Opinion ID: 2603873
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sepa compliance

Text: Appellant next seeks to have us vacate all riverfront development activities taken by the City prior to trial. He first maintains the City failed to consider environmental factors during the course of its planning and thus has not even made a prima facie effort to comply with SEPA. Appellant also asserts the following city activities require the preparation of an EIS: (1) the establishment of Community Center Fund No. 14; (2) the selection of alternative site No. 2; (3) the acquisition of real property at site No. 2; (4) the surplus declaration and resale of real property at site No. 2; (5) the execution of design and engineering contracts for the community center; (6) incorporation of the Plan into the City's comprehensive plan; and (7) the rezone. All seven transactions are said to constitute major actions, by the City, which significantly affect the quality of the environment under SEPA. RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c). A basic purpose of SEPA is to require local governments to consider total environmental and ecological factors to the fullest extent when taking major actions significantly affecting the quality of the environment. Sisley v. San Juan County, 89 Wn.2d 78, 82, 569 P.2d 712 (1977); Marino Property Co. v. Port of Seattle, 88 Wn.2d 822, 830, 567 P.2d 1125 (1977); Norway Hill Preservation & Protection Ass'n v. King County Council, 87 Wn.2d 267, 272, 552 P.2d 674 (1976). Such actions require the preparation of an EIS. An EIS is required for `every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation ...' which `significantly [affects] the quality of the environment ...' See RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c) and Byers v. Board of Clallam County Comm'rs, 84 Wn.2d 796, 801, 529 P.2d 823 (1974). [4, 5] This is not to say that every action or every governmental recommendation requires preparation of an EIS. See, e.g., Marino Property Co. v. Port of Seattle, supra (transfer of title between governments and related financial devices do not require an EIS). But, when action is contemplated upon a recommendation or other major action, the responsible governmental body must make a threshold determination to ascertain whether the action or recommendation will significantly affect the quality of the environment. This threshold determination is critical for full implementation of SEPA's mandate. See Sisley v. San Juan County, supra ; Norway Hill Preservation & Protection Ass'n v. King County Council, supra ; Juanita Bay Valley Community Ass'n v. Kirkland, 9 Wn. App. 59, 510 P.2d 1140 (1973). It must precede governmental action. As we said in Norway Hill at page 273: The policy of the act, which is simply to insure via a detailed statement the full disclosure of environmental information so that environmental matters can be given proper consideration during decision making, is thwarted whenever an incorrect threshold determination is made. So, too, is the policy of the act thwarted when the governmental body fails to make any threshold determination whatsoever. If the governmental body makes a threshold determination of no significant impact under SEPA, it must then demonstrate that environmental factors were considered in a manner sufficient to be a prima facie compliance with the procedural dictates of SEPA. Narrowsview Preservation Ass'n v. Tacoma, 84 Wn.2d 416, 422, 526 P.2d 897 (1974); Eastlake Community Council v. Roanoke Associates, Inc., 82 Wn.2d 475, 494, 513 P.2d 36, 76 A.L.R.3d 360 (1973); Juanita Bay Valley Community Ass'n v. Kirkland, supra at 73. Further, before a court may uphold a determination of no significant impact, it must be presented with a record sufficient to demonstrate that actual consideration was given to the environmental impact of the proposed action or recommendation. Guided by the foregoing principles, we now turn to the challenged actions which are said to have been taken in violation of SEPA. [6] First, the establishment of Community Center Fund No. 14 requires no SEPA application. It was neither a proposal for legislation, nor a major action. The City merely created a separate fund into which monies could be placed for future planning and possible construction of a potential riverfront development. Any attempted environmental evaluation at that stage would have been purely speculative and beyond the mandate of SEPA. Cheney v. Mountlake Terrace, 87 Wn.2d 338, 346, 552 P.2d 184 (1976). Next, we turn to appellant's challenge of the City's selection of site No. 2, the acquisition of real property at that site, and the subsequent surplus declaration and resale of certain of the acquired property. We can conceive of no environmental evaluation (beyond pure speculation) that would have been possible at the time the City considered selection of site No. 2. Mere mental gymnastics of this kind do not require environmental evaluation. This is particularly true where, as here, the trial court made an unchallenged finding that the City had no definite plan to proceed with the community center even at the time of trial. In the same vein, the mere acquisition of real property by a local government is not a major action and has no significant effect on the quality of the environment. Marino Property Co. v. Port of Seattle, supra at 831. Further, a declaration that real property is surplus and its subsequent resale by a governmental body are neither major actions nor ones having a significant effect on the quality of the environment. As we said in Marino, SEPA is directed at the use of property not its ownership. Marino Property Co. v. Port of Seattle, supra at 831. Consequently we find no violation of SEPA in the City's apparent lack of environmental consideration prior to taking these actions. We also hold that SEPA has no application to the City's actions in executing design and engineering contracts. The contract with CDC involved the acquisition of real property and land use studies. The contract with Real Estate Research Corporation involved a market analysis of the City's need for a community center and a hotel/motel complex. SEPA does not apply to the mere acquisition