HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 2022-013 An Ordinance of the City of Arlington, Washington Amending Chapter 20.20 of the Arlington Municipal Code Regarding Zoning Appeals, Variances and Interpretations ORDINANCE NO. 2022-013
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ARLINGTON, WASHINGTON
AMENDING CHAPTER 20.20 OF THE ARLINGTON
MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING ZONING APPEALS, VARIANCES AND INTERPRETATIONS
WHEREAS, the City staff has engaged in a comprehensive review and has proposed an update
containing numerous revisions to the Arlington Municipal Code (AMC); and
WHEREAS, the Arlington Planning Commission held numerous meetings concerning the
revisions, including discussions occurring at the following meetings of the commission:
• January 4, 2022
• March 1, 2022
• March 15, 2022
• April 5, 2022
• April 19, 2022
• May 3, 2022
• May 17, 2022
• June 7, 2022
• June 23, 2022
• July 25, 2022
• August 2, 2022
• September 6, 2022
• September 20, 2022; and
WHEREAS,the Arlington Planning Commission provided notice of and took public
testimony concerning the changes at public hearings which occurred on September 20, 2022;
and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission made findings and provided its recommendations
to the City Council concerning the proposed changes; and
WHEREAS,the City Council considered the revisions initially with docketing meetings on
March 28, 2022 and April 4, 2022, and also at a joint meeting with the Planning Commission on
July 25, 2022, and then on October 10, 2022 and at a public hearing conducted on October 17,
2022; and
WHEREAS, the amendments were presented to the Department of Commerce for
comment and said Department had no comments on the ordinance; and
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WHEREAS, review under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) occurred with
limited comments from state agencies, all of which were addressed by the City; and
WHEREAS, having considered the public testimony, the input from the Planning
Commission and state agencies,the Council deems the adoption of these amendments to be in
the best interests of the City and citizens;
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Arlington does hereby ordain as
follows:
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Arlington does hereby ordain as
follows:
Section 1. Arlington Municipal Code section 20.20.010 shall be and hereby is
amended to read as follows:
20.20.010 Appeals of Community and Economic Development Director or Design
Review Board Decisions.
(a) All actions of the Community and Economic Development Director or Design
Review Board are appealable to the Hearing Examiner. Any aggrieved party of record
may file an appeal. An appeal shall be considered filed when a written notice of appeal,
specifying the grounds and arguments therefore, is delivered to the Department of
Community and Economic Development and the appeal fee as set by resolution is paid.
The date and time of filing shall be entered on the notice by the Permit Assistance
Center staff.
(b) An appeal must be filed within fourteen days after the date of the decision or
order appealed from. The City shall extend the appeal period for an additional seven
days if a Determination of Nonsignificance with no prior public comment period has
been issued on the project.
(c) Whenever an appeal is filed, the Community and Economic Development
Director shall forthwith transmit to the appropriate appeal body all the papers
constituting the record relating to the action appealed from. The hearing body shall
schedule and hold a closed record appeal hearing within sixty days of the date of filing
of the appeal, unless all parties to the appeal agree in writing to extend the time period.
(d) An appeal stays all actions by the City seeking enforcement of or compliance
with the order or decision appealed from, unless the Community and Economic
Development Director certifies to the appeal body that (because of facts stated in the
certificate) a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In that
case, proceedings shall not be stayed except by order of the appeal body or a court,
issued on application of the party seeking the stay, for due cause shown, after notice to
the Community and Economic Development Director.
(e) The appeal body may reverse or affirm (wholly or partly) or may modify the
order, requirement or decision or determination appealed from and shall make any
order, requirement, decision or determination that in its opinion ought to be made in
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the case before it. To this end, the appeal body shall have all the powers of the officer
from whom the appeal is taken.
(f) An appeal decision by the City Council is considered the final decision of the
City.
Section 2. Arlington Municipal Code section 20.20.020(d) shall be and hereby is
amended to read as follows:
(d) The cost of transcribing and preparing all records ordered certified by the court or
desired by the appellant for such appeal shall be borne by the appellant. The record of
the proceedings shall be prepared by the City or such qualified person as it selects. Prior
to the preparation of any records the appellant shall post with the City
Community and Economic Development Department an advance fee deposit in the
amount specified by the City's planning division. Any overage will be promptly returned
to the appellant.
Section 3. Arlington Municipal Code section 20.20.030 shall be and hereby is
amended to read as follows:
20.20.030 Variances.
(a) A development proposal may vary only from the development standards of this
code or any administratively adopted guidelines. Variances may not be granted to allow
a use in a zone not permitted pursuant to §20.40-.G-10 (ref Permissible Uses ) or to
modify decision-making procedures or criteria.
