19.16.050 Docketing.
A. The Department must review all new petitions and any petitions deferred from the previous year’s docket, and forward a recommendation to the City Council as to which petitions should be included in the next year’s docket, along with a list of all petitions submitted.
B. In making its docket recommendation, the department must consider whether:
1. The petition complies with the filing requirements;
2. The petition, in light of all proposed amendments being considered for inclusion in the year’s docket, can be reasonably reviewed within the staffing and operational budget allocated to the department by the City Council;
3. The proposed amendment, to be adopted, would not require additional amendments to the comprehensive plan or development regulations not addressed in the application, and is consistent with other goals, objectives and policies adopted by the city council;
4. The proposed amendment raises policy, land use, or scheduling issues that would more appropriately be addressed as part of an ongoing or planned work program, or as part of the periodic review cycle;
5. Some legal or procedural flaw in the petition would prevent its legal implementation; or
6. The petition lacks sufficient information or adequate detail to review and assess whether or not the proposal meets the applicable approval criteria. A determination that the proposal contains sufficient information and adequate detail for the purpose of docketing does not preclude the department from requesting additional information at any later time.
C. Following receipt of the department’s docket recommendation, the city council must hold a public hearing to allow applicants and the public to comment on the department’s recommendation. The city council must subsequently consider the department’s recommendation and the public comment and decide which petitions to include as part of the annual docket.
D. The city council must include, exclude, or defer each petition.
1. Include. The city council’s decision to include a petition in the docket is procedural only and does not constitute a decision by the city council as to whether the amendment will ultimately be approved.
2. Exclude. The city council’s decision to exclude a petition from the docket terminates the petition.
3. Defer. The city council’s decision to defer a petition means the city council will consider the petition for docketing in the next annual amendment cycle.
E. The petitions included in the docket must be processed according to the remaining sections of this chapter, including public review and comment and planning commission recommendation, and final city council action to approve, approve with modifications, defer to a subsequent amendment cycle, or deny each petition. (Ord. 3040 § 2 (Att. A), 2019; Ord. 2992 § 1 (Att. A), 2016)