HomeMy WebLinkAboutord2014-008 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL NO. 2014 60
CLEARANCES Initial Date Date Received in Council Office Agenda Date Assigned to:
Originator Carl Weime 1/21/2014 1/28/2014 Introduction
Division Head: 2/11/2014 Public Hearin
Dept.Head.' V(�yt_',t / °u ./kI
Prosecutor: f 123 111
Purchasing/Budget.•
Executive:
TITLE OF DOCUMENT:
Interim Ordinance Packing house applications in Ag Zones
ATTACHMENTS:
SEPA review required? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Should Clerk schedule a hearing? ( X ) Yes ( ) NO
SEPA review completed? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Requested Date:
2/11/2014
SUMMARY STATEMENT OR LEGAL NOTICE LANGUAGE: (If this item is an ordinance or requires a public
hearing,you must provide the language for use in the required public notice. Be specific and cite RCW or WCC as appropriate.
Be clear in explaining the intent of the action.)
This ordinance would require all packinghouse applications in the Agriculture Zoning Distrct to be processed as conditional uses.
COMMITTEE ACTION: COUNCIL ACTION:
1/28/2014: Introduced
2/11/2014: Council Adopted 5-2, Crawford and
Brenner opposed Ord. 2014-008
Related County Contract#: Related File Numbers: Ordinance or Resolution
2012-300 Number: Ord. 2014-008
Please Note: Once adopted and signed, ordinances and resolutions are available for viewing and printing
on the County's website at: www.co.whatcom.wa.us/council.
1 PROPOSED BY: Weimer
2 SPONSORED BY: Weimer
3 INTRODUCTION DATE: 1/28/14
4
5 ORDINANCE NO. 2014-008
6
7 INTERIM ZONING ORDINANCE ALLOWING AGRICULTURAL
8 PACKINGHOUSES IN THE AGRICULTURE ZONING DISTRICT AS
9 CONDITIONAL USES
10
11 WHEREAS, on September 10, 2013, the Whatcom County Council adopted
12 Ordinance No. 2013-051, entitled "Zoning Amendment to Allow Agricultural
13 Packinghouses in the Agriculture Zoning District"; and
14
15 WHEREAS, Whatcom County Planning and Development Services staff
16 originally proposed that all applications for packinghouses in the Agriculture Zoning
17 District be processed as conditional uses and a public hearing was held on staff's
18 proposed amendments before the Planning Commission; and
19 WHEREAS, the ensuing process before the Planning Commission and the
20 County Council leading up to the adoption of the final ordinance was lengthy,
21 involving numerous work sessions and public hearings, and was fraught with
22 controversy; and
23 WHEREAS, the Planning Commission recommended to the County Council
24 the adoption of an ordinance allowing applications for packinghouses with no more
25 than 20 employees, regardless of size, to be processed as permitted uses and
26 applications for packinghouses with more than 20 employees, regardless of size,
27 were to be processed as conditional uses; and
28 WHEREAS, the County Council ultimately adopted an ordinance allowing
29 applications for packinghouses no larger than 7,000 square feet to be processed as
30 permitted accessory uses and applications for packinghouses larger than 7,000
31 square feet to be processed as conditional uses; and
32 WHEREAS, the County received many public comments during the adoption
33 process expressing concerns about packinghouses and their potential threat to
34 water quality and water quantity, as well as various other potential impacts they
35 could have on neighboring uses. In addition, concerns were expressed about the
36 potential loss of prime agricultural land and the impact of allowing such uses in
37 critical areas and hazardous areas; and
38 WHEREAS, on November 13, 2013, Nicole Brown, Wendy Harris, and Tip
39 Johnson filed a Petition for Review with the Growth Management Hearings Board
40 challenging Ordinance No. 2013-051 on several grounds; and
41 WHEREAS, the County Council has decided that it would be in the public
42 interest to consider the adoption of an ordinance which would require all
43 packinghouse applications to be processed as conditional uses as that process
Page 1
1 provides the opportunity for full public participation in the context of a public
2 hearing before the Hearing Examiner; and
3 WHEREAS, the adoption of a new ordinance could potentially resolve the
4 appeal before the Growth Management Hearings Board, thereby saving the public
5 resources necessary to maintain such litigation; and
6 WHEREAS, while the permanent ordinance is being processed, the County
7 Council is adopting this interim ordinance which requires all packinghouse
8 applications to be processed as conditional uses, and, in support of this interim
9 ordinance, makes the following findings as required by RCW 36.70.795:
10 1. Given the potential impacts of packinghouse operations, there is merit in
11 considering a permanent ordinance allowing packinghouses only as
12 conditional uses in the Agriculture Zoning District.
