Chapter 18B.09
CLOSED RECORD HEARINGS, ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS, AND JUDICIAL APPEALS
Sections:
18B.09.010 Administrative appeal of project permits.
18B.09.020 Standing to initiate administrative appeals.
18B.09.030 Notice of appeal.
18B.09.040 Open record appeals.
18B.09.050 Closed record decisions.
18B.09.060 Judicial appeals.
18B.09.010 Administrative appeal of project permits.
A. An appeal of a Type I or II project decision, an appeal of a final environmental determination (SEPA) on a project decision, or an appeal of any other decision rendered by the administrative official, building official or city manager shall be filed with the community development department within fourteen calendar days of the mailing of the final decision. If the decision does not require mailing, the appeal shall be filed within fourteen calendar days following the issuance of the final decision. Appeals shall be delivered to the community development department by mail, personal delivery or by fax before 5:00 p.m. on the last business day of the appeal period. Project permit applications shall be appealable to the appeal body designated in Table 3-1.
1. If the final decision incorporates the SEPA threshold determination subject to a fourteen-day comment period, a joint twenty-one-calendar-day appeal period shall be provided on both the project decision and the SEPA threshold determination.
B. All appeals shall be in writing, accompanied by an appeal fee, and contain the following information:
1. Appellant’s name, address, and phone number;
2. The decision being appealed;
3. Appellant’s statement of grounds for the appeal addressing why the appellant believes the decision to be wrong; and
4. The desired outcome or relief sought by the appellant.
C. The appellant shall bear the burden of proving the decision was made in error.
D. Upon the timely filing of a completed appeal, the administrative official shall set the time and place for the matter to be considered by the appeal body.
E. The timely filing of an appeal shall stay all actions by the administrative official or the building official on pending applications for development permits associated with the action or decision being appealed. The filing of an appeal shall not stay the effectiveness or effective date of any enforcement action or decision of violation including cancellations and revocations of permits or approvals. (Ord. 3700 § 1 (Att. A), 2009)
18B.09.020 Standing to initiate administrative appeals.
A. Standing to initiate an administrative appeal is limited to the applicant or owner of the property in which the project permit is proposed, parties of record, affected agencies or tribes, or any person aggrieved by the final decision and who will suffer direct and substantial impacts from approval or denial of the project.
B. The term “parties of record” for the purposes of this title shall mean:
1. Any person who testified at the open record public hearing on the application; or
2. Any person who submitted written comments in response to the notice of application or environmental review; or
3. Any person who submitted written comments concerning the application at the open record public hearing (excluding persons who have only signed petitions or mechanically produced form letters). (Ord. 3700 § 1 (Att. A), 2009)
18B.09.030 Notice of appeal.
In the case of an open record appeal hearing of a Type I or Type II project permit, public notice will be provided by the administrative official to property owners within three hundred feet of the project site. (Ord. 3700 § 1 (Att. A), 2009)
18B.09.040 Open record appeals.
Open record appeals on Type I and II project permits shall be heard by the hearing examiner. Open record appeals shall be conducted in accordance with Sections 18B.08.030 through 18B.08.060 for open record public hearings and the adopted rules and procedures of the hearing examiner. New evidence or testimony may be given or received at this public hearing. The determination of the hearing examiner shall constitute the final governmental action. (Ord. 3700 § 1 (Att. A), 2009)
18B.09.050 Closed record decisions.
A. A closed record decision shall be a closed record public hearing held by the city council prior to the final decision but follows a previous open record public hearing on the project permit application before the hearing examiner or the nonproject application before the planning commission. The city council shall render the final decision on the project permit.
B. Closed record hearings shall be on the record. Review by the council shall include all materials received in evidence at the previous stage of the review, audio/visual tapes of the prior hearing, the hearing examiner or planning commission recommendation, and argument by the parties at the open record hearing.
C. Following the council’s closed record hearing, the council may affirm the recommendation of the hearing examiner or planning commission, remand the matter back with appropriate directions, or may reverse or modify the recommendation. If the council renders a decision different from the hearing body’s recommendation, the council shall adopt amended findings and conclusions accordingly. If the council affirms the hearing body’s recommendation, it may adopt the findings and recommendations of the hearing body as the final decision. (Ord. 3700 § 1 (Att. A), 2009)
18B.09.060 Judicial appeals.
A. The hearing examiner’s final determination on an application may be appealed by a party of record with standing to file a land use petition in Washington State Superior Court. Such petition must be filed within twenty-one days of issuance of the examiner’s decision, as provided in Chapter 36.70C RCW.
B. This process shall be the exclusive means of judicial review except for local land use decisions reviewable by a quasi-judicial body created by state law, such as the shorelines hearings board. (Ord. 3700 § 1 (Att. A), 2009)