Chapter 20.08 PERMIT TYPES

Chapter 20.08
PERMIT TYPES

Sections:

20.08.020 Types of development permit applications.

20.08.030 Procedures for processing development project permits.

20.08.010 Purpose.

The purpose of this chapter is to identify methods in which decisions within the city are made. (Ord. 13-19 § 2, 2019).

20.08.020 Types of development permit applications.

For the purpose of project permit processing, all development permit applications shall be subject to one or more of the following:

(1) Administrative Procedures – Type A Procedures.

(a) Type A-1; this process does not require public notice;

(b) Type A-2; this process requires public notice;

(c) Type A-3; this process requires public review with a review committee or commission, such as the planning commission.

(2) Legislative Procedures – Type C Procedures.

(a) Type C-1 is legislative or quasi-judicial and requires public hearings. The decision-making body for Type C-1 processes is the city council.

(b) Type C-2 processes are quasi-judicial and require public hearings (the decision-making body shall be the hearing examiner, except the city council shall be the decision-making body for site specific rezones, mobile home parks, planned unit developments, major planned unit development amendments and any other permit project approval requiring adoption of an ordinance). (Ord. 05-23 § 7, 2023; Ord. 13-19 § 2, 2019).

20.08.030 Procedures for processing development project permits.

Project Permit Application Framework. The project permit application framework is set forth in Tables 1 and 2 as follows:

Table 1: Application Process
Procedural Steps	Application Process
	Type “A” Administrative Decisions			Type “C” Legislative Decisions Planning Commission, Hearing Examiner and City Council
	Type A-17	Type A-2	Type A-3	Type C-1	Type C-2
Recommendation by:	N/A	N/A	Staff	Staff	Staff
Notice of application6	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Open Record Public Hearing	See Note1	See Note1	No	Yes Planning Commission	Yes Hearing Examiner
Final Decision-Making Body	Staff	Staff	Planning Commission	City Council	Hearing Examiner/City Council3
Appeal Authority5	Hearing Examiner	Hearing Examiner2	Hearing Examiner	Pierce County Superior Court4	Pierce County Superior Court
1. Note: Public hearing only on appeal of an administrative decision, open record hearing before hearing examiner.
2. SEPA appeals are to be consolidated with the hearing on the underlying permit as required by the SEPA rules.
3. Note: Council is the final decision-making body for all rezones and residential clusters.
4. Note: Comprehensive plan amendments, shoreline permits, BMC land use text amendments and area-wide rezones are potentially appealable to the Growth Management Hearings Board or Shoreline Hearings Board.
5. No assurances are made as to the accuracy of Table 1 in identifying the appellate forum with jurisdiction to hear appeals of final city decisions. It is the responsibility of the appellant to determine where to file appeals of final city decisions.
6. Notices of application are not required for project permits that are categorically exempt under SEPA unless a public comment period or public hearing is required per RCW 36.70B.110(5).
7. Small cell permits appeals go directly to court.

