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Home My WebLink AboutFinal Interlocal Agreement with Franklin County Conservation District 2.19.2026 INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR PRIORITY HABITAT MITIGATION This Interlocal Agreement (Agreement) for habitat mitigation required as a result of development occurring on sites containing critical areas as defined in Section 29.25 of the Pasco Municipal Code (PMC) is entered into by and between the City of Pasco (the City) and the Franklin Conservation District (the District), referred to individually as Party and collectively as Parties, pursuant to the Interlocal Cooperation Act, Chapter 39.34 Revised Code of Washington (RCW). WHEREAS, Chapter 39.34 of the RCW permits local government units to make the most efficient use of their powers by enabling them to cooperate with other localities and thereby to provide services and facilities in a manner that will accord the best geographic, economic, population, and other factors influencing the needs and development of local communities; and WHEREAS, the City finds that critical areas provide a variety of valuable and beneficial biological and physical functions that benefit the City and its residents; and WHEREAS, the beneficial functions and values provided by critical areas include, but are not limited to, water quality protection and enhancement, fish and wildlife habitat, support of trophic relationships, flood storage, conveyance and attenuation, ground water recharge and discharge, erosion control, historical and archaeological and aesthetic value protection, and recreation; and WHEREAS, the City has established goals that seek to protect unique, fragile, and valuable elements of the environment, including ground and surface waters, wetlands, and fish and wildlife and their habitats; direct activities not dependent on critical area resources to less ecologically sensitive sites; mitigate unavoidable impacts to critical areas by regulating alterations in and adjacent to critical areas; and prevent cumulative adverse environmental impacts to water quality, wetlands, and fish and wildlife habitat, and the overall net loss of wetlands, frequently flooded areas and habitat conservation areas; and WHEREAS, the City shall not approve any permit or otherwise issue any authorization to alter the condition of any land, water, or vegetation, or to construct or alter any structure or improvement in, over, or on a critical area or associated buffer, without first assuring compliance with the requirements of Pasco Municipal Code 29.25; and WHEREAS, the District was founded in 1951 as a political subdivision of the State of Washington under RCW 89.08; and WHEREAS, the District’s function is to make available technical, financial, and educational resources, whatever their source, and focus or coordinate them so that they meet the needs of the local citizens and land managers for the conservation of soil, water and related natural resources; and WHEREAS, the District’s mission is to facilitate responsible stewardship of natural resources for the residents of Franklin County through the application and administration of various volunteer and cooperative partnership programs using all available funding sources; and WHEREAS, the District has an express interest in the preservation and enhancement of priority habitat as a means to provide soil stabilization and food and cover for wildlife; and WHEREAS, a partnership between the City and the District would result in the establishment of a Habitat Mitigation ILA Page 1 process for the enhancement and protection of priority habitat such as shrub-steppe habitat, wetlands, riparian habitat and other critical areas identified in PMC 29.25; NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein, and upon approval in accordance with RCW 39.34, the Parties do hereby agree as follows: I. TERMS OF AGREEMENT 1. This Agreement is for the coordination of mitigation of impacts to priority habitat as a result of development. 2. The duration of this Agreement will be from the date last signed until either Party determines that the arrangement is no longer needed. 3. The City will identify impacts to priority habitat, and the required measures to mitigate those impacts, during the development review process through the use of critical area reports submitted by the developer and best available science. 4. The District shall participate in mitigation by accepting fees in lieu of dedication or preservation of onsite habitat. The amount of said fees will be determined by the City and will be in an amount equal to the value of land that would otherwise be purchased for preservation. 5. The District shall use said fees for the purchasing of habitat and/or conservation easements or for the enhancement of degraded habitat located in Franklin County. If no suitable site within Franklin County can be identified, protection or enhancement may occur in any neighboring county that shares a border with Franklin County. 6. The mitigation fee shall be set at $4,000 per acre, with a mandatory review and renegotiation occurring at three-year intervals.. 7. Fees in lieu of dedication or preservation shall be used for the enhancement of, or protection through purchase or conservation easement of the same type of habitat located on the site to be developed. For example, if shrub-steppe habitat is to be impacted on a development site, fees in lieu of protection paid to the District must be used for the preservation or enhancement of shrub- steppe habitat. 8. The District shall provide an Annual Report detailing how the fees received were utilized to meet the objection of this Agreement. The Annual Report will identify the City of Pasco permit number associated with the fee, location of the affected site, method of preservation or enhancement (conservation easement, purchase of habitat, enhancement of habitat, etc.), location of preservation or enhancement site and how much of the fee was spent. 9. The administrators of this Agreement will be the District Manager for the Franklin Conservation District and the Community and Economic Development Director for the City of Pasco, or their designees. 10. The Parties may only modify this Agreement in writing. 11. Any Party hereto may terminate this Agreement upon Ninety (90)-days' notice in writing either personally delivered or mailed postage-prepaid by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Habitat Mitigation ILA Page 2 Party's last known address for the purposes of giving notice under this paragraph. 12. The Parties shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations in carrying out the terms of this Agreement. 13. A copy of this Agreement will be filed with the Franklin County Auditor's Office or posted on the City of Pasco or Franklin Conservation District website as provided in RCW 39.34.040. II. NOTICES 1. Written notice shall be directed to the Parties as follows: Franklin Conservation District City of Pasco Kara Kaelber, District Manager 1724 E. Superior Street, Pasco, WA 99301 509-416-0440x101 kara-kaelber@franklincd.org Haylie Matson, Community & Economic Development Director 525 N 3rd Ave. Pasco, WA 99301 509-544-4136 matsonh@pasco-wa.gov IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed on the date first written above. CITY OF PASCO, WASHINGTON FRANKLIN CONSERVATION DISTRICT ____________________________ __________________________________ Haylie Matson, CED Director Kara Kaelber, District Manager ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: ____________________________ ___________________________________ City Clerk Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC, City Attorney DATED: __________________ Habitat Mitigation ILA Page 3 4/9/2026