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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-09-16 Regular MinutesSPECIAL PRESENTATIONS Vision Tukwila TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES l /'J September 16, 1991 Tukwila City Hall 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers Regular Meeting CALL TO ORDER Mayor VanDusen called the Regular Meeting of the Tukwila City Council to order and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL JOE DUFFIE; DENNIS ROBERTSON, Council President; JOAN HERNANDEZ; CLARENCE MORIWAKI; ALLAN EKBERG; STEVE LAWRENCE, JOHN RANTS. OFFICIALS JOHN McFARLAND, City Administrator; RICK BEELER, DCD Director; RHONDA BERRY, Asst. to City Administrator; TONY BACA, Code Enforcement Officer; RON CAMERON, City Engineer; ROSS EARNST, Public Works Director; LORA FOWLER, Intern, DCD; RON WALDNER, Chief of Police. City Administrator John McFarland introduced Vision Tukwila, a program designed to encourage citizens to get more involved in assisting the City in defining the needs of our newly expanded City. Originally called Neighborhood Enhancement, then Community Strategies, the process has evolved into Vision Tukwila. This process will allow the City to elicit from the public their views on what they would like to see in their neighborhoods from a short term perspective, intermediate (3 -5 years), and long term perspective. McFarland introduced Lora Fowler, Project Coordinator, who gave an in depth presentation on Vision Tukwila which outlined the concept, proposed schedule, and detailed processes of the program Ms. Fowler explained that Vision Tukwila is composed of three smaller visions: the current vision the identification and satisfaction of immediate and short range community issues; an integrated vision which integrates all community issues together to form an equitable, strategic plan for the City as a whole; and the Growth Management Vision integration of the City's vision with the requirements for the Washington State Growth Management Act. For the Vision Tukwila project the City will be divided into five individual neighborhoods. Members of the Steering Committee will meet with concerned residents to solicit input on what they feel are the most important issues facing their immediate neighborhoods. Information gathered at these sessions will result in the development of a short-term plan which addresses growth and development control, enhancement of the community, and citizen issues within specific areas of Tukwila. Councilmember Robertson commented that this was the first time the Council had seen any of the material on Vision Tukwila. He questioned the Council's role in the project as well as the partnership between the Mayor, the Council, and the Steering Committee, stating the project was prepared without any input or participation from the Council. Robertson noted concern over the short, intermediate, and long range issues and goals presented as they are policy making matters and within the range of Council's involvement. MOVED BY ROBERTSON, SECONDED BY MORIWAKI, TO MOVE THIS ISSUE BACK TO A SUBCOMMITTEE FOR DISCUSSION AND TO DETERMINE COUNCIL'S ROLE IN THE PROJECT. Councilmember Rants suggested moving the issue to a C.O.W. so that the full council would have an opportunity to participate in the discussions. Following the C.O.W., the issue could be moved to a subcommittee for further discussion. Councilmember Hernandez noted her agreement. Robertson held firm on his motion, explaining that within the next few weeks the 1992 budget will require most of Council's attention. Councilmember Duffle commented he had no problem with discussing the project at the Community Affairs Parks Tukwila City Council Regular Meeting September 16, 1991 Page 2 Special Presentations (con'tl Update on Code Enforcement Committee. He added that the project needed to be put in place and if the project had not been started by the staff, it would not have been started. He voiced his appreciation for the program and stated he would like to see the issue in the subcommittee. Mayor VanDusen reminded Council they would not be left out of the process. The next step is to take it to the citizens, with the results of the neighborhood meetings coming back to Council for decision making. Councilmember Lawrence commented the project was an excellent job. Wendy Morgan, 15144 65th Ave. So., commented she felt the intent of the plan was good; however, she felt it was not particularly healthy for the community that it was so staff driven. She recommended incorporating a co -chair or citizen committee for each of the districts who would work with staff to plan and host the neighborhood meetings as well as give their input on the project. Connie Hoffman, 3924 So. 114th St., agreed that more community participation was