Title
State Environmental Policy Act Categorical Exemptions Briefing
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Discuss options available to raise State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) exemption levels.
Report
Issue:
Whether to discuss options available to the to raise SEPA exemption levels.
Staff Contact:
Nicole Floyd, Principal Planner, Community Planning and Development, 360.570.3768
Presenter:
Nicole Floyd, Principal Planner, Community Planning and Development
Background and Analysis:
The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) was enacted in 1971 as a way to help communities evaluate a broad range of potential environmental impacts when making decisions . At the time, there was not a statewide consolidated growth strategy, nor the level of regulations now in place that act to protect communities from unplanned growth. Now, more than 50 years later SEPA remains a prominent component of our regulatory framework.
Since the 1970s, applicants have been required to fill out an Environmental Checklist to evaluate the various ways in which a project might affect the environment. The checklist is 17 pages long and asks detailed questions about impacts such as sewer, water, storm and wastewater, parks, traffic, cultural resources, and wetland and stream habitats. The Washington Administrative Code has a list of project types cities can exempt from SEPA review.
The list has expanded over time. This is primarily because regulatory requirements have changed and the SEPA checklist is no longer the only tool available to jurisdictions to mitigate impacts associated with growth. With the introduction of the State Growth Management Act, Shoreline Management Act, State stormwater and Critical Area Regulations. there is now a much stronger regulatory framework available to cities to ensure environmental issues related to new development can be adequately addressed.
While the State has increased the allo...
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