A. General. Except as provided in this section, the decision of the environmental coordinator in making a threshold determination may be appealed to the hearing examiner using the appeal provisions for Process II decisions (see LUC 20.35.200 et seq., as now or hereafter amended); provided, however, when the threshold determination is a determination of significance which has been agreed to by the proponent, it shall not be appealable. The appeal of a threshold determination issued on a Process IV or Process V action shall be appealable only in the manner set forth for Process IV decisions (LUC 20.35.400 et seq., as now or hereafter amended) or Process V decisions (LUC 20.35.500 et seq., as now or hereafter amended). Any provisions of this section which conflict with Chapter 20.35 LUC, as now or hereafter amended, control over those sections.

B. Who May Appeal. Any person adversely affected by a threshold determination may appeal the decision; provided, however, only those persons who submit comments prior to issuance of the threshold determination may appeal the determination unless a showing is made to demonstrate that environmental issues raised in the appeal were not known to the appellants and could not reasonably have been known to the appellants in time to submit comments before the decision was made.

C. Issues on Appeal. Appeals are limited to those issues raised through the comment period; provided, that new issues may be raised if the appellant shows that the project has changed substantially from what was identified in the public notice or information on expected environmental impacts was not reasonably available prior to issuance of the threshold determination.

D. Time to Appeal. A written statement appealing the threshold determination of the environmental coordinator as allowed under this section must be filed with the city clerk within 14 days of the date of publication of the threshold determination or, if there is a comment period under WAC 197-11-340 or 197-11-350, within 21 days of the date of publication of the threshold determination.

E. Court Review. The decision of the hearing examiner on a threshold determination may only be appealed to superior court in conjunction with an appeal of the underlying action in accordance with RCW 43.21C.075, the State Environmental Policy Act. Any such appeal must be brought within the time limits specified in RCW 36.70C.040. (Ord. 6428 § 5, 2018; Ord. 5618 § 4, 2005; Ord. 4960 § 4, 1997; Ord. 4817 § 10, 1995; Ord. 4102 § 8, 1990.)