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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3306 AN ORDINANCE implementing the State Environmental Policy Act within the city limits of the City of Bremerton through the adoption of a city environ- mental policy, establishing procedures for determination and consideration of the environmental impact of actions, and adopting by reference SEPA guidelines adopted by the State Council on Environ- mental Policy. THE CITY OF BREMERTON DOES ORDAIN: Section 1. POLICIES AND AUTHORITY. (1) The city of Bremerton hereby adopts by reference the policies of the State Environmental Policy Act as expressed in RCW 42.21C.010 and RCW 43.21C.020. (2) The city posesses the authority to deny or condition actions so as to mitigate or prevent adverse environmental impacts. This authority applies to all city activities including actions as defined in this ordinance, as well as activities which are cate- gorically exempted or excluded from the definition of action, whether or not such activities are considered to be ministerial in nature. Section 2. ADOPTION BY REFERENCE. The city hereby adopts by reference the following sections or subsections of chapter 197-10 of the Washington Administrative Code (the "SEPA Guidelines" adopted by the State of Washington, Council on Environmental Policy): WAC 197-10-040: Definitions. -060: Scope of a Proposal and its'Impacts. -160: No Presumption of Significance for Non-Exempt Actions. -170: Categorical Exemptions. -180: Exemptions for Emergency Actions. -200: Lead Agency--Responsibilities. -203: Determination of Lead Agency--Pro- cedures. -205: Lead Agency Designation--Governmental Proposals. -210: Lead Agency Designation--Proposals involving Both Private and Public Con- struction. -215: Lead Agency Designation--Private Projects for Which There is Only One Agency. -220: Lead Agency Designation--Private Projects, Licenses From More than One Agency When One is City. -230: Lead Agency Designation--Specific Proposals. -235: Local Agency Transfer of Lead Agency Status to a State Agency. -240: Agreements as to Lead Agency Status. -245: Agreements Between Agencies at to Division of Lead Agency Duties. -260: Dispute as to Lead Agency Determination --Resolution by CEP. -270: Assumption of Lead Agency by Another Agency with Jurisdiction. -300: Threshold Determination Requirement. -305: Recommended Timing for Threshold Determination. -310: Threshold Determination Procedures-- Environmental Checklist. -320: Threshold Determination Procedures-- Initial Review of Environmental Checklist. -330: Threshold Determination Procedures-- Information in Addition to Checklist. -340: Threshold Determination Procedures-- Negative Declarations. -345: Assumption of Lead Agency Status by Another Agency with Jurisdiction-- Pre-requisites, Effect and Form of Notice. -350: Affirmative Threshold Determinations. -355: Form of Declaration of Significance/ Non-Significance. -360: Threshold Determination Criteria-- Application of Environmental Checklist. -365: Environmental Checklist. -370: Withdrawal of Affirmative Threshold Determination. -375: Withdrawal of Negative Threshold Determination. -390: Effect of Threshold Determination by Lead Agency. -400: Duty to Begin Preparation of a Draft EIS. -410: Pre-Draft Consultation Procedures. -425: Organization and Style of a Draft EIS. -440: Contents of a Draft EIS. -442: .Special Considerations Regarding Contents of an EIS. -444: List of Elements of the Environment. -450: Public Awareness of Availability of Draft EIS. -455: Circulation of the Draft EIS--Review Period. -460: Specific Agencies to which Draft EIS shall be sent. -465: Agencies possessing Environmental Expertise. -470: Costs to the Public for Reproduction of Environmental Documents. -480: Public Hearing on a Proposal--When Required. -485: Notice of Public Hearing on Environmental Impact of the Proposal. -490: Public Hearing on the Proposal--Use of Environmental Document. -495: Preparation of Amended or New Draft EIS. r_ 2 -500: Responsibilities of Consulted Agencies--Local Agencies. -510: Responsibilities of Consulted Agencies--State Agencies with Jurisdiction. m520: Responsibilities of Consulted Agencies--State Agencies with Environmental Expertise. -530: Responsibilities of Consulted Agencies~-When Pre-Draft Consul- tation has Occurred, -535: Cost of Performance of Consulted Agency Responsibilities. -540: Limitations on Responses to Consultation. -545: Effect of No Written Comment. -550: Preparation of the Final EIS-- Time Period Allowed. -570: Preparation of Final EIS--When no Critical Comments Received on the Draft EIS. -580: Preparation of the Final EIS-- Contents--When Critical Comments Received on Draft EIS. -600: Circulation of the Final EIS. -650: Effect of an Adequate Final EIS Prepared Pursuant to NEPA. -652: Supplementation of a Lead Agency of an Inadequate Final NEPA EIS. -660: Use of Previously Prepared EIS for a Different Proposed Action. -690: Use of a Lead Agency's EIS by Other Acting Agencies for the Same Proposal, -695: Draft and Final Supplements to a Revised EIS, -700: EIS Combined with Existing Planning and Review Processes, -830: Responsibilities of Agencies--SEPA Public Information Center. -835: Regional SEPA Public Information Centers. -840: Applications of Agency Guidelines to Ongoing Actions. Section 3. ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS. In addition to those definitions contained within WAC 197-10-040, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context indicates otherwise: (1) "Department" means any division, subdivision or organizational unit of the city established by ordinance, rule, or order. (2) "SEPA Guidelines" means chapter 197-10 RCW adopted by the Council on Environmental Policy. Section 4. TIME LIMITS APPLICABLE TO THRESHOLD DETERMINATIONS. The following time limits (expressed in calendar days) shall apply - 3 - to the processing of all private projects and to those governmental proposals submitted to this city by other agencies: (a) Threshold determinations which can be made based upon review of the environmental checklist submitted by applicant should be completed withinfifteen (15) days of submission of an adequate application and the completed checklist. (b) Threshold determinations on actions where the applicant recommends in writing that an EIS be prepared because of the significant impact asserted and described in the application shall be completed within fifteen (15) days of submission of an adequate application and the completed checklist. (c) The time limits set forth in this subsection shall not apply to withdrawals of affirmative and negative threshold determinations where such withdrawals are made in accordance with WAC'~l~7-10-370~a~d WAC 197-10-375, (d) When a threshold determination is expected to require more than fifteen (15)days to complete and a private applicant requests notification of the date when a threshold determination will be made, the lead agency shall transmit to the private applicant a written statement as to the expected date of decision. Section 5. ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS. (1) Environmentally sensitive areas shall be designated by Planning Director with approval of the Planning Commission and City Council. Maps designating such areas, together with the exemptions from those listed in WAC 197-10-177(2) which are in- applicable in such area, shall be filed with the City Clerk and SEPA Information Center and shall have full force and effect of law as of the date of filing. (2) Major actions which will be located wholly or partially within an environmentally sensitive area are to be treated no differently than other major actions under these guidelines. A threshold determination shall be made for all such actions, and an EIS shall not be automatically required for a proposal merely because - 4 - it is proposed for location in an environmentally sensitive area. (3) Certain exemptions do not apply on lands covered by water, and this remains true regardless of whether or not lands covered by water are mapped. Section 6. USE OF EXEMPTIONS. (1) The applicability of the exemptions shall be determined by each department within the city which received an application for a license, or in the case of governmental proposals, by that department initiating the proposal. (2) If a proposal includes a series of actions, physi- cally or functionally related to each other, some of which are exempt or functionally related to each other, some of which are exempt and some of which are not, the proposal is not exempt. (3) If the proposal includes a series of exempt actions which are physically or functionally related to each other, but which together may have a significant environmental impact, the proposal is not exempt. (4) If it is determined that a proposal is exempt, none of the procedural requirements of these guidelines apply to the proposal. No environmental checklist shall be required for an exempt proposal. (5) A department which is determining whether or not a proposal is exempt shall ascertain the total scope of the proposal and the governmental licenses required. If a proposal includes a series of actions, physically or functionally related to each other, some of which are exempt and some which are not, the proposal is not exempt. For any such proposal, the lead agency shall be determined, even if the license application which triggers the department's consideration is otherwise exempt. If the lead agency is the city, then the responsible official shall be designated. (6) If a proposal includes bothexempt and nonexempt actions, exempt actions may be authorized with respect to the proposal prior to compliance with the procedural requirements of these guidelines -- 5 -- subject to the following limitations: (a) No major action (nonexempt action) shall be authori- zed; (b) No action shall be authorized which will irrevocably commit the city to approve or authorize a major action; (c) A department may withhold approval of an exempt action which would lead to modification of the physical environment, when such modifications would serve no purpose if later approval of a major action is not secured; and (d) A department may withhold approval of exempt actions which would lead to substantial financial expenditures by a private applicant which