ORD 2015-08 RELATING TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT REGULAR SCHEDULEORDINANCE NO. 2015-08
AN ORDINANCE of the City of Bainbridge Island, Washington, relating to the
Comprehensive Plan amendment regular schedule and the 2016 Comprehensive
Plan Update process; amending Bainbridge Island Municipal Code Chapter
2.16.190.
WHEREAS, the State Growth Management Act requires that cities and counties that
plan under the Act periodically review their Comprehensive Plan, looking out 20 years; and
WHEREAS, the City of Bainbridge Island has begun that periodic review, and any
changes must be adopted by June 30, 2016; and
WHEREAS, a committee of Councilmembers and Planning Commissioners known as
the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee has been established to guide the Update process;
and
WHEREAS, the City's regular three -year Comprehensive Plan Amendment cycle
described in BIMC Chapter 2.16.190 provides for the next amendment submission period to
occur in early 2016; and
WHEREAS, the Steering Committee agrees that it is advisable to have any independent
Comprehensive Plan amendment requests submitted earlier in the Comprehensive Plan Update
process in order to consider changes to the Plan as a whole; now, therefore
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAINBRIDGE
ISLAND, WASHINGTON, DOES ORDAIN, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1: Sections 2.16.1901 and G of the Bainbridge Island Municipal Code are
amended to read as follows:
F. Frequency of Amendments.
1. Amendments. Except in the event of an emergency as determined by the city
council or in the event of amendments related to updating the capital facilities
plan, plan amendments will be considered together so that the cumulative effects
of all proposed amendments can be analyzed for consistency and the overall effect
on the comprehensive plan. As part of the City's periodic 2016 comprehensive
!an Update, the city will accept comprehensive plan wrendment requests
between May 1 and June 30, 2015, and those amendments will be considered_
thrOL1 811 the lie update process. The next comprehensive plan amendment submission
cycle will be inStaf4ixgin 2-Oa 2019, and thereafter no more often than every
three calendar years, the planning commission may recommend and the city
council may adopt amendments to the land use map, or the text of the
comprehensive plan, upon finding that each proposal meets all of the applicable
conditions and requirements of this chapter.
Emergency Amendments. The city council may determine, by resolution, that a
proposed amendment be processed as an emergency amendment to the
comprehensive plan.
G. Review Process. The city shall process comprehensive plan amendment applications
in accordance with the following procedures:
1. Preapplication Conference. Prior to submittal of a comprehensive plan
amendment application, the applicant or applicant's representative shall attend a
preapplication conference in accordance with the procedures of BIMC
2.16.020.G. Interested citizens may attend the preapplication meeting.
2. Application. Proposed amendments shall be submitted between January 1 st and
the last day in February, starting in 2013 and subsequently every third year,_
except as described in Subsection F.1 _above in connection with the 2016
Comprehensive Plan update.
3. SEPA Review. The applicant is responsible for conducting any environmental
analysis, including the preparation of an environmental impact statement, if
necessary. Environmental review shall be completed prior to planning
commission review.
4. Written Analysis. For each proposed amendment, staff will prepare a written
analysis for the planning commission. The analysis will be accompanied by a
recommendation that the proposed amendment be approved, denied, or approved
with modification. Proposals may be grouped and evaluated by geographic sector
and /or subject matter to be assessed for cumulative impact.
5. Planning Commission Review. Subsequent to completion of the analysis and
SEPA review prepared by staff, the planning commission shall conduct one or
more public hearings as defined in BIMC 2.14.020.G. The planning commission
shall also solicit comments regarding the proposed amendment from the public or
from government agencies in any other manner it determines necessary and
appropriate to the nature of the proposed amendment and consistent with RCW
36.70A.140, The notice and public hearing for proposed comprehensive plan
amendments may be combined with any notice or public hearing for proposed
amendments to the land use code or for other actions of the planning commission;
provided, that all appropriate noticing is conducted as required by law.
6. Planning Commission Recommendation. The planning commission shall base its
recommendation on whether the application meets the required decision criteria
contained in subsection H of this section and consider public input, conclusions
from any required studies, the staff recommendation, and findings from the SEPA
analysis. The planning commission may recommend to approve, approve with
conditions, or deny the proposed amendment. The planning commission must
make findings supporting their recommendation. If the planning commission
recommends denial of a proposed amendment, the findings shall include that (a)
the proposal does not comply with the decision criteria contained in subsection H
of this section, or (b) a majority of the planning commission finds that the
proposal would be more appropriately and effectively addressed through another
aspect of the city's work program. The planning commission's findings and
conclusions regarding its recommendation shall be forwarded to the city council
within 30 days of their final hearing.
7. City Council Review and Decision.
a. The city council considers whether the application meets the required decision
criteria contained in subsection H of this section and also considers staff's
recommendation and the planning commission's recommendations within the
context of its budget discussions, and may act on the amendment proposals
prior to or at the same time as it adopts the city budget.
b. The council may decide to approve, deny, or approve with modification the
proposed amendment.
c. The council shall base its decision on consideration of the record and the
required decision criteria contained in subsection H of this section and shall
cite these in their findings and conclusions.
8. Denied Amendments.
a. Denied amendments will not be accepted for the next comprehensive plan
amendment cycle, unless the proposed amendment is substantially modified or
circumstances related to the amendment request have significantly changed.
The planning director shall make this determination.
Section 2. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force on and after five days from its
passage, approval and publication as required by law.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL this 24th day of March, 2015,
APPROVED BY THE MAYOR this 24th day of March, 2015.
ATTEST /AUTHENTICATE:
Rosalind D. Lassoff, CMC, City Clerk
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK:
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
PUBLISHED:
EFFECTIVE DATE:
ORDINANCE NUMBER:
Anne S. Blair, Mayor
March 10, 2015
March 24, 2015
March 27, 2015
April 1, 2015
2015 -08