desirable. She also expressed her concern about having her neighborhood, which lies on both sides of the Duwamish river (Allentown) split into two groups. John McFarland explained that DCD tried to use natural boundaries in establishing each district; however, if the districts did not make sense, they would be changed. McFarland told Council that facilitators were selected based on their interest in the community. These are members of the staff who have volunteered their time to the community. They have received special training in organizational development, and demonstrated an interest in the City, and a particular commitment to the concept of Excellence in Action. MOVED BY LAWRENCE, SECONDED BY MORIWAKI, TO AMEND THE MOTION AND MOVE VISION TUKWILA TO THE OCTOBER 14TH COMMI ITEE OF THE WHOLE. MOTION CARRIED. *MOTION CARRIED. *MOTION CARRIED AS AMENDED. DCD Director Rick Beeler introduced Tony Baca, Code Enforcement Officer, who gave a brief update on the progress being made on requests for action. Tony explained that most of the complaints that come to his attention have to do with junk cars, trash, property use, and animals. Approximately 120 requests were outstanding when he joined the City. After his first month on the job, the list had been reduced to 70 -75. To date 285 additional requests have been taken. Of those, 232 have been resolved. Requests for action are averaging approximately 40 cases per month. Mr. Baca reported that most Tukwila residents are very concerned about resolving the issues. His goal is to seek voluntary compliance rather than legal means. He projected that by year's end, complaints would number around 400. Councilmember Lawrence suggested that Tony keep Council advised on what ordinances need to be revised or re- written in order to assist him in the enforcement of his duties. Rick Beeler stated that code amendments will be forthcoming. First, however, the concentration is on in -house administrative procedures. The City attorney is currently working on decriminalizing some of the ordinances, which would allow Baca to issue a citation and /or levy a fine for non compliance instead of bringing the resident to court. Councilmember Rants commended Baca for the job he has done this year. Councilmember Ekberg added thanks from the entire Council, noting Tony's contribution to the quality of life in Tukwila by enforcing the codes of the City. Tukwila City Council Regular Meeting September 16, 1991 Page 3 CITIZEN COMMENTS CONSENT AGENDA OLD BUSINESS Status of Multi Family Design Standards NEW BUSINESS Ord. #1607 Amending Current Undergrounding Policy None a. Approval of Vouchers General Fund $145,188.30 City Street 146,700.70 Arterial Street 190,125.19 Land Acq., Building, Dev. 5,495.50 Water Fund 10,187.47 Sewer Fund 75,967.35 Water /Sewer Construction 0.00 Foster Golf Course 12,589.65 Surface Water (412) 129,394.15 Equipment Rental 28,847.99 Firemen's Pension 515.00 TOTAL $745,011.30 MOVED BY DUFFIE, SECONDED BY HERNANDEZ, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS SUBMITTED. MOTION CARRIED. Rick Beeler reported the Planning Commission received the multi family design standards ordinance in February and members have been working on it since that time. Commissioners will be attempting to meet two times per month in order to finish up their review. Consequently, Council will not be seeing the ordinance until early next year. Councilmember Hernandez stated she was perplexed at the amount of time this issue was taking. Beeler responded that the Planning Commission has been working on the ordinance steadily since they received it in February. They are moving out of the multi family design standards and moving into the criteria and general guidelines. They are moving as quickly as they can to get the ordinance to Council. The commission is also discussing a 30 day public review process to give ample time for the public to review the ordinance. George Malina, Planning Commission member, added that the commission has met a few times when they have not had a quorum due to the fact that there are presently only five people on the board and it is summer. The commission is now doubling up on its meetings. Council President Robertson requested a complete report on the status of the multi family design standards ordinance as well as the entire package at the next C.O.W. Councilmember Moriwaki excused himself from deliberations on this issue. MOVED BY DUFFIE, SECONDED BY RANTS, THAT ORDINANCE NO. 1607 BE ADOPTED AS READ.