Chapter 16.04
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENTS
Sections:
16.04.010 Purpose and statutory authority.
16.04.020 Types of comprehensive plan amendments defined.
16.04.030 Emergency comprehensive plan amendments.
16.04.040 Capital facilities element comprehensive plan amendments.
16.04.050 Annual comprehensive plan amendments.
16.04.060 Docketing of annual comprehensive plan amendment applications.
16.04.070 Initiation of annual comprehensive plan amendment applications.
16.04.080 Approval criteria for comprehensive plan amendments.
16.04.090 Amendment review process – Staff report.
16.04.100 Amendment review process – Planning commission.
16.04.110 Amendment review process – City council.
16.04.130 Transmittal of comprehensive plan amendments to the state.
16.04.010 Purpose and statutory authority.
A. The purpose of this chapter is to set forth the criteria and procedures for reviewing and evaluating proposed amendments to the city’s comprehensive plan consistent with the requirements of the State Growth Management Act.
B. The Growth Management Act (GMA) requires that comprehensive plans be subject to continued review and evaluation and that any amendments or revisions to the comprehensive plan conform to the requirements of Chapter 36.70A RCW and that any changes to development regulations or official controls are consistent with and implement the comprehensive plan (RCW 36.70A.130(2)).
C. The city shall consider proposed amendments to the comprehensive plan concurrently and 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 special management plan;
2. Adoption or amendment of the capital facilities element of the comprehensive plan that occurs concurrent with the adoption or amendment of the city budget;
3. Whenever an emergency exists; and
4. To resolve an appeal of the comprehensive plan filed with the Growth Management Hearings Board or with the court. (Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002)
16.04.020 Types of comprehensive plan amendments defined.
“Annual comprehensive plan amendment” means a modification to the city of Blaine comprehensive plan, including, but not limited to, a text amendment, change to the comprehensive plan designations map or urban growth area amendment.
“Capital facilities element amendment” means a proposed change or revision to the capital facilities element of the comprehensive plan.
“Emergency amendment” means a proposed change or revision to the comprehensive plan that arises from a situation that necessitates expeditious action to preserve the health, safety or welfare of the public, or to support the social, economic or environmental well-being of the city. Emergency amendments may be reviewed and acted upon outside the annual amendment review cycle. (Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002)
16.04.030 Emergency comprehensive plan amendments.
A. Emergency amendments, as defined in BMC 16.04.020(A), shall be initiated by resolution approved by a two-thirds majority vote of the council upon a finding that a situation exists that necessitates expeditious action to preserve the health, safety or welfare of the public; or to support the social, economic or environmental well-being of the city.
B. Emergency amendments so initiated shall be forwarded to the director who shall immediately begin processing the initiated amendment in the manner set forth for the processing of annual comprehensive plan amendments; provided, that BMC 16.04.040, 16.04.060, and 16.04.120 shall not apply.
C. Public notice and an opportunity for public comment must precede the adoption of emergency amendments to the comprehensive plan. (Ord. 2884 § 1 (Att. A), 2016; Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002)
16.04.040 Capital facilities element comprehensive plan amendments.
A. Amendments to the capital facilities element of the comprehensive plan as defined in BMC 16.04.020 shall be initiated by resolution approved by a majority vote of the city council.
B. Docketing requirements for annual comprehensive plan amendments and the schedule set forth in BMC 16.04.120 shall not apply provided adoption or amendment of the capital facilities element of the comprehensive plan occurs concurrent with the adoption or amendment of the city budget.
C. Initiated capital facilities element amendments shall be forwarded to the public works director who shall prepare a staff report that includes recommendations and amendments, provide public notification as set forth in BMC 16.04.140(B) and hold a public meeting. The public works director shall then forward to the city council a final draft of the amendments in the form of an ordinance for its consideration.
D. The city council shall consider the amendments, conduct a public hearing on the amendments and adopt the capital facilities element by ordinance. (Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002)
16.04.050 Annual comprehensive plan amendments.
A. Any person(s), hearing examiner, city staff, staff of other agencies, and city council or planning commission proposing annual comprehensive plan amendments, as defined in BMC 16.04.020, must complete and submit an application form provided by the director by 5:00 p.m. on the last business day of December.
B. The city shall provide a mid-year docketing opportunity, whereby applications submitted between January 1st and the last business day of June of any year shall be considered for addition to the docket as per BMC 16.04.070, except that the action date for city council to approve a mid-year docket addition shall be on or before the second scheduled public meeting in August, or as soon thereafter as possible at a regularly scheduled council meeting. Any resolution containing proposed mid-year docketing addition shall include all the proposed amendments and all amendments docketed earlier in the year. All other provisions of this section not in conflict with the foregoing related to processing and adoption shall apply to mid-year docketed amendments; provided, however, this section shall not amend the requirements for concurrent final review of the proposed amendments to the comprehensive plan by the city council pursuant to BMC 16.04.110.
