City Council - Committee Of The Whole

City of Bellingham Committee of the Whole Minutes October 12, 2020, 2:15 PM Mayor Seth Fleetwood Contact: (360) 778-8200, ccmail@cob.org Council Members Hannah Stone, Gene Knutson, Daniel Hammill, www.cob.org/council Pinky Vargas, Lisa Anderson, Michael Lilliquist and All meetings are held in the City Hall Council Chambers at Hollie Huthman 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA, unless otherwise noted. Call to Order Roll Call Present: Council President Gene Knutson, Second Ward Council Member Hannah Stone, First Ward Council Member Pinky Vargas, Fourth Ward Council Member Lisa Anderson, Fifth Ward Council Member Michael Lilliquist, Sixth Ward Council Member Hollie Huthman, At-Large Excused: Council Member Daniel Hammill, Third Ward Council Standing Committee Meetings: Open to the public to attend. Note: there is generally no public comment period for Committee sessions. Standing Committee Members receive reports and information, ask questions and, when appropriate, vote on a recommended action for consideration by the full Council at the Regular Meeting. The notice of Committee Meetings identified below also serves as notice of Special Meetings of the City Council at the times identified as Council Members who are not members of the committee routinely attend and participate in the Committee Meetings. Committee Chairs give a report of the Committee Meeting at the Regular Meeting in the evening prior to deliberation and formal vote in the order shown below: Committee of the Whole Gene Knutson, Chair Hannah Stone, Daniel Hammill, Pinky Vargas, Lisa Anderson, Michael Lilliquist, Hollie Huthman Please be advised that if the City Council is ahead of schedule, they may start with old/new business before the official Committee of the Whole meeting time. 22780 1. Puget Sound Energy Update p. 3 Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 1 October 12, 2020  Carryn Vande Griend, Puget Sound Energy's representative, provided an update on storm preparedness and the agency's response and restoration plan for storm outages, and customer safety information. Information only. 22781 2. Hearing Examiner Annual Report to Council p. 18 Sharon Rice, Hearing Examiner, provided a report of this year's cases. She has had three conditional use permit (CUPs) for oversized single-family residences, one infill housing/subdivision project, eight subdivisions including subdivision variance, one plat alteration, one 1.5 -Rule subdivsion, two CUPs for oversized detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs) and has not had an challenges in the ordinances as written, three CUPs to expand legal nonconforming uses (including the Armory), one critical areas variance, one adaptive use permit, four Public Works variances, three right-of-way vacations, and one shoreline conditional use/shoreline substantial development permit. The subdivision ordinance that was passed last year has been applied to several cases without any problems. A full report was provided to Council Members. Information only. 22573 3. Overview of Current and Proposed Shelters, Facilities and Programs p. 25 Available to Serve Those Unsheltered Community Members Currently in Unapproved Encampments Samya Lutz, Housing and Services Program Manager, provided an overview of current and proposed shelters, facilities and programs available to service those unsheltered currently in unapproved encampments. Tara Sundin, Economic Development Manager, shared that the winter shelter capacity will be able to serve about 490 guests. Base Camp capacity is serving about 20% more people than it did this same time last year. Total emergency shelter capacity has increased by at least 34% in less than a year. Lt Crass, Police Department, informed Council on the clean-up efforts of encampments in parks and trails and other public lands. The City has an obligation to keep up the health and safety of the environment of creeks, wetlands, and property. He shared a Fact vs. Fiction slide that listed facts and myths. Clean-ups are complaint driven and have camps that have minimal impact on health, safety, and the environment can remain in place. The Police do not actively search for camps. Indiscriminate sweeps are not conducted, and clean-ups are prioritized, and notification is given prior to the scheduled clean- up date. The Homelss Outreach Team tries to connect occupants to shelters, community resources, and services. Personal property is identified (if possible) Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 2 October 12, 2020  and valuables that are left behind are retained at the Bellingham Police Department for possible retrieval. Council Members asked questions. 4. Approval of City Council Committee and/or Special Meeting Minutes Hollie Huthman / Michael Lilliquist moved approval of the Committee Meeting minutes of September 28, 2020 as presented. MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Dan Hammill excused. 5. Old/New Business The Mayor provided a briefing about an on-going investigation on weekend activity. Fliers with swatstikas on them had been distributed around town. The Police Department are investigating the incident as a hate crime and asking residents not to remove any stickers but report them to the Police. Chief Doll, reported that five reports have been taken. Council Member Stone asked if the stickers should be removed or remain there. She expressed concern for community members and the impact it has on them if they remain up. Chief Doll explained that after they are reported, Police staff will remove and impound them. Adjournment Committee of the Whole adjourned into Executive Session at 3:46 PM to discuss the following item: Potential Litigation: Claim No. 2020-27 (Brady, approx. 15 min) Council President Gene Knutson reconvened Committee of the Whole to adjourn at 4:02 PM. Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 3 October 12, 2020