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WHEREAS, Chapter 21.04 of the Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) establishes
Tukwila's procedures and policies related to the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA);
and
WHEREAS, the City has adopted by reference the categorical exemption thresholds
in Washington Administrative Code (WAC) Chapter 197-11-800, including the standard
categorical exemption thresholds for minor new construction in WAC 197-11-800(1)(b);
and
WHEREAS, WAC 197-11-800(1)(c) authorizes cities, towns, or counties to raise the
exemption levels for minor new construction to those identified in WAC 197-11-800(1)(d),
subject to the requirements and process outlined in subsection (c); and
WHEREAS, the City of Tukwila is an incorporated city within a fully planning
jurisdiction under the Growth Management Act (GMA), per RCW 36.70A.040; and
WHEREAS, The City desires to streamline its permit processes to provide an
appropriate level of project specific review; and
WHEREAS, the City of Tukwila performed an analysis of the changes to public notice
and commenting requirements as a result of the increased exemption thresholds and
found that there were negligible changes; and
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WHEREAS, on July 7, 2023, the City completed the procedural requirements as
outlined in WAC 197-11- 800(1)(c) and provided 60 -day notice of its analysis and findings
to the Department of Ecology, agencies with expertise, affected tribes and jurisdictions,
and the public, and did not receive any public comments during the comment period; and
WHEREAS, the City has evaluated the proposed changes to the City's SEPA code
and determined there are adequate existing local, state and federal environmental
regulations in place to mitigate any potential impacts from newly exempt development;
and
WHEREAS, the City has updated the title of Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) Chapter
18.45 pertaining to environmental regulations from "Environmentally Sensitive Areas" to
"Environmentally Critical Areas"; and
WHEREAS, the regulations listed in TMC Section 18.50.110, "Archaeological/
Paleontological Information Preservation Requirements," cover pre -construction cultural
resources assessment, archaeological response plan and provisions for excavation
monitoring by a professional archaeologist; and
WHEREAS, work in shoreline areas that will extend into native soil is noticed to the
Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) and area
Tribal organizations; and
WHEREAS, TMC Chapter 16.60, "Historic Preservation" contains regulations
regarding landmark designation and alteration of existing landmarked sites, buildings, or
properties; and
WHEREAS, on July 7, 2023, the City submitted the proposed amendment to the
Washington State Department of Commerce for its 60 -day review and received
documentation of completion of the procedural requirement (Submittal ID 202303281);
and
WHEREAS, in taking the actions set forth in this ordinance, the City has complied
with the requirements of the State Environmental Policy Act, Chapter 43.21 C RCW; and
WHEREAS, the Tukwila City Council held a duly noticed public hearing and
considered all public testimony on September 25, 2023; and
WHEREAS, based on careful consideration of the facts and law, the City Council
finds that the proposed amendments attached and incorporated herein should be
approved as presented;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA,
WASHINGTON, HEREBY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
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Section 1. Findings of Fact. The Tukwila City Council finds as follows:
A. The above recitals, set forth as "WHEREAS" clauses, are hereby adopted as
Findings of Fact in support of the adoption of this ordinance.
B. The amendments that are established below are consistent with WAC 197-11-
800(1).
C. The proposed code amendments meet the requirements listed in WAC 197-11-
800(1)(c), which are necessary to raise the exempt levels.
Section 2. TIVIC Section 21.04.040 Amended. Ordinance Nos. 1331 §3, 1344 §1,
1599 §7(1), and 1770 §81, as codified at TMC Section 21.04.040, "Definitions —
Additional," are hereby amended to read as follows:
21.04.040 Definitions -Additional
In addition to those definitions contained within WAC 197-11- 700 through 799, when
used in this chapter the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the
content indicates otherwise:
1. "Department" means any division, subdivision or organizational unit of the City
established by ordinance, rule or order.
2. "Early notice" means the City's response to an applicant stating whether it
considers issuance of the Determination of Significance likely for the applicant's proposal.
3. "Environmentally critical area".- see TMC Section 21.04.300 and TMC Chapter
18.45.
4. "Notice of action" means the notice (as specified in RCW 43.21 C.080) of the time
for commencing an appeal of a SEPA determination that the City or the applicant may
give following final City action upon an application for a permit or approval when the permit
or approval does not have a time period set by statute or ordinance for commencing an
appeal.
5. "SEPA Rules" means Chapter 197-11 WAC, as now adopted or hereafter amended
by the Department of Ecology.
