City Council - Regular Meeting

City of Bellingham City Council Regular Meeting Minutes December 6, 2021, 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. Legislative Assistant, Nalini Margaitis Please note the doors to City Hall unlock at 6:30 PM. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Council President Pro Tempore Lilliquist at 7:00 p.m. Announcements & Upcoming Meetings: Bellingham City Council meets all requirements of the State of Washington Open Public Meetings Act. 1. On December 13, 2021 at 7:00 PM there will be a Public Hearing on the consideration of an ordinance extending for six months the moratorium on redevelopment of any of the ten manufactured home parks in Bellingham 2. On December 13, 2021 at 7:00 PM there will be a Public Hearing to consider amendments to BMC 17.10 - Building Codes, modifying the recently adopted 2018 state energy code to require electrification of space and water heating, incremental improvements in energy efficiency, and solar installation or readiness measures in certain multi-family and commercial buildings 3. The next two City Council public comment sessions will be held at 7:00 PM on December 20 and December 27. Public comment sessions may be accessed via Zoom at: https://cob.org/commentzoom (Meeting ID: 923 0705 9297 Password: 018602) Roll Call Present: Council Member Gene Knutson, Second 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 Excused Council President Hannah Stone, First Ward City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 1 of 12 12/6/2021 Minutes Public Hearing 23179 1. Public Hearing on the Extension of the Franchise Agreement to Comcast Cable Communications Management, LLC In 2011, City Council entered into a 10-year Cable television franchise agreement with Comcast. That ten-year franchise term expires this year. Comcast officials have requested an extension of the franchise term, pursuant to Section 2.3 of the Franchise Agreement. The City and Comcast have reached a tentative agreement to extend the franchise with the same terms and conditions as the 2011 Franchise Agreement for five (5) additional years. Senior Assistant City Attorney, Sarah Chaplin, explained that the 10-year franchise term has expired and that this is regarding a renewal of the agreement (franchise agreement currently in place, approved in 2011). The final agreement includes: 5% franchise fee from Comcast gross revenues (maximum allowed under the Cable Act), where 1.25% of the fee goes towards operating BTV. The City and Comcast have come to an agreement to extend the contract exactly as written in 2011, for 5 additional years. Because the franchise fee is a set annual percentage, no budget adjustment is needed. The City is constrained by the Cable Act - a cable television provider may only be denied renewal of the franchise once it is already established in a community only if they're in default of the current franchise agreement and only if their proposals are not reasonable (the City would need to provide very well documented support displaying this lapse). Council President Pro Tempore opened the public hearing. One community member spoke during the public hearing. Todd Lagestee asked the Council to consider a one-year roll over and fix the agreement next year. Lagestee stated that this contract is essentially a give-away to a for profit corporation. He understands that there are limits in the agreement. He stated that the City negotiates harder for its Public Works and Fire. The City has had a surplus in its general fund every year since 2013, but the City has asked its employees to give up pay or benefits (e.g. furloughs). The cost burden of this franchise fee is passed on to its customer (constituents), Comcast does not actually pay it. The franchise agreement does not address climate change, it does not require for recycling of electronic waste, and it doesn't even tax the corporation in this agreement; everything is externalized onto its constituents. Nothing in the contract states initiative to establish municipal broadband in Bellingham (Anacortes is well ahead in its equity of broadband). Lagostee spoke of the negotiations against the Fire Department and urges the City to negotiates just as hard against for-profit companies. At the very least, he urges the City to address climate change in the agreement. City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 2 of 12 12/6/2021 Minutes  No one else spoke during the hearing. The public hearing was closed. Councilmembers provided comments. Gene Knutson / Daniel Hammill moved for first and second reading. MOTION CARRIED 5-1-1, Lisa Anderson opposed, and Hannah Stone excused. 23180 2. Public Hearing to Consider an Ordinance Amending the Infill Housing Toolkit Provisions of the Bellingham Municipal Code The Infill Housing Toolkit (ITK) was enacted in 2009 to allow and encourage the development of alternative housing forms and ownership opportunities. Staff has proposed a number of targeted amendments to the ITK provisions in BMC Titles 20, 21 and 23. The intent of the amendments is to further encourage the development of "missing middle" housing forms such as small lot single family homes, townhomes, duplexes, triplexes and cottage housing. Gregory Aucutt, Interim Planning Director, shared with the Council that the Infill Toolkit is working, people are using it, but it could be better with the minor changes requested. The overall objective of the amendments is to establish code provisions that result in pedestrian oriented development, create flexibility to achieve this objective for both infill and greenfield development, amend some development regulations for infill housing types to be more consistent with other permitted housing types in the same zoning designation, and streamline the application review process for small projects. Kathy Bell, Senior Planner, provided Council with a presentation, where she outlined what the landscapes should and should not look like. The minor modifications to the toolkit will include proposed amendments