City Council - Public Works and Natural Resources Committee

City of Bellingham Public Works and Natural Resources Committee Minutes November 8, 2021, 10:00 AM Mayor Seth Fleetwood Contact: (360) 778-8200, ccmail@cob.org Council Members, Michael Lilliquist, Chair www.cob.org/council Gene Knutson, Lisa Anderson All meetings are held in the City Hall Council Chambers at 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA, unless otherwise noted. Call to Order Roll Call Council Standing Committee Meeting 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: Public Works and Natural Resources Michael Lilliquist, Chair Gene Knutson, Lisa Anderson 23159 1. Request for Sewer Service at 4909 Samish Way p. 3 The existing residence at 4909 Samish Way has been informed by the Whatcom County Health Department that the septic system that serves the residence has failed. The property is located outside of City limits. The property owners are requesting to enter into a contract with the City of Bellingham for retail sewer service as allowed under Bellingham Municipal Code Section 15.36. Staff recommended approval of the contract. Michael Lilliquist read aloud section B 10-36-10: one of the reasons for extending sewer services, because the expansion is deemed necessary to protect the public health and safety of the environment. MOTION CARRIED 3-0. Gene Knutson moved to recommend approval. MOTION CARRIED 3-0. Public Works and Natural Resources Committee Minutes Page 1 November 8, 2021 23137 2. Work Session to Consider a Resolution and Ordinance Modifying p. 17 Parking Fees and Regulations in Downtown and Fairhaven Staff presented recommended changes to the City’s public parking regulations, including an increase in rates for on-street and off-street public parking, increase in parking fines for violations, and changes to the City’s Parking Management Zones. The changes require various code amendments and passage of a fee resolution. That staff’s recommendations were intended to implement policies established by the Council including the Downtown Bellingham Plan, the Fairhaven Parking Task Force Final Report, the Comprehensive Plan and the Climate Action Plan. The policies informed parking management strategies in three areas: convenience for users; managing demand in high occupancy areas; and reinvestment into the areas that are impacted by charging for parking. During the previous meeting, the Council requested a Work Session to discuss the proposed changes. Several issues were discussed: Changing the parking time from 11AM - 6PM (instead of 7PM), market price, value, price for managing parking, progressive parking rates, limits in technology (parking meters) and lack of technology in Fairhaven to install immediate progressive parking, and the impact on low- income residents in the Fairhaven neighborhood. Public Works Director, Eric Johnson, recommended not to take action today and instead to gain feedback from the Council. No conclusions were made. Another work session will be scheduled. Prior to the work session, the Transportation Commission (a citizen advisory body), will also meet and provide recommendations. Prior to final approval, this item will return to the Committee of the Whole for a discussion. Direction requested. 23130 3. Public Street Right-of-Way Fundamentals Part 3 of 3 p. 152 This was the third and final part of the rights-of-way series, presented by Eric Johntson, Mike Olinger and Brandon Brubaker. The focus of this presentation was on sidewalk and alleyway maintenance (including the difference between an improved and unimproved alley) and a review of the Larrabee/21st Street pilot project. An unimproved alley is an alley right-of-way that has not been improved to city standards (including city permitting) but may have been improved by adjacent property owners to less than city standard without going through a permit Public Works and Natural Resources Committee Minutes Page 2 November 8, 2021  process. Unimproved ROWs are maintained by the adjacent property owners as the owner of the underlying fee interest in the ROW. Unimproved ROWs can be utilized for access and convenience of the abutting property owners. The Larrabee Pilot Project (Happy Valley Neighborhood): A section of public ROW with no improvements in early 2020, and next to it a stormwater utility property (owned by the City). The neighborhood requested a trail to be placed in this property. The City denied this, because it is not recognized for trail use. Instead, the City worked with the Happy Valley Neighborhood Association to make improvements. The result: the stormwater utility built an access road to the storm drainage that goes through the public ROW. In total, this cost the City was $40,350 (Surface and Stormwater Utility O&M). The Neighborhood Association spent $30,412 through in-kind activities (work parties and donations). Ultimately, this is neither a trail nor a sidewalk. Instead, it is strictly a stormwater utility function. Information only. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:35 AM. Public Works and Natural Resources Committee Minutes Page 3 November 8, 2021