Chapter 16.08
LAND DEVELOPMENT
Sections:
16.08.020 Development policies.
16.08.060 Identification of development impacts.
16.08.070 Mitigation required – Review – Alternatives.
16.08.010 Findings.
The City Council of the City of Everson makes the following findings after due consideration and public hearing:
A. The City of Everson was established to secure and institutionalize for its citizens certain values and goals essential to achieving and maintaining a high quality of life and attractive living environment.
B. Property development or redevelopment in Everson increases demand for and use of City services, utilities, parks, schools, playgrounds, streets, open spaces and other public facilities by bringing additional residents, visitors, businesses, employees and customers into the City.
C. Increasing demand brought on by property development or redevelopment lessens the availability, productivity, and usefulness of existing public services, utilities and facilities for present and future citizens and landowners of Everson and strains existing municipal resources beyond capacity.
D. Developers are capable of taking appropriate action to ensure that their property development or redevelopment projects do not reduce the availability, productivity and usefulness of existing public facilities and services.
E. It is necessary to regulate property development or redevelopment to achieve the goals outlined herein, and such regulation can provide criteria for identifying development impacts and alternatives for preventing or mitigating impacts to the City of Everson resulting from property development.
F. It is within the police power and other lawful authority of the City to regulate property development and redevelopment for the benefit of the public health, safety and welfare of its residents. [Ord. 415 § 1, 1991.]
16.08.020 Development policies.
A. Property development or redevelopment undertaken within the City should maintain high practical and aesthetic standards, should enhance the quality of life for existing and future City residents, and should provide high standards for public health, safety and welfare.
B. Property developers should take appropriate action to ensure that their projects do not reduce the availability, productivity and usefulness of existing public facilities and services.
C. Proportional mitigation should be required from each developer for the impacts attributable to that project on existing and planned public facilities and services, including but not limited to the park system, transportation system, utilities and other public facilities and services.
D. It is not a policy of the City of Everson to fund regular operational costs through developer mitigation efforts.
E. Mitigation efforts should be coordinated with other affected jurisdictions, including but not limited to Washington State, Whatcom County and the City of Nooksack. [Ord. 415 § 1, 1991.]
16.08.030 Definitions.
A. “Applicant” means any person, firm or corporation, other than the City, whether public or private, proposing a development in the City.
B. “Capital expenditure project” means a project or portion thereof which, under generally accepted accounting principles, is not chargeable as an expense of City operation or maintenance.
C. “Cash mitigation deposit” means a sum of money given to the City in lieu of providing in-kind mitigation of identified development impact(s).
D. “City” means the City of Everson.
E. “Development” means any proposed land use, zoning or rezoning, comprehensive plan amendment, annexation, subdivision, short subdivision, planned unit development, planned area development, building permit, binding site plan or any other property building action permitted or regulated by the Everson Municipal Code. A mere building permit issued for a single-family home on platted property shall not be considered a development as defined above.
F. “Development approval” means any recommendation or approval for development required or permitted by the Everson Municipal Code.
G. “Impact” means any effect on public facilities and services attributable or directly related to the proposed development.
H. “Mitigation” or “mitigate” means an action which avoids any negative or adverse impact, or which ameliorates any such impact.
I. “Public facilities and services” means any City owned, operated or contracted facility or service, in whole or in part, whether existing or planned, including but not limited to parks, utilities, recreational facilities, schools, libraries, playgrounds, streets, transportation facilities, open spaces, police, fire or garbage services, buildings, and all other such facilities or services, including related equipment.
J. “Director” means the Clerk or his/her designee. [Ord. 501 § 23, 1996; Ord. 415 § 1, 1991.]
16.08.040 Purpose.
A. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide a mechanism to identify and provide alternatives for mitigating direct impacts to public facilities and services resulting from development in or affecting the City.
B. It is intended that this chapter supplement and/or confirm existing lawful authority of the City to regulate property development within and adjacent to its boundaries for the benefit of the public and property developers. [Ord. 415 § 1, 1991.]
16.08.050 Application.
A. This chapter shall be applied as part of and integrated into the City’s land use and development approval procedures, so that mitigation decisions under this chapter are incorporated into development approval and permitting decisions at the earliest practical stage and may benefit from public review and comment.
B. Impact identification and determination of mitigation conditions under this chapter shall be made simultaneously with the environmental threshold determination required under Chapter 16.02 EMC, or as an element of any required environmental impact statement (EIS).
C. Notice of impact identification and determination of mitigation conditions shall be given in like manner as provided in EMC 16.02.320(A).
D. Impact identification and resulting mitigation conditions shall be deemed final for purposes of appeal at the same time as a mitigated determination of nonsignificance, or determination of nonsignificance becomes final, or when a final environmental impact statement (FEIS) is approved under Chapter 16.02 EMC.
E. Mitigation conditions imposed pursuant to this chapter shall be deemed conditions of the development permit and may be enforced by any available means, including, but not by way of limitation, withholding of final approval, occupancy permits, recording, work stoppage and/or revocation of permits or authority.
F. Decisions made under this chapter may be appealed by any interested person pursuant to the procedures provided in RCW 43.21C.075 and Chapter 16.02 EMC. No other appeal shall be allowed. The Director’s decision shall carry substantial weight in any appeal proceeding. [Ord. 415 § 1, 1991.]
