Chapter 19.02
CONCURRENCY MANAGEMENT
Sections:
Article I. General Provisions
Article II. Definitions
Article III. Applicability and Standards
19.02.060 Level of service standards.
Article IV. Concurrency Management Review
19.02.070 Concurrency management process.
19.02.080 Concurrency management appeals.
Article V. Concurrency Certification
19.02.090 Certificate of concurrency.
Article VI. Monitoring
19.02.100 Monitoring concurrency.
Article VII. General Administration
19.02.130 Severability clause.
Article I. General Provisions
19.02.010 Purpose.
It is the purpose of this chapter to describe the requirements and procedures for determining the consistency of proposed development projects with the city comprehensive plan, including meeting the concurrency management provisions of the comprehensive plan. (Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).
19.02.020 Intent.
This chapter implements the requirements of RCW 36.70A.070 that cities establish level of service standards and ensure that level of service standards are met or that funding of adequate improvements or efforts to reduce the demand for the facilities or services is assured before new development is approved. The city-owned facilities covered by this section include:
A. Roads, highways and transportation facilities. (Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).
Article II. Definitions
19.02.030 Definitions.
The following are definitions provided for administering concurrency management:
A. “Annual capacity statement” means the statement issued by the city each year indicating the available capacity of the facilities or services covered by concurrency management.
B. “Approved traffic study” means a study to estimate and assess traffic demand patterns and quantities and to identify mitigation measures needed to meet LOS standards, based on the type and size of a proposed development. An approved traffic study may be required by the city as part of a complete application.
C. “Capital facilities element” means the element of the city’s comprehensive plan which evaluates the need for public facilities as identified in the comprehensive plan elements and as defined in the applicable definition of each public facility, which estimates the cost of improvements, which analyzes the fiscal capability of the local government to finance and construct improvements, which adopts financial policies to guide the funding of improvements, and which schedules the funding and construction of improvements in a manner necessary to ensure that capital improvements are provided when required based on the needs identified in the comprehensive plan.
D. “Certificate of concurrency” means the official written statement issued by the city which documents concurrency approval for a development application.
E. “Change in use” means a change from one permitted use in the city’s zoning code to another permitted use in the city’s zoning code.
F. “Complete application” means the application form and all accompanying documents, fees and exhibits required of an applicant by the city for development review purposes, and determined in writing by the city to be sufficient.
G. “Concurrency” means the provision for assuring that improvements or strategies to accommodate the impacts of development are in place at the time of development or that a financial commitment is in place to complete the improvements or strategies so that the level of service for transportation facilities do not fall below the level of service standards adopted by the comprehensive plan due to the impacts of new development. Road and highway improvements are to be provided within a maximum of six years.
H. “Concurrency approval” means the official determination by the city that a proposed development will not result in the reduction of the level of service below the standards set forth in the city’s comprehensive plan for facilities and services. Concurrency approval will be documented in writing by a certificate of concurrency.
I. “Concurrency determination” means a technical study of the impacts on the applicable facilities or services, including forecasted level of service of a proposed land use development using current data and analytical techniques. A comprehensive facility study (e.g., approved traffic study) may be required of the applicant, based on the requirements of this chapter.
J. “Concurrency facilities” means facilities for which concurrency is required in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. These are city-owned roads, highways, and transportation facilities. The city reserves the ability to amend this section to include public water, sanitary sewer, storm drainage and parks as future facilities subject to the concurrency management system.
K. “Concurrency management system” means the procedures, forms and processes used by the city to evaluate proposed development for compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
L. “Conditions of approval” means, as they apply to concurrency evaluation, those conditions necessary to ensure that the proposed development will not cause the transportation level of service to fall below the standards adopted in the comprehensive plan. The conditions of approval shall be finding upon the approval of any permit application for which this chapter is applicable as described in BLMC 19.02.040.
M. “Development” means any construction, reconstruction or any use of real property which requires review and approval of a development permit.
N. “Development permit” means building permit application (including remodel or tenant improvement), planned unit development application, short plat application, preliminary plat application, and project rezone application.
O. “Director” means the director of planning and community development, or his/her designee.
P. “Financial commitment” means any form of binding and enforceable financial obligation which is acceptable to the city, and provided utilizing a two-tiered approach to meeting obligations for concurrency management. The first tier would be made up front prior to project approval. The second tier would be made at the development approval level, when required improvements are accepted by the city. Applicability would depend on the circumstances for the project, providing the city with two financial commitment options which are flexible instead of one.
Q. “Impact fee” means the payment of money for a proportional share of the cost of transportation facilities needed to serve new growth and development; imposed by the city upon the development as a condition of issuance of a development permit to mitigate the impacts of the development of facilities on the city, but not including any permit or application fee. Payment of impact fees does not ensure that concurrency has been met.
R. “Level of service (LOS)/transportation” means the relationship between vehicular traffic volumes, roadway capacity, design standards, road conditions, and definition of levels of service as specified in the city’s comprehensive plan.
