Ordinance 2212-97 - Laserfiche WebLink

Exhibit 1 to Ordinance 0.zva -97 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE OF SUBAREA PLAN 1.1 The Southwest Everett/Paine Field Project The purpose of the Southwest Everett/Paine Field project is to integrate environmental protection measures under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) with the broader planning requirements under the Growth Management Act (GMA). This integration is accomplished through development and environmental analysis of a subarea plan for the Southwest/Everett Paine Field area which is consistent with Everett's adopted GMA plan. The plan and environmental review are intended to be sufficiently detailed to expedite permit reviews for projects within the City limits which are consistent with the plan. Furthermore, the public will have a better understanding of the nature of development and environmental impacts in the subarea and how those impacts will be mitigated. An integrated SEPA/GMA subarea plan should provide an excellent marketing tool for the community. If development applications are expedited on the basis of prospective environmental reviews, then a significant element of uncertainty and time delay has been removed from the development review process. Developing an integrated subarea plan and environmental review is a challenge, since it requires analyzing the impacts of developments which are not yet proposed. Under traditional environmental analysis, a specific project is proposed, alternatives analyzed, impacts and mitigation measures identified, evaluated, and applied to the project. An EIS on the SW Everett/Paine Field Subarea plan, however, requires SEPA analysis on anticipated development. Because of uncertainties regarding the nature of future uses, and insufficient resources, the Subarea Plan and environmental review for the Subarea Plan cannot cover all potential uses and impacts. Uses which are analyzed include those most likely to locate in the area. Throughout the EIS, the City identified assumptions regarding future uses and established thresholds for uses and impacts which are analyzed in the environmental review. If a project falls outside the range of impacts analyzed in the EIS, an individual SEPA review will be required. However, the individual SEPA review will be limited to the issues that are outside the scope of those addressed in the Subarea Plan EIS. Subarea Plan Development Process In August 1994, the City of Everett adopted a Comprehensive Plan in compliance with the Washington Growth Management Act (GMA). This Plan includes policies and land use designations for development of the City's Planning Area. In 1994, the City of Everett received a grant from the Washington Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development to complete a pilot project for the Southwest Everett/Paine Field Subarea. The purpose of the project was to integrate environmental protection measures under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) with the broader planning requirements under the Growth Management Act (GMA). The result was to be an expedited permit process for projects that fell within the framework of analysis.