Chapter 19.02 PROCESSING OF PROJECT PERMIT APPLICATIONS

Chapter 19.02
PROCESSING OF PROJECT PERMIT APPLICATIONS

Sections:

19.02.030 Submission and acceptance of application.

19.02.050 Referral and review of project permit applications.

19.02.010 Preapplication conference.

A. Applications for project permits involving Type III and Type IV A actions shall not be accepted by the director unless the applicant has requested and attended a preapplication conference. The purpose of the preapplication conference is to acquaint the applicant with the requirements of the Bridgeport Municipal Code and project review procedures and, for city staff to be acquainted with the proposed application for purposes of determining appropriate review procedures and facilitating the application and project review process. In order to ensure that the preapplication conference is meaningful, the applicant must provide all information requested on the form required by the director.

B. The conference shall be held no more than fifteen calendar days following the filing of a written request for a preapplication conference with the director, on the form provided by the director.

C. At the conference or within five working days of the conference, the applicant may request that the director provide the applicant with the following information:

1. A form which lists the requirements for a completed application;

2. A general summary of the procedures and timelines to be used to process the application;

3. The references to the relevant code provisions or development standards which may apply to the approval of the application, as preliminarily identified at the preapplication conference;

4. The city’s design guidelines.

D. It is impossible for the conference to be an exhaustive review of all potential issues. The discussions at the conference or the information sent by the city to the applicant under subsection (C) of this section, shall not bind or prohibit the city’s future application or enforcement of all applicable laws.

E. Preapplication conferences for all other types of applications are optional, and requests for conferences will be considered on a time-available basis by the director. (Ord. 472 § 1 (part), 1996)

19.02.020 Project permit application.

Applications for project permits shall be submitted to the city upon forms provided by the director. An application shall consist of all materials required by the applicable development regulations for the specific permit(s) sought, and shall include, but is not limited to, the following general information:

A. A completed project permit application form;

B. A sworn statement made before a notary public and under penalty of perjury by the applicant(s) that the property affected by the application is in the exclusive ownership of the applicant(s), or a sworn statement made before a notary public and under penalty of perjury executed by all owners of the affected property that the application has been submitted with their consent;

C. A property and/or legal description of the site for all applications, as required by the applicable development regulations;

D. The applicable fee as established by city council ordinance or resolution;

E. Evidence of adequate water supply as required by RCW 19.27.097 as now exists or as may be hereafter amended;

F. Evidence of ability to comply with water and sewer requirements of Title 12 of the BMC as now exists or as may be hereafter amended;

G. Information on the capacity of existing stormwater conveyance and control facilities and evidence of ability to comply with Chapters 14.15 and 14.17 of the BMC as now exist or as may be hereafter amended;

H. Designation by name, street and mailing address, telephone number, and relationship to the applicant, of the person to receive all determinations and notices required by this chapter. (Ord. 472 § 1 (part), 1996)

19.02.030 Submission and acceptance of application.

A. Determination of Completeness. Within twenty-eight calendar days after actual receipt of a project permit application as evidenced by the date stamped on the face thereof by the city, the city shall mail or personally provide a written determination to the applicant which states either: (1) that the application is complete; or (2) that the application is incomplete and what is necessary to make the application complete. Project permit applications shall be date-stamped upon receipt by the city. Applications received after five p.m. shall be date-stamped the next business day. If an applicant has elected the optional consolidated permit review process under Section 19.01.020, all applications consolidated for review will be covered under a single determination of completeness. If the application for any of such applications is incomplete, a determination that the application is incomplete shall be issued to the applicant.

B. Identification of Other Agencies with Jurisdiction. To the extent known by the city, other agencies with jurisdiction over the project permit application shall be identified in the city’s determination required by subsection (A) of this section.

C. Additional Information. A project permit application is complete for purposes of this section when it meets the submission requirements in Section 19.02.020, as well as the submission requirements contained in the applicable development regulations. This determination of completeness shall be made when the application is sufficient for continued processing even though additional information may be required or project modifications may be undertaken subsequently. The city’s determination of completeness shall not preclude the city from requesting additional information or studies either at the time of the notice of completeness or at some later time, if new information is required or where there are substantial changes in the proposed action.

D. Incomplete Application Procedure.

1. If the applicant is issued a written determination from the city that an application is not complete, the applicant shall have ninety calendar days from date of personal delivery or date of mailing by the city to submit the required information to the city. Within fourteen calendar days after an applicant has submitted the requested additional information, the city shall remake the determination as to completeness in the manner described in subsection (A) of this section. If the applicant again receives a determination of incompleteness, the procedure described in this subsection shall be repeated and may be repeated as required by subsequent determination of incompleteness until a determination that the application is complete is issued in the manner described in subsection (A) of this section.

2. If the applicant either refuses in writing to submit the required additional information within the ninety-calendar-day period, the director shall make findings and issue a decision, according to the Type I procedure in Section 19.01.030, that the application has lapsed for failure to meet the time requirements set forth herein.

3. Where the director has made a determination that the application has lapsed because the applicant has failed to subsequently submit the required information within the necessary time period, the applicant may request a refund of the unused portion of the application fee for staff time expended as determined in the sole discretion of the director.

