HomeMy WebLinkAbout4860 Ordinance - Amending Pasco Munipal Code 21.60.40Ordinance 4860 – Amending PMC 21.60.040- 1
ORDINANCE NO. 4860
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PASCO, WASHINGTON,
AMENDING PASCO MUNICIPAL CODE 21.60.040 THAT THE CITY
COUNCIL SHALL CONDUCT THE PUBLIC HEARING ON GROWTH
MANAGEMENT ACT (GMA) DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS AND
RETAINING THE PLANNING COMMISSIONS ROLE IN REVIEWING AND
RECOMMENDING ASSOCIATED LAND SE AND ZONING MATTERS AND
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, Chapter 36.70B RCW authorizes cities planning under the GMA to enter into
development agreements, and RCW 36.70B.200 requires that a county or city approve a
development agreement only after a public hearing and expressly provides that the public hearing
may be conducted by the city legislative body, or by a planning commission, hearing examiner, or
other body designated by the legislative body; and
WHEREAS, Section 21.60.040 of the Pasco Municipal Code, adopted by Ordinance No.
4378 in 2018, currently directs that the public hearing be held before the Planning Commission,
whose recommendation and record are then acted upon by the City Council by resolution; and
WHEREAS, GMA development agreements principally address matters of municipal
finance, contract, and administration, including reimbursement and other financial provisions,
impact and mitigation fees, funding and phasing of public infrastructure, performance security,
indemnification, insurance, assignment and transfer, default and remedies, and the administration
of contractual obligations over the term of the agreement, which subjects lie outside the land use
planning matters within the Planning Commission’s customary purview and squarely within the
City Council’s responsibility for the City’s finances, contracts, and administration; and
WHEREAS, the public interest is best served when the body conducting the public hearing
on such an agreement is the body most familiar with the subjects the agreement addresses and best
positioned, in time and capacity, to conduct the hearing and advance consideration of the
agreement to a timely decision, and the City Council is that body for GMA development
agreements; and
WHEREAS, conducting the public hearing before the City Council preserves the pre-
decision open record public hearing and all public notice and participation requirements, while
removing a duplicative step between the hearing record and the body that must act on it; and
WHEREAS, comprehensive plan amendments, rezones, and other land use and zoning
matters associated with a proposed GMA development agreement will continue to be reviewed by
the Planning Commission, with its recommendation forwarded to the City Council, in accordance
with the applicable provisions of the Pasco Municipal Code and the Planning Commission’s
regularly scheduled processes, so that the Planning Commission’s advisory role on land use and
zoning is unchanged; and
Ordinance 4860 – Amending PMC 21.60.040- 2
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that this amendment is consistent with RCW
36.70B.170 through 36.70B.210 and serves the public health, safety, and general welfare;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PASCO,
WASHINGTON DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Amendment. Section 21.60.040 “Approval” of the Pasco Municipal Code
is amended to read as follows (deletions shown in strikethrough; additions shown in underline):
21.60.040 Approval
The City shall only approve a GMA development agreement after a pre-decision open
record public hearing. The public hearing shall be held before the Planning Commission
whose recommendation and record shall be acted on by the City Council by Resolution
approving or denying the GMA development agreement City Council. Following the
public hearing, the City Council shall approve or deny the GMA development agreement
by resolution. Comprehensive plan amendments, rezones, and other land use and zoning
matters associated with a proposed GMA development agreement shall remain subject to
review and recommendation by the Planning Commission in accordance with the
applicable provisions of this code and the Planning Commission’s regularly scheduled
processes.
Section 2. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word
of this ordinance should be held to the invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent
jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality thereof shall not affect the validity or
constitutionality of any other section, subsection, sentence, clause phrase or word of this ordinance.
Section 3. Corrections. Upon approval by the city attorney, the city clerk or the code
reviser are authorized to make necessary corrections to this ordinance, including scrivener’s errors
or clerical mistakes; reference to other local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations; or
numbering or referencing of ordinances or their sections and subsections.
Section 4. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take full force and effect five (5) days
after approval, passage and publication as required by law.
Ordinance 4860 – Amending PMC 21.60.040- 3
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Pasco, Washington this 5th day of October,
2026.
Charles Grimm
Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_____________________________ ___________________________
Gabriela Sanchez Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC
City Clerk City Attorney
Published: Sunday, October 11, 2026