Chapter 17.72
CONCURRENCY
Sections:
17.72.040 Certificate of capacity.
17.72.010 Intent.
Pursuant to the State Growth Management Act, Chapter 36.70A RCW, after the adoption of its comprehensive plan, the town of Friday Harbor is required by RCW 36.70A.070(6)(e) to ensure that transportation improvements or strategies to accommodate the impacts of development are provided concurrent with development. In the same vein the town is bound by the planning goals of RCW 36.70A.020(12) to ensure that those public facilities and public services necessary to support development shall be adequate to serve the development at the time the development is available for occupancy and use without decreasing current levels of service below locally established minimum standards, hereinafter “concurrency”.
The intent of this chapter is to establish a concurrency management system to ensure that concurrency facilities and services needed to maintain minimum level of service standards can be provided simultaneous to, or within a reasonable time after, development, occupancy or use. Concurrency facilities are streets, potable water, sanitary sewer, solid waste, storm water, law enforcement, fire, emergency medical service, schools, and parks. This chapter furthers the goals, policies, implementation strategies and objectives of the comprehensive plan.
The concurrency management system provides the necessary regulatory mechanism for evaluating requests for development to ensure that adequate concurrency facilities can be provided within a reasonable time of the development impact. The concurrency management system also provides a framework for determining facilities and services needs and provides a basis for meeting those needs through capital facilities planning. (Ord. 1172 § 97, 2001)
17.72.020 Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, the terms set out in this section shall have the meanings indicated:
A. “Adequate” means at or above the level of service standards specified in the current adopted comprehensive plan.
B. “Applicant” means a person or entity who has applied for a development permit.
C. “Capacity” means the ability of a concurrency facility to provide an adequate level of service.
1. “Available capacity” means capacity for a concurrency facility that currently exists for use without requiring facility construction, expansion or modification.
2. “Planned capacity” means capacity for a concurrency facility that does not exist but for which the necessary facility construction, expansion or modification project is contained in the current adopted comprehensive plan and scheduled to be completed within six years.
D. “Certificate of capacity” means a document issued by the administrator indicating the quantity of capacity for each concurrency facility that has been reserved for a specific development project on a specific property. The document may have conditions and an expiration date associated with it.
E. “Concurrency” means adequate public facilities are available when the impacts of development occur. This definition includes the two concepts of “adequate public facilities” and of “available public facilities” as defined in this section. (WAC 365-195-210)
F. “Concurrency facilities” means public facilities and public services for which concurrency is required in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
G. “Concurrency test” means the comparison of the demand on concurrency facilities to the capacity of the concurrency facilities.
H. “Current annual revolving demand” means the quantity of load placed upon any individual concurrency facility during the 12 calendar months prior to the date of the completed permit application.
I. “Development permit” means any permit or approval required by the provisions of FHMC Titles 15 through 19. Development permits are classified as exempt, final, or preliminary. Exempt permits are set out in FHMC 17.72.050.
J. “Development permit, final” means building permit.
K. “Development permit, preliminary” means preliminary short plat application, preliminary long plat application, rezone, shoreline substantial development permit, and conditional use permits.
L. “Facility and service provider” means the department, district or agency responsible for providing the specific concurrency facility.
M. “Level of service standard (LOS)” means the number of units of capacity per unit of demand. The level of service standards used in concurrency tests are those standards specified in the current adopted comprehensive plan.
N. “Public facilities” means streets, potable water, sanitary sewer, solid waste, storm water, schools and parks.
O. “Public services” means law enforcement, fire protection, public health, and emergency medical services.
P. “Vested” means the right to develop or continue development in accordance with the laws, rules and other regulations in effect at the time vesting is achieved. (Ord. 1172 § 98, 2001)
17.72.030 Concurrency test.
A. Application. All development permit applications are subject to a concurrency test. If a concurrency test is conducted for the preliminary plat application and has not expired, no concurrency test shall be required for the final plat application.
B. Procedures. The concurrency test will be performed in the processing of the development permit and conducted by the permit coordinator.
1. The permit coordinator shall perform the concurrency test by comparing the current revolving annual demand to current capacity, notifying the applicant of the test results.
2. The town of Friday Harbor shall be responsible for maintaining and monitoring the available and planned capacity.
3. Facility and service providers not controlled and operated by the town of Friday Harbor shall be responsible for annually reporting to the town of Friday Harbor the total available and planned capacity of their facility or service as of the end of each calendar year. Such reporting shall be made before February 28th for inclusion in the amendment process of the comprehensive plan. At such time as such facility or service provider notifies the town that there is a lack of planned capacity to serve new development or redevelopment within the corporate boundary, the town of Friday Harbor shall not issue a certificate of capacity.
C. Test. Development applications that would result in a reduction of a level of service below the minimum level of service standard cannot be approved. For potable water, sanitary sewer, solid waste and storm water, only available capacity will be used in conducting the concurrency test. For streets, law enforcement, fire, emergency medical service, schools, and parks, available and planned capacity will be used in conducting the concurrency test.
1. For potable water service, if the annual revolving demand exceeds the available supply, the concurrency test is failed.
2. For sanitary sewer service, if the terms of the NPDES discharge permit are exceeded, the concurrency test is failed.
3. If the capacity of concurrency facilities, other than potable water and sanitary sewer, is equal to or greater than the capacity required to maintain the level of service standard for the impact from the development application, the concurrency test is passed. A certificate of capacity will be issued according to the provisions of FHMC 17.72.040.
4. If the capacity of concurrency facilities is less than the capacity required to maintain the level of service standard for the impact from the development application, the concurrency test is not passed. (Ord. 1172 § 99, 2001)
17.72.040 Certificate of capacity.
A. Issuance. A certificate of capacity shall be placed on the completed development application.
B. A certificate of capacity shall only apply to the specific land uses, densities, intensities and development projects described in the application.
C. A certificate of capacity shall be issued for a specific parcel of land, shall run with title to that parcel of land, and is not transferable to another parcel of land.
D. A certificate of capacity shall expire:
1. If the accompanying development permit application is withdrawn or abandoned;
2. For all preliminary development permits when the notice of decision as defined in FHMC Title 20 is issued for that permit; and
3. For all final development permits when the development permit expires or is revoked.
E. Any capacity that is not used because the certificate of capacity expires shall be returned to the pool of available capacity. (Ord. 1172 § 100, 2001)
17.72.050 Exemptions.
Permit applications for development which creates no additional impacts on any concurrency facility are exempt from the requirements of this chapter including but not limited to:
A. Any addition or accessory structure to a residence with no change or increase in the number of dwelling units;
B. Interior renovations with no change in use or increase in number of dwelling units;
C. Interior completion of a structure for use(s) with the same or less intensity as the existing use or a previously approved use;
D. Replacement structure with no change in use or increase in number of dwelling units;
E. Temporary construction trailers;
F. Resurfacing of driveways and parking lots;
G. Reroofing of structures;
H. Demolitions;
I. Boundary line adjustment;
J. Final plats (if a concurrency test was conducted for the corresponding preliminary plat permit);
K. Temporary use permit; and
L. Variance. (Ord. 1172 § 101, 2001)