13 2. A significant number of Whatcom County residents have presented concerns
14 about allowing packinghouses as accessory uses in the Agriculture Zoning
15 District, without any significant public process or opportunity to comment,
16 due to the unique impacts of such facilities on water quality and water
17 quantity, critical areas, hazardous areas, and neighboring uses.
18 3. This interim ordinance, requiring all packinghouses to be processed as
19 conditional uses, is necessary to prevent future applications for
20 packinghouses that are not more than 7,000 square feet from vesting under
21 current law, which allows such packinghouses as permitted accessory uses,
22 while the permanent ordinance is being considered.
23 WHEREAS, the proposed amendment has been reviewed under the State
24 Environmental Policy Act (SEPA); and
25 WHEREAS, in accordance with RCW 36.70A.106 Whatcom County Planning
26 and Development Services notified the Department of Commerce of the proposed
27 interim zoning amendment; and
28 WHEREAS, this ordinance shall be effective for not longer than six months
29 following its effective date, but may be renewed for one or more six month periods
30 if subsequent public hearings are held and findings of fact are made prior to each
31 renewal.
32
33 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Whatcom County Council that
34 the Whatcom County Zoning Code is hereby amended, on an interim basis, as
35 shown in Exhibit A.
36
37 BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that this ordinance shall be effective for not
38 longer than six months following its effective date.
39
40 BE IT FINALLY ORDAINED that if any section, subsection, sentence, clause
41 or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional;
42 such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this
Page 2
1 ordinance. The Council hereby declares that it would have passed this code and
2 each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact
3 that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases has been
4 declared invalid or unconstitutional, then the original ordinance or ordinances shall
5 be in full force and effect.
6
7 ADQRTigil; this I1th day of February , 2014.
8 �t\'`,11c 0 U N
I
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
10 All- •,i000 ��'f _'� WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Ar
12 `�=��
13 Er $roW -WO -rki5f the Council Carl Weimer, Council Chair
14 • y' / o •
16 WHATCO s UNTY EXECUTIVE
17 APPRS' ED 175,1Q\Er1M• WHAT • *OUNT , WASHINGTON
18 .
19 • I _ ■ 1I
20 Karen N. Frakes Jack Lou , Couuaty xecutive
21 Civil Deputy Prosecutor
22
23 ( ) Approved ( ) Denied
24
25 Date Signed: -i
Page 3
EXHIBIT A
Chapter 20.40 AGRICULTURE (AG) DISTRICT
20.40.100 Accessory Uses
20.40.150 Conditional Uses
.164 Packinghouses, which shall be located, designed, and operated so as to not
interfere with the overall agricultural character of the area, provided the following
criteria are met:
(1)Conditional use approval criteria located in WCC 20.84.220 shall be satisfied.
(2)The total allowable building area is no larger than 20,000 square feet.
(3)The facility processes at least 75 percent agricultural goods produced in
Whatcom, Skagit and/or Island County and that originate from uses
permitted in WCC 20.40.051.
(4)Holding pens associated with packinghouses shall be limited to that
necessary to accommodate animals intended for processing within 24
hours.