Section 3. TMC Section 21.04.050 Amended. Ordinance Nos. 1331 §4 and 1344
§2, as codified at TMC Section 21.04.050, "Designation of responsible official," are
hereby amended to read as follows:
21.04.50 Designation of responsible official
A. For those proposals for which the City is a lead agency, the responsible official
shall be the Community Development Director or their designee or such other person as
the Mayor may designate in writing.
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B. 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 4. TMC Section 21.04.110 Amended. Ordinance Nos. 1331 §11, 1344
§6, 2173 §1, and 2502 §1, as codified at TMC Section 21.04.110, "Categorical
exemptions - Flexible thresholds," are hereby amended to read as follows:
21.04.110 Categorical exemptions - Flexible thresholds for Minor New
Construction
A. The City establishes the following exempt levels for minor new construction as
allowed under WAC 197-11-800(1)(c) and (d), based upon local conditions:
For single-family residential projects, up to thirty (30) dwelling units;
2. For multifamily residential projects, up to two hundred (200) dwelling units;
3. For agricultural structures, up to forty thousand (40,000) square feet;
4. For office, school, commercial, recreational, service or storage buildings,
up to thirty thousand (30,000) square feet;
5. For parking facilities, up to ninety (90) parking spaces;
6. For fills or excavations, up to one thousand (1,000) cubic yards. All fill or
excavation, of any quantity, necessary for an exempt project in subsections 1 through 4
of this section shall be exempt.
B. The exemptions in this subsection apply except when the project:
1. Is undertaken wholly or partly on lands covered by water;
2. Requires a license governing discharges to water that is not exempt under
RCW 43.210.0383;
3. Requires a license governing emissions to air that is not exempt under
RCW 43.21 C.0381 or WAC 197-11-800 (7) or (8); or
4. Requires a land use decision that is not exempt under WAC 197-11-
C. Whenever the City establishes new exempt levels under this section, it shall
send them to the Department of Ecology, Headquarters Office, Olympia, Washington,
98504 under WAC 197-11-800(1)(c).
Section 5. TMC Section 21.04.140 Amended. Ordinance Nos. 1331 §13, 1344
§7, and 1599 §7(3), as codified at TMC Section 21.04.140, "Threshold determinations —
Environmental checklist," are hereby amended to read as follows:
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21.04.140 Threshold determinations - Environmental checklist
A. 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 chapter.
The checklist shall be in the form of WAC 197-11-960.
B. If the site is an environmentally critical area, a critical area study that meets the
requirements of TMC Chapter 18.45 may be required. The SEPA official may waive any
study requirements determined to be unnecessary for review of a particular use or
application. Funding for a qualified professional, selected and retained by the City, shall
be paid for by the applicant to review the geotechnical reports on Class 2 and Class 3
landslide, seismic and coal mine hazard areas if the geotechnical report indicates Class
3 or Class 4 characteristics, and will be required in all Class 4 landslide hazard areas.
Applicants may also be required to pay for peer review of wetland and watercourse
studies per TMC Section 18.45.040.E.
C. A checklist is not needed if the City and the applicant agree an EIS is required,
SEPA compliance has been completed, or SEPA compliance has been initiated by
another agency.
D. The City shall use the environmental checklist to determine the lead agency
and, if the City is the lead agency, for making the threshold determination.
E. For private proposals, the applicant is required to complete the environmental
checklist. The City may provide information as necessary. For City proposals, the
department initiating the proposal shall complete the environmental checklist for that
proposal.
F. The City may decide to complete all or part of the environmental checklist for a
private proposal, if either of the following occurs:
1. The City has technical information on a question or questions that is
unavailable to the private applicant; or
2. The applicant has provided inaccurate information on previous proposals or
on proposals currently under consideration.
Section 6. Repealer. Ordinance Nos. 1853 §6 and 2502 §2, as codified at TMC
Section 21.04.152, "Planned actions identified," are hereby repealed, thereby eliminating
TMC Section 21.04.152.
Section 7. Repealer. Ordinance No. 1853 §7, as codified at TMC Section
21.04.154, "Consistency check," is hereby repealed, thereby eliminating TMC Section
21.04.154.
Section 8. Repealer. Ordinance No. 1331 §8, as codified at TMC Section
21.04.160, "Documents required - SEPA decisions," is hereby repealed, thereby
eliminating TMC Section 21.04.160.
