HomeMy WebLinkAbout120621ca02 Consent Agenda
JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
FROM: Brent Butler, Director, Community Development
David Wayne Johnson, Interim Planning Manager, Community Development
DATE: December 6, 2021
SUBJECT: Resolution to Modify the 2021 Comprehensive Plan Docket
Schedule Due to Department of Community Development (DCD)
staff limitations.
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
Chapter 18.45 Jefferson County Code (JCC) contains a process for the annual
Comprehensive Plan Cycle. Due to DCD staffing limitations, that schedule cannot be
met. DCD staff presented this issue to the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC)
on October 11, 2021, during a workshop at which the BoCC agreed to the extended
the timeline for processing of the 2021 Comp Plan Amendment Cycle (CPAC) by
resolution (attached) to suspend the current cycle for 2021, and establish new
deadlines for BoCC review and action.
ANALYSIS:
In April and May this year, DCD's Director and Planning Manager resigned respectively,
necessitating staff to fill those positions on an interim basis. Management resigned soon
after acknowledging record-setting permit activity as outlined below and submitting a
request for Special Personnel Authority.
Pt Quarter Year Building Permits Land Use Permits
2021 — lst quarter 300 153
2020 — 1St quarter 183 (2021 is 164% of 163 (2021 is 94% of
2020 levels) 2020 levels)
2019— Pt quarter 148 (2021 is 202% of 138 (2021 is 111% of
2019 levels) 2019 levels)
2018 — 1St quarter 220 (2021 is 136% of 109 (2021 is 140% of
2018 levels) 2018 levels)
Consent Agenda
The authority waived the 2-year experience requirement for the Permit Tech II, converted
two existing clerk hires to two-year term assistant planners, authorized lead status to an
Associate Planner to support Energov, and resulted in the hiring of a new Planning Tech.
As a result, valuable planners were retained and the department's work stabilized. Upon the
management team's resignation, an Associate Planner Lead was named interim planning
manager and his current planning duties and projects reassigned. This restructuring
impacted the CPAC. Since this time, planning staff have been operating with a one full time
employee (FTE) deficit. DCD staffing limitations have resulted in workload and time
constraints that make it impossible to meet the deadline established JCC 18.45.080(2)(d) and
handle its existing workload at the same time.
In April 2020, the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) adopted a resolution No.
25-20, suspending deadlines in the Chapter 18.45 JCC schedule for the CPAC due to
impacts from COVID19, extending the deadline for processing the 2020 CPAC to
February 26, 2021. Due to additional items (2) added to the final docket and reduced
time in which to complete the work, the BoCC extended that deadline again through
resolution No. 69-20, for final action to April 30, 2021 consistent with WAC 365-196-
640. These actions are consistent with the proposed action and are a result of impacts
beyond the control of DCD.
ATTACHMENT:
Resolution to 2021 CPAC
FISCAL IMPACT:
No significant impact by adopting the revised resolution. To the extent cost estimates to
complete the work which involve general fund supported activities at a level that exceeds the
staffing and budget already supported by the General Fund, the Board may be asked to
appropriate additional General Fund transfer dollars to support that work through the extended
deadlines.
RECOMMENDATION:
Review, consider and adopt the attached resolution
REVIEWED BY:
Mark McCauley I erim County Administrator Da e
JEFFERSON COUNTY
STATE OF WASHINGTON
IN THE MATTER OF ESTABLISHING }
THE 2021 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN } RESOLUTION NO. _______________
AMENDMENT DOCKET AND }
ESTABLISHING DEADLINES FOR }
LEGISLATIVE ACTION }
WHEREAS, RCW 36.70A.130(2)(a) and WAC 365-196-640(6)(a) require
Jefferson County to allow interested persons to suggest amendments to the Jefferson
County Comprehensive Plan or its development regulations during annual
amendment cycles; and
WHEREAS, RCW 36.70A.130(2)(a) requires that local governments consider
their annual amendments, together, no more than one-time per year; and
WHEREAS, the Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan’s Plan Foundation and
Chapter 18.45 Jefferson County Code (“JCC”) incorporates the requirement to allow
interested persons to suggest amendments to the Jefferson County Comprehensive
Plan or its development regulations during the annual amendment cycle; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 18.45 JCC establishes a preliminary and final docketing
process for the annual amendment cycle; and
WHEREAS, JCC 18.45.050 establishes a preliminary docket which requires the
following proposed amendments to be placed on the preliminary docket: (1) formal
site-specific amendments and (2) suggested text or site-specific amendments; and
WHEREAS, JCC 18.45.040 requires that suggested amendments be submitted
st
to DCD no later than March 1 of each year for consideration in the final docket; and
WHEREAS, adoption of the final docket does not constitute a decision or
recommendation that the substance of any docket item should be adopted by the
BoCC; and
WHEREAS, on April 21, 2021 the Planning Commission held a duly noticed
public hearing to accept testimony regarding the suggested text amendments on the
preliminary docket, and after deliberations on the hearing record, the Planning
Commission voted 7-0 to recommend two amendments (MLA21-00018 & 19) be
placed on the 2021 final docket; and
WHEREAS, on May 10, 2021 the Planning Commission’s recommendations
for the Comprehensive Plan Annual Amendment Final Docket were presented to the
BoCC for consideration, deliberation and possible adoption, at which time the BoCC
moved and voted to accept the Planning Commission’s recommendations for the final
docket; and
WHEREAS, in the past year, DCD lost its director and planning manager, and as a result,
operated much of the year with interim management, which meant that the duties and projects
normally performed by interim management were impacted; and
WHEREAS, DCD has experienced other staffing shortages due to COVID-19 and other
reasons; and
WHEREAS, these DCD staffing limitations have resulted in workload and time
constraints that make it impossible to meet the deadline established JCC 18.45.080(2)(d) and
handle its existing workload at the same time; and
WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the County, considering COVID-19 and its
impacts on residents, businesses and DCD staff, and significant staff reductions, to suspend
all remaining deadlines regarding the review, recommendation and final adoption of the 2021
docket items for DCD staff, the Planning Commission and the BoCC; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the BoCC that in response to the
reduction in DCD staff, the 2021 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Cycle shall be revised as
follows:
1. All deadlines in Chapter 18.45 JCC for the processing and adoption of 2021
docket items, which occur after the adoption of the Final Docket on May 10, 2021, be
suspended; and
2. The Planning Commission hearing, report and recommendation to the BoCC
on all items on the 2021 final docket shall be completed no later than May 18, 2022; and
3. The BoCC shall take final legislative action on 2021 docket items by July 5,
2021, unless extended by the BoCC consistent with WAC 365-196-640(3)(a).
(SIGNATURES FOLLOW ON NEXT PAGE)
APPROVED this _____ day of December, 2021.
SEAL:
JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
_______________________________
Kate Dean, Chair
______________________________
ATTEST:
Greg Brotherton, Member
______________________________
Carolyn Gallaway,
______________________________
Clerk of the Board
Heidi Eisenhour, Member