C. Applications for comprehensive plan amendments shall include at least the following information:
1. A description of the comprehensive plan amendment being proposed including proposed map or text changes;
2. An explanation of why the existing comprehensive plan should be amended as proposed;
3. An explanation of how the comprehensive plan amendment conforms to the approval criteria of BMC 16.04.080; and
4. Payment of all required fees set forth in the unified fee schedule.
D. The director may require additional information as part of the application, including the submittal of a SEPA environmental checklist. (Ord. 2854 § 1 (Exh. A), 2014; Ord. 2728 § 2 (Exh. A), 2009; Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002)
16.04.060 Docketing of annual comprehensive plan amendment applications.
A. The director shall keep a docket of comprehensive plan amendment applications. The docket shall include the following:
1. Docket number;
2. Name and address of the person or agency proposing the plan amendment;
3. Type of amendment being proposed and description of the amendment;
4. Date of proposed amendment; and
5. Section, township, and range of affected area, if applicable.
B. A completed application form as required in BMC 16.04.040 shall be on file for all docketed amendment proposals.
C. The docket and application files shall be available to the public for review during normal business hours. (Ord. 2854 § 1 (Exh. A), 2014; Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002)
16.04.070 Initiation of annual comprehensive plan amendment applications.
A. The city council shall review those comprehensive plan amendment applications on the docket and determine which of those applications shall be initiated for public review and final determination.
B. The city council shall initiate comprehensive plan amendments by resolution on or before the second scheduled public meeting in February and on or before the second scheduled public meeting in August, or as soon thereafter as possible at a regularly scheduled council meeting.
C. Additional comprehensive plan amendments may be added to the initiating resolution by the city council prior to adoption.
D. Comprehensive plan amendments shall be initiated by a resolution of the city council adopted by majority vote.
E. The resolution setting the list of comprehensive plan amendments initiated for the annual amendment cycle and resolutions initiating amendments under the circumstances set forth in BMC 16.04.010(C)(1) through (4) shall be forwarded to the director. Upon receipt of the resolution, the director shall publish the resolution in a newspaper of general circulation, make copies available to the public, and begin the process for the review and evaluation of the proposed amendments as set out in this chapter. (Ord. 2854 § 1 (Exh. A), 2014; Ord. 2728 § 2 (Exh. A), 2009; Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002)
16.04.080 Approval criteria for comprehensive plan amendments.
In order to approve an initiated comprehensive plan amendment, the city shall find all of the following:
A. The amendment conforms to the requirements of the GMA, is internally consistent with the comprehensive plan, is consistent with the county-wide planning policies and is consistent with any interlocal planning agreements;
B. There is a demonstrable need for the amendment supported either by changed conditions or by new information developed by the director or the proponent;
C. The public interest will be served if the amendment is approved. In determining whether the public interest will be served, factors including but not limited to the following shall be considered:
1. The anticipated effect upon the rate or distribution of population growth, employment growth, development, and conversion of land as envisioned in the comprehensive plan;
2. The anticipated effect upon the ability of the city and/or other service providers, such as schools, water and/or sewer purveyors, fire districts, and others as applicable, to provide adequate services and public facilities including transportation facilities; and
3. Anticipated impact upon natural systems;
D. The amendment does not include nor facilitate illegal zoning. (Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002)
16.04.090 Amendment review process – Staff report.
A. The director shall conduct environmental review under SEPA and prepare a staff report(s) including recommendations on all initiated comprehensive plan amendments and forward both the staff report(s) and the result of the environmental review to the planning commission.
B. The staff report(s) shall evaluate each initiated amendment in relationship to the approval criteria of BMC 16.04.080. (Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002)
16.04.100 Amendment review process – Planning commission.
A. The planning commission shall receive the staff’s findings and recommendations for the initiated amendments and shall take public comment and hold a public hearing(s) on the amendments. Separate hearings may be conducted on one or more of the amendments at a time and at the discretion of the planning commission.
B. At the conclusion of the public hearings and comment period, the planning commission shall consider all amendments concurrently and shall evaluate each amendment in relationship to the approval criteria of BMC 16.04.080.
C. At the conclusion of its evaluation, the planning commission shall arrive at a decision on each amendment as to whether the amendment should be approved, approved with modifications or denied.
