HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAP 2016-11-14 Item 2B - Ordinance - Rental License Requirements: Fee Resolution / Proactive Pest ControlCity of Tukwila
Allan Ekberg, Mayor
INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
TO: Community Affairs and Parks
FROM: Jack Pace, DCD Director
BY: Nora Gierloff, Deputy DCD Director
CC: Mayor Ekberg
DATE: November 7, 2016
SUBJECT: Rental Housing Update with Pest Control Requirements
ISSUE
Should the residential rental licensing code be updated to require proactive pest control in larger
complexes?
BACKGROUND
Representatives from the Tukwila School District have testified at Tukwila City Council meetings that
some apartments are infested with vermin, cockroaches, and bedbugs. While these complaints have
not been directed to Code Enforcement staff and no actionable details have been provided, Code
Enforcement reached out to the three apartment managers and owners. We found that these
complexes were already doing proactive pest management.
The proposed fee resolution for 2017 -18 includes new fees for late renewals, late inspections, and
rentals prior to license approval.
DISCUSSION
The legal process for responding to a complaint of any kind in a rental unit is to first advise the tenant
to complain to their landlord in writing and wait for the appropriate period of time for the landlord to
respond and begin the treatment. In the case of infestations, the waiting period is 10 days. If the
landlord fails to respond in that time, Code enforcement would then contact the landlord and request
that they address the complaint by hiring an exterminator and providing us with a copy of their
findings and the treatment plan.
Since we have had the rental licensing and inspection program in full force (2011), staff has received
relatively few infestation complaints - six in the past year, all of which have had a prompt response
from the landlord. Two had additional issues due to tenant hoarding and lack of cooperation, but
they have been resolved. One tenant was moved to another unit so that extermination could occur.
The other tenant did what was necessary for an IPM company to come in to treat the unit.
Overall, the required inspections of Tukwila's 3,663 rental units have had the desired effect in
addressing and correcting housing conditions. Items that are identified during the inspection process
are managed at the time of inspection. The adoption of the National Healthy Housing Standard
requires landlords to eliminate infestations using integrated pest management (IPM) when
infestations occur. This requirement is an effective tool for dealing with infestation complaints when
they arise.
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INFORMATIONAL MEMO
Page 2
We recently surveyed apartment managers of the 62 complexes with 5 or more units about their pest
control practices and received the following responses.
#Units
Proactive
Contract
Yearly Cost
Treatment
6
No
No
$ 800
191
Yes
Yes
$ 4,000
7
Yes
Yes
$ 750
104
Yes
Yes
$ 864
114
Yes
Yes
$ 8`303
120
Yes
Yes
$ I,200
109
Yes
Yes
$ 3'I36
61
Yes
Yes
$884
51
Yes
Yes
$5-6,000
Notes
Service only when there is a problem
Multi-state Regional nnanager,aUproperbes
have monthly visits with follow upifneeded
2x per month with follow upifneeded
Quarterly spraying and monthly rodent control
Monthly since 2OI0
lx per year in each unit and asneeded,
monthly bait station checks
Monthly service
745 units total in King County, monthly service
It seems like standard practice for larger complexes to have a maintenance contract with a pest
control service. We could require the 42 properties with 20 or more units to submit confirmation of an
annual pest inspection and treatment plan prepared by a property manager or company trained in
IPM as a condition of the annual rental housing license. This would cover 85% of the rental units in
the City but Qnly affect 7% of the landlords. After a few years we could evaluate whether this has
reduced the number of pest complaints.
In September we notified the owners and managers of properties with 20 or more units, the Rental
Housing Association of Washington, and the Washington Muffi-Family Housing Association that the
City was considering implementing a proactive pest control requirement, see Attachment B.
Responses are listed in Attachments C and D.
The draft ordinance in AttachmentA also reflects procedural changes related to the fee resolution
such as late fee deadlines.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
While there would beno direct costs, adding additional requirements to the annual licensing process
wit[ increase the amount of staff time needed to process the licenses.
RECOMMENDATION
The Council is being asked to approve the ordinance and consider this item at the November 28, 2016
Committee of the Whole meeting and subsequent December 5, 2016 Regular Meeting to put these
changes in place for the 20lT license renewals.
