Chapter 24A.10
ANNUAL AMENDMENTS

Sections:

24A.10.010    Annual docket procedures.

24A.10.020    Legislative review of annual docket.

24A.10.030    Decision criteria.

24A.10.040    Concurrent review.

24A.10.010 Annual docket procedures.

Pursuant to RCW 36.70A.130, except in certain limited situations, the GMA permits amendments to the Comprehensive Plan no more frequently than once every year. The annual docket determines the list of items that will go through review by the City council as possible amendments to the Comprehensive Plan.

(1) Docket Request Submittal Deadline and Requirements.

(a) Docket requests from any interested person, entity, or agency shall be accepted throughout the year.

(b) The deadline for submitting such an application is 5:00 p.m. on the first Monday of August each year. Any docket request received after the submittal deadline shall be considered during the following year’s annual docket.

(c) The City shall review all complete docket requests proposing amendments to the Comprehensive Plan filed by the submittal deadline and consider these requests during docket review.

(d) Docket requests to amend the Comprehensive Plan shall be submitted on the form provided by the City.

(e) To be considered complete, a form must contain all the required information, including supporting documentation, and the applicant must pay any established fees, as established by the City.

(2) Docket Request Types. During the annual review, the City shall accept two types of docket requests:

(a) Text amendments to change the text of the Sammamish Comprehensive Plan or the Sammamish Municipal Code development regulations through additions, corrections, or other modifications.

(b) Site-specific land use map amendments to change the Comprehensive Plan’s future land use map for a property, up to three contiguous properties with more than one ownership, or up to six contiguous properties under the same ownership. Site-specific land use map amendments must be initiated by an applicant as defined in SMC 21.04.040(B)(18).

(3) Docket Request Process.

(a) People interested in submitting a site-specific land use map docket request must complete a site-specific land use map amendment pre-application conference prior to submitting their application in order to learn about the application requirements as well as the Comprehensive Plan amendment process for a site-specific land use map amendment.

(b) The City shall review, assess, and prepare a recommendation regarding whether or not to add the docket request to the annual docket for each docket request that meets the requirements in subsection (1) of this section, based on alignment with work plan items, budget and staff availability to complete a full review of the proposal, and consistency with the City’s current policies and programmatic priorities.

(c) The planning commission shall hold a public hearing, consistent with the procedures listed in SMC 24A.15.030, on the docket requests deemed complete pursuant to subsection (1) of this section and shall review the docket requests based on the analysis and recommendation of the director of community development using the guidance provided in subsection (3)(b) of this section.

(d) The planning commission shall make a recommendation on which docket requests should be added to the annual docket and transmit that recommendation to the City council.

(e) The City council shall hold a public hearing, consistent with the procedures listed in SMC 24A.15.030 and decide which docket requests warrant placement on the annual docket. The City council shall take into consideration the recommendations of the planning commission, and the guidance provided in subsection (3)(b) of this section, and other legislative priorities for the City.

(f) The annual docket shall be created by City council’s approval of a resolution that lists the requests that have been placed on the docket.

(g) The City council may deny, approve, or modify the docket request at its discretion. Placement of a docket request on the annual docket does not mean the amendment request will be approved by the City council.

(h) If a site-specific land use map amendment docket request is not placed on the annual docket, the applicant, as defined in SMC 21.04.040(B)(18), must wait until the third docket cycle following the proposal’s rejection before they can resubmit a docket request for the same proposal. (Ord. O2019-483 § 2 (Att. A))

24A.10.020 Legislative review of annual docket.

(1) Amendment Proposal Submittal Requirements.

(a) Once placed on the annual docket, docket requests shall be referred to as amendment proposals and shall undergo legislative review.

(b) Proposals to amend the Comprehensive Plan or the Sammamish Municipal Code development regulations shall be submitted on the application form provided by the City.

(c) To be considered complete, an application must contain all the required information in the City’s application form, including supporting documentation, and the applicant must pay any established fees, as established by the City.

(2) Text Amendment Proposal Process.

(a) Applicants shall submit a text amendment proposal application within 30 days of City council’s approval of the annual docket.

