Chapter 18.15
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT PROCESS
Sections:
18.15.010 Comprehensive plan amendment process and public participation program.
18.15.040 Amendment process and schedule.
18.15.060 Sponsored amendments.
18.15.070 Preliminary docket review criteria.
18.15.080 Annual amendment decision criteria.
18.15.090 Public participation – Notice provisions.
18.15.100 Public participation program.
18.15.110 Technical advisory group.
18.15.010 Comprehensive plan amendment process and public participation program.
This chapter establishes the authority, process, format, and criteria by which the comprehensive plan may be amended in accordance with Chapter 36.70A RCW. This chapter also establishes the city’s public participation program as required by RCW 36.70A.140. (Ord. 1565 § 2, 2009).
18.15.020 Applicability.
(1) This chapter shall apply to updates, amendments or revisions to the comprehensive plan that are considered by the city council no more frequently than once a year. At the discretion of the mayor, amendments may be considered more frequently than once a year for the following circumstances:
(a) The initial adoption of a subarea plan that does not modify the general vision, goals and policies of the comprehensive plan;
(b) The adoption or amendment of a shoreline master program under the procedures set forth in Chapter 90.58 RCW;
(c) The amendment of the capital facilities element of a comprehensive plan that occurs concurrently with the adoption or amendment of the city budget.
(2) Although sometimes referred to as the annual docket, nothing in this chapter shall be deemed as requiring that amendments be undertaken every year. (Ord. 1565 § 3, 2009).
18.15.030 Responsibility.
(1) The director of development services shall have the responsibility to:
(a) Administer this chapter.
(b) Establish application and administrative procedures that may also include fee collection, refunds, etc.
(c) Review the applications and make a determination of completeness for inclusion in the preliminary docket for planning commission review.
(d) Place amendments on the preliminary docket for planning commission and city council consideration.
(e) Make a recommendation to the planning commission and the city council on the annual docket and work program.
(2) The planning commission shall have the responsibility to:
(a) Review proposed amendments to the comprehensive plan that are included in the annual preliminary docket.
(b) Hold a public hearing, deliberate, and make recommendations to the city council on the said annual preliminary docket.
(c) Place items, as determined by majority vote, on the preliminary docket for city council consideration.
(d) Review and study proposed amendments to the comprehensive plan that are included in the city council-approved annual docket for each year and hold a public hearing, deliberate, and make recommendations to the city council on said proposals.
(3) The city council shall have the responsibility to:
(a) Review each proposal on the preliminary docket to amend the comprehensive plan and make a final decision that results in establishing the planning commission’s annual docket work program for each year.
(b) Place items, as determined by majority vote, on the annual docket.
(c) Hold a public hearing and make a final decision on the amendments pursuant to this section after the planning commission has provided a recommendation to the city council. (Ord. 1565 § 4, 2009).
18.15.040 Amendment process and schedule.
The comprehensive plan shall be amended pursuant to this chapter, no more frequently than once a year as part of the amendment cycle established in this chapter, except as provided in OHMC 18.15.020.
(1) The public shall be made aware of the deadline to submit proposed amendments to the comprehensive plan by means of two publications in the local newspaper of general circulation in the city, with the first notice published at least 30 days prior to the deadline.
(2) The deadline for submitting an application for amendments pursuant to this chapter is close of business, December 1st of each year, or the next business day if December 1st falls on a Saturday or Sunday.
(3) Only applications that fulfill the requirements of OHMC 18.15.060 by the deadline in subsection (2) of this section shall be placed on the preliminary docket for consideration in the next annual amendment process.
(4) The planning commission may recommend amendments be added to the preliminary docket, but such recommendation shall be made before December 1st of each year so that they may be published along with other proposed amendments. Only such amendments that have received a majority vote by the planning commission shall be included in the preliminary docket for consideration.
(5) The director of development services shall review all complete applications submitted by the deadline set forth in subsection (2) of this section based upon the threshold criteria set forth in OHMC 18.15.070(1) and place them on the preliminary docket along with the discretionary and mandated items in accordance with OHMC 18.15.050.
