Chapter 16A.15
Notice of Decision
Sections:
16A.15.015 Time Limits for Decision
16A.15.040 Duration and Expiration of Decision
16A.15.010 General
A. Applicability. The City will issue a notice of decision for all Type I, II and III project permit applications.
B. A notice of decision is issued by a City department or the Hearing Examiner at the conclusion of the project permit application review process. The notice of decision may be the decision report, administrative decision, or the issuance of the project permit. The purpose of the notice of decision is to inform the applicant and any person who, prior to rendering of the decision, requested notice of the decision, or submitted comments on the application. The notice of decision also marks the beginning of any appeal period which may be set forth herein or in other ordinances governing the project permit. (Ord. 24-1022 § 5 (Exh. C); Ord. 18-1004 § 1; Ord. 10-1015 § 1; Ord. 03-1020 § 2)
16A.15.015 Time Limits for Decision
A. A notice of decision will be issued within the time period specified below, except as provided for in subsections (B) through (D) of this section:
1. Type I project permits: within eighty-five (85) calendar days of determination of complete application.
2. Type II project permits: within one hundred thirty-five (135) calendar days of determination of complete application.
3. Type III project permits: within one hundred seventy (170) calendar days of determination of complete application.
4. For multiple project permits that have been consolidated for review under SMC 16A.05.010(C): within one hundred seventy (170) calendar days of determination of complete application.
B. The following time periods shall be exempt from the calculation of the time limits in subsection (A) of this section:
1. Any period between the day that the City has notified the applicant, in writing, that additional information, plan correction, or studies are required to further process the application and the day when responsive information is resubmitted by the applicant.
2. Any period after an applicant informs the City, in writing, that they would like to temporarily suspend review of the application until the time that the applicant notifies the local government, in writing, that they would like to resume the application. The City may set conditions for the temporary suspension of the application.
3. Any period after an administrative appeal is filed until the administrative appeal is resolved and any additional time period provided by the administrative appeal for the City to issue the decision.
4. Any extension for any reasonable period of time mutually agreed upon in writing between the applicant and the City.
C. Any written notice from the City to the applicant that additional information is required to further process the application will include a notice that nonresponsiveness for sixty (60) consecutive days will result in thirty (30) days being added to the time for review. For the purposes of this subsection, “nonresponsiveness” means that an applicant is not making demonstrable progress on providing additional requested information to the City, or that there is no ongoing communication from the applicant to the City on the applicant’s ability or willingness to provide the additional information. For the purposes of this subsection “demonstrable progress” means submittal of clear and meaningful materials responsive to all the City’s comments and corrections.
D. An additional thirty (30) days will be added to the time limits of subsection (A) of this section, if:
1. At any time, an applicant informs the local government, in writing, that the applicant would like to temporarily suspend the review of the project for more than sixty (60) days; or
2. If an applicant is nonresponsive for sixty (60) or more consecutive days, as provided for in subsection (C) of this section.
E. The time limits established by subsection (A) of this section do not apply if a project permit application:
1. Requires an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan or a development regulation, or requires a development agreement; or
2. Requires approval of a new fully contained community as provided in RCW 36.704.350, a master planned resort as provided in RCW 36.70A.360, or the siting of an essential public facility as provided in SMC 15.115.040 and RCW 6.70A.200; or
3. Is substantially revised by the applicant, in which case the time period shall start over from the date at which the revised project application is determined to be complete under Chapter 16A.07 SMC. This includes if the applicant proposes a change in use that adds or removes commercial or residential elements from the original application that would make the application fail to meet the determination of procedural completeness for the new use.
F. If the review authority is unable to issue its final decision within the time limits provided for in this section, it shall provide written notice of this fact to the project applicant. The notice shall include a statement of reasons why the time limits have not been met and an estimated date for issuance of the notice of final decision.
G. For purposes of this section “submittal” or “resubmitted” mean when the “correction submitted” event status in LAMA permit database is changed from pending to complete. This correlates to when the applicant clicks the submit button on the LAMA permit portal. (Ord. 24-1022 § 5 (Exh. C))
16A.15.020 Contents
The following must be included on all notices of decision except when the issuance of a permit serves as the notice of decision:
A. A notice of decision shall include a statement of the decision and that the decision and/or SEPA determination made under Chapter 43.21C RCW are final but may be appealed.
B. The appeal closing date shall be listed.
C. The statements shall include how a party may appeal the project permit decision and/or the SEPA determination.
D. The notice of decision may be optionally included in the written decision, a decision on the project permit application or provided as a separate document.
E. The notice of decision shall also state that affected property owners may request a change in valuation for property tax purposes notwithstanding any program of revaluation. (Ord. 24-1022 § 5 (Exh. C); Ord. 18-1004 § 1; Ord. 03-1020 § 2)
16A.15.030 Distribution
A. The review authority shall provide the notice of decision by first class mail or email to the applicant and to any person who, prior to the rendering of the decision, requested notice of the decision or submitted comments on the application or testified at the public hearing.
B. The review authority shall also provide the notice of decision to the County Assessor’s Office. (Ord. 24-1022 § 5 (Exh. C); Ord. 18-1004 § 1; Ord. 03-1020 § 2)
16A.15.040 Duration and Expiration of Decision
A. Unless otherwise provided for in the SeaTac Municipal Code or in the specific notice of decision, a decision on a project permit shall be valid for three (3) years.
B. For multiple project permits that have been consolidated for review under SMC 16A.05.010(C), the project permit with the longest approval duration shall govern all project permits.
C. All project permit decisions become null and void and expire at the end of the approval period if, on the date the decision expires, a complete application for a subsequent construction permit has not been submitted.
D. A complete application for subsequent construction permit(s) will extend the validity of said project permit if the construction permit(s) have not expired.
E. For project permits which do not require a construction permit, the project permit does not expire if the use allowed by the project permit has been legally established prior to the expiration date of the project permit decision.
F. Once a use or development has been legally established, the project permit will remain valid as long as the use and development are in compliance with the terms of the project permit decision. (Ord. 24-1022 § 5 (Exh. C))