City Council - Regular Meeting

City of Bellingham City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 4, 2020, 7:00 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. Please note the doors to City Hall unlock at 6:30 PM. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Council President Knutson at 7:00 p.m. Announcements & Upcoming Meetings: Bellingham City Council meets all requirements of the State of Washington Open Public Meetings Act. Pledge of Allegiance Led by Council Member Stone. Roll Call Present: Council President Gene Knutson, Second Ward Council Member Hannah Stone, First Ward Council Member Daniel Hammill, Third 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 Public Hearing 22599 1. Public Hearing on an Emergency Ordinance Imposing a Moratorium on the Processing of Applications for Detached Single-Family Development in Multi- Family Zones Kurt Nabbefeld, Development Services Manager, explained that the public hearing is on an Emergency Ordinance imposing a moratorium prohibiting the processing of applications for detached single-family development in multi-family zones. On March 9, 2020, the City Council enacted the emergency moratorium and as required by state law, a public hearing must be conducted within 60 days. The hearing is intended to fulfill the state requirement. At the end of the hearing, the Council may amend the moratorium ordinance, rescind the ordinance, or take no action which effectively City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 1 of 6 5/4/2020 Minutes  continues the moratorium. The moratorium prohibits the acceptance, review, or issuance of any land use or building application or permit for the construction of any new detached single-family residence in any and all multi-family zones. The moratorium was adopted to preserve land designated for multi-family development. Council President Knutson opened the public hearing. Public Comment was taken. Ralph Black, stated that any concern of rapid expansion of building in multi-family zones has come to a dramatic halt. The current circumstances due to the virus have bought staff some time to review any building plans that may come in. He feels the moratorium is unnecessary. Bill Geyer, objects to the moratorium. He suggests staff look at the decreased land supply and exclusionary zoning rather than enact building moratoriums. Because the City has made significant land purchases, it has eliminated possible development sites for single-family and multi-family zones. He also explained that exclusionary zoning removes large parcels of buildable land. He requested the Council dismiss the moratorium and direct the staff to docket the comprehensive plan and rezones for all areas designated RS 20,000 and RS 15,000 square foot zones to higher densities. Deborah Sary, objects to the emergency moratorium. She outlined that the area near her residence had building development planned. But now it is delayed. She does not feel an emergency moratorium is warranted at this time. She would like to see younger people have opportunities to purchase affordable single-family zones. While the focus seems to be on multi-family housing, there has been little supportive infrastructure built and accommodate the traffic from the buildings. She thanked all for their service to the community. Perry Eskridge, of the Realtors Association, disagrees with the emergency moratorium. He outlined that with the adoption of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan, the staff flipped the consumer preference of single-family homes to multi-family homes and have favored multi-family home buildings. He remembers discussing with staff that any remaining land in the City that was available for building single-family homes, would dwindle if this type of building continued. His voiced concern that the City staff refuse to listen to recommendations from building industry experts. Jennifer Sefzik, explained that as a candidate for the 42nd District, she objects to the moratorium and feels the impact fees are prohibitive. She listed steps she feels would help solve the housing crisis within Bellingham. They include first, reduce permit, connection, and impact fees. Second, accelerate the permit approval timeline. Third, because licensing and inspection fees for property owners frequently get passed onto renters, this drives up the cost of housing. If the regulations are reduced, the costs of City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 2 of 6 5/4/2020 Minutes  housing go down. Fourth, increase the inventory of buildable land. A shortage of buildable land equals more expensive housing. She listed ways the City staff can work to implement the suggestions and change the amount of housing inventory to benefit the residents of the City. Cal Leenstra, explained that he owns four vacant lots on Patton Street that are ideal for single-family residents. He wondered what would be accomplished if a four-plex would be built on the lots instead of single-family dwellings. The taxable residences of a four-plex would be less than four individual residences. He reminded Council that he sent an email to them earlier explaining his thoughts in more detail. He urged Council to vote "no" on the moratorium ordinance. Rick Sepler, Planning and Community Development Director, pointed out that the multi-family zoned areas of the City must be preserved for multi-family buildings. No action was taken by Council and the ordinance stands. There being no further comments, the public hearing was closed. Council Member Lilliquist explained that it is unfortunate that it's called an "emergency" in the sense that it is not an emergency. There is no rush to action. It is a pause and hold on usage of the buildable land. It is not meant to stand in the way of density, but to prevent underbuilding. Kurt Nabbefeld, clarified that underbuilding is happening and the ordinance does not limit single-family dwelling from being built. The In-fill tool kit should be utilized. No action was taken by Council. Mayor's