(6) The director of development services shall advertise the preliminary docket in the local newspaper of general circulation prior to its consideration for recommendation by the planning commission.
(7) The planning commission shall hold a public hearing on the preliminary docket and review said docket based on the criteria set forth in OHMC 18.15.070(2) and make a recommendation to the city council before January 31st of each year.
(8) The city council shall hold a public hearing and review the preliminary docket and, after such review and deliberation, establish an annual docket before March 31st of each year.
(9) The annual docket shall be advertised in the local newspaper of general circulation.
(10) Proposals on the annual docket shall be open for public input throughout the amendment process. However, formal and informal meetings such as but not limited to neighborhood meetings, town hall meetings, open houses, etc., will generally be scheduled between August 1st of each year and September 30th of each year to provide consistency and predictability. Public input on the amendments shall be in accordance with OHMC 18.15.090.
(11) A draft of the proposed amendments on the annual docket shall be transmitted to the Washington State Department of Commerce in accordance with the requirements of RCW 36.70A.106 not later than August 31st of each year.
(12) The planning commission shall hold a public hearing on the proposed amendments in the annual docket based on the criteria set forth in OHMC 18.15.080 and make a recommendation on each proposal to the city council before October 31st of each year.
(13) The city council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed amendments in the annual docket and take action on such amendments before December 31st of each year. (Ord. 1903 § 3, 2020; Ord. 1565 § 5, 2009).
18.15.050 Docket.
(1) Responsibility. The director of development services shall have responsibility to manage the preliminary docket as set forth in this section and assure that the process and schedule set forth in OHMC 18.40.040 are followed.
(2) Format.
(a) The docket shall not span a term of more than one year.
(b) The items on the preliminary docket shall be categorized by the type of amendments as set forth in subsection (3) of this section.
(c) Each agenda item on the preliminary docket shall be assigned a predetermined priority based on the criteria established in subsection (4) of this section.
(3) Types of Amendments.
(a) Sponsored Amendments. These are amendments that are proposed through the application process submitted prior to December 1st of each year for consideration in the annual docket. Sponsored amendments are limited to those amendments as set forth in OHMC 18.15.060.
(b) Mandated Amendments. These amendments are proposed for the annual docket in response to existing and scheduled mandates from the state and the countywide planning policies. The director of development services shall be responsible for placing proposals to meet such mandates on the preliminary docket for the year in which the mandate requires action.
(c) Discretionary Amendments. These amendments are added to the annual docket to proactively add, amend, revise, delete or further goals and policies in the comprehensive plan. Discretionary items can be added to the docket by boards, commissions or the council as established by the OHMC and by the director of development services. Discretionary items from boards and commissions shall be added to the docket only after such items have received a majority vote by said board, commission or council.
(4) Prioritization. Each item on the preliminary docket shall be assigned a pre-determined priority by the director based on the following criteria:
(a) Priority A – Mandated. Amendments and updates that are in response to an existing or scheduled mandate from the state or countywide planning policies shall automatically be considered during the appropriate amendment cycle.
(b) Priority B – Sponsored.
(i) Private amendments that are sponsored by an individual property owner or a group, that impact specific properties.
(ii) Public amendments that meet the requirements set forth in OHMC 18.15.060(2).
(c) Priority C – Discretionary. Discretionary amendments that are generated by boards, commissions and the council to further the goals and policies of the comprehensive plan.
(5) Approval. The city council shall establish by resolution the annual docket. The annual docket shall specifically apply only to the amendments listed for the current year. (Ord. 1565 § 6, 2009).
18.15.060 Sponsored amendments.
Sponsored amendments are initiated by the public through the application process. Sponsored amendments are classified into two categories as described below:
(1) Private Amendments. These are applications initiated by an individual property owner or a group of property owners who are requesting changes that will primarily impact properties that they own or control.
(a) Application Requirements.
(i) An application form provided by the department of development services and completed by the applicant that includes, at minimum, the applicant’s name, address, contact information, property address and location, parcel number(s), existing land use designation, proposed land use designation and zoning designation.
(ii) A map of the property clearly showing the subject properties and its surrounding context.
