This chapter provides the necessary regulatory mechanism for determining if development activity meets the concurrency provisions of the Comprehensive Plan and ensures that public facilities are available to support the development activity's impact at adopted levels of service.
(Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)
(a) 
This chapter applies to:
(1) 
All development activity applications filed after its effective date, unless exempted.
(2) 
Changes of occupancy or changes of use that result in increased demand for system improvements including public parks, transportation facilities or sewer.
(3) 
Reconstruction or expansions of buildings that result in an increase in vehicular trips, housing units or sewage demand exceeding the pre-existing demand on roads, parks and/or sewer facilities.
(4) 
Phased Development, which is any development involving the review of multiple buildings on a single-site or as part of a related project or distinct phases of a subdivision, where the issuance of building permits and/or final land use actions occur at different times, per a defined schedule. For phased developments, the City shall consider the potential impacts and need for public services cumulatively for the entire project, to determine concurrency.
(Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)
(a) 
The Director of Planning and Community Development, or designee, shall administer this chapter including but not limited to:
(1) 
Establishing application requirements;
(2) 
Evaluating development activities to determine if the project meets level of service standards, "no impact" criteria or identified exemptions;
(3) 
Tracking cumulative project impacts and available capacity to streets and parks; and
(4) 
Monitoring projects and maintaining records.
(b) 
The Directors of Planning and Community Development and Public Works, or their designees, shall jointly assess transportation impacts and identify appropriate mitigation strategies to meet concurrency, including construction of system improvements or alternative concurrency strategies considering engineered design solutions, impact to public infrastructure and the assessment of in-lieu fees, as identified in this chapter.
(Formerly 14.110.060; Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)
(a) 
No Impact. Development activities, which do not create additional, measurable impacts on any transportation or parks facility, are exempt from the requirements of this chapter, including but not limited to:
(1) 
Any addition or accessory structure to a residence with no change in use or increase in the number of dwelling units.
(2) 
Interior alterations with no change of use or increased demand for system improvements per LSMC § 14.110.020, or additional dwelling units for residential uses.
(3) 
Replacement structures with no change of use, expansion in floor area or increased demand for system improvements per LSMC § 14.110.020, or additional dwelling units for residential uses on an existing lot that is not part of a subdivision.
(4) 
Temporary construction trailers.
(5) 
Driveway resurfacing or parking lot paving.
(6) 
Normal repair and maintenance activities, which do not increase floor area or add residential dwelling units, such as re-roofing.
(7) 
Demolitions.
(8) 
Clearing, grading, filling.
(b) 
Exempt Permits and Decisions. The following development permits and decisions are exempt from the requirements of this chapter:
(1) 
Boundary line adjustment.
(2) 
Final plat.
(3) 
Land use permit for temporary uses such as fireworks stands and Christmas tree lots.
(4) 
Variance when not associated with a development that is subject to this chapter.
(5) 
Clearing, filling and grading permit.
(6) 
Sign permit.
(7) 
Building permit for a fence or wall.
(8) 
Right-of-way use permit.
(9) 
Rezones/comprehensive plan amendments.
(10) 
Planned action projects.
(c) 
Transportation Exemptions. The transportation concurrency requirements, in this chapter, do not apply to the development activities listed below.
(1) 
A single-family residence on an existing lot that is not part of a proposed subdivision, duplex or accessory dwelling unit as defined in Chapter 14.08 LSMC.
(2) 
Development activities that do not add new projected trips to key intersections listed in the Traffic Concurrency Handbook for New Development.
(3) 
Development activities located within the City's subareas, as identified in Chapter 14.38 LSMC, that do not exceed the adopted subarea EIS thresholds and that do not add new projected trips to key intersections listed in the Traffic Concurrency Handbook for New Development, outside of subareas.
(4) 
Development activities or uses generating 25 or fewer new p.m. peak hour trips.
(Ord. 811, Sec. 88, 2010; Ord. 876, Sec. 22, 2012; Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)
(a) 
Application. All development applications for land use and/or building permits shall include a concurrency application, which the City will review for consistency with LSMC § 14.110.070 to determine its impact on the transportation, parks, and sewer facilities. This review may be conducted before a development application is submitted to the City.
(1) 
Non-exempt development activities must include a traffic analysis to inform the concurrency decision. The scope of the traffic analysis shall be consistent with the requirements in the City's Overview of Typical Traffic Study Requirements.
(2) 
All development activities subject to the requirements of this chapter shall submit a traffic concurrency worksheet containing PM peak-hour trip estimates calculated using the latest edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual or other information supported by studies and data submitted by the developer.
(3) 
For potable water and sanitary sewer, availability letters from the utility purveyor will be used in conducting the concurrency test.
