Chapter 19.03 PUBLIC NOTICE

Chapter 19.03
PUBLIC NOTICE

Sections:

19.03.010 Public notice of project permit application.

A. Within fourteen days after issuing a determination of completeness, the administrator shall issue a notice of application. The notice shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. A description of the proposed project action, a list of permits required for the application, and if applicable, a list of any studies requested;

2. The identification of other required permits not included in the application, to the extent known by the administrator;

3. The identification of existing environmental documents which evaluate the proposed development and the location where the application and any studies can be reviewed;

4. A statement of the public comment period, which shall be thirty days following the date of the notice of application, and a statement of the right of any person to comment on the application, receive notice of and participate in any hearings, and request a copy of the decision once made, and a statement of any appeal rights;

5. The date, time, location and type of hearing, if applicable and scheduled at the date of the notice of application;

6. Any other information determined by the administrator to be appropriate.

B. Informing the Public.

1. The notice of application shall be mailed to the latest recorded real property owners as shown by the records of the county assessor within at least three hundred feet of the boundary of the property upon which the development is proposed;

2. In addition to mailing the notice of application, the administrator may require the notice to be posted on the subject property for the duration of the public comment period, where the administrator finds that such additional notice may be of benefit for the public. The applicant shall be responsible for posting and maintaining the posting throughout the entire public comment period. The applicant shall obtain the notice of application sign(s) from the administrator upon payment of all applicable fees. The sign location and condition shall be the responsibility of the applicant until the sign(s) are returned to the administrator. After the public comment period, the applicant shall sign an affidavit of posting before a notary public, using the form adopted by the city or town, and file the affidavit of posting with the administrator, together wit h a photograph of the notice of application sign(s) posted at the site. Any necessary replacement of the notice of application sign(s) and post(s) shall be the sole responsibility of the applicant. At the discretion of the administrator, said postings may be performed by the city.

C. The notice of application is not a substitute for any required notice of a public hearing.

D. A State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) threshold determination may be issued for a proposal concurrent with the notice of application.

E. Notice of application and SEPA determination will be published in the local official newspaper of record. (Ord. 873 § 3 (Att. C) (part), 2015: Ord. 704 § 5, 2000; Ord. 639 § 1 (part), 1996)

19.03.020 Optional public notice.

In addition to the required methods of notice, and as optional methods of providing public notice of any project permits, the city may:

A. Notify the public or private groups with known interest in a certain proposal or in the type of proposal being considered;

B. Notify the news media;

C. Place notices in appropriate regional or neighborhood newspapers or trade journals;

D. Publish notice in agency newsletters or send notice to agency mailing lists, either general lists or lists for specific proposals or subject areas;

E. Mail to neighboring property owners; and

F. Post the property for site-specific proposals as follows:

1. Posting shall consist of one or more notice boards as follows:

a. A single notice board shall be placed by the applicant:

i. At the midpoint of the site street frontage or as otherwise directed by the city for maximum visibility,

ii. Five feet inside the street property line, except when the board is structurally attached to an existing building; provided, that no notice board shall be placed more than five feet from the street property without approval of the administrator,

iii. So that the top of the notice board is between seven to nine feet above grade, and

iv. Where it is completely visible to pedestrians;

b. Additional notice boards may be required when:

i. The site does not abut a public road,

ii. A large site abuts more than one public road, or

iii. The administrator determines that additional notice boards are necessary to provide adequate public notice;

c. Notice boards shall be:

i. Maintained in good condition by the applicant during the notice period,

ii. In place at least thirty calendar days prior to the date of hearing, or at least fifteen calendar days prior to the end of any required comment period,

iii. Removed within fifteen calendar days after the end of the notice period;

d. Removal of the notice board prior to the end of the notice period may be cause for discontinuance of the administrator’s review until the notice board is replaced and remains in place for the specified time period;

e. An affidavit of posting shall be submitted to the administrator by the applicant prior to the hearing or final comment date. If the affidavits are not filed as required, any scheduled hearing or date by which the public may comment on the application will be postponed in order to allow compliance with this notice requirement;

f. Notice boards shall be constructed and installed in accordance with specifications promulgated by the city superintendent.