(5)The facility shall comply with solid waste handling standards as set forth in
WAC 173-350, as administered by the Whatcom County Health
Department as adopted by reference in WCC 24.06
(6)An approved state waste discharge permit from the Washington State
Department of Ecology with adequate storage, where required, that
complies with WAC 173-216, WAC 173-226 industrial stormwater permit
(general permits), and/or an NPDES Permit (RCW 90.48 and WAC 173-
220), if required by the Washington State Department of Ecology.
(7)The building shall avoid prime agricultural soils to the extent feasible. Where
the site is predominantly in prime soils and avoidance is not feasible, the
applicant shall demonstrate that the buildings:
a. Are sized to be as small as feasible; and
b. Located to maximize the agricultural use of the remaining area; and
c. Achieve the most suitable locations in terms of minimizing roads,
impervious surfaces, and allowing for water availability and septic
suitability.
(8)The packinghouse, as identified in WCC 20.97.282.1, shall emit no noxious
emissions that are detectable, at or beyond the property line for the use
concerned, in such a concentration or of such duration as to cause a
public nuisance, or threaten health or safety, or to unreasonably infringe
upon the use of adjacent property.
Page 4
Chapter 20.69 Rural Industrial Manufacturing (RIM)
20.69.130 Administrative approval uses
20.69.131 Slaughterhouses.
Chapter 20.80 Supplementary Requirements
20.80.200 Setback requirements
20.80.255 Agriculture District.
(1) The 50-foot front yard setback requirement for new buildings or additions may
be waived if the zoning administrator finds the new building or addition is located
along the same building line(s) of existing structures and will result in no additional
encroachment, the public interest, safety and health are protected; provided, that
for a new building the applicant shall also demonstrate that the proposed location is
necessary for the economic viability and the continued operation of the agricultural
use.
(2) The minimum separation between new residences not located on the same
property and farm uses such as barns, pens, milking sheds, packinghouses, or
areas used to contain, house or feed animals or store manure or feed, shall be 300
feet. New farm uses such as barns, pens, milking sheds, or areas used to contain,
house or feed animals or store manure or feed, shall be situated at least 150 feet
from existing residences not located on the same property. Expansion of existing
facilities within the 150-foot buffer, providing such expansion is not closer to a
neighbor's residence, and pastures are excluded from this section's requirements.
(3) The minimum separation between packinghouses and schools shall be 500 feet.
(4) The minimum separation between packinghouses and adjacent property lines
shall be 150 feet.
20.97.282.1 Packinghouse
"Packinghouse" means a plant that both slaughters animals and subsequently
processes carcasses into fresh, cured, smoked, canned or other prepared meat
products. Rendering and importation of animal by-products is strictly prohibited in
packinghouses. Packinghouses shall not slaughter poultry. Packinghouses exclude
temporary, mobile or other on-farm, owner-raised poultry slaughtering operations
regulated under WAC 16-170 and/or RCW 69.07 that do not require USDA
inspection. Agricultural producers who raise poultry may slaughter up to one
thousand (1,000) poultry raised on their own farm annually subject to the special
poultry permit requirements of WAC 16-170. Agricultural producers who process
between one thousand (1,000) and twenty thousand (20,000) poultry a year on
their farm are subject to the food processor license requirements of RCW 69.07.
20.97.310 Poultry
"Poultry" means products derived from the slaughter and processing of broilers,
other young chickens, mature chickens, hens, turkeys, capons, geese, ducks, small
game fowl such as quail or pheasants, and small game such as rabbits.
Page 5
20.97.343 Rendering
"Rendering" means the process or business of producing tallow, grease, and high-
protein meat and bone meal from animal by-products.
20.97.343.1 Rendering Plant
"Rendering plant" means a plant that processes animal by-product materials for the
production of tallow, grease, and high-protein meat and bone meal.
20.97.423.1 Slaughterhouse
"Slaughterhouse" means a facility that slaughters animals and has as its main
product fresh meat as whole, half or quarter carcasses or small meat cuts.
20.97.424 Slaughtering
"Slaughtering" means the killing and processing of animals for human consumption.
Page 6