(b) 
Certificate of Concurrency Approval. A certificate of concurrency will be issued under this chapter if it is determined that the adopted LOS for transportation, parks and sewer are met; and the project will not degrade the LOS below the adopted standard. Concurrency testing may rely on:
(1) 
Capacity provided by projects in the City's current Six-year Capital Facilities Plan;
(2) 
Projects funded for construction within six years by other agencies or jurisdictions;
(3) 
Improvements under contract as part of other approved development activities; and
(4) 
The concurrency testing shall consider development projects already in the pipeline but not yet completed. Development in the pipeline includes projects that either were vested prior to the adoption of this chapter or have received a certificate of concurrency.
(c) 
Transferability. A certificate of concurrency runs with the land, for active permits and is valid only for the subsequent development approval(s) for the same parcel that has not expired under subsection (d) of this section and is transferable to new owners of the original parcel for which it was issued.
(d) 
Expiration. A certificate of concurrency will expire when:
(1) 
A complete land use or building permit application is not submitted within 180 days of the date of issuance; or
(2) 
The underlying land use permit application expires; or
(3) 
The accompanying land use or building permit expires. If that permit has no expiration date, the certificate of concurrency shall expire 12 months following its issuance; or
(4) 
The permit application is denied or revoked.
(e) 
Once a certificate of concurrency expires, is revoked, or if development does not use the total capacity allotted, the unused capacity will be returned to the available pool of capacity to be reallocated.
(f) 
Certificate of Concurrency Denial. A certificate of concurrency will not be approved under this chapter if degradation is caused beyond the adopted LOS standard unless mitigated to meet the LOS standard.
(Formerly 14.110.070; Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)
(a) 
Transportation. All transportation facilities shall maintain multimodal Levels of Service (LOS) in accordance with the adopted Comprehensive Plan or the applicable Subarea Plan. The City's concurrency requirements for transportation do not apply to state highways or private streets.
(1) 
Vehicular LOS: Intersection levels of service shall meet the vehicular LOS standards identified in the Comprehensive Plan.
(2) 
Vehicular LOS standards in subareas, as identified in Chapter 14.38 LSMC, shall meet the LOS standards identified in the Subarea Plan.
(i) 
If a development activity falls within the applicable planned action threshold, the project is deemed to meet concurrency requirements.
(ii) 
The City reserves its authority to require projects within subareas to evaluate intersections for level of service concurrency, including intersections within other subareas or outside of subareas, when the trip generation from the proposal adds new projected trips to key intersections listed in the City's Overview of Typical Traffic Study Requirements and is not otherwise exempt under this chapter.
(3) 
Active Transportation LOS: Pedestrian and bicycle facility levels of service shall meet the active transportation LOS standards identified in the Comprehensive Plan.
(i) 
Active transportation LOS standards do not apply directly to determine concurrency for specific development projects.
(ii) 
The City shall consider active transportation LOS standards when it updates the annual Six-year Capital Improvement Plan.
(4) 
Transit LOS: Transit stop levels of service shall meet the transit LOS standards identified in the Comprehensive Plan.
(i) 
Transit LOS standards do not apply directly to determine concurrency for specific development projects.
(ii) 
The City shall consider Transit LOS standards when it updates the annual Six-year Capital Improvement Plan and for coordination with Community Transit.
(b) 
For the purpose of this section, vehicular level of service uses the methodology outlined in the most recent version of the Transportation Research Board's Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), which defines levels of service based on average delay per vehicle.
(1) 
Level of service standards for signalized intersections are based on the overall average delay per vehicle for the whole intersection. For signalized intersections, an average delay per vehicle greater than 80 seconds shall be defined LOS F; an average delay per vehicle between 55 and 80 seconds shall be defined LOS E; and an average delay per vehicle between 35 and 55 seconds shall be defined LOS D.
(2) 
Level of service standards at all-way, stop-controlled and roundabout intersections are based on the overall average delay per vehicle for the whole intersection. For these intersections, an average delay per vehicle greater than 50 seconds shall be defined LOS F; an average delay per vehicle between 35 and 50 seconds shall be defined LOS E; and an average delay per vehicle between 25 and 35 seconds shall be defined LOS D.
(3) 
Level of service standards at two-way, stop-controlled intersections are based on the average delay per vehicle for the worst traffic movement. For stop-controlled approaches, an average delay per vehicle greater than 50 seconds shall be defined LOS F; an average delay per vehicle between 35 and 50 seconds shall be defined LOS E; and an average delay per vehicle between 25 and 35 seconds shall be defined LOS D.
(c) 
Parks. Per the Comprehensive Plan.