Report Standing time for briefings, updates and reports to Council by the Mayor, if needed. Information only. Mayor Fleetwood, announced that the staff that will be giving updates on work being done during the COVID-19 crisis. The Governor gave an address last week. The City is continuing to follow his leadership and the Safe Start Washington plan. Presentation 22593 1. Update on COVID-19 from Bellingham Emergency Management Brian Heinrich, Deputy Administrator, gave a summary of employee activity in the last month. He explained that 851 of 954 City employees are working remotely or on-site. I.T. has worked very hard to provide instruction, resources, and support to employees City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 3 of 6 5/4/2020 Minutes  so they can work safely from home. Human Resources provides the essential function of payroll and employee issues. Legal staff work on many issues including guidance for tonight's public hearing and forthcoming ordinances. The Finance team works to process payments and contracts. Eric Johnston, Interim Public Works Director, explained how the operators at the Water and Wastewater Sewer Plants are taking precautionary measures to stay safe and maintain social distancing while working. The Fleet Department continues to support essential functions by ensuring Fire and Police vehicles are maintained and repaired. Tara Sundin, Economic Development Manager, provided an overview of proposed Housing and Human Services Response to the COVID pandemic. The City has increased funds in contracts with the Opportunity Council and Lydia Place, by approximately $400,000 that increases rental assistance. The City will receive $495,000 in a Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) that comes from Housing and Urban Development as part of the CARES ACT. At the June 8th Council Meeting, she plans to present an action plan for Council to consider that includes the budget and projects that are planned for deployment. The areas of focus will include, housing security, food security, social services (in general), and childcare. Bill Hewett, Fire Chief, gave an update from Unified Command. He reported that they are working to support for the Light House Mission Drop-in Center, the Byron Street quarantine facility, and food distribution providers. Currently, there are no persons utilizing the facility. Unified Command is working to line up additional medical facilities that could be used if a wave of virus infections occur. Currently Peace Health is running at 68%-70% occupancy with the ability to expand if needed. Tomorrow Washington State begins Phase 1 of Safe Start Washington with a minimum of three weeks between each phase. Erika Lautenbach, Director of the Whatcom County Health Department, discussed increasing capacity for testing, contact tracing, assisting businesses, non-profit organizations, and faith communities for preparing them for Phases 2-4. Some community members have asked if Whatcom County could apply for a variance and bypass the first Phase and move into Phase 2. Whatcom County does not meet the criteria because the population is too high. She reported that last week the Health Department saw double the amount of cases than in the prior week. The Health Department has provided additional symptoms to health care providers. This guidance comes from the CDC that they announced last week. Testing capacity is at 2,400 individuals a day in Whatcom County. Peace Health and NW Laboratories opened for testing. Testing is for symptomatic only. Asymptomatic testing is available if they are in close contact with a positive case and/or exposed to a cluster community. The University of Washington is working on an antibody test. However, the antibody City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 4 of 6 5/4/2020 Minutes  testing does not provide a reassurance that an individual is immune to the virus or if that immunity will be sustained over time. Council Members asked questions of presenters. City Agenda Bill Items 22631 1. Bid Award for Meridian Street Water Quality Improvements, BID # 26B-2020 Daniel Hammill / Pinky Vargas moved to award Bid No. 26B-2020 for Meridian Street Water Quality Improvements to Razz Construction Inc. of Bellingham, WA as the lowest responsive, responsible bidder and to authorize the Mayor to enter into a contract with them for the amount of their bid, which is $1,423,942.50, which includes any applicable WSST. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Council Standing Committee Meetings: City Council Business 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. 1. Approval of Minutes Daniel Hammill / Hollie Huthman moved approval of the April 27, 2020 minutes of the regular City Council meeting as submitted. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 2. Old/New Business Council Member Vargas reminded community members where they can find information to support local businesses at www.bellingham.org or www.bellingham.com. Both sites provide business resources. Council Member Anderson, announced that this week the Cascadia Women's Film Festival will be online. You can find tickets at www.cascadefilmfest.org. The festival runs from May 7 - 14, 2020. City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 5 of 6 5/4/2020 Minutes Consent Agenda All matters listed on the Consent Agenda are considered routine and/or non-controversial items and may be approved in a single motion. A member of the Council may ask that an item be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered separately. 22632 1. Authorization of A/P Checks Issued April 23, 2020 22633 2. Authorization of Payroll Labor Cost Payments for the Period Dated April 1 - April 15, 2020 Daniel Hammill / Lisa Anderson moved approval of the Consent Agenda in its entirety. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM. Gene Knutson, Council President ATTEST: Elisabeth Oakes, Deputy City Clerk APPROVED: 5/18/2020 City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 6 of 6 5/4/2020 Minutes