(iii) A narrative clearly stating the proposal and what the amendment is attempting to accomplish.
(iv) A completed environmental checklist, if required by the director.
(v) An application processing fee in accordance with RCW 82.02.020.
(2) Public Amendments. These are applications initiated by the public requesting changes, additions, or updates to elements, maps, data, goals and policies that have an areawide or citywide significance. Since these requests can have an impact to the community at large, the application requirements vary from the private amendments.
(a) Application Requirements.
(i) A narrative clearly stating the proposal and what the amendment is attempting to accomplish.
(ii) Identification, address and contact information of the lead person or group initiating the proposed amendment.
(iii) Identify the goals and policies within the comprehensive plan that are proposed to be amended.
(iv) Proposed new or replacement language.
(v) Identify goals and policies that support the proposed amendment.
(vi) Supporting studies or findings that justify the proposed amendments.
(vii) A petition supporting the proposed amendment that includes the signatures and names and addresses of one of the following:
(A) No less than 250 residents or property owners of the city and its urban growth area; or
(B) Sixty percent of the property owners impacted by the proposed amendments.
(viii) An application processing fee is waived for public amendments. (Ord. 1565 § 7, 2009).
18.15.070 Preliminary docket review criteria.
(1) Applications. The director of development services shall review all complete applications submitted by the deadline set forth in OHMC 18.15.040 and make a decision whether each application should be placed on the preliminary docket based upon the following criteria:
(a) The application is complete and all relevant information in accordance with the requirements of OHMC 18.15.060(1)(a) or (2)(a) has been provided.
(b) The application was submitted by the deadline established in OHMC 18.15.040.
(c) The correct application processing fee has been paid in full by the deadline established in OHMC 18.15.040.
(2) The Preliminary Docket. The planning commission will review the proposed amendments on the preliminary docket and make a recommendation to the city council. Recommendations on whether agenda items shall be included in the annual docket should be based on one or more of the following criteria:
(a) The proposed amendments are consistent with the Growth Management Act and the countywide planning policies.
(b) The proposal does not appear to contradict other elements, goals and policies within the comprehensive plan.
(c) The proposal will implement or further existing goals and policies in the comprehensive plan.
(d) The proposal would correct an inconsistency within or make a clarification to a provision of the comprehensive plan.
(e) The proposed amendments have been clearly defined to determine a fairly accurate scope of work.
(f) The proposed amendments respond to an expressed desire by the community.
(g) The public interest would be best served by considering the proposal in the current year. (Ord. 1565 § 8, 2009).
18.15.080 Annual amendment decision criteria.
The planning commission shall review and the city council shall decide on all proposed amendments based on the following decision criteria, where applicable:
(1) The amendment will not adversely affect the public health, safety and welfare in any significant way.
(2) The proposed amendment is consistent with the overall goals and intent of the comprehensive plan.
(3) The amendment is in compliance with the Growth Management Act and the countywide planning policies.
(4) The amendment addresses the needs or changing circumstances of the community as a whole or resolves inconsistencies in the city’s comprehensive plan.
(5) Environmental impacts from the amendments have been addressed through SEPA review and/or measures have been included that reduce possible impacts.
(6) The amendment is consistent with the land uses and growth projections which were the basis of the comprehensive plan or to subsequent updates to growth allocations.
(7) The amendment is generally compatible with neighboring land uses and surrounding neighborhoods.
(8) The proposed amendment accommodates new policy direction from the city council.
(9) Other specific criteria that may have been identified at the beginning of the process. (Ord. 1565 § 9, 2009).
18.15.090 Public participation – Notice provisions.
(1) The public participation requirements of this chapter shall include notice procedures that are reasonably calculated to provide notice to property owners and other affected and interested individuals, tribes, government agencies, businesses, school districts, and organizations of proposed amendments to comprehensive plans and development regulation. Examples of reasonable notice provisions include:
(a) Publishing notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, city, or general area where the proposal is located or that will be affected by the proposal;
(b) Posting the property for site-specific proposals;
(c) Notifying public or private groups with known interest in a certain proposal or in the type of proposal being considered;
(d) Placing notices in appropriate regional, neighborhood, ethnic, or trade journals; and
(e) Publishing notice in agency newsletters or sending notice to agency mailing lists, including general lists or lists for specific proposals or subject areas.
