14.30.230 Appeals.
A. Standing to initiate an appeal of Type 1, 2, 3 and 4 reviews is limited to the applicant, project sponsor, or owner of the property in which the project permit is proposed, parties of record, affected agencies or tribes, or any person aggrieved by the final decision and who will suffer direct and substantial impacts from approval or denial of the project. A person is aggrieved or adversely affected within the meaning of this section, only when all of the following conditions are present:
1. The land use decision has prejudiced or is likely to prejudice that person;
2. That person’s asserted interests are among those that the local jurisdiction was required to consider when it made the land use decision;
3. A judgment in favor of that person would substantially eliminate or redress the prejudice to that person caused or likely to be caused by the land use decision; and
4. The petitioner has exhausted his or her administrative remedies to the extent required by law.
B. All appeals of interpretations or actions regarding Type 1 and 2 reviews shall be filed in a format prescribed by the city along with the required fee, within fourteen days of the date of the interpretation or action. If the deadline to file an appeal falls on a weekend or on a city holiday, the deadline shall become the next business day. The city shall mail written notice to all parties of record to apprise them of all open and closed record public appeal hearings and shall place a public notice in the city’s newspaper of record at least fourteen days before the open record appeals hearing.
1. The notice of appeal shall specify the claimed error(s) and issue(s) which the appellate body is asked to consider and shall specifically state all grounds for such appeal. Issues or grounds of appeal which are not so identified need not be considered by the appellate body;
2. The appellants and any respondents to the notice of appeal shall have the opportunity to present oral and written arguments during open record appeal hearing. For all closed record appeals, the record shall be limited to information presented during the preceding open record hearing. Oral argument shall be confined to the established record and to any alleged errors in the decision;
3. Following an appeal hearing, the appellate body may affirm, reverse, or modify the decision of record and shall adopt its own written findings and conclusions in support of its decision; and
4. The city may require an applicant and/or the appellant to reimburse the city for the cost of preparing materials to be used during open record public hearing or closed record appeals, including but not limited to the cost of copying, taping, and/or transcribing a certified record of the proceedings.
5. Appeals of SEPA threshold determinations or SEPA actions shall be combined with any appeals of associated applications or permits in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 43.21C RCW, WAC 197-11-800, and CEMC Chapter 14.40. If the final decision incorporates the SEPA threshold determination subject to a fourteen-day comment period, a joint twenty-one-calendar-day appeal period shall be provided on both the project decision and the SEPA threshold determination.
C. All Type 3 and Type 4 land use decisions and the decisions of the hearings examiner on appeals of Type 1 and 2 permits may be appealed by a party with standing by filing a land use petition in Washington State Superior Court, unless otherwise specified, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 36.70C RCW. Such petition must be filed within twenty-one days of issuance of the decision. This process shall be the exclusive means of judicial review except for local land use decisions reviewable by a quasi-judicial body created by state law, such as the Shorelines Hearings Board.