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Sequim staff outline Title 18 code updates; sign and wireless rules slated for deeper review
Summary
Staff said Title 18 will be opened for reorganization with mostly non-substantive wording changes; non-conforming standards and rebuild rules were explained, sign-code and wireless updates were deferred for dedicated review, and annexation work on Flora's Acres is about 60–70% complete.
At its June 2 meeting, the Sequim Planning Commission heard an overview of planned updates to Title 18 of the municipal code. Travis, a planning staff member, said the update will reformat chapters and generally avoid wholesale substantive changes, instead focusing on reorganizing numbering and cleaning language (for example, replacing "shall" with "must").
On non-conforming standards, staff explained that non-conforming uses would lapse after one year of discontinued use. Single-family homes and duplexes in commercial zones may be rebuilt entirely following damage but must meet current bulk and dimensional standards; other structures could be rebuilt only if damage is less than 50% of replacement cost, otherwise the rebuilt use must conform to current standards. A commissioner asked whether non-conforming status transfers with property sales; staff replied the status remains so long as the use does not cease.
Staff flagged the sign code and wireless communications facilities (including eligible facilities modifications) as items that need more focused review. "The sign code may need an overhaul and will require dedicated time," Travis said, noting that most complaints concern temporary signage. On wireless facilities, staff and commissioners discussed FCC small-cell rules and shot clocks; staff said the city will defer to federal timelines and that a fuller code update will be included in future work planning.
Carla (planning staff) briefed commissioners on annexations, noting Flora's Acres is roughly 60–70% through the process and that the annexation code (established in 1998) will be updated for modern language but the substance will largely remain the same. Variances, which are heard by the hearing examiner, were described as infrequent and typically tied to topography or development constraints; staff said recent code updates address some variance triggers so fewer variances may be needed going forward.
Commissioners expressed no objections to staff’s proposed sequencing: moving forward with a July release for comp-plan-related documents, deferring sign and wireless rewrites for dedicated review, and continuing annexation work on Flora's Acres.
Staff will accept suggestions from commissioners on any Title 18 chapters that commissioners want reviewed more closely prior to public release.