* MOVED BY DUFFIE, SECONDED BY EKBERG, THAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE BE READ BY TITLE ONLY. MOTION CARRIED. Mayor VanDusen read an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Tukwila, Washington, amending Ordinance 1321, Section V; Ordinance 924, Section 1; Ordinance 486, Section V; and Chapter 13.08.100 of the Tukwila Municipal Code by adding paragraphs D) and E) to Section V that authorizes deferral of undergrounding for individual single family homes and for installation of new or ungraded utility lines. Council President Robertson inquired what rule of thumb was used to determine "hardship" in Paragraph d(2). Councilmember Ekberg, Utilities Committee Chair, responded that the determination is at the Tukwila City Council Regular Meeting September 16, 1991 Page 4 New Business (con't) REPORTS Mayor Council discretion of the Public Works Director. The whole purpose of the ordinance is to get new single family residential homes in an existing neighborhood without requiring them to go underground where the existing lines are not underground. This section does not apply to new developments or re- developments of existing zones. Regarding the question of hardship, Ekberg explained (for example) if a resident could go above ground, off an existing pole, the cost would be $700 or $800; but to underground the same site, based upon the existing ordinance, the cost would be $10,000. The cost factor is the difference between undergrounding and going with existing wires. Ron Cameron added that each case would be handled on a case by case basis. Appeals would be addressed to the Mayor. Councilmember Lawrence inquired how and when costs are to be allocated to sub divided lots. Would it be when the lots are actually divided or when they are sold to an individual owner? Cameron responded that currently the short plats (sub divisions) are undergrounding from the existing right -of -way to the lot line. Ross Earnst, Public Works Director, further explained that as each house is constructed, they have an option of coming in on a short plat and requesting an exemption for that particular house. On a plat with 13 or 14 houses, the developer would be required to underground the street and each one of the houses. On a short plat, one of the houses may be required to underground because it only costs $400 -$500. On a house that sits quite a distance behind, it may be more expensive; therefore, that individual would be able to ask for an exemption. Undergrounding would not be required until after an individual had applied for a building permit. Council President Robertson commented he did not feel this was equitable. He suggested amending the ordinance to include exemptions for short plats as well as single family houses. MOVED BY ROBERTSON, SECONDED BY SECONDED BY EKBERG, TO ADD THE WORDS "SHORT PLATS OR" BEFORE THE WORDS "INDIVIDUAL SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES" IN THE FIRST LINE IN PARAGRAPH "D MOTION CARRIED WITH MORIWAKI ABSTAINING. Mayor VanDusen reported that the Planning Commission has concluded with their work on the SAO amendments. Council agreed to discuss the issue at next week's C.O.W. In a prepared letter to Council Mayor VanDusen restated his position on mayoral appointments to boards and commissions. He provided copies of a legal opinion from Revelle, Ries and Hawkins, Attorneys at Law, on the question of whether the Mayor is required to provide the Council access to the applications of those persons desiring appointment to certain boards and commissions. It was the law firm's opinion "that the City Council has no legal right to the application forms provided to the Mayor by potential applicants for the various boards and commissions Council questioned the reason for using outside legal counsel for the legal opinion and was informed that since the City Attorney was out of town, the Mayor contacted the Revelle, Ries and Hawkins firm with whom Mike Kenyon is an associate. Council was not aware that this was the case. Councilmember Lawrence raised the question of whether there was a legal issue regarding the outside employment of the City Attorney. After a lengthy debate, Council decided to move the item to next week's meeting for further discussion. Councilmember Duffie announced there would not be voting booths at Tukwila Elementary School for the primary election tomorrow. Councilmember Hernandez reported that the Gateway project had been presented at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week. She praised Lynn Devoir for her efforts on the project, but said that Tukwila City Council Regular Meeting September 16, 1991 Page 5 Reports (con'tl Staff this appeared to be another project that had never been presented to the Council. She was disappointed she had to go to the Chamber of Commerce to see a presentation that was made to the public and the business community before Council had ever seen it. Hernandez added she did not like reading about upcoming projects in the Hazelnut before they have been presented to Council. Councilmember Moriwaki responded that he had reported to Council that a briefing had been