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Section 9. Repealer. Ordinance No. 2502 §3, as codified at TMC Section
21.04.165, "Environmental review for development in the Tukwila Urban Center —
Policies," is hereby repealed, thereby eliminating TMC Section 21.04.165.
Section 10. TMC Section 21.04.300 Amended. Ordinance Nos. 1331 §30, 1344
§13, 1599 §7(6), and 1608 §2, as codified at TMC Section 21.04.300, "Environmentally
sensitive areas," are hereby amended to read as follows:
21.04.300 Environmentally critical areas
A. Environmentally critical areas designated on the zoning maps, and/or as defined
in TMC Section 18.45.030 as of the effective date of the ordinance from which this section
derives and as thereafter amended, designate the locations of environmentally critical
areas within the City and are adopted by reference. In addition to those areas identified
in WAC 197-11-908 and for purposes of this chapter, environmentally critical areas shall
also include wooded hillsides, and the Green/Duwamish River and its shoreline zone as
defined by the Tukwila Shoreline Master Program. For each environmentally critical area,
all categorical exemptions within WAC 197-11-800 are applicable.
B. The City shall treat proposals located wholly or partially within an
environmentally critical area no differently than other proposals under this chapter,
making a threshold determination for all such proposals. The City shall not automatically
require an EIS for a proposal merely because it is proposed for location in an
environmentally critical area.
C. Certain exemptions do not apply on lands covered by water, and this remains
true regardless of whether or not lands covered by water are mapped.
Section 11. TMC Section 21.04.310 Amended. Ordinance Nos. 1331 §31, 1425
§1, 1576 §6, and 1650 §1, as codified at TMC Section 21.04.310, "Fees," are hereby
amended to read as follows:
21.04.310 Fees
The City shall require the following fees for its activities in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter:
1. Threshold Determination. For every environmental checklist the City will
review when it is lead agency, the City shall collect a fee according to the adopted Land
Use Fee Schedule from the proponent of the proposal prior to undertaking the threshold
determination; provided that no fee shall be charged to or collected from the proponents
of any proposal for annexation to the City, and the City shall review such checklists without
charge. Where payment of a fee is required, the time periods provided by this chapter for
making a threshold determination shall not begin to run until payment of the fee is
received by the City.
2. Environmental Impact Statement.
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a. When the City is the lead agency for a proposal requiring an EIS and
the responsible official determines the EIS shall be prepared by employees of the City,
the City may charge and collect a reasonable fee from any applicant to cover costs
incurred, including overhead, by the City in preparing the EIS. The responsible official
shall advise the applicant of the projected costs for the EIS prior to actual preparation.
b. The responsible official may determine that the City will contract
directly with a consultant for preparation of an EIS, or a portion of the EIS, for activities
initiated by some persons or entity other than the City, and may bill such costs and
expenses directly to the applicant. Such consultants shall be selected by the City. Also,
the City will charge an administrative fee in addition to the consultant fees, according to
the adopted Land Use Fee Schedule.
C. The applicant shall pay the projected amount to the City prior to
commencing work. The City will refund the excess, if any, at the completion of the EIS. If
the City's costs exceed the projected costs, the applicant shall immediately pay the
excess. If a proposal is modified so that an EIS is no longer required, the responsible
official shall refund any fees collected under a. or b. of this subsection which remain after
incurred costs, including overhead, are paid.
3. The City shall collect a fee from an applicant to cover the cost of meeting the
public notice requirements of this chapter relating to the applicant's proposal according
to the adopted Land Use Fee Schedule.
4. The City may charge any person for copies of any document prepared under
this chapter, and for mailing the document, in a manner provided by chapter 42.17 RCW.
Section 12. Repealer. Ordinance No. 1331 §33, as codified at TMC Section
21.04.330, "Copies on file," is hereby repealed, thereby eliminating TMC Section
21 .04.330.
Section 13. Corrections by City Clerk or Code Reviser Authorized. Upon
approval of the City Attorney, the City Clerk and the code reviser are authorized to make
necessary corrections to this ordinance, including the correction of clerical errors;
references to other local, state or federal laws, codes, rules, or regulations; or ordinance
numbering and section/subsection numbering.
Section 14. Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause
or phrase of this ordinance or its application to any person or situation should be held to
be invalid or unconstitutional for any reason by a court of competent jurisdiction, such
invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the
remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to any other person or situation.
