City of Spokane

Spokane Municipal Code

***Note: Many local criminal codes can now be located under Chapter 10.60 SMC while others are now cited under the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), which was incorporated into the municipal code in 2022. (See SMC 10.58.010). Code Enforcement, including Noise Control and Animal Regulations are located in Chapters 10.62 through 10.74.

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Title 17G
Chapter 17G.061
Section 17G.061.120
 

Title 17G Administration and Procedures

Chapter 17G.061 Land Use Application Procedures

Section 17G.061.120 Determination of a Complete Application
  1. Determination of Completeness.

Within twenty-eight days of receiving a project permit application, the department shall determine if the application is technically complete (RCW 36.70B.070) as outlined on the project permit application. Additional information or studies may be required, or project modifications may be undertaken subsequent to the technical review of the application by the City.

  1. The number of days is measured by counting every calendar day.
  1. If a written determination to the contrary is not provided by the 29th day, the application shall be deemed technically complete. However, this does not prevent the City from requesting additional information or studies after the application is deemed technically complete.
  1. Procedures for Determination of Completeness.

The following steps outline the process for the department to determine that an application is complete.

    1. Counter Complete.

The department shall conduct a preliminary, immediate review to determine if the application filed with the City contains the documents and information required by SMC 17G.061.110. If the department determines the application does not contain the required documents and information, the application including fees shall be returned to the applicant.

    1. Component Screening.

If the application appears to contain required documents, the department shall accept the application and within seven days, conduct a detailed review and determine if any additional information is necessary to process the application. If the department determines the application is missing required components, or is inadequate in other ways, the applicant shall be sent a written determination outlining the necessary components that are needed to make the application counter complete.

  1. If the department issues a second request for corrections or information, staff may schedule a meeting to meet with the applicant to attempt to resolve the outstanding issues. The meeting must be scheduled within 14 days of the second request.
  1. If a meeting does not resolve the issues and the department proceeds with a third request for additional information or corrections, the application must be approved or denied upon receiving the additional information or corrections.
    1. Review by Interested Agencies.

If the application, after the detailed review, is found to contain the required components and supporting documents, the application and supporting documents shall be forwarded to (i) interested City departments, (ii) agencies of local, state, or federal governments that may have jurisdiction over some aspect of the application, and (iii) the individual(s) designated pursuant to SMC 4.27.010(D) to receive written notice on behalf of the neighborhood council in which the project is located and to any neighborhood council whose geographic boundaries are located within a 600-foot radius of the project, at the address for such departments, agencies, and neighborhood council designee(s) on file with the department, for review to ensure compliance with state laws, ordinances and concurrency requirements. Interested departments, agencies, and the neighborhood council shall be given fourteen days to provide comments on a permit application. All written comments will be forwarded to the applicant at the end of the fourteen day comment period. Comments submitted after the fourteen day comment period will be forwarded to the applicant, subject to RCW 36.70B.070.

      1. Application Certification.

Within seven days of the expiration of the interested agency comment period, the department shall provide a written determination stating either that the application is technically complete or that the application is technically incomplete.

        1. If review agencies require additional information to continue processing the application, the applicant shall be notified in writing.
        1. Required information must be provided within sixty days from the notification by the department. The applicant may submit a written request for additional time to the director; any time extensions shall be in writing. If the information is not received within the sixty days (or as otherwise agreed to), the application and a portion of the fees shall be returned to the applicant, pursuant to chapter 8.02 SMC.
        1. Within fourteen days of the submission of the additional information identified by the review agency, the department shall notify the applicant whether the studies are adequate or what additional information is necessary.
        1. If the neighborhood council submits written comments on an application, the department shall provide a written response to the chairperson, with copy to the applicant, no later than the date on which the application is certified complete pursuant to paragraph D herein below.
    1. Technically Complete Application
      1. Within seven days of the expiration of the interested agency comment period, if no additional information was required, or the information required under subsection (3) is acceptable, the department shall provide a written determination stating either that the application is certified as technically complete or still technically incomplete.
    1. Notice of Application.

Within fourteen days of the issuance of a determination of a complete application, a notice of application shall be provided for Type I, II and III project permit applications in accordance with this section (RCW 36.70B.110.2), except that notice of application is not required for short subdivision applications involving minor engineering review as defined in SMC 17G.080.040(C)(2). The notice of application shall follow the public notice requirements contained in SMC 17G.061.210. The notice of application may be combined with the notice of public hearing, if a hearing has been scheduled by notice of application. The date, time, place and type of hearing, SEPA determination and SEPA appeal deadline (using the optional DNS process) are required to be added to the notice of application if this provision is used (RCW 36.70B.110(2)(f)).

    1. Vesting.

Applications shall be considered vested at the time the application is counter complete and all fees have been paid, the vesting date shall be the date of application submission. If the application is not complete when filed or information is not timely provided as set forth in subsection (2) or (3), the application shall not be considered complete for purposes of vesting or other statutory compliance dates.

      1. Expiration of Vested applications
        1. Vested applications remain in effect unless no action is taken to complete the project and the date of expiration is reached. A list of permit expiration dates can be found in Table 17G.061.010-1.

Date Passed: Monday, November 4, 2024

Effective Date: Wednesday, January 1, 2025

ORD C36596 Section 8