City of Bellingham Municipal Code

21.10.200 - NOTICE OF APPLICATION

A. This section applies to applications requiring a Type II, III-A, III-B or VII process.

B. Within 14 days after the City has made a determination of completeness for a permit application, the City shall issue a notice of application. The date of notice shall be the date of mailing. Except for a determination of significance under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), the City shall not issue its SEPA threshold determination or issue a decision or recommendation on a permit application until the expiration of the public comment period on the notice of application. If an optional determination of nonsignificance (DNS) process is used, the notice of application and DNS comment period shall be combined.

C. The notice of application shall include:

1. The date of the application, the date the application was determined to be complete and the date of the notice of application;

2. The name of the applicant;

3. The description and location of the project;

4. The requested actions and/or permits and any other required permits known by the City;

5. A list of any required studies;

6. The date, time, place and purpose of any required public meeting or hearing, if it has been scheduled;

7. Identification of environmental documents that evaluate the project;

8. A statement of the minimum public comment period;

9. A statement of the right of any person to comment on the application, to receive notice of and participate in any hearings, to request a copy of the decision once made, and a statement specifying any appeal rights;

10. A statement of the preliminary determination of consistency, if one has been made at the time of notice, of those development regulations that will be used for project mitigation and of consistency as provided in RCW 36.70B.040;

11. The location where the application and other listed materials can be viewed;

12. The City staff contact and phone number; and

13. Any other information determined appropriate by the City.

1. The applicant is responsible for obtaining the list of property owners from the Whatcom County Assessor’s records. The Director may establish procedures under which the applicant and City may agree that the City will provide this mailing list or that the applicant will conduct the mailing. A U.S. Postal Service Certificate of Mailing shall be provided to the Director if the applicant conducts the mailing.

2. The Director may increase the notification radius or notification method for any specific application. The validity of the notice procedure shall not be affected by whether the Director uses this option.

3. The Planning and Community Development Department, or applicant if authorized under this section, shall mail notice of application to:

a. The applicant;

b. The owner of the property as listed on the application;

c. Owners of property within 500' (100' for home occupations) of the site boundary of the subject property as listed by the Whatcom County Assessor records;

d. The Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Commission representative and any neighborhood association registered with the Planning and Community Development Department for the neighborhood in which the project is proposed, and for any neighborhood within 500' of the project site boundary; and

e. Any person or organization that has filed a written request for notice with the Planning and Community Development Department.
4. No proceeding shall be invalid due to minor deficiencies in the mailed notice as required in this section as long as the other method(s) of notice has met its respective requirements and there was a good faith attempt to comply with the mailed notice requirements.

1. The applicant shall post one or more signs on the site or in a location immediately adjacent to the site that provides visibility from adjacent streets. The Director shall establish standards for size, color, layout, materials, placement and timing of installation and removal of the signs.

2. No proceeding shall be invalid due to minor deficiencies in the posted notice as required in this section as long as the other method(s) of notice has met its respective requirements and there was a good faith attempt to comply with the posted notice requirements.