given at the Transportation committee, but none of the dates were detailed or finalized. It had not been brought forward to a C.O.W. Mrs. Hernandez stated she hoped the lack of communication would be corrected. Council President Robertson outlined suggested procedures for dealing with the capital budget items at next week's C.O.W. Councilmember Moriwaki reported the structure of the Human Services Roundtable had been reorganized so that the chair of the Roundtable can be elected at -large but does not necessarily have to be a member of the executive committee. Key issues next year will be family support and basic health care. Councilmember Ekberg told Council the Utilities Committee had discussed establishing a creek easement policy, for areas such as Gilliam Creek, which would involve obtaining easements for public access to the creek bed from the property owners. This would allow the City to enter the property and do necessary repairs. Erosion control is needed around Gilliam Creek. Since public monies are being spent for creek improvement for the public good, the City would provide some kind of path or access to the creek bed future improvements. The committee felt it might be an access point for a trail or a walkway for future fisheries enhancement projects by school students. Utilities Committee members reached consensus to allow easements with public access to streams within the City of Tukwila for erosion protection and property protection. The issue will come before the full Council at a later date. Councilmember Rants suggested Public Works investigate the stream at Southgate to see what can be done with the thousands of tires that have been thrown into it. John McFarland clarified that he had discussed the Vision Tukwila project a couple of times at council meetings and stated he took full responsibility for the aggressiveness with which the project was presented. It was not intended that Council be left out of the project. Staff has put a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and pride in the Vision Tukwila project and it was presented tonight for Council's consideration. McFarland explained that Tree Day had also been discussed in staff reports at two separate Council meetings. Ross Earnst had discussed the issue, and it had been before the Transportation Committee twice. The Hazelnut publication is the most effective way to get information out to the community; however, if an article is not submitted on time, it misses the publication. Rhonda Berry, Assistant to the City Administrator, reported King County had postponed Rabanco public hearing until September 23rd. The purpose of the public hearing is to get public comments and to provide public information on the two vendors, Rabanco and Washington Waste Systems, that have been selected by the county for the recycling contracts. Both she and Vernon Umetsu, DCD, will attend the hearings. Copies of the final EIS are available from Ms. Berry or Lucy Lauterbach. Renton's mitigation document should be issued by the first week in October. Once the document is issued, there will be a 20 day period to appeal the manner in which the process was implemented. Tukwila City Council Regular Meeting September 16, 1991 Page 6 Reports (con't) On the WSDOT dumpsite issue, Ms. Berry reported she had received a copy of the test results from Hart, Crowser. The report has been forwarded to D.O.E. and to the health department for review and analysis. The report concluded that WSDOT's practices at that site have not contaminated the soil or the ground water quality. The recommendation from Hart, Crowser is that no corrective action be taken. Ms. Berry reported the county received over 100 potential sites for the regional justice center. Each site was reviewed for mandatory requirements which were: transit, emergency services, and being within close proximity to a hospital. The Citizens Site Advisory Committee will narrow the list down to 8 sites for Phase I of the project and 8 sites for Phase II of the project. The list will be provided to the City by September 23rd. Ms. Berry suggests Council wait to see if any of the four Tukwila sites make the final list before providing any input to the county. Ms. Berry explained that sites were submitted by realtors, local jurisdictions, and in some cases by property owners. The City did not submit any sites for consideration. Council decided to send a letter to King County stating Tukwila is not interested in being considered as a site for a regional justice center. Public Works Director announced that October 19th is Tree Day. A sign up sheet is available for anyone who wants to purchase a tree for planting. ADJOURNMENT MOVED, BY RANTS, SECONDED BY DUFFLE, THAT THE 9:28 p.m. MEETING BE ADJOURNED. MOTION CARRIED. Gafy'L.. Van Dusen, Mayor Jane E. Cantu, City Clerk