(b) An application for a variance shall be submitted to the City by filing a copy of the
application with the planning department. Applications for variances alone or in
connection with a zoning or special use permit shall be processed concurrently with the
other necessary permit and in the same manner as applications for special use permits
in conformity with the provisions of GhapteF§20.16 (Permits and nFinal Plat Land Division
Approval), specifically (but not exclusively) the noticing requirements of§20.16.3-2-A 230
(Notice of Application Filed) and §20.16.440 225 Special Use Permits and Conditional
Use Permits). Applications for variances in connection with a conditional use permit
shall be handled concurrently with the conditional use permit and in conformity with
the provisions of conditional use permit processing of 20.16 .
(c) A variance may be granted by the Community and Economic Development
Director or Hearing Examiner, whichever is the appropriate permit-issuing authority per
Subsection (b), if it is concluded that strict enforcement of the code would result in
practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships for the applicant and that, by granting the
variance, the spirit of the code will be observed, public safety and welfare secured, and
substantial justice done. These conclusions may be reached if it is found that:
(1) The variance shall not constitute a grant of special privilege inconsistent with the
limitation upon uses of other properties in the vicinity and zone in which the property
on behalf of which the application was filed is located; and
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(2) That such variance is necessary, because of special circumstances relating to the
size, shape, topography, location or surroundings of the subject property, to provide it
with use rights and privileges permitted to other properties in the vicinity and in the
zone in which the subject property is located; and
(3) That the granting of such variance will not be materially detrimental to the
public welfare or injurious to the property or improvements in the vicinity and zone in
which the subject property is situated.
(d) In granting variances, the permit-issuing authority may impose such reasonable
conditions as will ensure that the use of the property to which the variance applies will
be as compatible as practicable with the surrounding properties.
(e) A variance may be issued for an indefinite duration or for a specified duration
only.
(f) Prior to issuance, the nature of the variance and any conditions attached to it
shall be entered on the face of the permit, or the permit may simply note the issuance
of the variance and refer to the written record of the variance for further information.
All such conditions are enforceable in the same manner as any other applicable
requirement of this Title.
Section 4. Arlington Municipal Code section 20.20.040 shall be and hereby is
amended to read as follows:
20.20.040 Interpretations.
(a) The Community and Economic Development Director is authorized to interpret
the zoning map and to pass judgment upon disputed questions of lot lines or district
boundary lines and similar questions. If such questions arise in the context of an appeal
from a decision of the Community and Economic Development Director,they shall be
handled as provided in §20.20.010 (Appeals of Community and Economic Development
Director`or Design Review Board, PI@RRaRg CeMMiSSiOR ar HeaFiRg EXaMiReF Decisions).
(b) An application for a map interpretation shall be submitted to the Community
and Economic Development Director by filing a copy of the application with the planning
department. The application shall contain sufficient information to enable the
Community and Economic Development Director to make the necessary interpretation.
(c) Where uncertainty exists as to the boundaries of districts as shown on the
Official Zoning Map,the following rules shall apply:
(1) Boundaries indicated as approximately following the centerlines of alleys,
streets, highways, streams, or railroads shall be construed to follow such
centerlines.
(2) Boundaries indicated as approximately following lot lines, city limits or
extraterritorial boundary lines shall be construed as following such lines, limits or
boundaries.
(3) Boundaries indicated as following shorelines shall be construed to follow
the mean high-water mark of such shorelines, and in the event of change in the
shoreline shall be construed as following the mean high-water mark of such
shorelines.
ORDINANCE NO. 2022-013 4
(4) Where a district boundary divides a lot or where distances are not
specifically indicated on the Official Zoning Map, the boundary shall be
determined by measurement, using the scale of the Official Zoning Map. Each
portion of a property split zoned shall be governed
-D'vid-ed by DiStFirt Lines) by § 20.36.105 (Lots Divided by District Lines).
(5) Where any street or alley is hereafter officially vacated or abandoned,
the regulations applicable to each parcel of abutting property shall apply to that
portion of such street or alley added thereto by virtue of such vacation or
abandonment.
(d) Interpretations of the location of floodway and floodplain boundary lines may be
made by the Community and Economic Development Director as provided in §20.64.120
(Location of Boundaries of Floodplain and Floodway Districts).
Section 5. Arlington Municipal Code section 20.20.050 shall be and hereby is
amended to read as follows:
20.20.050 Requests to be Heard Expeditiously.
As provided in §20.20.070 Community and Economic Development Director, and
Hearing Examiner or City Council Action on Appeals and Variances), all appeals and
variance requests shall be heard and decided as expeditiously as possible, consistent
with the need to follow regularly established agenda procedures, provide notice in
accordance with RteF 20.24 (Hearing and Pre-Hearing Procedures for Appeals and
Applications), and obtain the necessary information to make sound decisions.
