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Long Range Planning
With the input from you the public, the Planning Commission, Parks Board, and City Council, this team of planners look to the future to prepare the city’s land use plans and municipal code amendments for future development. See the 2020 Work Plan here.
Special Plans | Subarea Plans |
Code Development
The city is currently developing several codes to implement the comprehensive plan, related special plans, and state law. Click on the projects below to learn more about them.
Permissible Use Table Update
As commercial land uses continue to expand and the city explores ways to facilitate greater economic development, staff has been considering ways to simplify and improve the permissible use table in LSMC 14.40, which currently includes overly detailed uses and antiquated terminology that has required many code interpretations over the years. To view our current permissible use table, please see LSMC 14.40.
Staff has held a number of work sessions with the Planning Commission and City Council between December 2020 and June 2021, with the most recent draft materials reviewed during the June 22, 2021 Council meeting (page 87 of meeting packet). The Planning Commission is scheduled to hold a final work session on the proposed amendments during a July 7, 2021 work session, and is expected to hold a public hearing on the proposed amendments in August 2021, with the City Council tentatively scheduled to consider their recommendation in September 2021. This webpage will be updated as more details become available.
For additional information on this project, please contact Jill Needham at 425-622-9428 or jneedham@lakestevenswa.gov.
| Code Development Process | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Draft Regulations | State Environmental Policy Act | Public Notice | |
| Coming Soon | Coming Soon | Coming Soon | |
Proposed Amendments to School and Traffic Impact Fees
Impacts fees are one-time charges that cities, counties, and special service districts may collect to help fund public facility or capital improvements needed to help mitigate the impacts from development. Impact fees may only be used to fund “system improvements” identified in the city’s (or district’s) capital facilities plan. They must be reasonably related and proportional to the impacts of the proposed development and may not be used to correct existing deficiencies. The Lake Stevens Municipal Code (LSMC) regulates impact fees related to School Impact Mitigation (LSMC 14.100), Traffic Impact Mitigation (LSMC 14.112), and Park Impact Mitigation (LSMC 14.120). City and school district impact fees are identified on pages 4/5 of the city’s fee resolution, which is updated annually.
City staff has identified a number of changes to LSMC 14.100 and 14.112 that are needed to account for recent and future annexations. These include expansion of the city's traffic impact zones and recognition of multiple school districts within city boundaries, and are shown as track changes (underline/strikethrough) in the draft regulations below. Land use code amendments are a Type VI land use application, and require public hearings before both the Planning Commission and City Council. The Planning Commission held a work session on the proposed amendments at their July 7, 2021 meeting, and is tentatively scheduled to hold their public hearing on August 18, 2021. A copy of the public notice and a link to the meeting packet will be provided on this page when finalized.
For more information, please contact Planning Manager David Levitan at dlevitan@lakestevenswa.gov or 425-622-9425.
| Code Development Process (Permit #) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulations | State Environmental Policy Act | Public Notice | |
| Proposed Amendments to LSMC 14.100 and 14.112 | Categorically Exempt under WAC 197-11-800(19)(b) | Coming Soon | |
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..
| Code Development Process (Permit # LUA2021-0033) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulations | State Environmental Policy Act | Public Notice | |
| LSMC 16.04.050 | SEPA Checklist and DNS | Notice of Public Hearing and SEPA Threshold Determination | |
Lot Status Amendment
Legal lots are parcels of land that were created pursuant to the zoning and subdivision requirements in place at the time of the lot creation. Since 1969, subdivisions in Washington state have been regulated by Chapter 58.17 RCW, which provides state regulations for the process and recording of subdivisions and other methods of land division and is implemented at the local level through adoption of a subdivision ordinance. Prior to City approval of applications relating to land development, property division, boundary line adjustment or any other land use action, the property must be determined to have legal lot status. It is the property owner’s responsibility to prove lot status to the City. Since 1989, Lake Stevens lot status determinations have been evaluated through a series of administrative policies. However, the review process lacks a codified framework and decision criteria on which these determinations are made or an avenue for appeal. For this reason, staff is proposing a Land Use Code amendment.
On March 3, staff introduced the Planning Commission to a proposed code amendment that would add a new section related to legal lot status to Chapter 14.16C LSMC, with a definition to be added to LSMC 14.08. On April 21 staff presented the code amendment draft to the Planning Commission and later at their May 5 meeting. During the last meeting the Commission motioned to move the amendment forward to Public Hearing with public notice.
For more information or to provide public comment, please contact Sabrina Gassaway at sgassaway@lakestevenswa.gov
| Code Development Process (Permit #LUA2020-0001) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulations | State Environmental Policy Act | Public Notice | |
| Draft LSMC 14.16C & 14.08 | SEPA Exemption | Planning Commission Public Hearing | |