S. “Peak hour” the time period of highest travel on the city’s arterial street system on an average weekday afternoon. For purposes of this chapter, this time period shall be from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
T. “Peak hour trips” means the number of trips by land use type and land use size which are generated during peak hour as determined by the Trip Generation Manual of the Institute of Traffic Engineers (ITE).
U. “Peak hour volume to capacity ratio (V/C)” means the volume of actual or projected traffic as measured in number of vehicles per hour in the peak hour divided by the capacity of a roadway or several roadway segments (identified by a screenline) as measured in number of vehicles per hour.
V. “Reasonably funded” means a project in the currently adopted six-year transportation improvement program (TIP) or other project in the capital facilities element of the comprehensive plan, for which (1) funds are in hand, or (2) the city is expected to have sufficient funds secured for construction within the six-year timeframe of the TIP.
W. “Transportation improvement program (TIP)” means a subset of projects contained in the city’s capital improvement program. The TIP is a set of comprehensive street programs/projects which after a public hearing is annually adopted by the city council for the purpose of advancing plans for not less than six years as a guide for carrying out the coordinated transportation/street construction program. The six-year TIP shall contain a small group of capacity projects which will be considered reasonably funded for determining transportation concurrency and impact fees. The adoption of the six-year TIP will obligate the city to actively pursue funds to as to implement the capacity component of the transportation improvement program as best possible with the available resources.
X. “Volume to capacity ratio (V/C)” means the volume of actual or projected traffic as measured in vehicles per hour divided by the capacity of the roadway as measured in vehicles per hour. (Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).
Article III. Applicability and Standards
19.02.040 Applicability.
This chapter applies to applications for development permits as follows:
A. Roads/highways: Developments that will create 10 or more peak hour trips on any city-owned roadway/highway screenline segment (excluding SR 410). (Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).
19.02.050 Exemptions.
The following developments are exempt from the requirements of this chapter:
A. Changes in use that do not increase a development’s peak hour volume.
B. In existing buildings, tenant improvements which do not increase the off-street parking requirement.
C. Development that is vested prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter is exempt for the development approval for which vested status is achieved. (Ord. 988 § 2, 2003; Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).
19.02.060 Level of service standards.
The level of service standards identified in Section 5.5 of the community mobility element of Bonney Lake 2035 shall be enforced by the provisions of concurrency management. (Ord. 1525 § 2, 2015; Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).
Article IV. Concurrency Management Review
19.02.070 Concurrency management process.
A. The department of planning and community development will administer the concurrency management system.
B. A concurrency review and determination shall be required for the issuance of any development permit consistent with the following:
1. Roads and highways: Development projects that create 10 or more peak hour trips on any roadway/highway segment, except as provided in BLMC 19.02.050.
2. Screenline: Development projects that create 100 or more peak hour trips on any roadway/highway segment shall complete a screenline volume to capacity analysis along the screenlines established in the Mobility Element, Figure 5-8 of the Bonney Lake comprehensive plan, in addition to the requirements of subsection (B)(1) of this section.
C. If development requires more than one development permit, the concurrency determination shall occur prior to the issuance of the first development permit.
D. A concurrency determination shall be required for a change in use or modification to an existing building or site if the new use or modification in combination with the existing use generate impacts as identified in BLMC 19.02.070(B). For purposes of this chapter, a change in use or modification to an existing building will be subject to a concurrency determination for the new increase in demand for the new facilities only. A concurrency determination for a new increase in demand for facilities or services will be performed at the time a complete application for the new demand is received by the city.
E. No reservation of capacity will be approved for a change in use which is otherwise not permitted pursuant to the city’s zoning code and official zoning map.
F. A concurrency determination shall be valid as long as the development permit to which it applies is valid, and any change to the proposed development does not change the impact, as measured by the level of service; provided, that if the development has not received a building permit, and the development permit does not have an expiration date, then the concurrency determination will be valid for five years from the approval date of the development permit.
G. The impacts of new development will be measured in terms of the capacity removed or added to the level of service standards as described in BLMC 19.02.030(R) and as described in the city of Bonney Lake comprehensive plan.
H. Any development subject to concurrency review shall be granted concurrency approval, if, pursuant to this chapter, an adequate level of service will exist after the development’s facility and service impacts are added to: (1) the sum of existing facility or service usage, and (2) the cumulative impacts of all other development in the city for which development approval or concurrency approval has been granted but which have not been built or occupied, and (3) the cumulative demand for new facilities and services due to developments outside of the city’s boundaries. The capacity of the city’s facilities and services for use in determining concurrency shall include the planned capacity of the projects in the capital facilities element of the comprehensive plan and other adopted facility plans which are reasonably funded.