Table 2: Application Type
Type A-1 administrative without notice; Type A-2 administrative with notice; Type A-3 administrative decision with a decision by the planning commission; Type C-1 legislative or quasi-judicial with a recommendation from a commission; Type C-2 quasi-judicial with the hearing examiner.
Title and Chapter	Permit	Permit Type
		A-1	A-2	A-3	C-1	C-2
Title 12, Environment
12.04	SEPA determination		A-2
12.08.130	Critical area exemption	A-1
12.08.130	Wetland exemptions	A-1
12.08.140	Critical area exception – public agency and utility					C-2
12.08.150	Reasonable use exception					C-2
12.08.260	Innovative wetland mitigation					C-2
12.08.330	Critical areas variance					C-2
12.11.040	Floodplain development permit	A-1
20.36.020(2)	Shoreline exemption	A-1
20.36.040	Shoreline substantial development permit		A-2
20.36.040	Shoreline conditional use permit					C-2
20.36.040	Shoreline variance					C-2
Title 16, Buildings and Construction
13.08.010	Sidewalk construction permit	A-1
14.06.140	Sewer permit	A-1
14.06.390	Wastewater discharge (also from state DOE)	A-1
16.01.010	Land disturbing activity permit	A-1
16.06.020	Building and other construction permits	A-1
16.10.010	Temporary dwelling permit	A-1
16.12.070	Fences	A-1
16.12.070	Fence variances			A-3
16.40.040	Mobile home installation permit	A-1
16.80.010	Canopies	A-1
Title 17, Design and Construction Standards, and Development Guidelines and Public Works Standards (DGS)
17.08	Acceptance of public improvement	A-1
17.08.050	Dedication of public easements and rights-of-way		A-2
DGS 2.01	Right-of-way use permits	A-1
DGS 2.02	Major variances of Development Guidelines and Public Works Standards		A-2
DGS 2.02	Minor variances of Development Guidelines and Public Works Standards	A-1
DGS 4.07(C)	Frontage improvement exceptions		A-2
DGS 4.21	Light standards	A-1
	Modification of public improvement requirement		A-2
Title 18, Subdivisions
18.30.030	Boundary line adjustment	A-1
18.30.040	Boundary line adjustment, non-conforming lots		A-2
	Binding site plans
18.28.020	Preliminary binding site plans					C-2
18.28.040	Adjustments (minor) to binding site plan approved plans and final binding site plans	A-1
18.28.040	Adjustments (not minor) to binding site plan approved plans and final binding site plans					C-2
	Short subdivisions (short plats)
18.26.050	Preliminary short subdivisions		A-2
18.26.060	Final short subdivisions	A-1
18.26.080	Amendments (minor) to unrecorded short plats	A-1
18.26.080	Amendments to approved or recorded final short plats	A-1
	Subdivisions (long plats)
18.22.010	Preliminary subdivisions (long plats)					C-2
18.22.030	Final subdivisions		A-2
18.22.020	Minor amendments to approved preliminary plats		A-2
18.22.020	Major amendments to approved preliminary plats (alteration of recorded plat)					C-2
Title 19, Zoning
19.06.030	Comprehensive plan amendments				C-1
19.08.070	Administrative interpretation	A-1
19.20.010	Commercial height modification		A-2
19.25.090	b Telecommunication facilities (collocation)	A-1
19.25.110	b Telecommunication macro facilities, waiver, or variance					C-2
19.25.170	b Telecommunication – Eligible facility requests	A-1
19.25A	b Telecommunication – small cell facilities	A-1
19.30.060	Sign permit	A-1
19.30.200	Variances, sign code			A-3
19.32.050	Home occupation Type A with minor impact	A-1
19.32.060, 19.40	Home occupation Type B with potential impacts					C-2
19.33	Site plan reviews (commercial/industrial)					C-2
	Site plan review, administrative		A-2
19.33.090	Site plans amendment commercial/industrial/multifamily					C-2
19.33.090	Site plans – technical adjustment	A-1
19.34.020	Mobile home parks (four or more units)					C-2 a
19.34.020	Mobile home parks (two to four units)		A-2
19.40.020	Variances, zoning					C-2
19.40.115	Variances, administrative zoning		A-2
19.40.120	Conditional use permits, zoning code					C-2
19.50.040	Design review, major c		A-2
19.50.040	Design review, minor c		A-2
19.49	Multifamily design review waiver	A-1
19.52	Development code text amendments				C-1
19.52	Rezones, legislative				C-1
19.52	Rezones, site-specific					C-2 a

a The hearing examiner shall give a recommendation to the city council for decisions on applications for site specific rezones and residential clusters.

b Telecommunication facilities shall follow the shot clocks (time requirements) required by the FCC for complete applications, permit review, permit consolidation, conditions, approvals, and appeals.

c Major design review shall be subject to mandatory consolidation with any associated higher permit review.

(Ord. 05-23 § 8, 2023; Ord. 02-22 § 14, 2022; Ord. 13-19 § 2, 2019).