CITY OF SNOHOMISH Snohomish, Washington ORDINANCE 1943 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SNOHOMISH, WASHINGTON, AMENDING CHAPTER 14.07 OF THE SNOHOMISH MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT PROCEDURES; AND ADDING A NEW SECTION 14.01.200 RELATING TO LAND USE DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT PROCEDURES. WHEREAS, the City Council considers long-range planning, as embodied in the Comprehensive Plan, essential to protect the health, safety, welfare and quality of life of the citizens of the City of Snohomish, Washington, and its environs; and WHEREAS, the City Council considers long-range planning as embodied in the Comprehensive Plan vital in establishing a stable development environment, in which a sound economic and employment base may develop; and WHEREAS, the City has found it necessary to establish procedures to amend the Comprehensive Development Plan in order to provide adjustments and revisions due to changing conditions, functions, zoning needs or amendments necessitated by changes in state or federal law; NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Snohomish, Washington do ordain as follows: Section 1. That Chapter 14.07 of the Snohomish Municipal Code, as adopted under Ordinance 1867, is hereby amended to read as follows: Chapter 14.07 Comprehensive Plan Adoption and Amendments Sections: 14.07.010 Adoption 14.07.020 Purpose 14.07.030 Amendments - Comprehensive Plan 14.07.040 Submittal Requirements and Initial Review 14.07.050 Final Docket Review 14.07.060 Cost of Environmental Studies 14.07.070 Violation Not Grounds for Invalidation 14.07.080 Project Review 14.07.010 Adoption. The City has adopted the City of Snohomish Comprehensive Plan as its comprehensive plan, per RCW 35.63 and RCW 36.70A.070. 14.07.020 Purpose. The purpose of this Chapter is to establish procedures for persons to propose amendments and revisions to the City s Comprehensive Plan and development regulations adopted under ORD 1943 1
the Growth Management Act (GMA). The procedures contained in this Chapter are not a substitute for City permitting procedures. 14.07.030 Amendments - Comprehensive Plan A. The Comprehensive Plan and development regulations are subject to continuing evaluation and review by the City. Any amendment or revision to the Comprehensive Plan shall conform to this Chapter, and any change to development regulations shall be consistent with and implement the Comprehensive Plan. B. Proposed amendments or revisions of the Comprehensive Plan shall be considered by the City no more frequently than once every year, except that amendments may be considered more frequently under the following circumstances: 1. The initial adoption of a subarea plan. 2. The amendment of the shoreline master program under the procedures set forth in RCW 90.58. All proposals shall be considered by the City concurrently so the cumulative effect of the various proposals can be ascertained. However, after appropriate public participation the City may adopt amendments or revisions to its Comprehensive Plan that conform with this chapter whenever an emergency exists. 3. An emergency amendment necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or support of the City government and its existing institutions, or for the correction of inconsistencies between plan elements or between plan elements and development regulations, or technical or mapping errors. 4. Amendments necessitated by changes in state or federal laws. 5. The resolution of an appeal filed with the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board or with a court. 6. Amendments to the capital facilities element of the City's Comprehensive Plan that occur concurrently with the adoption or amendment of the City budget. C. 1. Any person may propose amendments or revisions to the City s Comprehensive Plan and implementing development regulations adopted under GMA. Proposed amendments or revisions may be acted upon by the legislative authority of the City and may include, but are not limited to: a. The goals, objectives, policies and implementation measures of the Comprehensive Plan. b. The Land Use Designation Map. c. The urban growth area boundaries. d. The Shoreline Management Master Program, if necessary to maintain consistency between the master program and docketed amendment requests. e. Any part of the Snohomish Municipal Code adopted to meet the requirements of the GMA. 2. This Chapter is intended to supplement, and not to limit or replace, existing City authority and procedures for adopting legislation, including, but not limited to, Title 14 SMC. Nothing in this ORD 1943 2