of land nor does it apply to the authorization of CDC to acquire such property. Concerning the market analysis and land use studies, we note that these are integral to planning. See Shelton v. Bellevue, 73 Wn.2d 28, 435 P.2d 949 (1968). They are conditions precedent to the preliminary decisions concerning whether a development concept should even proceed beyond the drawing board. While such decisional aids may have some political impact, they have no impact on the environment. Accordingly, they are neither major actions nor do they significantly affect the environment. We hold that it was not necessary for the City to make a threshold determination prior to this stage of the proceeding. [7] The City's incorporation of the Plan into its comprehensive plan presents a different problem. The City Planning Commission's recommendation that the Plan be incorporated into the City's comprehensive plan was a recommendation or report on proposals for legislation. RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c). Consequently SEPA required the City, prior to amending the comprehensive plan, to determine whether such amendment would significantly affect the quality of the environment. Unfortunately, the record on review is totally inadequate. We cannot determine whether the city commissioners made the required threshold determination. And, for that matter, we cannot determine whether that body even considered the Planning Commission's findings. At best, we find that the Chelan County Regional Planning Council's agreement with Naramore required that the Plan contain an environmental impact assessment detailing potential impacts that would be caused by adoption of the Plan. The Plan actually contained such an assessment, but it did not contain an EIS. And, Naramore concluded that actual implementation of each project would require an EIS and would also require compliance with the Shoreline Management Act because of the waterfront activity contemplated. Next, we note that the City Planning Commission and the Chelan County Planning Commission conducted a public hearing to consider incorporation of the Plan into the Wenatchee Urban Area Comprehensive Plan. The minutes indicate that flooding and sewage problems were summarily discussed. Each commission endorsed the Plan after finding that the environmental impacts had been evaluated and that a major impact might result from implementation of each project. Yet, without explanation each commission then entered a declaration for the record that there would be no significant environmental impact. At the critical stage of the City's adoption of the Plan, the record is totally different. No findings were made. No threshold determination of environmental significance was entered in the record. Rather, the record merely indicates that the city commissioners adopted the Riverfront Development Plan as proposed by Naramore. Nothing indicates that the findings of the Planning Commission, the Naramore environmental assessment, or the flooding and sewage problems were brought to the commissioners' attention. At best, the record reveals that Mayor Grover did not recall whether the findings were considered. The minutes indicate no discussion of environmental factors. Given this state of the record, we cannot determine whether a determination of nonsignificance was made when the City incorporated the Plan into its comprehensive plan. In fact, we cannot tell whether the environmental significance of the Plan was even considered by the commissioners. At minimum SEPA requires a threshold determination for such recommendations and an actual consideration of potential environmental significance. The city commissioners met neither requirement. Finding serious noncompliance with SEPA's mandate, we must vacate the City's amendment of its comprehensive plan. [8] Finally, we turn to the City's act of rezoning the 6.3 acres of site No. 2. The city commissioners made a negative threshold determination that the act of rezoning would have no significant impact on the quality of the environment. We must decide whether that determination is clearly erroneous in view of the record submitted and the public policy of SEPA. Marino Property Co. v. Port of Seattle, 88 Wn.2d 822, 830, 567 P.2d 1125 (1977); Norway Hill Preservation & Protection Ass'n v. King County Council, 87 Wn.2d 267, 275-76, 552 P.2d 674 (1976). Here the City applied to down zone the property without any accompanying building permit application and without specific plans for development. The site plan for the Mercy theater complex was at best tentative, and was neither a part of the record nor a part of the rezone application. The record indicates that the city commissioners actually considered the Planning Commission's finding of no environmental impact. Further, the city commissioners also found the rezone would substantially eliminate the possibility of incompatible uses having a negative impact on the existing central business district. Given this record and in light of the public policy expressed in SEPA, we are not left with a definite and firm conviction that the city commissioners made a mistake in reaching their threshold determination of no significant impact. We do not suggest, however, that all rezones will have an insignificant effect upon the quality of the environment. Rather, we specifically hold only that this rezone and this record do not suggest such an impact. In sum, we affirm the trial court in part and reverse it in part. We affirm the determination that the rezone of the 6.3 acres of site No. 2 is valid. We reverse the trial court and hold that the sale of the surplus property to Mercy is void. Finally, we reverse the trial court and vacate the City's amendment of its comprehensive plan. Accordingly, the City is directed to actually consider the environmental factors involved; to determine the environmental significance of those factors prior to making any subsequent amendment of the City's comprehensive plan; and, to prepare an adequate record that will demonstrate the action taken and reasons therefor. WRIGHT, C.J., and ROSELLINI, HAMILTON, UTTER, BRACHTENBACH, HOROWITZ, DOLLIVER, and HICKS, JJ., concur. Reconsideration denied April 20, 1978.