HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 2016-006 Amending Chapter 20.96 AMC ORDINANCE NO. -2016-006
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO LAND USE AND ZONING; AMENDING
CHAPTER 20.96 OF THE ARLINGTON MUNICIPAL CODE TO CLARIFY THE
PROCESSES FOR AMENDMENTS TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND
DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS
WHEREAS, the City of Arlington has codified Chapter 20.96 of the Arlington
Municipal Code, entitled"AMENDMENTS", to set out the process for amending the
comprehensive plan and development regulations in accordance with state law, including the
Growth Management Act; and
WHEREAS, City staff has become aware of confusion and a lack of clarity in the
existing ordinance and wishes to amend the same in a way that clarifies the city process; and
WHEREAS, the Arlington Planning Commission ("Planning Commission") met to
discuss revisions to the zoning ordinance at its regular meetings on February 2, 2016 and
February 18, 2016 and held a public hearing on March 1, 2016 and thereafter recommended
passage of the ordinance to the City Council; and
WHEREAS,the City Council was briefed on the issue on March 14, 2016 and on
March 21,2016 , the City Council considered public comments and the entire record related to
the proposal contained in this ordinance; and
WHEREAS, following the public hearing, the City Council deliberated on the
code amendments contained in this ordinance; and
WHEREAS,the City has completed State Environmental Policy Act(SEPA)review
of these proposed amendments and all due notice has been given to the Department of
Commerce prior to their adoption;
NOW, THEREFORE,the City Council of the City of Arlington, Washington,
do here ordain as follows:
Section 1. Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.010 shall be and hereby is amended
to read as follows:
20,96.010 -Amendments in general.
(a) Amendments to the text of this title or to the zoning map may be made in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter.
(b) Amendments to the text of the comprehensive plan or to the proposed land use map may be
made in accordance with provisions of this chapter.
(c) With the exception to those instances listed in AMC 20.96.015, the comprehensive plan may
not be amended more than once per year (RCW 36.70A.130) and therefore requests for
amendments will be deferred to the time of an annual public hearing. Only amendments
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submitted no later than the last working day of January each calendar year will be reviewed for
the annual cycle.
(d) Exceptions to Annual Cycle. Amendments to the comprehensive plan may be considered more
frequently than once per year in any of the following circumstances:
(1) Resolution of an emergency condition or situation. Council shall confirm the director's
finding that such an emergency exists.
(2) Resolution of a decision by an administrative agency or court of competent jurisdiction.
(3) For any reasons specified in RCW 36.70A.130 (2), as hereafter amended.
Section 2. A new Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.015 shall be and hereby is
added to read as follows:
20.96.015 - Minor corrections exempt. An amendment that does not result in any
substantive change to the content or meaning of a development regulation, such as a
correction to punctuation or numbering or a typographical or technical error, shall be exempt
from the notice and hearing requirements of this chapter. In such cases, the director may
make a recommendation directly to the city council.
Section 3. Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.020 shall be and hereby is amended
to read as follows:
20.96.020 - Initiation of comprehensive plan and zoning map amendments.
(a) Whenever a request to amend the comprehensive plan or zoning map is
initiated by the city council, the planning commission, or the city administration,the city
attorney in consultation with the planning staff shall draft an appropriate ordinance and
schedule a public hearing before the planning commission, unless the code amendment is of
an emergency nature, in which case a public hearing can be scheduled before the city council
without planning commission consideration.
(b) Any other person may also petition the council to amend the comprehensive
plan or zoning map by submitting an application for a Code Amendment, signed by both the
applicant and the property owner. The application shall be filed with the community
development department and shall include, among the information deemed relevant by the
community development director or his or her designee:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the applicant,
(2) A description of the land affected by the amendment if a change in
zoning district classification is proposed,
(3) Public notice materials as required by Section 20.24.020 (Public
Notice),
(4) A description of the proposed map change or a summary of the
specific objective of any proposed change in the text of this title, and,
(5) If necessary, an environmental checklist and any other
documentation needed to comply with SERA (including but not limited to special
studies).