Chapter shall be construed to limit the legislative authority of the City to consider and adopt amendments and revisions to the Comprehensive Plan and development regulations. 3. In this Chapter, department shall mean the Department of Community Services. 14.07.040 Submittal Requirements and Initial Review A. Timing of Submittal of Proposals. The department will accept written proposals for Comprehensive Plan amendments and revisions at any time; however, proposals received after April 30 of each year will be processed in the next annual amendment review cycle. B. Submittal Requirements. Any person proposing amendments or revisions of the Comprehensive Plan or development regulations under this Chapter must submit the following to the department: 1. A written description of the proposed amendment including proposed map or text changes. 2. If the proposal is for a Land Use Designation map amendment, the location of the proposed amendment on an assessor map dated and signed by the applicant. 3. If a change in the Land Use Designation is requested by owners concurrent with a requested Land Use Designation map amendment, a legal description and a notarized signature of one or more owners. 4. An explanation of why the amendment is being proposed. 5. An explanation of how the proposed amendment is consistent with GMA, the Comprehensive Plan, and any other relevant development regulations. 6. If applicable, an explanation of why existing Comprehensive Plan language should be added, modified, or deleted. 7. Where required under SEPA and/or City ordinance, a SEPA checklist. C. Initial Review and Evaluation of proposed amendments and revisions. 1. The department shall conduct an initial review and evaluation of proposed amendments and revisions, and assess the extent of review that would be required under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) prior to City Council action. The initial review and evaluation shall include any review by other City departments deemed necessary by the department. Such review shall be made in writing and shall be based on the following criteria: a. Is the proposed amendment or revision inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan, other state or federal law, or the Washington Administrative Code? b. Would the proposed amendment or revision likely cause probable adverse environmental impacts, which have not previously been considered, and is the required time to analyze probable adverse environmental impacts not available within the time frame for this annual docketing process? ORD 1943 3
c. Would the proposed amendment or revision require additional analysis to determine the need for additional capital improvements and/or revenues to maintain level-of-service and, is the time required for this analysis not available within the time frame for this annual docketing process? d. Does any goal, objective or policy of the Comprehensive Plan require that the proposed amendment or revision be considered at a future time? e. Does the proposed amendment or revision require other amendments or revisions not anticipated by the proponents and is the time required for processing those amendments or revisions not available within the time frame of this annual docketing process? f. Has the proposed amendment or revision been reviewed by the Planning Commission or City Council as part of a previous proposal and, if so, have circumstances related to the proposed amendment or revision not significantly changed to support a plan or regulation change at this time? 2. If the department determines that the answer to any of the above questions is affirmative, it shall recommend to the City Council that the proposed amendment or revision not be further processed in the current amendment review cycle. The department shall inform all applicants of its initial evaluation in writing. D. City Council Approval of Final Docket. The department shall compile a list giving the status of all proposed amendments and revisions and forward the list to the City Council. The City Council will review the list and determine in a public hearing which of the proposed amendments and revisions should be further processed. The list approved by the Council shall be known as the final docket. The decisions of the City Council shall be final and not subject to appeal. E. Processing of Final Docket. The department will process the final docket of proposed amendments and revisions approved by the Council pursuant to section (C) above, in a manner consistent with SMC Section 14.07.050. 14.07.050 Final Docket Review A. The department shall distribute the final docket of proposed amendments and revisions to any state or local agency which is required by law to review and evaluate proposed amendments and revisions to the Comprehensive Plan and implementing development regulations. The department shall also conduct any review required by SEPA of the proposed amendments and revisions listed on the final docket. The department may establish timelines and procedures as it deems necessary to administer this Chapter. B. The department shall prepare a report including any recommendations on each proposed amendment and revision on the final docket and forward the report to the Planning Commission. At a minimum, the report shall evaluate the merits of each proposed amendment and revision based upon the following criteria: 1. Does the proposed amendment or revision maintain consistency with other plan elements or development regulations? If not, are amendments or revisions to other plan elements or regulations necessary to maintain consistency on the current final docket that will be considered by the Planning Commission and the City Council? 2. Do all applicable elements of the Comprehensive Plan support the proposed amendment or revision? ORD 1943 4