ATTACHMENTS
A. Draft Ordinance Amending TM[S.06
B. Email to Owners/Managers of20 Plus Unit Properties
C. Comments from Rental Property Owners/Managers
D. Comment Letter from Washington Multi-Family Housing Association
ZACouncil Agenda ltems\DCD\Rental License Update PESTSTom Control |nfowomodo
Attachment A
M M8�v
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 2459
§11, §2, AND §8, AND ORDINANCE NO. 2281 §1 (PART), AS
CODIFIED AT TUKWILA MUNICIPAL CODE SECTIONS
5.06.020, 5.06.040, 5.06.050 AND 5.06.140, TO UPDATE
TUKWILA'S RESIDENTIAL RENTAL BUSINESS LICENSE AND
INSPECTION PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS; PROVIDING FOR
SEVERABILITY; AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City has adopted a Residential Rental Business License and
Inspection Program, pursuant to Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) Chapter 5.06; and
WHEREAS, the program has significantly improved the condition of the City's rental
housing stock over the past six years; and
WHEREAS, preventative pest control will help preserve housing conditions; and
WHEREAS, the City has adopted an updated fee resolution for the 2017 and 2018
license years; and
WHEREAS, this resolution includes new fees that should be referenced in TMC
Chapter 5.06, "Residential Rental Business License and Inspection Program"; and
WHEREAS, timely licensing renewals and inspections help the City provide efficient
services; and
WHEREAS, the ordinance amendments are procedural in nature, and are therefore
categorically exempt from the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review pursuant
to WAC 197-11-800(19);
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA,
WASHINGTON, HEREBY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. TMC Section 5.06.020 Amended. Ordinance Nos. 2459 §1 and 2281
§1 (part) as codified at Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) Section 5.06.020, subparagraph
1., are hereby amended to read as follows:
1. "Accessory dwelling unit" or "ADU" means a unit that meets the
requirements of Table 18-6, Note 17, of TMC Title
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Section 2. TMC Section 5.06.040 Amended. Ordinance No. 2281 §1 (part), as
codified at TMC Section 5.06.040, is hereby amended to read as follows:
5.06.040 Residential Rental Business License Requirement
A. Every rental unit owner shall obtain an annual residential rental business
license, pursuant to Title 5 of the Tukwila Municipal Code, prior to operating, leasing or
causing to be leased a rental unit. Rental unit owners must file a written application
annually with the Department for each rental -location to be leased. To be
considered for approval, residential rental business license applications must be
complete and include: t4e.
1. Completed and signed Residential Rental Business License _Application
provided byitq City.
2 Aappropriate application fee as set foO in the CAy-�s fee schedule
add J1,
Ogj�ted �y_jq�iolutioQgfjhq.. City ounc. Late fees will be due for applications filed
March 1st or later.
3. For rnu1!Lfami1y--bui1din_qs _With 20 or more units, documentation of an
(IPM) Program. This could be a prop p� rt
!D,gna(jr trained in IPM QLa contract with a pest _control 2gMpqflL
B. Failure to obtain a residential rental business license will result in the inability to
rent the unit. '
Section 3. TMC Section 5.06.050 Amended. Ordinance Nos. 2459 §2 and 2281
§1 (part), as codified at TMC Section 5.06.050, are hereby amended to read as follows:
5.06.050 Inspection Required
The owner must obtain an inspection of each rental unit and submit the flnspection
Checklist fe&u4s to the code official before the Unit is initially accupied by a tenant, and
in subsequent years no later than Beptember 30 of the year the Certificate of
Compliance Owners of complexes with 5 or more units are required to utilize a
non-City inspector who meets the qualifications defined herein and who is preapproved
by the City. Owners of rental properties with fewer than 5 units may utilize a City
inspector or a non-City inspector, as defined herein. The City shall provide the
Inspection Checklist to the owner with the application form. The code official shall issue
a Certificate of Compliance for rental units that comply with applicable laws based on a
submitted Inspection Checklist. If using a non-City inspector, the owner shall be
responsible for making the inspection arrangements with the non-City inspector.
Section 4. TMC Section 5.06.140 Amended. Ordinance Nos. 2459 §8 and 2281
§1 (part), as codified at TMC Section 5.06.140, are hereby amended to read as follows:
5.06.140 Certificate of Compliance Validity and Renewal
Certificates of Compliance expire on December 31, four years from the date of issuance
by the City.
the--- Failure to renew the Certificate of Compliance
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every four years shall result in the non-issuance or revocation of the rental business
license for that unit. Rental properties that are registered and continue to meet all the
requirements of the City's Crime-Free Rental Housing Program, or other City-
administered program to certify rental properties as working proactively at crime
prevention, may extend their required rental inspection schedule to once every 8 years.