(c) Upon receipt of a petition as provided in subsection(b), the community
development director shall either:
(1) Treat the proposed amendment as one initiated by the city
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administration and proceed in accordance with subsection (a) if he/she believes that
the proposed amendment has significant merit and would benefit the general public,
or
(2) Forward the petition to the appropriate hearing body for a public
hearing.
(d) Comprehensive plan and zoning map amendments shall comply with the
procedures as required by Sections 20.96.030 through 20.96.080.
Section 4. Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.030 shall be and hereby is amended
to read as follows:
20.96.030 - Docketing procedures—Comprehensive plan and zoning map
amendments.
(a) The city shall compile and maintain a list, known as a "docket," of all city-
initiated and privately-initiated proposed comprehensive plan amendments. The list shall be
organized as to amendment type and include a description of the amendment in nontechnical
terms, as well as the name of the applicant and date of submission to the city. The
preliminary docket shall be made available to the public for review and comment for at least
fifteen days prior to consideration by the planning commission. Written comments that are
submitted by the end of the comment period shall be added to the preliminary docket. The
final docket will be determined as described in this section.
(b) Preliminary Review—Determination of Final Docket.
1) Staff Evaluation. The community development director shall conduct a brief
initial evaluation of all privately-initiated proposed comprehensive plan amendments to
ascertain whether the proposals meet the preliminary review criteria in this section and to
assess the extent of review that would be required under the State Environmental Policy Act
(SEPA). The director shall make a recommendation to the planning commission as to which
proposed amendments should be included in the final docket, along with any city-initiated
proposed amendments.
(2) Joint Workshop. During each annual amendment cycle,the city council and
planning commission may, at the city council's discretion, hold a noticed joint workshop to
serve as an informational meeting between the two governmental bodies.
(3) Planning Commission Hearing. The planning commission shall hold a
noticed hearing on selection of proposed amendments for the final docket.
(4) City Council Decision. The city council shall consider the planning
commission's recommended final docket. Council may adopt the proposed final docket
without a public hearing; however, in the event that a majority of the council decides to add
or subtract amendments, it shall first hold a public hearing.No additional comprehensive
plan amendments may be considered after council adoption of the docket for that year,
except as provided in AMC 20.96.010(d). The final docket shall be approved by resolution.
(5) Proposed amendments submitted under AMC 20.96.020(b)that meet one of
the following criteria may be included in the final docket:
(a) If the proposed amendment is site specific, the subject property is
suitable for development in general conformance with adjacent land use,the
surrounding development pattern, and with zoning standards under the potential
zoning classifications.
(b) State law requires or a decision of a court or administrative agency
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has directed such a change.
(c) There exists an obvious technical error in the pertinent
comprehensive plan provision.
Section 5. Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.040 shall be and hereby is amended
to read as follows:
20.96.040 - Public hearings on comprehensive plan or zoning map amendments.
a) Except as provided by subsection (b), an open record public hearing shall be
held before the planning commission for all amendments to the comprehensive plan. In
addition, a hearing before the city council may also be held if the council so chooses.
(b) Emergency ordinances may go to the city council directly pursuant to and in
compliance with the RCW governing emergency ordinances.
(c) The city shall give public notice of all public hearings as required per Section
20.24.020 (Public Notice).
(d) Staff shall transmit to the Department of Commerce copies of all proposed
amendments to the city's comprehensive plan and zoning map at least sixty(60) days in
advance of prior adoption, as required by RCW 36.70A.106.
Section 6. Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.050 shall be and hereby is amended
to read as follows:
20.96.050 - Planning commission consideration of proposed comprehensive plan and zoning
map amendments.
The Planning Commission shall issue for each docket item a recommendation for
approval, approval subject to recommended modifications or conditions of approval,
continuance, or a decision for denial, which decision shall be forwarded to the City Council
for review and decision.