expanding applicability to include more discretion when: existing buildings on site or other extraordinary circumstance, greenfield development, mixed uses, will result in better design, will satisfy purpose/intent of chapter. Council President Pro Tempore opened the public hearing. David Stalheim applauded the City for addressing the housing challenges that the City faces. Stalheim stated that the area to be examined should be infill in multi-family areas. Will infill areas allow for shorter buildings? The ordinance allows for height of 35’ (townhouse), and a four-plex only at 25’, but multi-family zones allow 45’. Shouldn’t infill housing be allowed at least as tall as buildings as allowed in a multi- City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 3 of 12 12/6/2021 Minutes  family zones? Stalheim also inquired about offside parking. In multi-family zone, 2 spaces would only be required for a 3-bedroom unit, but this ordinance requires 2 parking spaces at a 1,000 sq ft regardless of bedroom count. Shouldn’t infill created more non-motorized options, instead of an increase in offsite parking? Does the City Council intend to say that an infill can only result in 6 units per acre, accommodating just 13-14 people in a medium density multi-family area? How does this help the City achieve future housing needs? Isn’t allowing this more suitable for single-family neighborhoods (lower height, less density, etc). Infill in multi-family areas should be address differently than infill in single-family areas. The City should be building up and in. More needs to be done in order to make this a successful infill program for multi- family areas. Doing away with public notices to adjacent property owners on “minor modification”, but not specifying what a minor modification is, will hurt the public trust. Modification needs to be done in an open and transparent manner. Todd Lagestee wanted to know how much of the infill toolkit creates more affordable housing ownership? If the City is building more rental units, then it does not promote home ownership. Two issues: wages and WWU externalizing housing onto its community. He wishes the City would push that WWU provide more student housing, instead of pushing increased density onto its non-student residents. Lagestee urged Councilmembers to participate in a ride-along with the fire department to understand how the neighborhoods with narrow streets that provide parking on these streets, affect the fire engines. He then provided an example of the difference between response times for the fire department showing for a wide strip with limited parking, they arrived in time and were able to rescue the family. In spring of 2013, the City did not make it on time – Larry Brink waited for a fire engine that did not arrive in time, Mr. Brink went back in to rescue his sister and they both died. These two examples were provided to illustrate the impact between narrow streets and fire engines. Paul Schissler, appreciates all the work that has gone into the improvement of the infill toolkit, and is hopeful that eventually this toolkit will expand to other housing zones. He addressed affordability and stated that he does not believe that any of these homes will be more affordable than market price. Schissler advocated for those below the medium income and addressed the need for this group to afford housing. He wants that 50% to be more affordable than market price. He stated that this would not impact the number of market-rate homes, but instead add more affordable housing for the half of the population that can no longer afford to live in Bellingham. He stated that there is a huge shortage and that it needs to be addressed. No one else spoke during the hearing. The public hearing was closed. Daniel Hammill / Hollie Huthman moved to bring this item to Committee of the Whole. City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 4 of 12 12/6/2021 Minutes  MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Hannah Stone excused. Mayor's Report Standing time for briefings, updates and reports to Council by the Mayor, if needed. Information only. 23181 1. Mayor's Reappointment of Dima Hart to the Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission (Information) Mayor Fleetwood reappointed Dima Hart as the King Mountain Neighborhood Primary Representative to her first full term, which will expire on December 27, 2023, at which time she may be reappointed. Community members are invited to participate in a survey regarding internet access and with potential opportunities of increasing availabilities of high-speed internet services. The survey is available in English and Spanish and is located at: www.cob.org/broadbandsurvey. The survey will remain available until 12/31/21. Paper copies are available at all Bellingham Public Library sites. Information gathered in this survey is critical in the work of the Bellingham Broadband Advisory Workgroup, which issues recommendations on increasing more robust delivery of broadband opportunity. The Mayor provided an update of the November flooding. The City continues with cleanup and repairs after a series of recent storms caused flooding throughout the region during the largest most impactful natural disaster in Whatcom county recorded in history. Specific damage to the City of Bellingham included: streets, bridges, parks, trails, and other City facilities. Repairs are well underway, including an emergency temporary bridge replacements (completed this weekend: South of Fairhaven where 19th St crosses Chuckanut Creek). Lingering impacts to City property was minimal. Total private and public property damage costs are not yet known. Many hundreds of our North Whatcom County neighbors experienced devastating losses. City staff are supporting recovery efforts by working at the County Emergency Operations Center. The Mayor stated that he is pleased with the response from state and federal representatives and thanked Congressmen Rick Larsen for his visit to the area on Saturday. The Mayor provided