HomeMy WebLinkAboutRe_ Worksheet on Required Findings & Recommendation - Wilke Re-Zone Proposal MLA19-00013From:Lorna and Darrell Smith
To:Planning Commission Desk
Cc:Patty Charnas
Subject:Re: Worksheet on Required Findings & Recommendation - Wilke Re-Zone Proposal MLA19-00013
Date:Monday, October 14, 2019 1:02:45 PM
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Please forward to all Planning Commission Members the following guidance from the
Municipal Resource and Services Center (MRSC) regarding “spot” zoning to use as a
reference when considering the rezone that is currently before the Planning Commission.
Thank you, and see you Wednesday evening.
What is spot zoning (particularly in the case of a rezone) and is it always illegal?
Reviewed: 01/14
Spot zoning is basically disfavored in our sate. The basic defnition of spot zoning in
Washington was outlined in Narrowsview Preservation Association v. City of Tacoma ,
84 Wn.2d 416 (1974), in which the court said:
We have recently sated that illegal spot zoning is arbitrary and unreasonable zoning
action by which a smaller area is singled out of a larger area or disrict and specially
zoned for use classifcation totally diferent from and inconsisent with the
classifcation of the surrounding land, not in accordance with a comprehensive plan
The reasons for invalidating a rezone as an illegal spot zone usually include one or
more of the following: (1) the rezone primarily serves a private interes, (2) the rezone
is inconsisent with a comprehensive plan or the surrounding territory, or (3) the
rezone consitutes arbitrary and capricious action. Each situation mus be determined
on its own facts and it is not always easy to determine conclusively whether a rezone
would consitute an illegal spot zone.
According to Richard Settle in Washington Land Use and Environmental Law and
Practice, the issue with spot zoning is not the diferential regulation of adjacent land
but the lack of public interes jusifcation for such discrimination. Where diferential
zoning merely accommodates some private interes and bears no rational relationship
to promoting legitimate public interes, it is "arbitrary and capricious" and hence "spot
zoning." The term "spot zoning" is not really a disinct legal doctrine. It is really a
"misleading term for the application of the consitutional requirements of equal
protection and subsantive due process." See Settle at section 2.11(c). Courts will
overturn a rezone if it grants a "discriminatory beneft to one or a group of owners to
the detriment of their neighbors or the community at large without adequate public
advantage or jusifcation. . . ." Bassani v. County Commissioners , 70 Wn. App. 389
(1993).
The following are some links to information on spot zoning and contract
rezones/concomitant agreements:
"Spot Zoning," excerpt from "A Short Course on Local Planning," ver. 5.1, Planning
Association of Washington and Washington State Department of Commerce, July
2009 (see Chapter 5(A)(2)(b)(7))
"Removing Spot Zoning From the Fabric of Zoning Practice" (Includes description of
spot zoning law in other states in addition to a summary of Washington law), Public
Policy Brief, Gary D. Taylor, J.D., Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan
State University Extension, January 2004
Spot zoning definition from Appendix A: Glossary of Terms and Phrases (At end of
publication), from Beginner's Guide to Land Use Law , Pace University School of
Law, Land Use Center .
Planning Commission member District 2
Lorna Smith Sent from my iPad
On Oct 9, 2019, at 3:10 PM, Planning Commission Desk
<PCommissionDesk@co.jefferson.wa.us> wrote:
Planning Commissioners:
Next week (October 16, 2019) the Planning Commission will continue
deliberations on the 2019 Site-Specific CP Amendment re-zone proposal.
Findings and recommendations will be formatted into a letter to the Board of
County Commissioners. To help in that task, I have organized the required
findings by code citation and referenced where they are addressed in the Staff
Report (see attachment to this email).
Your findings will be based on the record, which would include anything
presented in the hearing testimony, comments, staff report, Comprehensive Plan
such as Goals & Policies, and PC deliberations that started after the hearing.
Your conclusions and recommendation will be supported by your findings.
I would recommend coming to the meeting with the worksheet filled out or your
findings committed to paper so we have time to assemble them. You may want to
refer to the staff report's discussion on the required findings as a starting point and
then consider the additional information in the record. Everything is posted on
the Laserfiche web link:
http://test.co.jefferson.wa.us/WebLinkExternal/0/fol/2103723/Row1.aspx.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Joel Peterson
Nicole Allen
Office Coordinator
Jefferson County Department of Community Development
621 Sheridan Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Phone: (360) 379-4483
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<PC Required Findings & Recommendation.docx>