The city’s failure to provide the optional notice as described in this section shall not be grounds for invalidation of any permit decision. (Ord. 873 § 3 (Att. C) (part), 2015: Ord. 639 § 1 (part), 1996)

19.03.030 Notice of public hearing.

A. Content of Notice of Public Hearing for all Types of Applications. The notice given of a public hearing required in this chapter shall contain:

1. The name and address of the applicant or the applicant’s representative;

2. Description of the affected property, which may be in the form of either a vicinity location or written description, other than a legal description;

3. The date, time and place of the hearing;

4. A description of the subject property reasonably sufficient to inform the public of its location, including but not limited to the use of a map or postal address and a subdivision lot and block designation;

5. The nature of the proposed use or development;

6. A statement that all interested persons may appear and provide testimony;

7. The sections of the code that are pertinent to the hearing procedure;

8. When information may be examined, and when and how written comments addressing findings required for a decision by the hearing body may be admitted;

9. The name of the city representative to contact and the telephone number where additional information may be obtained;

10. That a copy of the application, all documents and evidence relied upon by the applicant are available for inspection at no cost and will be provided at the requester’s cost;

11. That a copy of the staff report will be available for inspection at no cost at least ten calendar days prior to the hearing and copies will be provided at the requester’s cost.

B. Mailed Notice. Mailed notice of the public hearing shall be provided as follows:

1. Type I and Type II Actions. No public notice is required because no public hearing is held, except on an appeal of a Type II action which notice shall be mailed as described in subsection (B)(2) of this section.

2. Type III Actions. The notice of public hearing shall be mailed to:

a. The applicant;

b. All owners of property according to the records of the county assessor within the area of the proposed action and within three hundred feet of the boundary of the subject property; provided, that if condominiums are located within the area or within three hundred feet of the boundary of the area, notice shall be mailed to the condominium association, if it exists, or, alternatively, the condominium building manager of each building;

c. Any person who submits written or oral comments on an application.

3. Type IV Actions. The notice of public hearing shall be mailed to all of the persons entitled to notice as described in subsection (B)(2) of this section, and for preliminary plats and proposed subdivisions, additional notice shall be provided as follows:

a. Notice of the filing of a preliminary plat adjacent to or within one mile of the municipal boundaries of a city or town, or which contemplates the use of any city or town utilities shall be given to the appropriate city or town authorities.

b. Notice of the filing of a preliminary plat of a proposed subdivision located in a city or town and adjoining the municipal boundaries thereof shall be given to the appropriate county officials.

c. Notice of the filing of a preliminary plat of a proposed subdivision located adjacent to the right-of-way of a state highway or within two miles of the boundary of a state or municipal airport shall be given to the Washington State Secretary of Transportation, who must respond within fifteen calendar days of such notice.

d. Special notice of the hearing shall be given to adjacent landowners by any other reasonable method the city deems necessary. Adjacent landowners are the owners of real property, as shown by the records of the county assessor, located within three hundred feet of any portion of the boundary of the proposed subdivision. If the owner of the real property which is proposed to be subdivided owns another parcel or parcels of real property which lie adjacent to the real property proposed to be subdivided, notice under RCW 58.17.090(2) shall be given to owners of real property located within three hundred feet of any portion of the exterior boundaries of such adjacently located parcels of real property owned by the owner of the real property proposed to be subdivided.

4. General Procedure for Mailed Notice of Public Hearing.

a. The records of the Okanogan County assessor’s office shall be used for determining the property owner of record. Addresses for a mailed notice required by this code shall be obtained from the applicable county’s real property tax records. The administrator or his/her designee shall issue a sworn certificate of mailing to all persons entitled to notice under this chapter. The administrator may provide notice to other persons other than those required to receive notice under this code.

b. All public notices shall be deemed to have been provided or received on the date the notice is deposited in the mail or personally delivered, whichever occurs first.

C. Published Notice of Public Hearing.

1. Published notice of public hearing is required for all Type III, IV and V procedures. The published notice shall be published in the city’s official newspaper.

2. For Type V legislative actions, the city shall publish notice as described in subsection (C)(1) of this section and provide any other notice required by RCW 35A.12.160 as now exists or as may be hereafter amended.

D. Time and Cost of Notice of Public Hearing.

1. Notice shall be mailed and first published not less than ten nor more than thirty calendar days prior to the hearing date. Any posted notice shall be removed by the applicant within fifteen calendar days following the public hearing.

2. All costs associated with the public notice shall be borne by the applicant. (Ord. 873 § 3 (Att. C) (part), 2015: Ord. 704 § 6, 2000; Ord. 639 § 1 (part), 1996)