E. City’s Failure to Provide Determination of Completeness. A project permit application shall be deemed complete under this section if the city does not provide a written determination to the applicant that the application is incomplete as provided in subsection (A) or (D)(1) of this section.

F. Date of Completeness of Application. When the project permit application is complete, whether due to a determination of completeness issued under subsection (A) or subsection (E) of this section, the director shall note the date of completeness on the application. (Ord. 472 § 1 (part), 1996)

19.02.040 Notice of application.

A. Generally. A notice of application shall be issued on all Type III and IV project permit applications.

B. SEPA.

1. Exempt Projects. A notice of application shall not be required for project permits that are categorically exempt under SEPA, unless a public comment period or an open record predecision hearing is required.

2. Integration with Permit Procedures. Environmental review under Chapter 43.21C RCW and Title 4 of the Bridgeport Municipal Code shall be integrated with the procedures described in this section as follows:

a. Except for a determination of significance, the city may not issue its threshold determination, or issue a decision or a recommendation on a project permit until the expiration of the public comment period on the notice of application.

b. If an open record predecision hearing is required and the city’s threshold determination requires public notice under Chapter 43.21C RCW and Title 14 of the Bridgeport Municipal Code, the city shall issue its threshold determination at least fifteen calendar days prior to the open record predecision hearing.

c. Comments shall be as specific as possible.

3. Determination of Significance. If the city has made a determination of significance under Chapter 43.21C RCW and Title 4 of the Bridgeport Municipal Code concurrently with the notice of application, the notice of application shall be combined with the determination of significance and scoping notice. Nothing in this section prevents a determination of significance and scoping notice from being issued prior to the notice of application.

C. Contents. The notice of application shall include:

1. The date of application, the date of the notice of completion for the application and the date of the notice of application;

2. A description of the proposed project action and a list of the project permits included in the application and, if applicable, a list of any studies requested under RCW 36.70B.070;

3. The identification of other permits not included in the application, to the extent known by the city;

4. The identification of existing environmental documents that evaluate the proposed project, and, if not otherwise stated on the document providing the notice of application, the location where the application and any studies can be reviewed;

5. A statement of the limits of the public comment period, which shall be not less than fourteen nor more than thirty days following the date of notice of application, and statements of the right of any person to comment on the application, receive notice of and participate in any hearings, request a copy of the decision once made, and any appeal rights;

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

7. A statement of the preliminary determination of consistency, if one has been made at the time of notice, and of those development regulations that will be used for project mitigation and of consistency as provided in Chapter 19.04;

8. Any other information determined appropriate by the city, such as the city’s threshold determination, if complete at the time of issuance of the notice of application.

D. Time Frame for Issuance of Notice of Application.

1. Within fourteen days after the city has made a determination of completeness of a project permit application, the city shall issue a notice of application in the manner provided in subsection (E) of this section.

2. If any open record predecision hearing is required for the requested project permit(s), the notice of application shall be provided to the public at least fifteen days prior to the open record hearing.

E. Methods for Notice. The notice of application shall be given to the public and to agencies with jurisdiction as follows:

1. By posting and publication per Section 19.03.010;

2. Notifying public, private groups and the news media that have requested such notice in writing for that calendar year;

3. Mailed notice to the latest recorded real property owners as shown by the records of the county assessor within at least three hundred feet of the exterior boundary of the property upon which the project is proposed;

4. Mailed notice to known agencies with jurisdiction. This requirement may be satisfied by publishing notice in the agencies’ newsletters or sending notice to an agency mailing list.

F. Public Comment on the Notice of Application. All public comments received on the notice of application must be received by the director at City Hall, P.O. Box 640, 1206 Columbia Avenue, Bridgeport, Washington 98813, by five p.m. on the last day of the comment period. Comments may be mailed, personally delivered or sent by facsimile.

G. Limitation. Except for a determination of significance, the city may not issue its threshold determination or issue a decision or recommendation on a project permit until the expiration of the public comment period on the notice of application. (Ord. 472 § 1 (part), 1996)

19.02.050 Referral and review of project permit applications.

Within ten calendar days of accepting a complete application, the director shall do the following:

A. Transmit a copy of the application, or appropriate parts of the application, to each affected agency and city department for review and comment, including those responsible for determining compliance with state and federal requirements. The affected agencies and city departments shall have fifteen calendar days to comment. The referral agency or city department is presumed to have no comments if comments are not received within the specified time period. The director shall grant an extension of time for comment only if the application involves unusual circumstances. Any extension shall only be for a maximum of three additional days.

B. In addition to the procedure set forth in subsection A, above, the director may schedule a meeting of the project permit processing committee, which committee shall be comprised of at least one city staff member from each of the following departments: (1) planning, (2) public works, (3) building. Each department head shall designate the staff member who will participate in the project permit processing committee. The committee shall meet in order to provide joint review and comment on any project permit application.

C. If a Type III procedure is required, notice and hearing shall be provided as set forth in Chapter 19.03. (Ord. 472 § 1 (part), 1996)