Chapter 16.30 PUBLIC NOTICE

Chapter 16.30
PUBLIC NOTICE

Sections:

16.30.020 Published notice of application.

16.30.040 Optional public notice of application.

16.30.010 Notice of application.

A. The purpose of the notice of application is to give nearby property owners and other interested persons the opportunity to submit written comments about the application before the decision on the application is made. The goal of this notice is to invite people to participate early in the decision-making process.

B. Within 14 days after the city has made a determination of completeness, and before making a decision on an application, the director shall issue a notice of application to:

1. All owners of record of real property within a minimum of 300 feet of the subject site;

2. All city-recognized neighborhood groups or associations whose boundaries include the subject site;

3. Any person who submits a written request to receive a notice; and

4. Any government agency that is entitled to notice or that is affected by the application.

C. The notice of application for a pending application shall:

1. Provide a 14-day period for submitting written comments before a decision is made on the permit, and state the place, date and time the comments are due, and the person to whom the comments should be addressed (the public comment period for a notice of application under the purview of the city’s shoreline master program (SMP) shall be not less than 30 days following the date of the notice of application);

2. Identify the date of submission of the initial application, the date the notice of complete application and the date of the notice of application;

3. Describe the street address or other easily understandable reference to the location of the site;

4. Include the name, email address, and telephone number of a contact person for the applicant regarding the application;

5. Describe the proposal and identify all project permits requested in the application, and list all studies requested by the city;

6. List the relevant approval criteria for the permit applied for, by name and number of code sections;

7. Describe existing environmental documents that evaluate the proposed project, and, if not otherwise stated on the notice of application, the location where the application and any studies can be reviewed;

8. State that any person may comment on the application, receive notice of and participate in any hearings and request a copy of the decision on the application, and describing any appeal rights;

9. Identify the date, time, place and type of hearing, if a hearing has been scheduled when the date of notice of application is issued;

10. If made at the time the notice of application is prepared, the notice of application shall include a summary of the preliminary determination of consistency required by PMC 16.40.020, and a statement of preliminary determination of those development regulations that will be used for project mitigation, as provided in PMC 16.40.050 (and the city’s SEPA ordinance);

11. Include any other information determined appropriate by the director, such as the SEPA responsible official’s SEPA threshold determination, if complete at the time of issuance of the notice of application.

12. For preliminary plat applications:

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

b. Notice of the filing of a preliminary plat of a proposed subdivision adjoining the boundaries of the county shall be given to the appropriate county officials; and

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 State Secretary of the Department of Transportation. (Ord. 2050 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021).

16.30.020 Published notice of application.

Public notice of an application shall be published in the city’s official newspaper or in a newspaper of general circulation within 14 days after the city has made a determination of completeness on the application or in the first reasonably available paper beyond 14 days (recognizing that the paper is a weekly publication and that there are publication deadlines). The published notice shall contain at a minimum: (A) the project location by street address or other means of ready identification; (B) a description of the proposal; (C) identification of the permit applications submitted; (D) the public comment period deadline; (E) location where comments may be sent and location where application materials may be reviewed. (Ord. 2050 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021).

16.30.030 Posted notice of application.

Public notice of an application shall be posted by the applicant at the applicant’s cost on one or more notice boards as follows:

A. The posted notice board shall include all of the information set forth in PMC 16.30.010(C).

B. The notice board shall be installed within 14 days after the city issues the notice of complete application, and shall be placed:

1. At the midpoint of the street fronting the site or as otherwise directed by the director for maximum visibility;

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

3. The top of the notice board must be between five and six feet above grade; and

4. The notice board must be placed where it is completely visible and accessible to pedestrians.

C. Additional notice boards may be required when:

1. The site does not abut a public road;

2. A large site abuts more than one public road; or

3. The director determines that additional notice boards are necessary to provide adequate public notice.

D. Notice boards shall be maintained in good condition by the applicant during the application review period until the final decision issues.

E. The cost of the construction and installation of the notice board shall be the responsibility of the applicant.

Figure 1

F. The applicant shall submit an affidavit or sworn declaration of posting to the director at least 10 days prior to the public hearing on the application or the deadline for public comments. If an affidavit is not filed as required, or if the notice board is removed during this time period, any scheduled hearing or deadline for public comments shall be postponed until the applicant complies with both the posting and the affidavit requirement.

G. Notice boards shall be constructed and installed in accordance with the city’s building code or the building official’s specifications. The notice board shall be constructed to the dimensions and colors as shown in Figure 1. The city will provide the applicant the information to be placed on the notice board.

H. See PMC 21.50.130 to see additional posting requirements for shoreline permits. (Ord. 2050 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021).

16.30.040 Optional public notice of application.

A. The director, in his or her discretion, may:

1. Notify the public or private groups with known interest in a proposal or type of proposal;

2. Notify the news media;

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

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

5. Mail notice to neighboring property owners.

B. The director’s failure to provide optional notice, as described in this section, shall not be grounds for invalidation of any permit decision. (Ord. 2050 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021).

16.30.050 Notice of public hearing.

A. Mailed Notice of Public Hearing. The city shall use the records of the King or Pierce County Assessor’s Office as the official records for determining ownership of property. The director shall mail notice of the public hearing as follows:

1. At least 10 days before the hearing date, notice shall be mailed to:

a. The applicant and all owners or contract purchasers of record of the property that is the subject of the application;

b. All property owners of record within 300 feet of the site;

c. Affected governmental agencies as determined by the city;

d. Any neighborhood or community organization whose boundaries include the property proposed for development, and which has requested notice;

e. Any person who submits a written request to receive notice;

f. For appeals, the appellant and all persons who provided testimony in the original decision.

B. Proof of Mailed Notice of Public Hearing. The director or his/her designee shall have an affidavit or sworn declaration of mailed notice of public hearing prepared and made a part of the administrative record. The affidavit or sworn declaration shall be a sworn statement stating the date that the notice of public hearing was mailed to the persons who must receive notice, as identified herein.

C. Published Notice of Public Hearing.

1. At least 10 days before the hearing, a notice of hearing shall be printed in the city’s official newspaper (a newspaper in general circulation in the city). The newspaper’s proof of publication of the notice shall be made part of the administrative record.

2. Content of Notice of Public Hearing. The notice of public hearing shall contain:

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

b. A description of the subject property reasonably sufficient to inform the public of its location, including, but not limited to, a vicinity location or written description, a map or postal address, and a subdivision lot and block designation, but need not include a legal description. A legal description alone does not meet this requirement;

c. The date, time, and place of the public hearing;

d. The nature of the application and the proposed land use or uses that could be authorized for the property;

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

f. The sections of the code that are pertinent to the hearing procedure, including, but not limited to, the codes describing the applicable criteria and development standards that apply to the application;

g. The threshold determination made under SEPA (WAC 197-11-330), if any;

h. A statement describing when the information in the administrative record may be examined by the public, and when and how written comments addressing findings required for a decision by the decisionmaker(s) may be admitted;

i. The name of a city representative to contact and the telephone number and/or email address where additional information may be obtained;

j. A statement explaining that a copy of the application, all documents relied upon by the applicant, and a list of the applicable criteria for the application are available for inspection by the public at no cost and that copies will be provided at the requestor’s cost;

k. A statement explaining that a copy of the staff report will be available for inspection at no cost at least seven days prior to the hearing and that copies will be provided at the requestor’s cost.

D. Final notice of decision for project permits not requiring a public hearing which is issued in accordance with PMC 16.50.100(C) shall be mailed to the applicant. (Ord. 2050 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021).