Washington · statute · Wash. Rev. Code ch. 35.02 · 42 active provisions
The incorporation of a city or town is subject to review by a boundary review board under chapter 36.93 RCW if a boundary review board exists in the county in which all or any portion of the territory proposed to be incorporated is located.
The purpose of chapter 35.02 RCW is to provide a clear and uniform process for the incorporation of cities or towns operating under either Title 35 or 35A RCW. An incorporation may result in the creation of a second-class city or town operating under Title 35 RCW or a noncharter code city operating under Title 35A RCW.
Any contiguous area containing not less than 1,500 inhabitants lying outside the limits of an incorporated city or town may become incorporated as a city or town operating under Title 35 or 35A RCW as provided in this chapter.
Any person proposing the incorporation of a city or town shall file a notice of the proposed incorporation with the county legislative authority of the county in which all or the major portion of the proposed city or town is located. The notice shall include the matters required to be included in the incorporation peti…
Within one working day after the public meeting under RCW 35.02.015, the county auditor shall provide an identification number for the incorporation effort to the person who made the notice of proposing the incorporation. The identification number shall be included on the petition proposing the incorporation.The petiti…
A petition for incorporation must be signed by registered voters resident within the limits of the proposed city or town equal in number to at least ten percent of the number of voters residing within the proposed city or town and filed with the auditor of the county in which all, or the largest portion of, the propose…
The petition for incorporation shall: (1) Indicate whether the proposed city or town shall be a noncharter code city operating under Title 35A RCW, or a city or town operating under Title 35 RCW; (2) indicate the form or plan of government the city or town is to have; (3) set forth and particularly describe the propose…
The county auditor shall within thirty days from the time of receiving said petition determine if the petition contains a sufficient number of valid signatures. If the proposed city or town is located in more than one county, the auditor shall immediately transmit a copy of the petition to the auditor of the other coun…
The county auditor who certifies the sufficiency of the petition shall notify the person or persons who submitted the petition of its sufficiency within five days of when the determination of sufficiency is made. Notice shall be by certified mail and may additionally be made by telephone. If a boundary review board or…
(1) The county legislative authority of the county in which the proposed city or town is located shall hold a public hearing on the proposed incorporation if no boundary review board exists in the county. The public hearing shall be held within sixty days of when the county auditor notifies the legislative authority of…
Notice of the public hearing by the county legislative authority on the proposed incorporation shall be by one publication in not more than ten nor less than three days prior to the date set for said hearing in one or more newspapers of general circulation within the area proposed to be incorporated. Said notice shall…
(1) If a county legislative authority holds a public hearing on a proposed incorporation, it shall establish and define the boundaries of the proposed city or town, being authorized to decrease or increase the area proposed in the petition under the same restrictions that a boundary review board may modify the proposed…
An election shall be held in the area proposed to be incorporated to determine whether the proposed city or town shall be incorporated when the boundary review board takes action on the proposal other than disapproving the proposal, or if the county legislative authority does not disapprove the proposal as provided in…
Each candidate for a city or town elective position shall file a declaration of candidacy with the county auditor of the county in which all or the major portion of the city or town is located not more than sixty days nor less than forty-five days prior to the primary election at which the initial elected officials are…
The elections on the proposed incorporation and for the nomination and election of the initial elected officials shall be conducted in accordance with the general election laws of the state, except as provided in this chapter. No person is entitled to vote thereat unless he or she is a qualified elector of the county,…
The notice of election on the question of the incorporation shall be given as provided by RCW 29A.52.355 and shall describe the boundaries of the proposed city or town, its name, and the number of inhabitants ascertained by the county legislative authority or the boundary review board to reside in it.
The ballots in the initial election on the question of incorporation shall contain the words "for incorporation" and "against incorporation" or words equivalent thereto.
If the results reveal that a majority of the votes cast are for incorporation, the city or town shall become incorporated as provided in RCW 35.02.130. If the proposed city or town is located in more than one county, the auditors of the county or counties in which the smaller portion or portions of the proposed city or…
A newly incorporated city or town shall be liable for its proportionate share of the costs of all elections, after the election on whether the area should be incorporated, at which an issue relating to the city or town is placed before the voters, as if the city or town was in existence after the election at which vote…
The city or town officially shall become incorporated at a date from 180 days to 360 days after the date of the election on the question of incorporation. An interim period shall exist between the time the newly elected officials have been elected and qualified and this official date of incorporation. During this inter…
The newly elected officials shall adopt an interim budget for the interim period or until January 1 of the following year, whichever occurs first. A second interim budget shall be adopted for any period between January 1 and the official date of incorporation. These interim budgets shall be adopted in consultation with…
Upon the certification of election of officers, the governing body may by resolution borrow money from the municipal sales and use tax equalization account, up to one hundred thousand dollars or five dollars per capita based on the population estimate required by RCW 35.02.030, whichever is less.The loan authorized by…
During the interim period, the governing body of the newly formed city or town may adopt resolutions establishing moratoria during the interim transition period on the filing of applications with the county for development permits or approvals, including, but not limited [to], subdivision approvals, short subdivision a…
An election shall be held to elect city or town elected officials at the next municipal general election occurring more than twelve months after the date of the first election of councilmembers or commissioners. Candidates shall run for specific council or commission positions. The staggering of terms of members of the…
Whenever in any territory forming a part of an incorporated city or town which is part of a road district, and road district regular property taxes are collectable on any property within such territory, the same shall, when collected by the county treasurer, be paid to such city or town and placed in the city or town s…