If participation in such program is terminated due to failure to meet program
requirements or for any other reason, the rental inspection shall be due at the end of the
calendar year of the year of termination or 4 years from the last inspection, whichever is
later. Furthermore, if a property registered in the Crime-Free Rental Housing Program,
or any other City-administered program to certify rental properties as working
proactively at crime prevention, is the subject of 3 or more code violation complaints
verified by the City in any 6-month period for violations affecting the habitability of a
residential unit, the property will revert to a 4-year inspection cycle.
Section 5. Corrections by City Clerk or Code Reviser. Upon approval of the
City Attorney, the City Clerk and the code. reviser are authorized to make necessary
corrections to this ordinance, including the correction of clerical errors; references to
other local, state or federal laws, codes, rules, or regulations; or ordinance numbering
and section/subsection numbering.
Section 6. Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or
phrase of this ordinance or its application to any person or situation should be held to be
invalid or unconstitutional for any reason by a court of competent jurisdiction, such
invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the
remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to any other person or situation.
* Section 7. Effective Date. This ordinance or a summary thereof shall be published
in the official newspaper of the City, and shall take effect and be in full force five days
after passage and publication as provided by law.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, at
a Regular Meeting thereof this — day of 2016.
ATTEST /AUTHENTICATED:
Christy O'Flaherty, MMC, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM BY:
Rachel B. Turpin, City Attorney
Allan Ekberg, Mayor
Filed with the City Clerk:
Passed by the City Council:
Published:
Effective Date:
Ordinance Number:
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im
Nora Gierloff
From: Nora Gierloff
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 12:42 PM
To: Nora Gierloff
Cc: Laurel Humphrey; Hoa Mai
Subject: Preventative Pest Control Proposal
Tukwila Property Owners and Managers,
Thanks to those who responded to my survey about pest management practices. The results were:
# Units
Proactive
Contract
Yearly Cost
Notes
Treatment
6
No
No
$
800
Service only when there is a problem
191
Yes
Yes
$
4,000
?
Yes
Yes
$
750
Multi -state Regional manager, all properties
have monthly visits with follow up if needed
104
Yes
Yes
$
864
2x per month with follow up if needed
114
Yes
Yes
$
8,303
Quarterly spraying and monthly rodent control
120
Yes
Yes
$
1,200
Monthly since 2010
109
Yes
Yes
$
3,136
1x per year to each unit and as needed, monthly
bait station checks
51
Yes
Yes
$5 -6,000
745 units total in King County, monthly service
It appears to be standard practice for larger complexes to have a maintenance contract with a pest control service. The
Tukwila City Council will be reviewing a proposal to require properties with 20 or more units to submit confirmation of
an ongoing pest inspection and treatment plan prepared by a company certified to perform integrated pest
management (IPM) as a condition of the annual rental housing license. After a few years we would evaluate whether
this has reduced the number of pest complaints.
If you have specific recommendations or concerns please get back to me by October 7th. The Community Affairs and
Parks Council Committee is tentatively scheduled to consider this item at their October 24th meeting. Links to agenda
materials are available the Friday before Council meetings at htt.La.e // wvwon ukwilawg.gov /c rL -council � .
Nora) (�ie,rL f
Deputy DCD Director
City of Tukwila
The City of opportunity, the community of choice.
1
Attachment B
W
20
Comments on the Proactive Pest Control Proposal
Michael J. Jansen, Principal Tecton Corporation:
My thought on this process is there must be an issue somewhere that has an owner neglecting
their responsibilities. Why not focus on this type of ownership versus adding costs to those
that are taking care of the issue. Also why 20 units? A 20 unit that has no issues will be
required to be under the focus while a 15 unit rat infested community will not. Address the
non - complaint owners.
Bryan Whiting, Manager Avalon Apartments
This new requirement is a disservice to good, responsible landlords. I spray the exterior of the
complex every 6 to 8 weeks, check bait boxes monthly and use AAA Pest Control and
Extermination whenever there is a specific issue in the complex. I am fine with the City
inspection requirement and in fact inspect all of the units every 6 months to keep on top of any
problems. However the requirement to have an ongoing contract with a company is too big a
burden when I am able to maintain the complex myself.
Rob Cravens
I see a lot of rats running around houses in the area of my complexes on S.142nd Street and
also shopping areas like Bartell Drugs located at 14277 Pacific Hwy. S. I was curious what the
city is doing about those pest issues?
We are doing our part controlling pests at our complexes but it seems to me local business and
houses in the area are not helping the situation as I don't see bait stations for rodents placed
outside at those properties!