(Formerly 14.110.040; Ord. 876, Sec. 23, 2012; Ord. 1027, Sec. 8, 2018; Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)
This chapter establishes the minimum standards which are to be applied to all development activities to provide transportation, parks and sewer improvements and is not intended to eliminate the application of SEPA to specific proposals. Each proposal shall be reviewed and be subject to the substantive authority of SEPA.
(Formerly 14.110.050; Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)
(a) 
If mitigation is required to meet the LOS standard to maintain concurrency, the applicant may choose to:
(1) 
Reduce the size of the development until the standard is met; or
(2) 
Delay the development until the City and/or others provide needed improvements; or
(3) 
Design and/or construct the facilities necessary to achieve the LOS in compliance with Section 14.110.080 considering nexus and proportionality of the impact to the level of service standard being exceeded by the proposed development.
(Formerly 14.110.080; Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)
(a) 
If the developer chooses to design and construct the facilities necessary to achieve the adopted LOS standard(s), the following requirements must be met:
(1) 
Issuance of a final plat or building permit approval, whichever comes first, will not be made unless improvements are made by the developer or sufficient financial security pursuant to Section 14.16A.180(d) is in place to ensure the improvements will be made within six years of the issuance of the approval, to mitigate the proportionate impact of the development activity. This allowance for up to a six-year deferral applies only to supplemental mitigation not normally required of the development.
(2) 
The developer shall be responsible for engineering and design of the facilities and shall provide documentation showing the improvements will ensure the LOS is met. The developer shall receive City approval of the engineering and design of the facilities, which shall be consistent with accepted engineering standards and practices.
(3) 
The developer shall enter into a detailed agreement with the City identifying the improvements required and the schedule for their completion. This shall include any necessary interim deadlines necessary to ensure the improvements are completed within the six-year time frame.
(4) 
Alternatively, the City may accept a fee-in lieu, for transportation and parks levels of services, based on an alternatives analysis of needed improvements and an engineer's cost estimate, to mitigate a proportionate share of the impact created by the development activity.
(5) 
If a developer makes improvements to a transportation project that would otherwise require SEPA mitigation, the developer shall be given credit for the amount spent on that project against the SEPA mitigation required for that project, but not to exceed the mitigation that would normally be applied to the project.
(6) 
The effect of the improvement shall not degrade another related objective. For example, adding a vehicular lane at the expense of eliminating a bike lane.
(7) 
The project shall comply with the procedural and substantive requirements of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).
(8) 
The improvements shall not create a significant safety hazard.
(b) 
Supplemental Mitigation Denial Process. If the City determines that the proposed supplemental mitigation does not meet the requirements of this section, the development activity will not receive a certificate of concurrency.
(Formerly 14.110.090; Ord. 811, Sec. 89, 2010; Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)
(a) 
With approval from the Public Works and Planning and Community Development Directors, non-construction strategies for reducing demand for public facilities, including payment of agreed in lieu fees, to ensure LOS are met may be implemented if the following requirements are met:
(1) 
The proponent clearly demonstrates to the satisfaction of the City that the proposed strategies have a demonstrated historical track record for effectiveness and reliability for projects similar to that being proposed.
(2) 
The proponent shall provide an analysis as to how much capacity is available, which will provide a maximum amount of demand the project may put upon the public improvements.
(3) 
The effectiveness of the strategies must be easily measured and annual reports must be provided to the City to ensure the actual demand put on the public improvements does not exceed the amount allocated to the development pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of this section.
(4) 
The developer shall provide a financial guarantee for a period of up to 10 years which the City may use to construct the necessary improvements, at any time during that 10-year period, where it finds the demands on the public system exceed the amounts allocated to the project.
(b) 
For the purposes of this section, non-construction strategies include any programs which reduce demand for public facilities during peak hour constraints, including but not limited to car/van pooling, staggered work hours, or transfer flow of sewer use to off-peak hours.
(Formerly 14.110.100; Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)
The City shall charge processing fees to any individual that requests a concurrency determination or approval of a supplemental mitigation program. The fees shall be set by Council resolution.
(Formerly 14.110.110; Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)
Pursuant to the terms of an interlocal agreement with Snohomish County, the City will accept the County's concurrency determination for projects vested to the County Code, where the subject property of a vested application has been annexed to the City since the concurrency determination was made by the County.
(Ord. 859, Sec. 2, 2011; Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)
[1]
Code reviser's note: Section 3 of Ordinance 859 adopts sections of the Snohomish County Code concerning mitigation fees and concurrency determination. The text of these sections is attached as Exhibit 1 to the ordinance, on file with the City Clerk's office.
Appeals of requirements imposed pursuant to the chapter shall be governed by the appeal provisions of Section 14.16A.265.
(Ord. 643, Sec. 1, 2001; Ord. 903, Sec. 56, 2013; Ord. 1212, 12/9/2025)