Section 15. Effective Date. This ordinance or a summary thereof shall be published
in the official newspaper of the City, and shall take effect and be in full force five days
after passage and publication as provided by law.
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PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, at
a Regular Meeting thereof this ?—"A day of 19-CA70-10CC 2023.
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATED:
DocuSigned by:
0-1 F (A"111
E CB594E7
Christy O'Flaherty, MMC, City Clerk
DocuSigned by,
-L
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E 4165E452—
Office of the City Attorney
Filed with the City Clerk: 0)-06-25
Passed by the City Council: 1(D-WZ-Z3
Published: 0-05-Z3
Effe ctive Date:
Ordinance Number: 2-1 tk
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City of Tukwila Public Notice of Ordinance Adoption for Ordinances 2711.
On October 2, 2023 the City Council of the City of Tukwila, Washington, adopted the
following ordinance, the main paints of which are summarized by title as follows:
Ordinance 2711: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, AMENDING VARIOUS ORDINANCES AS CODIFIED IN
TUKWILA MUNICIPAL CODE (TMC) CHAPTER 21.04, "STATE ENVIRONMENTAL
POLICY ACT'; REPEALING ORDINANCE NOS. 1331 §8, §33; 1853 §6, §7; AND 2502
§2, §3; TO INCREASE FLEXIBLE THRESHOLDS FOR MINOR NEW CONSTRUCTION,
REMOVE OUTDATED REFERENCES, AND UPDATE CODE PROVISIONS;
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
The full text of this ordinance will be provided upon request.
Christy O'Flaherty, MMC, City Clerk
Published Seattle Times: October 5, 2023
Andy Youn
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Good morning, Andy --
Kari Sand
Wednesday, December 27, 2023 9:30 AM
Andy Youn
Christy O'Flaherty
Re: Scrivener's Error - Ord. 2711
Thank you for catching the typo and please correct it as a scrivener's error.
Have a great day,
Ka ri
Kairii II..... Sand I Attoiriney
Ogden Murphy Wallace, .II....C:
901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3500 1 Seattle, WA 98164
Direct: 206.447.2250 Fax: 206.447.0215
ksand@omwlaw.com )Y)Y.�At,oIrr)„) r.ILa.w.w.c.oirn.
Notice: Emails and attachments may be subject to disclosure pursuant to the Public Records Act (chapter 42.56
RCW).
From: Andy Youn <Andy.Youn@TukwilaWA.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2023 9:19 AM
To: Kari Sand <Kari.Sand@TukwilaWA.gov>
Cc: Christy O'Flaherty <Christy.OFlaherty@TukwilaWA.gov>
Subject: Scrivener's Error - Ord. 2711
Hi Kari,
While codifying this ordinance, I noticed a typo.
1 �. Ord 2711 - TMC Chapter 21.04 "State Environmental Policy Act” (SEPA) - Flexible Thresholds for Minor New
Construction
Section 11 initially cites TMC Section !1J,0 4 -!1J0 in the summary language, but then references TMC Section 21.04.310
"Fees" in the amending language. Based on the cited ordinances and language in the rest of Section 11, it looks like
the text in the red box needs to be corrected to "21.04.310."
Please let me know if we can proceed as a Scrivener's Error.
IIIII III IIII
Section, 11. TMC 2 1 0 mended. Ordinance Nos. 1331 §31,
§1, 1576 §�6, and 1650 §11* H'S LIM lllm.015MC Section 21,04,3110, "'Fees,"' are N
amerided to read as follaws:
MKIIMMt�
The City, shah require the f0flowing, fees for, its activities in, accordance wit
provisions, of tHs, chapter:
1, 'Thr esholld Determination. For every environmental checklist the Cit
review when it is lead a eng the City shall collect a fie accordip t , the aft -4-A
�y
MEM=
The ° City- shall, itequire- the, followinn, fees, for its ° activities- in-
acco rdancevith,the, provisions,of Ah is - chapter:�
1.,-,) Threslhold-Determitilon,,--Flo,r°every-envi-ironmiental-
checklistbie- it mi I I - revilew, when -it ' Js- lead -agency, Ahe• City, sha I I -
oolleict-� a- fee- �of - $325,00- from - the -pr of -the - pro poisal- prior,
Thank you,
Andy Youn
Deputy City Clerk
Records Governance I City Clerk's Office
City of Tukwila