The Pierce County Council is preparing to launch a multi-year review of county development regulations that could dramatically cut the volume of rules governing everything from landscaping to road design.

Councilman Shawn Bunney, R-Lake Tapps, who is spearheading the effort, bills it as an economic development initiative.

�It�s an opportunity to make Pierce County a better place to do business,� Bunney said at a County Council Economic and Infrastructure Development Committee meeting last week.

The initiative stems from a report the council requested last year examining ways the county could stimulate the local economy in the face of recession. The county�s economic development department recommended a review of county development regulations � rules that set standards for residential and commercial development.

Those rules have proliferated as the county has developed countywide and community regulations. The volume of development rules has grown from 370 pages in 1999 to about 1,500 pages.

�The sheer volume of the code, I think, is frustrating to the public,� Bunney said. Conflicting regulations also can be a problem. Different community plans contain different standards on things such as vegetation requirements and rules for connecting new roads to existing ones.

The plan outlined last week would involve tackling several areas � including native vegetation, tree conservation, open space and development density requirements � in 2009. Other regulations would be reviewed in the future.

Bunney said he believes the volume of pages in the code could be cut in half in the first year. One local resident urged caution in reviewing the rules. Bud Rehberg, a member of the county�s Graham Advisory Commission, acknowledged there are problems with the regulations. But he said there might be good reasons why rules vary from community to community.

�Perhaps one size does not fit all,� Rehberg told the committee last week.

Bunney said the review would be a fair and open process. And he acknowledged it won�t be easy.

�If this was an easy project, it would have already been done,� he said.

The committee approved the plan by a vote of 5-0. The full council will consider the measure Tuesday.

David Wickert: 253-274-7341
david.wickert@thenewstribune.com