Chapter 19.02
TYPE I – IV PROJECT PERMIT APPLICATIONS
Sections:
19.02.001 Optional preapplication conference.
19.02.002 Project permit application.
19.02.003 Submission and acceptance of application.
19.02.004 Notice of application.
19.02.005 Referral and review of project permit applications.
19.02.035 Alternative project permit processing without concurrency.
19.02.001 Optional preapplication conference.
A. Prior to filing applications for project permit Type III actions requiring a preliminary plat or site plan review and Type IV actions, the applicant may request a preapplication conference. The purpose of the preapplication conference is to acquaint the applicant with the requirements of the Gig Harbor Municipal Code.
B. The conference shall be held within 28 days of the request.
C. Five or more working days following the conference, the director shall provide the applicant with:
1. A form which lists the requirements for a completed application;
2. A general summary of the procedures to be used to process the application;
3. The references to the relevant code provisions or development standards which may apply to approval of the application;
4. The city’s design guidelines.
D. Neither the discussions at the conference nor the information provided on the form sent by the director to the applicant under GHMC 19.02.001 (C) shall bind the director in any manner or prevent the director’s future application or enforcement of all applicable codes, ordinances and regulations.
E. Preapplication conferences for all other types of applications are optional, and requests for conferences will be considered on a time-available basis by the director. (Ord. 806 § 7, 1998; Ord. 711 § 1, 1996).
19.02.002 Project permit application.
Applications for project permits shall be submitted on forms provided by the director. An application shall consist of all materials required by the applicable development regulations, and shall include the following general information:
A. A completed project permit application form;
B. A verified statement by the applicant that the property affected by the application is in the exclusive ownership of the applicant, or that the applicant has submitted the application with the consent of all owners of the affected property;
C. A property and/or legal description of the site for all applications, as required by the applicable development regulations;
D. The applicable fee;
E. Evidence of adequate water supply as required by RCW 19.27.097 or a copy of an application for city of Gig Harbor water concurrency determination, submitted to the city public works director; and
F. Evidence of sewer availability. (Ord. 888 § 1, 2001; Ord. 806 § 8, 1998; Ord. 711 § 1, 1996).
19.02.003 Submission and acceptance of application.
A. Submission of Project Permit Application and Associated Concurrency Application. Every project permit application must be accompanied by a concurrency application (under Chapter 19.10 GHMC), unless the development described in the application is exempt under Article I of Chapter 19.10 GHMC. The planning department shall immediately forward the concurrency application to the public works/engineering department for processing. The planning department shall then determine whether or not the project permit application is complete, following the procedures in this section.
B. The public works/engineering department shall notify the planning department within 28 days after initial receipt of the applications whether the concurrency application is complete or incomplete. The planning department shall not make a finding that the project permit application is complete under this section unless and until notified by the public works/engineering department that the concurrency application is complete.
C. Determination of Completeness. Within 28 days after receiving a project permit application, the city shall mail or personally deliver to the applicant a determination which states either:
1. That the application is complete; or
2. That the application is incomplete and what is necessary to make the application complete.
D. Identification of Other Agencies with Jurisdiction. To the extent known by the city, other agencies with jurisdiction over the project shall be identified in the determination of completeness.
E. Additional Information. A project permit application is complete for the purposes of this section when it meets the submission requirements of GHMC 19.02.002, the submission requirements of the applicable development regulations, and when the public works/engineering department has determined that a complete concurrency application has been submitted. The determination of completeness shall be made when the application is sufficiently complete for review, even though additional information may be required or project modifications may be undertaken subsequently. The director’s determination of completeness shall not preclude the director’s ability to request additional information or studies whenever new information is required, or substantial changes are made to the proposed project.
F. Incomplete Applications.
1. Whenever the applicant receives a determination from the city that an application is not complete for either a project permit or concurrency application, the applicant shall have 90 days to submit the necessary information. Within 14 days after an applicant has submitted the requested additional information, the director shall make a determination of completeness and notify the applicant in the manner provided in subsection C of this section.
2. If the applicant does not submit the additional information requested within the 90-day period, for either the project permit or concurrency application, the director shall make findings and issue a decision, according to the Type I procedure described in GHMC 19.10.003, that the application has lapsed for lack of information necessary to complete the review. The decision shall state that no further action will be taken on the applications, and that if the applicant does not make arrangements to pick up the application materials from the planning and/or public works/engineering departments within 30 days from the date of the decision, the application materials will be destroyed.
3. When the director determines that an application has lapsed because the applicant has failed to submit required information within the necessary time period, the applicant may request a refund of the application fee remaining after the city’s determination of completeness.