(b) The City shall analyze and consider each text amendment proposal for conformance with the decision criteria detailed in SMC 24A.10.030.

(c) The planning commission shall hold a public hearing, consistent with the procedures listed in SMC 24A.15.030, on the amendment proposals deemed complete pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. The director of community development may combine amendment proposals into one or more public hearings. The planning commission shall review text amendment proposals based on the criteria in SMC 24A.10.030 and the analysis and recommendation of the director of community development. Following the public hearing(s), the planning commission shall make a recommendation on which amendment proposals should be approved and transmit that recommendation to the City council.

(d) The City council shall hold a public hearing, consistent with the procedures listed in SMC 24A.15.030, on the amendment proposals deemed complete pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. The director of community development may combine amendment proposals into one or more public hearings. The City council shall review text amendment proposals based on the criteria in SMC 24A.10.030 and the recommendations of the planning commission before voting on which amendment proposals should be denied, approved, or modified.

(e) City council shall adopt an ordinance amending the Comprehensive Plan and development regulations that includes all changes previously approved by the City council.

(f) City council shall adopt an ordinance amending the Sammamish Municipal Code development regulations as changes are approved by the City council.

(3) Site-Specific Land Use Map Amendment Proposal Process.

(a) Applicants shall submit a site-specific land use map amendment proposal application within 30 days of City council’s approval of the docket.

(b) The City shall analyze and consider each site-specific land use map amendment proposal for conformance with the decision criteria detailed in section SMC 24A.10.030.

(c) The planning commission shall hold a public hearing, consistent with the procedures listed in SMC 24A.15.030, on each amendment proposal deemed complete pursuant to SMC subsection (1) of this section and shall review each site-specific land use map amendment proposal based on the criteria in SMC 24A.10.030 and the analysis and recommendation of the director of community development. The planning commission shall make a recommendation on which amendment proposals should be approved and transmit that recommendation to the City council.

(d) The City council shall hold a public hearing, consistent with the procedures listed in SMC 24A.15.030, on each amendment proposal deemed complete pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. The City council shall review each site-specific land use map amendment proposal based on the criteria in SMC 24A.10.030 and the recommendation of the planning commission before voting on which amendment proposals should be denied, approved, or modified.

(e) City council shall adopt an ordinance amending the Comprehensive Plan that includes all changes previously approved by the City council.

(f) In the case that the City council’s approval of a site-specific land use map amendment creates inconsistency with the current zoning map, the approval of the proposed site-specific land use map amendment will be contingent on the subsequent approval of a zone reclassification.

(g) Contingent approval of a site-specific land use map amendment proposal is required before an associated zone reclassification will be considered.

(h) Applicants shall submit a zone reclassification application within 90 days of City council contingent approval of the site-specific land use map amendment application. The zone reclassification is a Type 3 land use decision and follows the process detailed in SMC 21.09.010.

(i) A City council contingent approval shall be null and void if the zone reclassification application:

(i) Is not received within 90 days of the contingent approval; and

(ii) Is not consistent with the contingent approval. (Ord. O2019-483 § 2 (Att. A))

24A.10.030 Decision criteria.

The planning commission may recommend, and the City council may approve, or approve with modifications, an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan or the Sammamish Municipal Code development regulations if:

(1) The amendment is consistent with the GMA, the King County CPPs, the Sammamish Comprehensive Plan, the office of financial management’s population projections, the Puget Sound Regional Council’s planning documents, King County’s Urban Growth Capacity Study, and the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Review and Evaluation Program, as applicable; and

(2) The amendment addresses changing circumstances, changing community values, or corrects information; and

(3) The amendment is in the greater public interest and represents an action that best serves the entire community, taking into account the fiscal impact. (Ord. O2019-483 § 2 (Att. A))

24A.10.040 Concurrent review.

(1) Proposed amendments may be considered at separate meetings or hearings; however, the final action taken shall consider the cumulative effect of all proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan.

(2) The City shall complete an environmental review of the combined impacts of all docketed requests consistent with WAC 365-196-620. (Ord. O2019-483 § 2 (Att. A))