Ordinance 3454-15 with Exhibits A- C

EVERETT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN VII. Annual Amendment and Update of the Growth Management Comprehensive Plan A. Introduction The Growth Management Act provides direction for the amendment of comprehensive plans. This Section spells out Everett's procedures for the annual update and revision of the City's Growth Management Comprehensive Plan. The procedures described herein shall be used by the City and the public in proposing, reviewing and approving amendments to the comprehensive plan. Although the Comprehensive Plan is intended to be a guide for the public, elected officials, Planning Commission, and city staff in making decisions concerning community growth, land use and development decisions, capital improvements, and other programs, it is not so rigid as to be inflexible or unresponsive to changing circumstances. While changes to the comprehensive plan will be required from time to time, they should be carefully considered, responsive to the changing needs of the community, and in the best long-term interest of the entire community. In order to determine if the plan is effectively implementing the vision of the community, it should be periodically reviewed to determine how well it is performing and being implemented. This is not to suggest that the policies of the plan be changed routinely, but that they should be reviewed from time to time to keep the plan abreast with legal requirements, community needs, and changing circumstances. By City ordinance, changes to either the policies or land use map of the comprehensive plan can be made only through a public review process conducted by the Planning Commission and City Council. The Planning Commission must conduct a public hearing and make a recommendation to the City Council. The City Council has the final authority to approve or deny a request to amend either the policies or land use map of the comprehensive plan. B. Annual Amendment and Update of the Comprehensive Plan Except as provided by State law and Section C of this chapter, the comprehensive plan may only be amended once per calendar year. The City may amend as many sections of the comprehensive plan as it wishes each year as part of the annual plan update process. The City shall review all revisions as a comprehensive package of updates to the plan so the cumulative effect of all proposed amendments is fully understood. The comprehensive plan amendment process is intended to coincide with the annual budget process so that the City's expenditures are consistent with the priorities and goals of the community as expressed in the plan. C. Exceptions to the Annual Plan Amendment Process The City may consider amendments to the comprehensive plan outside of the Annual Amendment and Update process under one or more of the following circumstances: INTRODUCTION 20