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 November 30, 2010, or the date the city grants substantial completion of the Phase 1 improvements to the wastewater treatment plant, whichever is earlier, 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 and 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 farther, 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 November 30, 2010, and if the city has not announced that the wastewater treatment plant has available capacity for the project permit application 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 for the project permit application. 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 capacity is available, 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 grants substantial completion of the Phase 1 improvements to the wastewater treatment plant, which will provide available capacity, but not later than November 30, 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 of available capacity has been made by November 30, 2010, the applications will be null, void and of no further effect.
H. Reapplication. If the city does not grant substantial completion of the Phase 1 improvements to the wastewater treatment plant that will provide available capacity on or before November 30, 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. 1187 § 1, 2010; Ord. 1114 § 1, 2007).