(2) Changes to Proposed Amendments.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2)(b) of this section, if the legislative body for a county or city chooses to consider a change to an amendment to a comprehensive plan or development regulation, and the change is proposed after the opportunity for review and comment has passed under the city’s procedures, an opportunity for review and comment on the proposed change shall be provided before the council votes on the proposed change.
(b) An additional opportunity for public review and comment is not required under subsection (2)(a) of this section if:
(i) An environmental impact statement has been prepared under Chapter 43.21C RCW for the pending resolution or ordinance and the proposed change is within the range of alternatives considered in the environmental impact statement;
(ii) The proposed change is within the scope of the alternatives available for public comment;
(iii) The proposed change only corrects typographical errors, corrects cross-references, makes address or name changes, or clarifies language of a proposed ordinance or resolution without changing its effect;
(iv) The proposed change is to a resolution or ordinance making a capital budget decision as provided in RCW 36.70A.120; or
(v) The proposed change is to a resolution or ordinance enacting a moratorium or interim control adopted under RCW 36.70A.390. (Ord. 1565 § 10, 2009).
18.15.100 Public participation program.
Early, continuing and widespread public participation shall be provided during the comprehensive plan amendment process. The public notices for comprehensive plan amendments shall be in accordance with OHMC 18.20.380(5) pertaining to the Type V review process and with OHMC 18.20.386, where applicable. In accordance with RCW 36.70A.140, the following public participation program shall be incorporated into the amendment process:
(1) Broad Dissemination of Proposals and Alternatives.
(a) The call for proposals to amend the comprehensive plan shall be advertised in the local newspaper 30 days before the deadline for filing applications in accordance with the schedule in OHMC 18.15.040.
(b) The preliminary docket shall be advertised in the local newspaper prior to its review by the planning commission.
(c) The annual docket shall be advertised in the local newspaper after approval by city council.
(2) Opportunity for Written Comment. Written comments regarding items on the proposed docket or the annual docket can be submitted at any time during the review process up to the final city council hearing.
(3) Public Meetings After Effective Notice. All public hearings regarding comprehensive plan amendments shall follow the public notice provisions provided in OHMC 18.20.380 and 18.20.386, where applicable.
(4) Provisions for Open Discussions, Communication Programs and Information Services. The director of development services shall determine the appropriate public input forum to discuss items on the annual docket. Forums may include but not be limited to the following:
(a) Public Meeting and Workshops. Informal at-large public gatherings to solicit ideas, present proposals and encourage constructive feedback.
(b) Neighborhood Discussions. When a proposed amendment has a clear geographical interest.
(c) Open Houses. Advertised event to display information related to the amendments to the public including informal discussions with staff.
(d) Display Kiosks. Information display at general public events and venues.
(e) Websites and Blogs. An internet-based information distribution, discussion and input mechanism.
(5) Consideration of and response to comments may vary in form and may include letters, staff reports, responses on the web and web-based media. Written comments received after the final staff report on the subject amendment is prepared may not be responded to in writing. (Ord. 1565 § 11, 2009).
18.15.110 Technical advisory group.
(1) The mayor has the authority to appoint members to a technical advisory group if the city council approves the need for such a group and approves it as part of the annual docket approval process. The need for a technical advisory group shall be based on whether a specific amendment or amendments require:
(a) Technical expertise; or
(b) Scientific expertise; or
(c) Experience in a specific or unique field; or
(d) Input from two or more impacted groups; or
(e) Input from two or more public/government entities; or
(f) Any other reason not mentioned above as determined by the mayor.
(2) The term for members on the technical advisory group is limited to the duration of the specific amendment for which the group was formed. (Ord. 1565 § 12, 2009).
18.15.120 Appeals.
Appeal of a city council decision on a comprehensive plan amendment is governed by state law. (Ord. 1565 § 13, 2009).