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Home My WebLink AboutOrd 1344 - State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Implementation Cover page to Ordinance 1344 The full text of the ordinance follows this cover page. Ordinance 1344 was amended or repealed by the following ordinances. AMENDED REPEALED Section(s) Amended Amended by Ord # Section(s) Repealed Repealed by Ord # 1599 11 2120 6 2173 10 2374, 2743 6, 14 2502 1, 2, 6, 7, 13 2711 CITY QF TUK WILA WASHINGTON ORDINANCE NO. /-3 JEH /naa 03/06/85 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, AMENDING SECTIONS 3(4),4, 5(2) AND (3), 6, 9, 11(1)(d) AND (e), 13(1), 14(2),(3) AND (8), 16(1) AND (2), 19(5), 25(3) AND (6), 26(2) AND 30(1) OF ORDINANCE NO. 1331 OF THE CITY, REPEALING SECTION 24(3) OF ORDINANCE 1331 RELATING TO RULES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SEPA AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Ordinance 1331 of the City of Tukwila, passed by the City Council on September 24, 1984 established rules for the implementation of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) pursuant to Chapter 41.21C RCW and Chapter 197 -11 WAC, and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that the rules and procedures established by Ordinance No. 1331 should be revised, and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that local conditions found in the City of Tukwila, including the City's Zoning Code and Land Use Plans and Regulations, support an increase in the flexible threshold levels established by Section 11 of Ordinance No. 1331, and WHEREAS, the City has provided public notice and opportunity for public comment as part of the process for revising its SEPA procedures as provided in this ordinance, now, therefore, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Official Notice Defined. Section 3(4) of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: 4. "Official notice" means the notice that the City shall give of the date and place for commencing an appeal of final City action upon an application for 0 a permit or approval where said permit or approval has a time period set by statute or ordinance for commencing appeal. Section 2. Designation of Responsible Official. Section 4 of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 4. Designation of Responsible Official. 1. For those proposals for which the City is a lead agency the responsible official shall be the Planning Director or such other person as the Mayor may designate in writing 2. For all proposals for which the City is a lead agency, the responsible official shall make the threshold determination, supervise scoping and preparation of any required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and perform any other functions assigned to the lead agency or responsible official by those sections of the SEPA Rules that have been adopted by reference. Section 3. Lead Agency Determination and Responsibilities. Section 5(2) and (3) of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: 2. When the City is not the lead agency for a proposal, all departments of the City shall use and consider as appropriate either the Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) or the final EIS of the lead agency in making decisions on the proposal. No City department shall prepare or require preparation of a DNS or EIS in addition to that prepared by the lead agency unless the City determines a supplemental environmental review is necessary under WAC 197 -11 -600. 3. If the City, or any of its departments, receives a lead agency determination made by another agency that appears inconsistent with the criteria of WAC 197 -11 -922 through 197 -11 -940, it may object to the determination. Any objection must be made to the agency originally making the determination and resolved within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the determination or the City must petition the Department of Ecology for a lead agency determination under WAC 197 -11 -946 within the fifteen (15) day time period. Any such petition on behalf of the City may be initiated by the responsible official or Mayor. Section 4. Transfer of Lead Agency Status to a State Agency. Section 6 of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 6. Transfer of Lead Agency Status to a State Agency. For any proposal for a private project where the City would be the lead agency and for which one or more State agencies have jurisdiction, the City may elect to transfer the lead agency duties to the State agency. The State agency with jurisdiction appearing first on the priority list in WAC 197 -11 -936 shall be the lead agency. To transfer lead agency duties, the responsible official must transmit a notice of the transfer, together with any relevant information available on the proposal, to the appropriate State agency with jurisdiction. The responsible 2 0 official shall also give notice of the transfer to the private applicant and any other agencies with jurisdiction over the proposal. Section 5. Threshold Determination Review at Conceptual Stacie. Section 9 of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 9. Threshold Determination Review at Conceptual Stage. 1. If the City's only action on a proposal is a decision on a building permit or other license that requires detailed project plans and specifications, the applicant may request in writing that the City conduct environmental review prior to submission of the detailed plans and specifications. 