A.
B.
Notice of Decision.
1.
In the notice of decision issued by the city pursuant to WRMC 14.05.090 and for every decision for which an administrative appeal is available in this section, the SEPA responsible official shall give official notice of the date and place for commencing an appeal. The notice shall include:
a.
Notice that the SEPA determination must be appealed within the time limit set by statute or ordinance for appealing the underlying governmental action;
b.
The time limit for commencing the appeal of the underlying governmental action and SEPA determination, and the statute or ordinance establishing the time limit;
c.
Where the appeal may be filed.
2.
Written notice shall be provided to the applicant, all parties to any administrative appeal and all persons who have requested notice of decisions concerning the project. Such notice may be appended to the permit, the decision documents, the SEPA compliance documents or may be printed separately.
C.
Timing of SEPA Administrative Appeals. Any administrative appeal shall take place prior to the city's final decision on a proposed action. However, the SEPA appeal hearing may be consolidated with any other hearing on the underlying permit or action.
D.
Number of Appeals. Only one administrative appeal to the city is allowed of the decisions listed in subsection A of this section; therefore, the planning commission's decision on a SEPA appeal cannot be heard by the city council.
E.
Consolidated Appeals. If the underlying action/permit requires a hearing, any SEPA appeal shall be consolidated with the hearing or appeal of the underlying action/permit into one simultaneous hearing, with the exception of the following:
1.
An appeal of a determination of significance (DS);
2.
An appeal of a procedural determination made by the city when the city is a project proponent, or is funding a project, and chooses to conduct its review under SEPA, including any appeals of its procedural determinations, prior to submitting an application for a project permit. Subsequent appeals of substantive determinations by an agency with jurisdiction over the proposed project shall be allowed under the SEPA appeal procedures of the agency with jurisdiction;
3.
An appeal of a procedural determination made by the city on a nonproject action; and
4.
An appeal to the city council under RCW 43.21C.060.
F.
Timing of Appeal.
1.
For SEPA determinations that provide for an administrative appeal, the administrative appeal shall be filed within 14 days after notice of the final determination when the determination is issued prior to the decision on the project action, or within 21 days if the SEPA determination is issued in conjunction with the decision on the project action.
G.
Consideration of SEPA Responsible Official's Decision. Procedural determinations made by the SEPA responsible official shall be entitled to substantial weight in an appeal.
I.
Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies. The city's administrative appeal procedure must be used before anyone may initiate judicial review of any SEPA issue for which the city allows an appeal in this section.
J.
Content of Appeal. Every appeal must be in writing, and must include the following:
1.
The applicable appeal fee, as established by resolution of the city council;
2.
Appellant's name, address and phone number;
3.
A statement describing the appellant's standing, or why the appellant believes that he or she is aggrieved by the decision appealed from;
4.
Identification of the application and decision which is the subject of the appeal;
5.
Appellant's statement of grounds for appeal and the facts upon which the appeal is based with specific references to the facts in the record;
6.
The specific relief sought;
7.
A statement that the appellant has read the appeal and believes the content to be true, followed by the appellant's signature.
K.
Timeliness of Appeals. On receipt of a written notice of appeal, the SEPA responsible official shall forward the appeal to the planning commission, who shall determine whether the appeal is timely prior to conducting the appeal hearing or consolidated open record hearing on an underlying project permit. A written decision will be issued if the appeal is untimely and the appeal will not proceed.
L.
SEPA Appeals to the Planning Commission.
1.
Jurisdiction. All SEPA appeals relating to project permit applications that are decided by the planning commission, or that require a recommendation from the planning commission to the city council, shall be heard by the planning commission. The appeal of a DNS or MDNS shall be held in conjunction with the hearing on the underlying land use action.
2.
Hearing. The planning commission shall hold an open record public hearing on the appeal, as provided in Chapter 14.05 WRMC.
3.
Date for Issuance of Decision. The planning commission shall issue a decision on the appeal within the time period set forth in WRMC 14.05.080, unless a longer period is agreed to in writing by the applicant.
4.
Appeals of Planning Commission's Decision. Planning commission's decision on timeliness of an appeal and any other appeals allowed under this subsection shall be the final decision of the city. The decision and/or notice of decision shall state that any appeal of the final decision shall be filed in Benton County superior court (pursuant to Chapter 36.70C RCW), or the shorelines hearings board.
M.
City Council Appeals.
1.
Jurisdiction. The city council shall hear all SEPA appeals relating to legislative actions and applications, as well as all SEPA appeals relating to appealable project permit applications that are decided by the community development director (Type II permits outlined in WRMC Title 14).
2.
Hearing. The city council shall hold an open record hearing on the appeal, as provided in Chapter 14.05 WRMC.
3.
Record on Appeal. There are no restrictions on the evidence and testimony received by the council for an open record appeal. The city council shall follow the requirements of Chapter 14.06 WRMC for closed record appeals.
4.
Appeals of City Council's Decision. The city council's decision on the timeliness of an appeal within its jurisdiction and any other appeals allowed under this subsection within its jurisdiction shall be the final decision of the city. The city council's decision and/or notice of decision shall state that any appeal of the final decision may be filed in Benton County superior court within 21 days of issuance to the Growth Management Hearings Board.
N.
Judicial Appeals.
1.
When SEPA applies to a decision, any judicial appeal of that decision potentially involves both those issues pertaining to SEPA and those which do not. This section and RCW 43.21C.075 establish the time limits for raising SEPA issues, but existing statutes of limitation control the appeal of non-SEPA issues.
2.
Appeals of the city's final decision shall be filed in superior court, but appellants must follow RCW 43.21C.075(6)(c), which provides that judicial review under Chapter 43.21C RCW shall without exception be of the governmental action together with its accompanying environmental determinations, which contemplates a single lawsuit.
(Ord. 41-07 § 1, 2007; Ord. 30-19 § 1 (Att. B), 2019)