would serve no purpose if later approval of a major action is not secured. Section 7. LEAD AGENCY DETERMINATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES. (1) Any department within the city receiving or initia~ing a proposal any portion of which involves a major action, shall determine the lead agency for that proposal pursuant to the criteria set forth in section WAC 197-10-205 through -270, using the procedures of WAC 197-10-203. This determination shall be made for each proposal involving a major action unless the lead agency has been previously determined, or the department is aware that another department or agency is in the process of determining the lead agency. NOTE: A lead agency must be an agency with jurisdiction. (2) In those instances in which the city is the lead agency, the responsible official of the city shall supervise com- pliance with the threshold determination, and if an EIS is necessary, shall supervise preparation of the draft and final EIS. (3) In those instances in which the city is not the lead agency under the criteria of WAC-197-10-205 through -270, all departments of the city, subject to the limitations of WAC 197-10-390, -660, and -690 shall utilize and consider as appropriate either the declaration of nonsignificance or the final EIS - 6 - of the lead agency in conjunction with the decision of the city on the proposal. In such instances, no city department shall prepare or require preparation of a declaration of nonsignificance or EIS in addition to that prepared by the lead agency. (4) In the event that the city or any department thereof receives a lead agency determination made by another agency which does not appear to be in accord with the criteria of WAC 197-10-205 through -245 it may object thereto. Any such objection must be made and resolved within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the determination, or the city must petition CEP for a lead agency determination pursuant to WAC 197-10-260 with the fifteen (15) day time period. Any such petition on behalf of the city shall be initiated by the responsible official with the concurrence of the mayor. (5) Departments of the city are authorized to make agreements as to lead agency status pursuant to WAC 197-10-240 and WAC 197-10-245: PROVIDED, That any such agreement involving assumption of lead agency status by the city will first be approved by the responsible official for the city and that any department which will incur responsibilities as a result of any such agreement will approve the agreement. (6) Any department making a lead agency determination for a private project shall require sufficient information from the applicant to ascertain which other agencies have jurisdiction over the proposal. Section 8. ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLIST. (1) Except as provided in WAC 197-10-300 (2), a completed environmental checklist, or a copy thereof, substantially in the form provided in WAC 197-10- 365 shall be filed at the same time as an application for a permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement for use not specifically exempted herein. This checklist shall be the basis for a determi- nation by the city as to lead agency status and if the city is determined to be the lead agency, then for the threshold determination. - 7 - (2) For all proposals for which the city is the lead agency, the responsible official of the city shall make the threshold determination pursuant to the criteria and procedures of WAC 197-10-300 through -365. Section 9. PREPARATION OF EIS. (1) The draft and final EIS shall be prepared either by the responsible official or his designee, or by a private applicant or a consultant retained by the private applicant. In the event the responsible official determines that the applicant will be required to prepare an EIS, the applicant shall be so notified immediately after comple- tion of the threshold determination. (2) In the event that an EIS is to be prepared by a private applicant or a consultant retained by the private appli- cant, the responsible official shall assure that the EIS is pre- pared in a responsible manner and with appropriate methodology. The responsible official shall direct the areas of research and examination to be undertaken, as well as the organization of the resulting document. (3) In the event that the responsible official or his designee is preparing an EIS, the responsible official may require a private applicant to provide data and information which is not in the possession of the city relevant to any or all areas to be covered by the EIS. (4) No matter who participated in the preparation of an EIS, it must be approved by the responsible official prior to distribution. (5) In all occasions of EIS preparation the applicant is encouraged to provide information to the responsible official. Section 10. ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS TO BE COVERED IN AN EIS. The following additional elements are part of the environ- ment for the purpose of EIS content, but do not add to the criter- ia for - 8 - threshold determinations or perform any other function or purpose under these rules: (1) Economic factors. (2) Cultural factors. (3) Sociological factors. Section 11. DESIGNATION OF OFFICIAL TO PERFORM CON- SULTED AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE CITY. (1) The following person shall be responsible for the preparation of the written comments for the city in response to a consultation request prior to a threshold determination, participation in predraft consulta- tion, or reviewing a draft EIS: City Planning Director. (2) The official designated in paragraph (1) hereof shall be responsible for compliance by the city with WAC 197-10-500 through -540 wherever the city is a consulted agency, and is hereby authorized to develop operating procedures which will ensure that responses to consultation requests are prepared in a timely fashion and include data from all appropriate departments of the city. Section 12. DESIGNATION OF RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL. (1) For those proposals for which the city is the lead agency, the responsible official shall be the Planning Director or his designated representative. (2) The responsible official shall make the threshold determination, supervise preparation of any required EIS, and perform any other functions assigned to the "lead agency" or "responsible official" by those sections of the SEPA guidelines which were adopted by reference in WAC 173-805-020 hereof, for all proposals for which the city is the lead agency. Section 13. SEPA PUBLIC INFORMATION CENTER. (1) The following location constitutes the city's SEPA public information center: City Planning Department City Hall 239 4th St. Bremerton, Washington Telephone: (206) 479-5275 - 9 - (2) Ail reasonable means will be used to make the exis- tence and location of the city's SEPA public information center known to both the public generally ~nd the~mPlOyees of the city. (3) The SEPA public information~center shall contain the documents and provide the services required by WAC 197-10-830. Section 14.'~ FEES The following fees shall be required for.actions by city in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance: (1) Environmental Assessments--For every environmental assessment to be performed by the city when the city is lead agency a fee of $50.00 shall be required of the proponent of the proposal. This fee shall be collected prior to undertaking the threshold determination, and the time periods provided by this ordinance for making a threshold determination shall not begin to run until payment of the fee. -~ (2) Environmental Impact statements-- (a) For all proposals requiring an EIS for which the city is the lead agency and for which the responsible official determines that the EIS shall be prepared by employees of the city, the city may charge and.~collect a reasonable fee fron any applicant to cover costs incurred by the city in the preparation of an EIS. If it is determined that an EIS is required, applicants shall be advised of projected costs of the statement prior to actual prepara- tion and shall post bo~d or otherwise insure payment of such costs. (b) The resDonsible official may determine that the city will contract directly~with a consultant for preparation of envi- ronmental documents for activities initiated by some persons o'r entity other than ~he ci~Y'~and may bill such costs and expenses directly to the applicant., Such consultants shall be selected by the city after a and in consultation with the applicant. Applicants may be ~equired to post bond or otherwise insure payment of such costs. '~"~ (c) In the event that a proposal is modified so that an - I0 - EIS is no longer required, the responsible official shall refund any costs collected under ~) and~ (b) ~fl this subsection which were collected for costs not incurred, (3) No fee shall be collected by the city for performing its duties as a consulted agency. (4) The SEPA public information center of the city is hereby authorized to charge periodic fees for the service of mailing registers and.~egister updates. Such fees shall be reasonably ~related to the costs olf reproduction and mailing of registers and updates, (5) The~city may charge any person for copies of any documents prepared .p~rsuant to the requirements of this ordinance and for mailing thereof, in a manner provided by chapter 42.17, RCW. Section !~5~ NOTICE/STATUTE 0F LIMITATIONS. (1) The .City,. applicant for, or proponent of an action may publish notice of action pursuant'to RCW 43.21C.080 'for any action. ' (2) The form.~of the notice shall be as prescribed by the department of ecology and/or substantially in the form and manner set forth in RCW 43,21C,080. The notice shall be published by the city clerk, applicant OU proponent pursuant to RCW 43.21C.080. Section 16.' sEVERABILITY. If any provision of this ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the ordinance or the!application of the provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected. APPROVED,~bF the City Council on the first reading this --day of July~ 1976. PASSED by the City Council of the Ci,ty of Bremerton, signed by the Mayor and attested by, the City clerk in authentication of such passage this ATTEST: :~ GCC. Y~DON, S~City Clerk - 11 -