Section 6. Arlington Municipal Code section 20.20.054 shall be and hereby is
amended to read as follows:
20.20.054 Decisions of the Community and Economic Development Director, Hearin
Examiner, Design Review Board, Planning Commission, or City Council.
(a) Any final decision of a permit-issuing authority or appeal body shall be in writing
and shall include findings and conclusions, based on the record, to support the decision.
Such findings and conclusions shall also set forth the manner in which the decision
would carry out and conform to the Comprehensive Plan and development regulations.
Each final decision, unless the applicant and the decision-making authority mutually
agree to a longer period in writing, shall be rendered within fifteen days following
conclusion of all testimony and hearings.
(b) The Community and Economic Development Director shall issue decisions of the
Community and Economic Development Director, Design Review Board, or City Council
based on the record. The Hearing Examiner shall issue his decisions by providing a
signed copy to the Community and Economic Development Director, who shall then
issue a Notice of Decision as per §20.16.194275 (Notice of Decision).
ORDINANCE NO. 2022-013 5
Section 7. Arlington Municipal Code section 20.20.060 shall be and hereby is
amended to read as follows:
20.20.060 Burden of Proof in Appeals and Variances.
(a) When an appeal is taken to the Hearing Examiner in accordance with §20.20.010
(Appeals of Community and Economic Development Director or Design Review Board
Decisions), the appellant shall have the burden of presenting to the Hearing Examiner
sufficient evidence and argument to demonstrate the appellant is entitled to relief. The
hearing examiner shall have the right to control the presentation of evidence and
witnesses, including who may present testimony or argument in an appeal hearing.
(b) The burden of presenting evidence sufficient to allow the decision-making
authority to reach the conclusions set forth in Subsection §20.20.030(c) (Variances), as
well as the burden of persuasion on those issues, remains with the applicant seeking the
variance.
Section 8. Arlington Municipal Code section 20.20.070 shall be and hereby is
amended to read as follows:
20.20.070 Community and Economic Development Director, and Hearing Examiner or
City Council Action on Appeals and Variances.
(a) With respect to appeals, a motion to reverse, affirm, or modify the order,
requirement, decision, or determination appealed from shall include, insofar as
practicable, a statement of the specific reasons or findings of facts that support the
motion. If a motion to reverse or modify is not made, then a finding to uphold the
decision appealed from shall be in order.
(b) Before granting a variance, the permit-issuing authority must make a separate
finding on each of the three required findings stated in�Subseetk)P 20.20.030(c).
Insofar as practicable, an affirmative finding on each of the requirements set forth in
§Subseetiea 20.20.030(c) shall include a statement of the specific reasons or findings of
fact supporting such motion.
(c) A variance may be denied on the basis that any one or more of the three criteria
set forth in §cseetieR 20.20.030(c) are not satisfied or that the application is
incomplete. Insofar as practicable, a denial shall include a statement of the specific
reasons or findings of fact that support it.
Section 9. Severability. Should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of
this ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, be declared unconstitutional or
otherwise invalid for any reason, or should any portion of this ordinance be pre-empted by
state or federal law or regulation, such decision or pre-emption shall not affect the validity of
the remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to other persons or circumstances.
Section 10. Effective Date. The title of this ordinance which summarizes the contents
shall be published in the official newspaper of the City. This ordinance shall take effect and be
in full force five (5) days after the date of publication as provided by law.
ORDINANCE NO. 2022-013 6
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Arlington and APPROVED by the Mayor this 17th
day of October, 2022.
CITY OF ARLINGTON
Barbara Tolbert, Mayor
ATTEST:
r d
Wendy Van er Meersche, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Ste en J. P iff Attorney
ORDINANCE NO. 2022-013 7
CERTIFICATION OF ORDINANCE
I, Wendy Van Der Meersche, being the duly appointed City Clerk of the City of Arlington,
Washington, a municipal corporation, do hereby certify that the following Ordinance
No. 2022-013 was approved at the October 17, 2022 City Council meeting.
ORDINANCE NO. 2022-013
"AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ARLINGTON,WASHINGTON
AMENDING CHAPTER 20.20 OF THE ARLINGTON
MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING ZONING APPEALS,VARIANCES AND INTERPRETATIONS"
A true and correct copy of the original ordinance is attached.
Dated this 18th day of October, 2022
It
Wendy Vanb et- Meersche
ill City Clerk for the City of Arlington