…

Each tourism promotion area must conduct a program review of the additional tourism promotion area charge established in RCW 35.101.057. The review must be completed and submitted to the appropriate committees of the legislature by January 1, 2026. The review must: (1) Analyze ho…

Notice of a hearing held under RCW 35.101.030 shall be given by: (1) One publication of the resolution of intention in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or county in which the area is to be established; and (2) Mailing a complete copy of the resolution of intention t…

Whenever a hearing is held under RCW 35.101.030, the legislative authority shall hear all protests and receive evidence for or against the proposed action. The legislative authority may continue the hearing from time to time. Proceedings shall terminate if protest is made by the …

Only after an initiation petition has been presented to the legislative authority under RCW 35.101.020 and only after the legislative authority has conducted a hearing under RCW 35.101.030, may the legislative authority adopt an ordinance to establish an area. If the legislative …

(1) The charge authorized by this chapter shall be administered by the department of revenue and shall be collected by lodging businesses from those persons who are taxable by the state under chapter 82.08 RCW. Chapter 82.32 RCW applies to the charge imposed under this chapter. (…

The local tourism promotion account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from the charges for tourism promotion must be deposited into this account. Expenditures from the account may only be used for tourism promotion. The state treasurer shall distribut…

The charges imposed under this chapter are in addition to the special assessments that may be levied under chapter 35.87A RCW. [ 2003 c 148 s 11.]

The charges imposed under this chapter are not a tax on the "sale of lodging" for the purposes of RCW 82.14.410. [ 2003 c 148 s 12.]

(1) The legislative authority imposing the charge shall have sole discretion as to how the revenue derived from the charge is to be used to promote tourism that increases the number of tourists to the area. However, the legislative authority may appoint existing advisory boards o…

The legislative authority may disestablish an area by ordinance after a hearing before the legislative authority. The legislative authority shall adopt a resolution of intention to disestablish the area at least fifteen days prior to the hearing required by this section. The reso…

The legislature finds that businesses in Washington are concerned about the potential for multiple taxation that arises due to the various city business and occupation taxes and are concerned about the lack of uniformity among city jurisdictions. The current system has a negative…

Chapter 79, Laws of 2003 does not apply to taxes on any service that historically or traditionally has been taxed as a utility business for municipal tax purposes, such as: (1) A light and power business or a natural gas distribution business, as defined in RCW 82.16.010; (2) A t…

The definitions in this section apply throughout chapter 79, Laws of 2003, unless the context clearly requires otherwise. (1) "Business" has the same meaning as given in chapter 82.04 RCW. (2) "City" means a city, town, or code city. (3) "Business and occupation tax" or "gross re…

(1)(a) The cities, working through the association of Washington cities, shall form a model ordinance development committee made up of a representative sampling of cities that as of July 27, 2003, impose a business and occupation tax. This committee shall work through the associa…

A city may not impose a business and occupation tax on a person unless that person has nexus with the city. For the purposes of this section, the term "nexus" means business activities conducted by a person sufficient to subject that person to the taxing jurisdiction of a city un…

(1) A city that imposes a business and occupation tax shall provide for a system of credits to avoid multiple taxation as follows: (a) Persons who engage in business activities that are within the purview of more than one classification of the tax shall be taxable under each appl…

A city that imposes a business and occupation tax must allow reporting and payment of tax on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. The frequency for any particular person may be assigned at the discretion of the city, except that monthly reporting may be assigned only if it can …