Chapter 15.48
SITING ESSENTIAL PUBLIC FACILITIES

Sections:

15.48.010    Siting essential public facilities.

15.48.020    Essential public facilities must be allowed in city.

15.48.010 Siting essential public facilities.

Essential public facilities identified as conditional uses in SBMC Title 16, Zoning, are subject, at a minimum, to the following requirements.

A. Essential public facilities must be classified as follows:

1. Type One. These are multicounty facilities (on the Office of Financial Management (OFM) list of future projects.) These are major facilities serving or potentially affecting more than one county. These facilities include, but are not limited to, regional transportation facilities, such as regional airports; state correction facilities; and state education facilities.

2. Type Two. These are local or inter-local facilities serving or potentially affecting residents or property in more than one jurisdiction. They could include, but are not limited to, county jails, county landfills, community colleges, sewage treatment facilities, communication towers, and inpatient facilities (e.g., substance abuse facilities and mental health facilities). [Note: Facilities that would not have impacts beyond the jurisdiction in which they are proposed to be located would be Type Three facilities.]

3. Type Three. These are facilities serving or potentially affecting only the jurisdiction in which they are proposed to be located.

B. An applicant must identify the approximate area within which the proposed project could potentially have adverse impacts, (such as increased traffic, public safety risks, noise, glare, emissions, or other environmental impacts) in order to enable the city to determine the project’s classification.

C. An applicant must provide early notification and involvement of affected citizens and jurisdictions as follows:

1. Type One and Type Two Facilities. At least 90 days before submitting an application for a Type One or Type Two essential public facility, the prospective applicant must notify the affected public and jurisdictions of the general type and nature of the proposal, identify sites under consideration for accommodating the proposed facility, and identify opportunities to comment on the proposal. Applications for specific projects will not be considered complete in the absence of proof of a published notice regarding the proposed project in a newspaper of general circulation in the affected area. This notice must include the information described above and must be published at least 90 days prior to the submission of the application.

2. The Pacific County planning commission may provide the project sponsor and affected jurisdiction(s) with their comments or recommendations regarding alternative project locations during this 90-day period. (The purpose of this provision is to enable potentially affected jurisdictions and the public to collectively review and comment on alternative sites for major facilities before the project sponsor has made their siting decision.)

3. Type Three Facilities. Type Three essential public facilities are subject to the city’s standard notification requirements for conditional uses.

D. Essential public facilities must not have any probable significant adverse impact on critical areas or resource lands, except for lineal facilities, such as highways, where no feasible alternative exists.

E. Major public facilities which generate substantial traffic should be sited near major transportation corridors.

F. Applicants for Type One essential public facilities must provide an analysis of the alternative sites considered for the proposed facility. This analysis must include the following:

1. An evaluation of the sites’ capability to meet basic siting criteria for the proposed facility, such as size, physical characteristics, access, and availability of necessary utilities and support services;

2. An explanation of the need for the proposed facility in the proposed location;

3. The sites’ relationship to the service area and the distribution of other similar public facilities within the service area or jurisdiction, whichever is larger;

4. A general description of the relative environmental, traffic, and social impacts associated with locating the proposed facility at the alternative sites that meet the applicant’s basic siting criteria. The applicant must also identify proposed mitigation measures to alleviate or minimize significant potential impacts;

5. The applicant must also briefly describe the process used to identify and evaluate the alternative sites.

G. The proposed project must comply with all applicable provisions of the city’s comprehensive plan and this title. (Ord. 1222 § 1, 1997).

15.48.020 Essential public facilities must be allowed in city.

Conditional use procedures may not be used to prevent essential public facilities from locating somewhere in the city. (Ord. 1222 § 1, 1997).