G. Director’s Failure to Provide Determination of Completeness. A project permit application shall be deemed complete under this section if the director does not provide a written determination to the applicant that the application is incomplete as provided in subsection C of this section. This subsection G shall not apply to a concurrency application.
H. Date of Acceptance of Application. Project permit and concurrency applications shall not be officially accepted until complete. When an application is found complete, the director shall note the date of acceptance for continued processing.
I. After acceptance, the city shall begin processing the applications. Under no circumstances shall the city place any applications on “hold” to be processed at some later date, even if the request for the “hold” is made by the applicant, and regardless of the requested length of the “holding” period. (Ord. 1043 § 1, 2006; Ord. 806 § 9, 1998; Ord. 711 § 1, 1996).
19.02.004 Notice of application.
A. Generally. A notice of application shall be provided to all city departments and agencies with jurisdiction of all Type III and IV project permit applications. In addition, a notice of application for all (1) nonresidential development, (2) multifamily residential development as defined in GHMC 17.04.290, (3) subdivisions, and (4) public projects, except for normal maintenance and repair, shall be sent to all members of the design review board as set forth in GHMC 17.98.045(E).
B. Issuance of Notice of Application.
1. Within 14 days after the city has made a determination of completeness pursuant to GHMC 19.02.003, the director shall issue a notice of application.
2. If any open record predecision hearing is required for the requested project permit(s), the notice of application shall be provided at least 15 days prior to the open record hearing.
C. Contents. The notice of application shall include:
1. The date of submission of the initial application, the date of the notice of completion and acceptance of the application, and the date of the notice of application;
2. A description of the proposed project and a list of the project permits requested in the application and, if applicable, a list of any studies requested under RCW 36.70B.070 or 36.70B.090;
3. A description of other required permits not included in the application, to the extent known by the city;
4. A description of existing environmental documents that evaluate the proposed project, and, if not otherwise stated on the document providing notice of application, the location where the application and any studies can be reviewed;
5. A statement setting forth: (a) the time for the public comment period, which shall be not less than 14 nor more than 30 days following the date of notice of application; (b) the right of any person to comment on the application, receive notice of and participate in any hearings, and request a copy of the decision on the application; and (c) any appeal rights;
6. The date, time, place and type of hearing, if a hearing has been scheduled when the date of notice of application is issued;
7. A summary of the preliminary determination of consistency required by GHMC 19.04.001, if one has been made at the time of notice, and of those development regulations that will be used for project mitigation and as provided in Chapter 19.04 GHMC;
8. Any other information determined appropriate by the director such as the director’s threshold determination, if complete at the time of issuance of the notice of application.
D. Public Comment on the Notice of Application. All public comments received on the notice of application must be received in the department of planning by 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the comment period. Comments may be mailed, personally delivered or sent by facsimile; provided, that mailed comments received after the comment period has expired will not be accepted. Comments should be as specific as possible.
E. SEPA Exempt Projects. A notice of application shall not be required for project permits that are categorically exempt under SEPA, unless a public comment period or an open record predecision hearing is required. (Ord. 1093 § 15, 2007; Ord. 1006 § 3, 2005; Ord. 806 § 10, 1998; Ord. 711 § 1, 1996).
19.02.005 Referral and review of project permit applications.
Within 10 days of accepting a complete application, the director shall:
A. Transmit a copy of the application, or appropriate parts of the application, to each affected government agency and city department for review and comment, including those responsible for determining compliance with state and federal requirements. The affected agencies and city departments shall have 15 days to comment on the application. The agency or city department is presumed to have no comments if comments are not received within the 15-day period. The director shall grant an extension of time only if the application involves unusual circumstances. Extensions shall be for a maximum of three working days.
B. Provide for notice and hearing as set forth in Chapter 19.03 GHMC for Type III procedures. (Ord. 806 § 11, 1998; Ord. 711 § 1, 1996).
19.02.035 Alternative project permit processing without concurrency.
A. Notice to Applicants of Alternative Procedure in Determination of Complete Application. Beginning on January 1, 2008, and ending on May 31, 2010, the city shall include the following language in every notice of complete application for every building permit, preliminary plat, short plat, binding site plan, planned unit development, planned residential development, conditional use, variance, shoreline substantial development, shoreline conditional use, shoreline variance, site plan, or any other permit/approval for which a sewer concurrency certificate is required:
As an alternative to the standard project permit processing, an applicant may choose to have this application processed under the temporary procedure entitled ‘Alternative Project Permit Processing without Concurrency,’ as set forth in GHMC 19.02.035. A copy of this procedure is attached. Please let us know if you would like your application processed under this alternative procedure. If you do not choose to have your application processed under the alternative method, your application for a sewer concurrency certificate will be processed immediately. At present, there is no available capacity in the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, and it is likely that any application for concurrency in the Wastewater Treatment Plant will be denied. If your underlying project permit application requires sewer availability in the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, it is likely that it will be denied as well. Denied applications are subject to the appeal provisions of GHMC 19.06.007.
