Motion #1
To: The Cle Elum City Council
From: Larry Stauffer
2661 Lower Peoh Point Rd.
Cle Elum, WA 98922
Presented at the City Council meeting November 8, 2021
RE: Request for a Motion pertaining to the Preliminary Determination of Consistency associated with the Sun Communities application for Major Modification to the Master Plan for 47 Degrees North.
I have attached to this writing a letter, dated November 4, 2021, addressed to the Mayor and Gregg Dohrn from James Carmody, attorney representing Kittitas County Unincorporated Area Council (KCUAC). The City Council was also included in an email string between me, the Mayor and Gregg Dohrn wherein I repeatedly asked them to issue a preliminary Determination of Consistency. Both the Mayor and Mr. Dohrn refused to offer an explanation as to their failure to do so.
According to the Municipal Research and Services Center (“MRSC”) in its publication Mayor & Councilmember Handbook; The Mayor can not refuse to carryout the Direction of the City Council.
The Planning Commission recently proposed and the City Council approved Ordinance 1609. The ordinance, in part, stipulated how Type 4 applications were to be processed. The Ordinance clearly contemplates that a preliminary determination of consistency is to be provided at the beginning of the application review process. It is critical to the process that such a timely preliminary determination of consistency be made, so that both the public and the applicant has an early view of the city’s interpretation of the application’s consistency with the city code.
The Mayor and Mr. Dohrn have failed to follow the directives of the City Council and requests by the public to follow city code and provide the required preliminary determination of consistency relative to the Sun Communities application. The City owes it to the community to provide its preliminary determination as to whether the proposed development activity is consistent with the Goals, Policies and Objectives of the Cle Elum Comprehensive Plan and the relative provisions of the Cle Elum Municipal Code. Its failure to do so is creating mis-trust in the City Government and is also keeping the City Council in the dark as it relates to this very important matter.
I request that the City Council make a motion and vote affirmatively as follows:
Motion
The Mayor shall follow its city code as passed by the City Council and, within seven (7) calendar days, issue a Preliminary Determination of Consistency relating to the Sun Communities’ application for Major Modification to the Master Plan for 47 Degrees North.