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Planning Commission adopts standalone grading-and-clearing permit for city limits; sets $150 application fee
Summary
The commission approved a new standalone grading-and-clearing permit that will apply inside city limits for projects meeting set thresholds (earthwork 50+ cubic yards, clearing 3,000+ sq ft, removal of more than six significant trees, grade change 4+ feet, new impervious surface 1,500+ sq ft). The permit application fee is $150.
The Yelm Planning Commission opened a public hearing on a proposed grading-and-clearing permit at 5:18 p.m. on Feb. 10 and approved the permit after a motion and second. The permit creates a standalone review pathway for clearing and grading work inside city limits that is not otherwise part of a subdivision or site-plan application.
Staff explained the permit would apply in these circumstances: earthwork of 50 cubic yards or more; clearing 3,000 square feet or more; removal of more than six significant trees; change in existing grade of four feet or more; or new impervious surfaces larger than 1,500 square feet. Staff said the permit is intended to prevent materials or fill from being dumped in critical areas and to protect public safety and environmental resources. The application fee for the permit is $150.
Commissioners asked whether the language had been taken from other jurisdictions and whether “significant tree” was defined; staff replied that the city engineer drafted the language and that a significant tree is treated as a tree with more than a 6-inch diameter in the packet’s definitions. Staff noted projects already reviewed under site-plan or subdivision permits would continue to address grading and clearing in those review processes.
On the motion to adopt the grading-and-clearing permit, the vote carried with a majority in favor and one commissioner abstaining; the motion was recorded as carried. Staff said the permit will apply to city limits only and does not change county processes in the UGA. The commission directed staff to post the permit language and fee schedule and to implement the new application form.
