The Washington State Legislature passed the Growth Management Act (GMA) in 1990 to encourage wise land use and planning. In 1991, it created growth management hearings boards to resolve land use disputes quickly - rather than a single state-wide board, three independent boards were established in order to reflect regional diversity. The jurisdictional regions for the three boards are as follows:

• Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board (CPSGMHB): includes King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap Counties and the cities within those counties.
• Eastern Washington Growth Management Hearings Board (EWGMHB): includes all counties and cities east of the crest of the Cascade Mountains which are required to plan or choose to plan under the Act.
• Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board (WWGMHB): includes all counties and cities west of the crest of the Cascade Mountains which are required to plan or choose to plan under the Act, but are not within the Central Puget Sound Board’s jurisdictional boundaries.