3. Does the proposed amendment or revision more closely meet the goals, objectives and policies of the Comprehensive Plan? 4. Does the proposed amendment or revision comply with the requirements of the GMA? 5. Are the assumptions underlying the applicable portions of the Comprehensive Plan or development regulations no longer valid because new information is available which was not considered at the time the plan or regulation was adopted? C. The Planning Commission shall hold at least one public hearing on the final docket. Not less than ten days prior to the Planning Commission hearing, a notice of the meeting shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation. Proposals that are site specific shall follow the notice provisions of SMC Section 14.05.090.010(B). The department may, in its discretion, use such other measures as will encourage public participation in the hearing process. D. The department shall forward to the City Council the recommendations of the Planning Commission. At least ten days prior to the City Council hearing on the recommendations, a notice of the meeting shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation. The department may, in its discretion, use such other measures as will encourage public participation in the hearing process. 14.07.060 Cost of Environmental Studies. Applicants shall pay the cost of environmental review and studies under SEPA for proposed amendments or revisions with probable significant adverse environmental impacts that have not been previously analyzed. Applicants may contribute to the cost of other studies required by existing plan policies or development regulations in order to facilitate the preparation of these studies in a timely manner. Applicants may at their own expense and to the extent determined appropriate by the SEPA responsible official provide additional studies or other information. 14.07.070 Violation Not Grounds for Invalidation. Violation of this Chapter shall not constitute grounds for invalidation of any Comprehensive Plan amendment, implementing development regulation, or other legislation. 14.07.080 Project Review A. Project review shall be used to make individual project decisions, not land use planning decisions. If, during project review, the City identifies deficiencies in plans or regulations: 1. The permitting process shall not be used as a comprehensive planning process. 2. Project review shall continue. 3. The identified deficiencies shall be docketed for possible future plan or development regulation amendments. B. For the purposes of this section, a deficiency in the Comprehensive Plan or development regulations refers to the absence of required or potentially desirable contents of the Comprehensive Plan or development regulations. It does not refer to whether a development regulation addresses a project s probable specific adverse environmental impacts which the City could mitigate in the normal project review process. ORD 1943 5
C. For the purposes of this section, docketing refers to compiling and maintaining a list of suggested changes to the Comprehensive Plan or development regulations, ensuring that suggested changes will be considered by the City and will be available for review by the public. Section 2. That a new Section 14.01.200 is hereby added to the Snohomish Municipal Code to read as follows: 14.01.200 Procedures for Amendments to the Land Use Development Code A. All proposed amendments to the Land Use Development Code (SMC Title 14) shall be consistent with the Growth Management Act and the City s adopted Comprehensive Plan. Any person may propose a change to the City s Land Use Development Code. The following process shall govern the method of proposed changes: 1. Prior to submitting a proposed change, applicants shall meet with the City Planner or his or her designee at an informal session to discuss the proposal. 2. The applicant shall supply the following as part of their proposal: a. All suggested changes shall be in writing and shall be accompanied by forms provided by the department and signed and notarized by the applicant. b. Describe in detail how the proposal is consistent with the City s Comprehensive Plan. c. Describe in detail how the proposal is consistent with the purposes of the Land Use Development Code. d. Provide the specific proposed text changes. e. Describe the relative benefit to the public health, safety and welfare arising from the proposed change. B. Timing. The following procedures shall govern the timing for consideration of any proposed change to the Land Use Development Code: 1. The City Planner shall maintain a Long Range Planning Schedule for the Planning Commission. 2. The schedule shall be reviewed and approved by the City Council annually. 3. Any proposed amendments received by the department after November 1 of each year shall be held until the following year schedule review by the City Council. 4. In December of each year the City Council shall review and approve the Planning Commission s Long Range Planning Schedule for the following year. The City Council may amend the Long Range Planning Schedule at any time. ORD 1943 6
ATTEST: PASSED by the City Council and APPROVED by the Mayor this 18th day of April, 2000 CITY OF SNOHOMISH A. Douglas Thorndike, Mayor Torchie Corey, Admin/Finance Manager APPROVED AS TO FORM: Grant Weed, City Attorney ORD 1943 7