Attachment C
21
22
19
October 6, 2016
NonaGiedoff
Fjw'MULTI
FAMILY
Deputy DCDDirector
H��������
City OfTukwila
02OUSOuihcenterBoulevard
Tukwila, WA
Re: Pest Control in Multifamily Housing
Dear Nora:
T: 425,656,9077
F: 425,656.9087
Thank you for the opportunity ho provide comment on the recent proposal
to require Integrated Pest Management /|PK4\certification on an annual
basin with the nen(o| housing license for 20+ unit rnu|iifonoUy properties.
The Washington Multi-Family Housing Association is the local affiliate of
the National Apartment Association. VVe represent owners and operators
of approximately 17O.00O rental units in the State ofWashington.
Particularly in the City of Tukwila, we represent owners and operators of
U32 units (nO separate communities. The issue of pest control came to
the City ofTukvvi|o'a attention by the principal of Foster High School, in
August 2015. |n her public testimony she discussed issues with her kids
coming from what she described om the "slums ofTVkVvi|u" ' with bites
from rats and infestation of other insects. She mentioned the high school
had decontamination stations to prevent transmission of insects through
students. |tio disappointing to hear children are living inhousing
conditions of this type.
State and local laws require pest nmanaqarnent control inrnultifarni|v
Specifically the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act requires a
landlord to "provide a reasonable program for the control of infestation by
inseots, rodantn, and other pests at the initiation of tenancy, and except in
the case of single-family reoidenma, control infestation during tenancy
except where such infestation ie caused by the tenmnt." RC|VV
The Tukwila Municipal Code goes further, adopting, with amendments,
the International Property Maintenance Code /|PK4C>. The |PMCrequires
pest free environments and requires the owner of any 2+ unit multifamily
UvVe||iD0 be responsible for pest elimination on the exterior of the
property. 309.1 et seq. Infestation that io caused bythe tenant within the
dwelling unit but isnot contained by the occupant becomes the owner's
responsibility, in part, aowell. Additional amendments t0 the |PMCbythe
City of Tukwila include identifying oo insects bed bugs and lice. -[IVIC
I She defined the area as the two blocks on each side of International Blvd.
8.28.020.8.v. Bed bugs and lice are not recognized by the |PMCaepests
and generally are infestations that would be caused bvatenant, The
Code also requires IPM programs for all nouhiharni|y buildings. 308,7.
MULTI
FAMILY The survey results indicate it is the standard practice for communities with
HOUSING
20 and more units to maintain a pro-active treatment and o contract with 8
pest control company. They are already maintaining a reasonable pest
control program as required by State |evv.
#Unhs
Proactive Treatment
Contract
6
No
No
r::zs,ssnaorr 191
Yes
Yes
F:*z5�sss.eoo, ?
Yes
Yes
104
Yes
Yes
114
Yes
Yes
120
Yes
Yes
109
Yes
Yes
51
Yes
Yes
These communities are also professionally rnanaoed, lessening the
degree to which defective conditions may exist. |tis not appropriate and
does not solve any existing pest control problems ho focus on large
multifamily oonnnnuniUeo when the crux of the problem exists in annaUar
communities. There are existing mechanisms within the current |avv to
prevent the type of pest infestation the Council is seeking t0remedy.
w
What problem is being addressed bv requiring e certification of
w
The proposal seeks h) further regulate 7%of rental properties in
Tukwila. What effect will o regulation have ifS3Y6of the rental
properties are not required to comply?
Moreover the most effective remedy b] defective conditions and hzthose
issues identified as health and safety issues in the rental inspection
ordinance is for tenants to be proactive in reporting defective oonditions,
including infestahon, to their rental housing providers. Rental housing
providers are best equipped to remedy a defective condition when the
condition ioknown. Barring tenant request to fix a defective condition, a
neOt8| housing provider will not know.
Fims|k/. the Community Affairs and Parks Committee any unintended
War— consequences that may result from any new regulations imposed on
multifamily properties. Namely increased rent due to increased
regulations. VVK8FHAie committed bm working with our members to
=
comply with existing law and provide 8n affordable and safe living
MULTI environment ho residents of the city ofTukwila.
FAMILY
OU����
Thank you for the opportunity t0 provide comment On this proposal. We
look forward to further discussion and being a resource for the City of
Tukwila on multifamily property issues,
Sincerely,
-�_
T:42ses59or/ ---
e4zsssaeoa/ Brett Waller
Deputy Director of Government Affairs
Washington Multi-Family Housing Association
co: City of Tukwila Community Affairs and Parks Committee