Staff proposes new 'administratively complete' definition and longer scheduling window for public hearings

City staff asked the commission to add a definition of “administratively complete” to Chapter 106 so the start of review and noticing timelines is clearer, and to change multiple 30-day deadlines to a 45-day scheduling window measured from when an application is deemed administratively complete.

During the presentation, staff said an administratively complete application would require: fully completed application forms, all required supporting documentation and exhibits, receipt of payment of required fees, conformance with applicable standards and any additional items the director needs to evaluate the application. “What staff proposes is that administratively complete means an application required under this chapter...that number 1, contains fully complete and properly executed application forms; number 2, includes all required supporting documentation and exhibits; number 3, reflects receipt of payment of all required fees,” the planner explained.

Staff described repeated cases in which incomplete or incorrect applications forced legal-ad corrections, resubmittals, duplicated costs and postponements. To reduce rushed packets and prevent errors, staff recommended that hearings be “scheduled within 45 days after the application is deemed administratively complete,” rather than the current 30-day-from-receipt phrasing. Commissioners asked how long a case would then actually be heard (staff estimated 44–56 days in worst-case calendar alignment) and pressed staff for accountability measures; staff described multiple internal checkpoints and promised public-facing checklists in 4–6 weeks and an internal resubmittal deadline to reduce back-and-forth.