City of Cle Elum

Heart of the Cascades

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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Notice is hereby given that the Cle Elum Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Tuesday June 7, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. or soon thereafter to take testimony for or against the proposed ordinance amendments, titled “Flood Damage Prevention”. 

 The hearing will be a hybrid meeting. Interested persons may attend at the Cle Elum City Hall, 119 West First Street, Cle Elum, WA.  98922, or via “Zoom”. Zoom information has been provided below:

 Interested persons may appear and be heard at said hearing, or written comments may be submitted to the City of Cle Elum, Attn:  Planning Technician, 119 West First Street, Cle Elum, WA. 98922, and no later than 4:30 p.m. on June 7, 2022 at 4:30 pm. Additional information may be requested by emailing planning@cleelum.gov.   

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PUBLIC NOTICE – SEPA THRESHOLD DETERMINATION

The City of Cle Elum hereby gives notice that a Determination of Non–significance (DNS) was issued on May 5, 2022, for the “City of Cle Elum Critical Areas Ordinance” project. The complete SEPA Checklist and request for Threshold Determination was received on May 2, 2022. The project proposal is herein described: The Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) is being overhauled to improve regulations consistent with Best Available Science and improve document layout and function for readability and use. Three primary goals dictated the development of the proposed amendments: first, to ensure consistency with State laws and Best Available Science; second, to enhance the overall usability of the CAO; and third, to bring consistency across jurisdictional boundaries by utilizing Kittitas County’s recently adopted CAO as a “template”. As Lead Agency, the City of Cle Elum has determined that this proposal will not have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required under RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c). This decision is based upon a review of the Environmental Checklist and submitted documentation. The SEPA Checklist and associated project materials are available below and will be made available for inspection at City Hall upon request. Pursuant to WAC 197-11-340(2)(v), the lead agency will not act on this proposal until after the end of the comment period. Comments related to this project application will be accepted until July 5, 2022 at 4:30 pm (note – this comment period has been greatly extended to coincide with the Department of Commerce 60 day review period and to offer enhanced opportunity for Agency review and comment. This comment period was extended by choice by the Cle Elum Planning Commission with recommendation by staff). Comments may be submitted via email to planning@cleelum.gov or City of Cle Elum, 119 W. 1st St., Cle Elum, WA 98922.  

Attachments:

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PUBLIC NOTICE – CITY HEIGHTS PHASE 2 NOTICE OF DECISION ISSUED MAY 5, 2022. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

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Updated Development Regulations

The City of Cle Elum has initiated a process to review and update the regulations governing new planning, land use, and development activities. Currently, these regulations can be found in several different Titles of the Cle Elum Municipal Code including:

  • Title 15       Buildings and Construction
  • Title 16       Subdivisions
  • Title 17       Zoning
  • Title 18       Critical Areas Development

On February 28, 2022, the City Council adopted Ordinance 1621 establishing a new Title 14, the Cle Elum Unified Development Code. This ordinance repealed selected provisions in Title 15 and 17 and replaced them with new provisions in Title 14 for administering the City’s Development Regulations, including the procedures for processing land use applications.  As the remaining chapters are reviewed by the Planning Commission and updated by the City Council, they will be added to the new Title 14 and the old provisions deleted, so that at the end of the process all of the City’s Development Regulations will have been reviewed, updated, and streamlined and will be found in a single, unified title of the Municipal Code.

Please note that the City regulations preserving and protecting environmentally sensitive areas, also known as critical areas, are currently under review by the Planning Commission and will be distributed for public review and comment soon. Please click on the following links to see the updated versions of the Development Regulations currently in effect:

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Join the City of Cle Elum Planning Commission

The City of Cle Elum Planning Commission has one vacancy and is seeking interested members of the public to apply for appointment. The Planning Commission is a quasi-judicial body that reviews and approves land use decisions, and permits such as conditional use permits, and is tasked with developing and implementing the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission also reviews and makes recommendations to City Council on actions such as rezones, subdivisions, and development agreements.

The Planning Commission currently meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month at 6:00 pm. Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, meetings are currently held in a ‘hybrid’ format, with attendance options at City Hall and via Zoom. This may change depending on the state of the public health emergency.

Appointments to the Planning Commission are made by the mayor. To request appointment, please click here. For more information, please contact Planning staff at planning@cleelum.gov

Bullfrog/47 Degrees North Update

The City Development Review Team is now reviewing the comments received during the extended Notice of Application comment period for the proposed modifications to the Bullfrog UGA Master Site Plan and Development Agreement. These comments are a part of the Official Record for this project and have been shared with the Project Sponsor for their consideration.

We anticipate that additional information will be submitted by the Project Sponsor and that the City will be requesting additional information as we proceed. It is possible that the Project Sponsor may submit revisions to their application based on the comments that the City received. Once all additional information has been received, the City Development Review Team will complete its analysis and prepare a detailed written report and determination of whether the proposed modifications are consistent with the approved Master Site Plan, Development Agreement, and the SEIS. This consistency determination will also include a recommendation from the City Development Review Team to approve, deny, or approve with conditions the proposed modifications. This report will be made available for public review and comment and all agencies and individuals that have submitted comments will receive a notice that is available. A public hearing will then be scheduled, and a Notice of Public Hearing will be published in the Northern Kittitas Country Tribune and mailed to Parties of Record with hearing details. It is anticipated that both written comments and direct testimony will be accepted at the hearing. The City Land Use Hearings Examiner will then consider the Development Review Team recommendation and all comments received and will make a recommendation to the City Council. The City Council will then review this recommendation and the Official Record of the proceedings and take action on the application to modify the approved Master Site Plan and Development Agreement.

Given the number of comments received and the complexity of some of the issues that must be addressed, no specific schedule has been established to complete the required Consistency Review. The schedule is entirely dependent on whether there are any additional modifications to the proposed project, the time required to prepare and submit additional information that may be required by the City, and the time required to complete a thorough analysis and recommendation.

We will periodically post updates on the status of the review process and additional information will be posted as it becomes available. If you have not submitted any comments but would like to receive direct notices in the future, please sign up below.

Notice of Application Comments (note: if you submitted comments but do not see it here, please contact planning@cleelum.gov)

Did you know? Sun Communities is currently displaying models of the manufactured homes proposed for the 47 Degrees North project at 4240 Bullfrog Road near the School District Administration Building! 

Click here for more project information: Proposed 47 Degrees North Project – City of Cle Elum

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For more information about Planning in the City of Cle Elum, click here