16.08.060 Identification of development impacts.
A. Impact Identification Required. Before a development is given any development approval or is allowed to proceed, the Director shall cause or require that all impacts of the development, if any, be identified and quantified.
B. Impact Criteria. The Director shall consider but not be limited to the following items in identifying or quantifying an impact, to the extent the item is applicable to the development.
1. The City’s comprehensive plan and its subparts or subplans, the shoreline master program, the National Flood Insurance Program, all other applicable provisions of the Everson Municipal Code, the transportation improvement plan, capital improvement plan, or any other adopted City plan or policy.
2. Technical documents which discuss or analyze public facilities and services or adopted City plans.
3. Predevelopment versus postdevelopment demands upon public facilities and services.
4. Impact of the development on the size, number, capacity, condition, availability, proximity or other characteristics of public facilities and services.
5. Likelihood that an impact from a development, when aggregated with impacts of future development in the immediate vicinity, would require mitigation due to its cumulative effect.
6. Nature, quantity, cost, identified completion date, if any, and pro rata share if applicable, of contributions, improvements or dedications to public facilities and services, including those offered or suggested by the applicant.
7. Likelihood that the development will benefit from or use public facilities and services.
8. Existing or planned alternatives for financing capital improvements.
9. Whether the development furthers the public health, safety and general welfare.
10. Likelihood of City growth through annexation of areas adjacent to the development.
11. Whether impacts have been previously mitigated, in whole or in part.
12. Any other criteria useful for identifying or quantifying impacts and deemed relevant by the Director.
C. Identification Cost. The cost of any investigation, analysis or report necessary for an identification and quantification or valuation of impacts related to a development shall be borne by the applicant. The minimum charge for such investigation and review shall be as set forth in the City’s current master fee schedule adopted by resolution of the City Council. [Ord. 842 § 2, 2023; Ord. 597 § 5, 2002; Ord. 415 § 1, 1991.]
16.08.070 Mitigation required – Review – Alternatives.
A. Mitigation of Impacts Required. The Director shall not give a development approval unless satisfactory provisions have been made to mitigate identified impacts and such provisions meet the policies and goals of this chapter and of the City’s development regulations.
B. Review. The Director shall review the identified impacts and any proposed alternatives for mitigating such impacts to determine whether the policies and goals of this chapter and of the City’s development regulations can be met. Upon completion of review, the Director shall recommend such conditions of development as are consistent with this chapter.
C. Mitigation Alternatives. The following alternatives or any combination, either onsite or offsite, may be used as necessary to mitigate or avoid identified impacts. The list is not exhaustive and does not purport to describe all available or viable alternatives. Other alternatives may be used as necessary to achieve the policies and goals of this chapter and of the City’s development regulations:
1. Modification of the development so that identified impacts are avoided;
2. Dedication of land to the City for public purposes;
3. Contributions or payments offered by the applicant for use in mitigating onsite or offsite impacts as authorized under RCW 82.02.020. Contributions pursuant to RCW 82.02.020 shall not be required as a condition of development approval and shall be subject to the limitations of RCW 82.02.020 as now existing or hereafter amended; provided however, that persons entitled to a refund and/or payment of interest may voluntarily and in writing waive their right to such refund or payment in whole, in part, or for a specified time period to facilitate completion of the designated improvement. No such waiver shall be required as a condition of development approval, but when made shall be recorded with the Whatcom County Auditor and shall be binding on subsequent owners.
4. Environmental mitigation agreements under the authority of Chapter 43.21C RCW and Chapter 16.02 EMC. Such agreements shall not fall within the purview of RCW 82.02.020, and shall be distinct from voluntary contribution agreements.
5. Cash mitigation deposits offered by the developer under this chapter. Such deposits shall be used only to fund capital expenditure projects. Formulas to assist in determining the amount of such deposits may be adopted, from time to time, by resolution of the City Council.
6. Contractual arrangements between the applicant and the City permitting use by the general public of facilities or services within the development.
7. Contractual arrangements between the applicant and the City whereby the applicant constructs, funds, or commits to construct or fund public facilities and services which mitigate identified impacts.
8. Any contractual agreement, including but not limited to latecomers agreement, no-protest agreement, maintenance agreement, or funding agreement which mitigates any identified impact.
9. Any alternative offered by the applicant and satisfactory to the Director having the effect of mitigating identified impacts.
10. If the Director determines that identified impacts would be best mitigated on a regional basis, the Director may independently or in conjunction with any other jurisdiction prepare or have prepared a cost estimate and define a benefit area for the regional improvement. The fair share of the total costs to be allocated to the proposed development shall then be determined. [Ord. 415 § 1, 1991.]
16.08.080 Concurrency.
A. In addition to the other purposes and functions established herein, this chapter shall constitute the city’s concurrency ordinance as required by Chapter 36.70A RCW, the Growth Management Act.
B. The procedures set forth in this chapter shall be utilized to ensure the following: All required capital facilities meeting adopted level of service or other standards shall be available to serve the proposed development at the time the development is established, and permits and approvals shall not be issued that would allow a development to proceed that would cause a level of service to drop below the adopted standard. [Ord. 768 § 1, 2016.]
16.08.900 Construction.
A. This chapter is intended as a regulatory measure to promote the public health, safety and welfare. It shall be liberally construed to achieve that end.
B. This chapter shall be construed as supplementary and in addition to, and not in limitation of, any other rights, duties, powers or obligations held or exercisable by the City. [Ord. 415 § 1, 1991.]