2. In addition to the environmental documents an applicant may be required to submit the following information: a. Conceptual site plans and building plans. b. Other information as the responsible official may determine. Section 6. Categorical Exemptions Flexible Thresholds. Section 11(1)(d) and (e) of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: d. For parking lots in WAC 197- 11- 800(1)(b)(iv) up to (40) parking spaces. e. For landfills and evacuations in WAC 197-11 800(1)(b)(v) up to (500) cubic yards. Section 7. Threshold Determinations Environmental Checklist. Section 13(1) of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: 1. A completed environmental checklist shall be filed at the same time as an application for a permit, license, certificate or other approval not exempted by this ordinance. The checklist shall be in the form of WAC 197 -11 -960 with the following additions: a. Specification of designation as environmentally sensitive on City's Comprehensive Land Use Policy Plan Map. b. Identification of conflicts with the policies of the Comprehensive Land Use Policy Plan and proposed measures to reduce the conflicts. c. Description of the objectives of the proposal, the alternative means of accomplishing these objectives, comparison of the alternatives and indication of the preferred course of action. Section 8. Threshold Determinations Mitigated DNS. Section 14(2), (3) and (8) of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: 3 0 2. An applicant may request in writing early notice of whether a Determination of Significance (DS) is likely. The request must: a. Follow submission of a permit application and environmental checklist for a nonexempt proposal for which the department is lead agency; and b. Precede the City's actual threshold determination for the proposal. 3. The responsible official's written response to the request for early notice shall: a. State whether the City currently considers issuance of a DS likely and, if so, indicate the general or specific areas of concern that are leading the City to consider a DS; and b. State that the applicant may change or clarify the proposal to mitigate the indicated impacts, and may revise the environmental checklist and /or permit application as necessary to reflect the changes or clarifications. 8. The City's written response under subsection 3 of this section shall not be construed as a determination of significance. In addition, preliminary discussion of clarification or changes to a proposal, as opposed to a written request for early notice, shall not bind the City to consider the clarifications or changes in its threshold determination. Section 9. EIS Preparation. Section 16(1) and (2) of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: 1. Preparation of draft EISs (DEIS) and final EISs (FEIS) and supplemental EISs (SEIS) shall be under the direction of the responsible official. Before the City issues an EIS, the responsible official shall be satisfied that it complies with this ordinance and Chapter 197 -11 WAC. 2. The DEIS and FEIS or SEIS shall be prepared at the City's option by the City staff, the applicant or by a consultant approved by the City. If the responsible official requires an EIS for a proposal and determines that someone other than the City will prepare the EIS, the responsible official shall notify the applicant immediately after completion of the threshold determination. The responsible official shall also notify the applicant of the City's procedure for EIS preparation, including approval of the draft and final EIS prior to distribution. Section 10. Public Notice. Section 19(5) of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: 5. The City may require an applicant to compensate the City for the costs of compliance with the public notice requirements for the applicant's proposal and /or provide services and materials to assist. 4 0 Section 11. Apeals. Section 25(3) and (6) of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: 3. On receipt of a timely written notice of appeal, the City Clerk shall advise the City Council of the pendency of the appeal and request that a date for considering the appeal be established. The Council shall expeditiously process the appeal and in any event shall render a decision within 60 calendar days of the date appeal is filed. 6. The City may require the appellant to bear the expense for a written transcript. Section 12. Notice /Statute of Limitations. Section 26(2) of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: 2. The City, applicant for, or proponent of an action may publish a notice of action pursuant to RCW 43.21C.080 for any action. a. The form of the notice of action shall be substantially in the form provided in WAC 197- 11 -990. b. The notice of action shall be published by the City Clerk, applicant or proponent pursuant to RCW 43.21C.080. Section 13. Environmentally Sensitive Areas. Section 30(1) of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila is hereby amended to read as follows: 1. The Comprehensive Land Use Policy Plan Map Ordinance No. 1246 as now exists or is hereinafter amended designates the location of environmentally sensitive areas within the City as special development consideration areas and is adopted by reference. In addition to those areas identified in WAC 197 -11 -908 and for purposes of this ordinance environmentally sensitive areas shall also include major wooded areas. For each environmentally sensitive area, the exemptions within WAC 197 -11 -800 that are inapplicable for that area are: WAC 197 -11- 800(1), (2)(a) through (h), (3), (5), (6)(a), (14)(c), (24)(a) through (g), and (25)(d),(f),(h) and (i). Unidentified exemptions shall continue to apply within environmentally sensitive areas of the City. Section 14. Repealer. Section 24(3) of Ordinance No. 1331 of the City of Tukwila, passed by the City Council on September 24, 1984, is hereby repealed. Section 15. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance, including any section adopted by reference, should be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or 5 0 unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of any other section, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or any other section adopted by reference. Section 16. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect five (5) days after passage and publication as provided by law. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, at a regular meeting thereof this day of 1985. APPROVED: 41111. e, M'' IR, GARY L. VAN DUSEN ATTEST /AUTHENTICATE C'ITY CLERK, MAXINE ANDERSON APPROVED AS TO FORM: OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTOR EY: 4 /1A-gO FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: M rch 7, 1985 PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCI M rch 18, 1985 PUBLISHED: March 31, 1985 EFFECTIVE DATE: ORDINANCE NO. 1344 6 0