Permissible Use Table Update adopted by City Council on November 9, 2021

With commercial land uses in Lake Stevens continuing to expand and the city exploring ways to facilitate greater economic development, staff worked with the Planning Commission and City Council to simplify and improve the permissible use table in LSMC 14.40, which previously included overly detailed uses and antiquated terminology that has required many code interpretations over the years.

Staff held a number of work sessions with the Planning Commission and City Council between December 2020 and August 2021. The Planning Commission held a final work session on August 18 before holding a public hearing on the proposed amendment (LUA2021-0136) on September 15, 2021 (meeting packet). The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the code amendment, and the City Council held a public hearing on October 12, 2021 (continued to November 9, 2021) before adopting Ordinance 1124 (see below). 

 For additional information on this project, please contact Jill Needham at 425-622-9428 or jneedham@lakestevenswa.gov.

Nonconforming Code Amendment adopted by City Council on November 23, 2021

In zoning, a nonconformity is an existing lot, structure, or use that fails to comply with existing standards. Staff have fielded numerous nonconforming questions/situations over the last several years which identified the need to provide more clarity to both staff and property owners regarding nonconformities within the city. The purpose of this code amendment was to update and streamline the city’s nonconforming regulations which address existing lots, structures, or uses that fail to comply with existing zoning standards. The code is essentially a complete re-write and reformatting of Chapter 14.32 with revisions to other associated sections of code (LSMC 14.08 and 14.38.017).

SEPA Thresholds Update (Adopted May 11, 2021)

The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) evaluates potential environmental impacts associated with governmental decisions such as building permits, land use applications, and code amendments. WAC 197-11-800 includes a list of categorical exemptions for minor new construction (projects exempt from SEPA environmental review) and provides a process for cities to adopt higher flexible thresholds if it can demonstrate that adequate local, state and federal regulations are in place to mitigate any potential environmental impacts for newly exempt projects. 

On April 21, 2021, the Planning Commission held a public hearing (video link) on the proposed adoption of SEPA flexible thresholds (LUA2021-0033). The Planning Commission made a unanimous recommendation to City Council, which held their own public hearing on May 11, 2021 (video link); a copy of the staff report and draft ordinance can be found in the May 11, 2021 City Council Agenda. Following public comment and deliberation, the Council adopted Ordinance 1118, with amendments to the single-family and multi-family residential thresholds that had been recommended by the Planning Commission. The updated SEPA thresholds can be found in LSMC 16.04.050.

For more information, please contact David Levitan at dlevitan@lakestevenswa.gov..