I. If concurrency approval is granted, the city shall reserve the capacity required for the development at the time of concurrency determination. This capacity shall not be returned to the system unless and until the application is, for whatever reason, denied, rejected, invalidated or abandoned; or the city determines that the reservation of capacity to be rescinded under the provisions of BLMC 19.02.090 (certificate of concurrency). Reservation of capacity will only be granted if the development is determined by the city to have a complete application.
J. If the concurrency determination results in a finding that the impacts of the proposed development will cause the city’s overall facilities and services to fall below the adopted standards, the applications for concurrency approval shall not be granted; provided, that the applicant may accept a single 90-day reservation of available capacity, and within the same 90-day period, amend the application so that one or more of the following conditions are met and made conditions of approval:
1. Mitigating measures needed to meet the level of service standards are identified in an impact study (e.g., approved traffic study), and the project development provides the financial commitment to guarantee the funding of the approved mitigating measures and the anticipated completion date of construction of the mitigating measures. For city-owned roads, highways and transportation facilities, the completion of construction shall not be more than six years from the date of the development permit approval.
2. The applicant reduces the traffic impacts to achieve an acceptable level of service by a reduction of the size of intensity change in the land use or mix of land uses, delay for the committed facility construction, or phasing the development to match future facility construction.
3. The applicant reduces the impacts to achieve an acceptable level of service by scaling the project down, by reducing the demand for new facilities or by providing ways to utilize facilities that are not at capacity.
The city shall provide a written statement of the reason for denying an application under this section. (Ord. 1641 § 20, 2020; Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).
19.02.080 Concurrency management appeals.
Any decision to approve, condition or deny a development proposal based on the requirements of this chapter may be appealed according to the appeal procedure set forth for the underlying permit (Type 1 through Type 4) and other regulations which may apply. The city shall reserve any available capacity required by a development during an appeal. (Ord. 1505 § 25, 2015; Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).
Article V. Concurrency Certification
19.02.090 Certificate of concurrency.
A. A certificate of concurrency shall be issued by the director for each application that is granted concurrency approval under this chapter.
B. The director shall issue certificates of concurrency first for the earliest application reviewed and approved. Subsequent certificates will be issued in the order of completion of review and approval. The purpose of this section is to enable applicants who are ready for approval to receive a certificate of concurrency, even if their application was submitted after an earlier applicant. It is the city’s intent to treat applications on a “first-come, first-served” basis, but to use this section to avoid delays in approval of development caused by applicants who are unable to complete the review process of their own action (or inaction).
C. Upon issuance of a certificate of concurrency, the director shall reserve capacity on behalf of the applicant, and indicate the reservation on the certificate of concurrency.
D. A certificate of concurrency shall be valid for the same period of time as the development permit; provided, that concurrency must be achieved no later than six years from the issuance of the development permit.
E. No development shall be required to obtain more than one certificate of concurrency, unless the applicant or subsequent owner proposes changes or modifications to the property location, density, intensity or land use that creates additional impacts on facilities and services.
F. A certificate of concurrency is valid only for a specified parcel on which the development will be built, and is valid only for subsequent development permits on the same parcel, and the new owners of the original parcel for which it was issued. A certificate of concurrency cannot be transferred to a different parcel, and shall be limited to the uses, densities, and intensities for which it was originally issued.
G. Upon subdivision of a parcel that has obtained a certificate of concurrency, the director shall replace the certificate of concurrency by issuing a separate certificate of concurrency to each subdivided parcel, assigning to each a pro rata portion of the concurrency capacity rights of the original certificate. The director may modify such assignment upon petition of the owner, or may reject such petition. Any change of use of such subdivided parcels shall require a new determination of concurrency.
H. A certificate of concurrency shall expire if the underlying development permit is revoked by the director.
I. All development permits that require one or more transportation facilities to be provided by the development shall condition the issuance of the permit, and any subsequent permit for the same development, on a financial commitment by the applicant, binding on subsequent owner, for the completion of such transportation facilities. (Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).
Article VI. Monitoring
19.02.100 Monitoring concurrency.
The city shall monitor the cumulative impacts of new development by taking traffic counts annually on selected city-owned roads. All other facilities and services that are subject to concurrency management shall be monitored when they reach the range of 75 to 80 percent of the level of service standard. Monitoring will be documented through the annual capacity statement. The annual capacity statement will include any capacity allocated to development which is determined to be exempt under BLMC 19.02.050. (Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).
Article VII. General Administration
19.02.110 Fees.
The city shall charge a processing fee as set forth in Chapter 3.68 BLMC (fee ordinance) to any individual or entity that requests a concurrency determination. The processing fee shall be nonrefundable and nonassignable to any other fees. All such concurrency processing fees are to be paid in full upon application for concurrency determination. (Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).
19.02.120 Other authority.
Nothing in this chapter is intended to limit the city’s authority under the State Environmental Policy Act or any other source. (Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).
19.02.130 Severability clause.
If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter should be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of any other section, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter. (Ord. 791 § 1, 1998).