Chapter 20.25 PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL

Chapter 20.25
PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL – PUBLIC NOTICE

Sections:

20.25.020 Published notice of application.

20.25.040 Optional public notice of application.

20.25.010 Notice of application.

(1) 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.

(2) Within 10 business days after the city has made a determination of technical completeness, and before making a decision on an application, the director shall issue a notice of application to:

(a) All owners of record of real property within a minimum of 300 feet of the subject site. However, if the owner of the real property which is the subject of the application owns another parcel or parcels of real property which lie adjacent to the real property included in the application, notice under this subsection shall be given to owners of real property located within 300 feet of any portions of the boundaries of such adjacently located parcels of real property owned by the owner of the real property included in the application;

(b) All city-recognized neighborhood groups or associations whose boundaries include the subject site;

(d) Any government agency that is entitled to notice or that is affected by the application.

(3) Except as otherwise provided herein, the notice of application for a pending application shall:

(a) Provide a specific calendar 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. For all applications except a shoreline permit, the public comment period for a notice of application shall be a minimum of 14 calendar days. For shoreline permits under the purview of the city’s shoreline master program (SMP), the public comment period for a notice of application shall be not less than 30 calendar days. For all decisions to be made by the hearing examiner, all comments on a notice of application shall be submitted in writing before or at the public hearing;

(b) Identify the date of submission of the initial application, the date of the notice of technical completeness, and the date the notice of application was issued;

(d) Include the name and telephone number of a contact person regarding the application;

(e) Describe the proposal and identify all project permits requested in the application, and list all studies requested by the city;

(f) List the relevant approval criteria for the permit applied for, by name and number of code sections;

(g) 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;

(h) 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;

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

(j) 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 POMC 20.24.090;

(k) 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.

(4) The following shall also be required for preliminary plat applications:

(a) For a preliminary plat adjacent to or within one mile of the municipal boundaries of any city, which contemplates the use of any city utilities, mailed notice shall be given to the appropriate city 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. 019-17 § 18 (Exh. 1)).

20.25.020 Published notice of application.

(1) Public notice of an application shall be published in the city’s official newspaper or in a newspaper of general circulation within 14 calendar days after the city has made a determination of technical completeness on the application or in the first available paper beyond 14 calendar days (recognizing that the paper is a weekly publication and that there are publication deadlines).

(2) 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;

(d) The public comment period deadline;

(e) The location where comments may be sent and location where application materials may be reviewed.

(2) The department shall be responsible for preparing the published notice of application including the project description. (Ord. 019-17 § 18 (Exh. 1)).

20.25.030 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:

(1) The posted notice board shall:

(a) Include the words “Public Notice – Notice of Application” in (minimum) four-inch lettering across the top of the sign;

(b) Meet the following lettering standards:

(i) Helvetica or similar standard typeface, or, hand written block letters;

(ii) Include the project title in three-inch capital letters;

(iii) Include the proposal description in two-inch capital letters;

(iv) All other letters shall be one-and-one-half-inch upper and lower case;

(d) Include all of the same information as found in the published notice prepared by the city pursuant to POMC 20.25.020.

(2) The notice board shall be installed within 14 calendar days after the city issues the notice of complete application, and shall be placed:

(a) At the midpoint of the street fronting the site or as otherwise directed by the director for maximum visibility;

(b) No more than 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;

(d) Where it is completely visible to pedestrians.

(3) Additional notice boards may be required when:

(a) The site does not abut a public road;

(b) A large site abuts more than one public road; or

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

(5) Removal. It is the applicant’s responsibility to remove the public notice sign at the following times, as applicable:

(a) Fourteen days after the director’s decision has been issued (21 days after receipt of the shoreline packet by DOE) and no appeal has been filed or the project is withdrawn or canceled; or

(b) If the director’s decision has been appealed, the day after the appeal is resolved by either the hearing examiner or city council; or

(c) If the decision is made by the hearing examiner or city council, the day after final city council action on the proposal.

The applicant shall submit an affidavit of posting to the director at least 10 calendar 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 this requirement.

(6) Notice boards shall be constructed and installed in accordance with the city’s building code and the department’s specifications, if any. Alternatively, the city may make available public notice signs which can be purchased from the city upon payment of a fee to be set by resolution. (Ord. 019-17 § 18 (Exh. 1)).

20.25.040 Optional public notice of application.

(1) The director, in their discretion, may:

(a) Notify the public or private groups with known interest in a proposal or type of proposal;

(b) Notify the news media;

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

(e) Mail notice to neighboring property owners.

(2) The director’s failure to provide optional notice, as described in this section, shall not be grounds for invalidation of any permit decision. (Ord. 017-23 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 019-17 § 18 (Exh. 1)).

20.25.050 Notice of public hearing.

(1) Mailed Notice of Public Hearing. The city shall use the records of the Kitsap County assessor’s office as the official records for determining ownership of property. The director shall mail notice of the public hearing as follows:

(a) At least 14 calendar days before the hearing date, notice shall be mailed to:

(i) The applicant and all owners or contract purchasers of record of the property that is the subject of the application;

(ii) All property owners of record within 300 feet of the site;

(iii) Affected governmental agencies as determined by the city;

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

(v) Any person who submitted written comments on the application (other than a signed petition);

(vi) Any person who submits a written request to receive notice; and

(vii) For appeals, the appellant and all persons who provided testimony in the original decision.

(2) Affidavit of Mailed Notice of Public Hearing. The director shall have an affidavit of mailed notice of public hearing prepared and made a part of the administrative record. The affidavit 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.

(3) Published Notice of Public Hearing. At least 10 calendar days before the hearing, notice of the hearing shall be printed in the city’s official newspaper (a newspaper in general circulation in the city). The newspaper’s affidavit of publication of the notice shall be made part of the administrative record.

(4) 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;

(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 decision-maker(s) may be admitted;

(i) The name of a city representative to contact and the telephone number 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; and

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

(5) Final notice of decision for project permits not requiring a public hearing shall be mailed to the applicant in accordance with POMC 20.24.110. (Ord. 033-20 § 5; Ord. 019-17 § 18 (Exh. 1)).