Section 7. Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.060 shall be and hereby is amended
to read as follows:
20.96.060 - Selection and decision criteria--Comprehensive plan and zoning map
amendments.
(a) Considering that the comprehensive plan and zoning maps were
developed after significant study and public participation,the principles, goals, objectives,
and policies contained therein shall be granted substantial weight when considering any
proposed amendment. Therefore, the burden of proof for justifying a proposed amendment to
the comprehensive plan or zoning map of the city rests with the applicant. The city council's
approval, modification, deferral, or denial of an amendment proposal shall be based on the
following criteria:
(1) The amendment represents a matter appropriately addressed through
the comprehensive plan, and the proposed amendment demonstrates a public benefit
and enhances the public health, safety and welfare of the city.
(2) The amendment does not raise policy or land use issues that are more
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appropriately addressed by an ongoing work program approved by the city council.
(3) The proposed amendment addresses significantly changed conditions
since the last time the pertinent comprehensive plan map or text was amended.
"Significantly changed conditions" are those resulting from unanticipated
consequences of an adopted policy, or changed conditions on the subject property or its
surrounding area, or changes related to the pertinent comprehensive plan map or text,
where such change has implications of a magnitude that need to be addressed for the
comprehensive plan to function as an integrated whole.
(4) The proposed amendment is consistent with the comprehensive plan
and other goals and policies of the city, the countywide planning policies, the Growth
Management Act, other state or federal law, and the Washington Administrative Code
and other applicable law.
Section 8. Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.070 shall be and hereby is amended
to read as follows:
20.96.070 - Council action on comprehensive plan and zoning map amendments.
a) (At the conclusion of its consideration on a proposed amendment, the council
may proceed to vote on the proposed ordinance, remand back to the planning commission for
further study , or take any other action consistent with its usual rules of procedure.
(b) The council is not required to take final action on a proposed amendment
within any specific period of time, but it should proceed as expeditiously as practicable on
petitions for amendments since inordinate delays can result in the petitioner incurring
unnecessary costs.
Section 9. Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.080 shall be and hereby is amended
to read as follows:
20.96.080 - Ultimate issue before council on amendments.
In deciding whether to adopt a proposed amendment to the comprehensive plan or
zoning map, the central issue before the council is whether the proposed amendment
advances the public health, safety, or welfare. All other issues are irrelevant, and all
information related to other issues at the public hearing may be declared irrelevant by the
presiding official and excluded. In particular, when considering proposed map or zoning
amendments:
(a) The council shall not consider any representations made by the petitioner that
if the change is granted the rezoned property will be used for only one of the possible range
of uses permitted in the requested classification. Rather,the council shall consider whether
the entire range of permitted uses in the requested classification is more appropriate than the
range of uses in the existing classification.
(b) The council shall not regard as controlling any advantages or disadvantages
to the individual requesting the change, but shall consider the impact of the proposed change
on the public at large.
(c) The council shall consider comprehensive plan amendments and zoning map
amendments as recommended by the planning commission using the criteria established in
AMC 20.96.060. If there are substantial changes to the proposed amendments after the
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public hearing by the planning commission, a second public hearing before the council may
be required. If there are no substantial changes, the council may choose whether or not to
hold another public hearing. The city shall transmit a copy of the comprehensive plan
amendments to department of commerce within ten days of the city council's final adoption.
Section 10. Anew Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.100 shall be and hereby is
added to read as follows:
20.96.100 - Docketing procedures—Amendments to development regulations.
1. All proposed text amendments to the development or zoning regulations
shall be developed, submitted and presented by the City staff,based on direction from the
City Council, Planning Commission, or the Director of Community&Economic
Development or designee.
2. Private party requests. City staff shall submit proposals from private
individuals or groups as follows:
a. Private parties shall submit a written summary of the amendment
proposed to City staff, an indication of why it is needed, and the potential land use
impacts if approved.No fees shall be assessed.
b. Staff shall maintain a docket listing of private party requests, and shall
provide the listing not less than once per year to the Planning Commission, which shall
determine which items shall be further reviewed by staff and submitted as a formal
proposal, which shall be deferred to future work programs, and which shall not be
considered. Decisions to defer or not consider private requests shall be considered final
unless appealed as provided herein.