B. Choosing Alternative Processing. Once an application has been determined complete and the applicant has chosen alternative processing without concurrency, the property owner will be asked to sign a contract with the city, allowing processing to proceed. This contract may not be signed by an agent for the property owner. A copy of this contract is attached to the ordinance codified in this section as Exhibit A, and will include, but not be limited to, the following requirements:
1. The property owner must waive any right to a final decision on the project permit application or concurrency determination by the dates established in the city code or in state law;
2. The property owner must release any covenant not to sue the city for any damages or liability that may be suffered by the applicant/property owner, developer or any third party as a result of the applicant’s decision to choose this alternative processing procedure without concurrency, or as a result of the city’s processing of the application under this procedure;
3. The property owner must agree to the city’s processing of the application up to the point where a final decision must be made, and no further, until the expiration date established herein. If the city still does not have any capacity in the wastewater treatment plant by that time, the property owner must agree that the application is null, void and of no further effect unless both parties agree to an extension;
4. The parties to the agreement must acknowledge that while the city will extend the vested rights doctrine to certain applications, up to the expiration date established herein, the city will not extend the vested rights doctrine to permits that do not vest under state or local law, and no applications will be vested under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA);
5. The property owner must acknowledge that the city’s processing of applications subject to the vested rights doctrine will proceed under the codes in place at the time the complete application has been submitted (with the exception of SEPA), except for those codes that are specifically adopted to be retroactive;
6. The property owner must agree to pay all applicable processing fees, which may include a double fee for any SEPA review or review based on SEPA, including but not limited to evaluations for traffic concurrency;
7. The property owner must agree to a contract expiration date of May 31, 2010, and if the city has not announced that the wastewater treatment plant has available capacity by that date, the application will be null and void, and the property owner will be required to resubmit his/her application to begin the process anew, without any refund in fees.
C. Execution of Contract. Every contract executed by the property owner shall be presented to the city administrator. The city council hereby authorizes the city administrator to sign the contract attached to the ordinance codified in this section as Exhibit A on behalf of the city.
D. Alternative Processing without Concurrency. After contract execution, the city shall begin processing the application up to the point where a final decision must be made. In the case of a permit/approval that becomes final when a staff decision is made, the staff shall only write a draft report. In the case of a permit/approval that becomes final when a hearing examiner decision is made, the staff report shall also be in draft form, and the application shall not be scheduled for a hearing to the hearing examiner. For the SEPA threshold decision, see subsection (E) of this section.
E. Double-Stage SEPA Processing. The city’s processing of the application under SEPA shall proceed as set forth in the city’s codes and state law, except that no threshold decision shall issue. While the staff may prepare a draft threshold decision and even receive comments from the public/applicant on such draft, the threshold decision shall not issue for comment/appeal by the public under this procedure, until the city announces that the wastewater treatment plant has available capacity, but not later than May 31, 2010, unless the city has not accepted the improvements for the wastewater treatment plant which will provide available capacity by that date. There shall be no vesting of any regulations under SEPA.
F. Fees. The applicant shall pay the applicable project permit processing fees. In addition, if the city is required to issue a draft SEPA decision in order to ensure continued processing of an application, the applicant shall pay an additional fee for a second SEPA threshold decision (that would issue after May 31, 2010, as provided in subsection (E) of this section).
G. Order of Processing. The city shall process the applications in the order established by readiness for a final decision. In other words, once the staff has performed the last step in the process prior to the final decision or the hearing on the final decision, the application will be placed on the list. The applications on the list will be held until the city announces the acceptance of the wastewater treatment plant which will provide available capacity, but not later than May 31, 2010. At that point, the staff will issue the necessary final decisions or schedule the applications for hearing on the final decision. If no announcement has been made by May 31, 2010, the applications will be null, void and of no further effect.
H. Reapplication. If the city does not accept the improvements to the wastewater treatment plant that will provide available capacity on or before May 31, 2010, and the applications that have been processed under this temporary, alternative procedure have been determined null, void and of no further effect, the applicants may submit new applications once the city announces that sewer capacity is available. The provisions of GHMC 19.06.007 shall not prevent reapplication of applications that have been determined invalid.
I. Utility Extension Agreements and Comprehensive Plan Amendments. This procedure is not available for utility extension agreements or comprehensive plan amendments. (Ord. 1114 § 1, 2007).