D. The planning commission shall draft its decision as a recommendation to the city council and prepare written findings of fact and conclusions to support the recommendation. The written recommendation and the findings of fact and conclusions shall be forwarded to the city council in the form of an ordinance(s) for its consideration; provided, that no ordinance is required for those amendments where the recommendation is to deny the amendment. (Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002)
16.04.110 Amendment review process – City council.
A. Annual comprehensive plan amendments shall only be considered by the city council after a hearing has been held before the planning commission and a recommendation from the planning commission has been submitted to and considered by the city council.
B. All annual amendments to the comprehensive plan, with the exception of those listed in BMC 16.04.010(C)(1) through (4) shall be considered by the city council concurrently.
C. The city council may schedule such additional public hearings as the city council deems necessary to serve the public interest.
D. The city council may approve, approve with modifications, or deny a proposed comprehensive plan amendment. City council’s decision shall be based on the approval criteria of BMC 16.04.080.
E. Comprehensive plan amendments shall be adopted by ordinance. (Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002)
16.04.120 Public notice.
A. Site-Specific Amendments. If a comprehensive plan amendment is requested by a property owner(s), a notice of the hearing providing the location and a general description of the proposed amendment shall be made as follows:
1. Publication at least 10 days prior to the hearing date in a newspaper officially designated by the city council for such purposes;
2. Posting by the city clerk at City Hall;
3. Direct mailing of the city’s notice of public hearing to all owners of real property within 500 feet of the subject property, no later than 10 days prior to the hearing date. The owners shall be identified as those shown on the current records of the Whatcom County assessor. The mailing is to be done by the applicant using certified or registered mail service with return receipt. Written proof of such mailing shall be supplied by the applicant for the director’s file five days prior to the hearing date;
4. Direct mailing to any organization or individual who has requested, in writing, to receive notice of all land use proposals encompassed by this chapter; provided, that the city may charge a reasonable fee for such notice;
5. Direct mailing to any person, agency, or organization that requests in writing notice of the hearing during the public comment process; and
6. Direct mailing to state or federal agencies with jurisdiction.
B. General Amendments. If a comprehensive plan amendment is a text amendment or is requested by staff to achieve better consistency with criteria contained in BMC 16.04.080, a notice of the hearing providing the location and a general description of the proposed amendment shall be made as follows:
1. Publication at least 10 days prior to the hearing date in a newspaper officially designated by the city council for such purposes;
2. Posting by the city clerk at City Hall;
3. Direct mailing to any person, agency, or organization that requests in writing notice of the hearing during the public comment process;
4. Direct mailing to any organization or individual who has requested, in writing, to receive notice of all land use proposals encompassed by this chapter; provided, that the city may charge a reasonable fee for such notice; and
5. Direct mailing to state or federal agencies with jurisdiction. (Ord. 2728 § 2 (Exh. A), 2009; Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002. Formerly 16.04.130)
16.04.130 Transmittal of comprehensive plan amendments to the state.
A. Pursuant to RCW 36.70A.106 and WAC 365-195-620, at least 60 days prior to final adoption the director shall notify and transmit copies of initiated comprehensive plan amendments to the Washington State Office of Community Development (OCD) and such other state agencies as requested by OCD.
B. The director shall transmit a complete and accurate copy of all approved comprehensive plan amendments to OCD within 10 days after the enacting ordinance has been signed by the mayor. (Ord. 2728 § 2 (Exh. A), 2009; Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002. Formerly 16.04.140)
16.04.140 Appeals.
A. Decisions made by the city council for this title shall be final and conclusive. Pursuant to RCW 36.70A.290 and 36.70A.295, appeals of a final decision by city council under this title may be petitioned through the Growth Management Hearings Board of Western Washington or through direct judicial review.
B. A petitioner must be a party of record and submit an appeal reasonably related to issues that the aggrieved person previously rose at public hearings in order to appeal a city council action under this chapter. (Ord. 2728 § 2 (Exh. A), 2009; Ord. 2628 § 2, 2006; Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002. Formerly 16.04.150)
16.04.150 Fees.
A. Fees shall not be required for any application submitted by a local, state or federal agency. All other applicants shall pay fees as specified in the unified fee schedule within 15 days after the city council signs the resolution initiating the amendment or the application shall become null and void.
B. The city council may take official action to waive the fee for any proposed amendment at the time it approves the initiating resolution if it finds that the proposed amendment benefits or otherwise promotes the public health, safety and welfare of the general populace without material financial benefit to a single individual or group of individuals. (Ord. 2728 § 2 (Exh. A), 2009; Ord. 2508 § 3, 2002. Formerly 16.04.160)