3. Most development regulation amendments shall be processed concurrently
with the comprehensive planning docket developed under AMC 20.96.030(b). The
Community Development director may direct that development regulation amendments
proceed separately when deemed appropriate.
Section 11. Anew Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.110 shall be and hereby is
added to read as follows:
20.96.110 -Notice to Department of Commerce. Staff shall transmit to the Department of
Commerce copies of all proposed amendments to the city's development regulations at least
sixty (60) days in advance of prior adoption, as required by RCW 36.70A.106.
Section 12. A new Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.120 shall be and hereby is
added to read as follows:
20.96.120 Public hearings on development regulation amendments.
(a) Except as provided by subsection (b), an open record public hearing shall be
held before the planning commission for all amendments. In addition, a hearing before the
city council may also be held if the council so chooses.
(b) Emergency ordinances may go to the city council directly pursuant to and in
compliance with the RCW governing emergency ordinances.
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(c) The city shall give public notice of all public hearings as required per Section
20.24.020 (Public Notice).
Section 13. A new Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.130 shall be and hereby is
added to read as follows:
20.96.130 Planning Commission review of development regulation amendments.
The Planning Commission shall issue a recommendation for approval, approval subject to
recommended modifications or conditions of approval, continuance, or a decision for
denial, which decision shall be forwarded to the City Council for review and decision.
Section 14. A new Arlington Municipal Code Section 20.96.140 shall be and hereby is
added to read as follows:
20.96.140 City Council decision criteria—development regulation amendments
The city council's approval, modification, deferral, or denial of a development regulation
amendment proposal shall be based on the following criteria:
(1) The proposed amendment is consistent with the goals, objectives, and
policies of the comprehensive plan,the multicounty planning policies, county planning
policies, and the Growth Management Act, RCW Chapter 36.70A; and
(2) The proposed change is necessary to further the public interest based
on present needs and conditions.
Section 15. Severability. Should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase
of this ordinance be held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such
invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of any other
section, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance; provided, however, that if any section,
sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance, is held to be invalid by a court of competent
jurisdiction, or by the Growth Management Hearings Board, then the section, sentence, clause,
phrase, or land use designation in effect prior to the effective date of this ordinance, shall be in
full force and effect for that invalidated section, sentence, clause,phrase, or land use designation,
as if this ordinance had never been adopted.
Section 16. Effective Date. A summary of this Ordinance consisting of its
title shall be published in the official newspaper of the City, and shall take effect and be in
full force five (5) days of the date of publication.
Section 17. Copy to Commerce Department. Pursuant to RCW 36.70A.106 (3),
the City Clerk is directed to send a copy of this ordinance to the State Department of
Commerce for its files within ten (10) days after adoption of this ordinance.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AT A REGULAR MEETING THEREOF
ON THE 21 DAY OF MARCH, 2016.
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CITY OF ARLINGTON:
- ZZ-1
Barbara Tolbert, Mayor
ATTEST:
Kr tin anfield, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Stev n J.,WifU, City Attorney
ORDINANCE NO.2016-006 8
CERTIFICATION OF ORDINANCE
I, Kristin Banfield, being the duly appointed and acting Clerk of the City of Arlington,
Washington, a municipal corporation, do hereby certify that the following Ordinance No. 2016-
006 was approved at the March 21, 2016 City Council meeting.
ORDINANCE NO. 2016-006
"AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO LAND USE AND ZONING;
AMENDING CHAPTER 20.96 OF THE ARLINGTON MUNICIPAL
CODE TO CLARIFY THE PROCESSES FOR AMENDMENTS TO THE
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS"
A true and correct copy of the original ordinance is attached.
Dated this 22"d day of March, 2016.
r Krist Banfield
City Clerk for the City of Arlington
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