an update regarding City employees vaccinations. At the end of summer, the Mayor signed an order requiring all City employees be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 as a condition of City employment by December 3, 2021. As of today (12/6/2021), >97% of City employees are fully vaccinated. The remaining near 3% are unvaccinated employees with approved accommodations, or employees on approved leaves of absence (family, medical, or military) and who have not provided proof of vaccination because they are off work, as well as those who are in the final stages of City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 5 of 12 12/6/2021 Minutes  meeting the vaccination requirement. The Mayor is very glad to report the very high percentage of City employees who are now vaccinated, he regrets that 27 people chose to resign or be terminated. He recognizes that the loss of these staff members has impact on all of us, their services and contributions will be missed. The decision was not made lightly, but it does reflect his belief that vaccinations will help improve public health. The Mayor stated that he believes in our institutions (in this case, the CDC and the FDA), and trusts that their conclusions that vaccines are safe and effective and are the method by which we will move beyond this pandemic. The Mayor mentioned that he spoke with many staff members, both who supported the vaccinate mandate as well as those who did not. This led to challenging and sometimes painful personal conversations, both with the Mayor, as well as Department heads and the Human Resources team. The Mayor stated that he respects the reasons that staff have for their individual decisions. The actions taken by the City to implement the vaccination order have noting to do with anyone’s job performance or their dedication to public service. All staff on all sides of this issue have delivered to the community again and again. For those who have made the difficult decision to leave employment, (the City has included flexibility and a pathway for them to return to City employment, if they decide to do so), he values them an wishes them well. Public Comment Report The November 29, 2021 public comment session report will be provided during the regular Council meeting on December 12, 2021. Minutes have been posted to the website (www.meetings.cob.org). Council Standing Committee Meetings: Public Works and Natural Resources 10:00 AM Michael Lilliquist, Chair Gene Knutson, Lisa Anderson 23182 1. Post Point Resource Recovery Project Update Staff provided an update on the Post Point Rescource Recovery Project. This update included a summary of recent laboratory test results from the Post Point Resource Recovery Plant as well as a discussion of alternative project-delivery methods. The update was broken into two sections: testing results and project delivery. Samples were tested for Per-and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) compounds as requested by the Council on July 26, 2021. Comparisons to other studies and regulatory requirements were also presented. Furthermore, staff provided an update on the project, which included options for delivery of a multi-hundred- million-dollar project. The results: PFAS compounds were found in the waste, but that the levels were relatively low. As has been discussed, no national standards are currently in place for what are acceptable levels of exposure in biosolids as a result of City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 6 of 12 12/6/2021 Minutes  waste treatment. A couple of states have adopted standards, including Maine (Bellingham’s levels are toxic and enduring molecules, but they remain below Maine’s level). There was continued discussion on what that would mean if we continued with biosolids and did indeed have contaminants, what the available uses for those would be, the regulations would be, and what the cost would be for continuing with that as the approved method, or what the cost would be with other methods. This discussion will be continued with possibly altering or putting a pause to proceeding. For now, as an interim step, the City will continue to proceed along the pathway as initiated in 2017, to move towards bio digestion as a way to replace the current incineration technology for human waste at Point Point, which is energy intensive, polluting, destructive, and increasingly unviable. Staff requested Council to apply to the Washington State Project Review Board to use the General Contractor-Construction Manager project delivery method for the project. In this situation, a contractor is brought in early in the design process, so the design process can proceed based on their knowledge and understanding of how it would be built to reduce future problems and also to share the risk when the building processes occurred. Presentation during Committee. Michael Lilliquist / Gene Knutson moved to recommend approval to apply to the Washington State Project Review Board to use the General Contractor-Construction Manager project delivery method for the project. MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Hannah Stone excused. Planning 1:00 PM Lisa Anderson, Chair Daniel Hammill, Hollie Huthman 23183 1. Consideration of a Draft Ordinance Amending Certain Sections of the BMC to Improve the City’s Code Enforcement Procedures The majority of the current land use enforcement code in Chapter 20 is not well defined and is inconsistent between sections making enforcement challenging in some cases. In addition, it is lacking flexibility, as a violation of the land use code requires criminal misdemeanor charges if a property owner cannot or will not cooperate. Staff provided a proposal to update BMC that will clarify specific violations, improve the enforcement process, make initial violations of the land use code an infraction, and reserve criminal charges for repeat or more willful offenses. The proposal also provides an additional option of recording a notice of violation against the title of the property if the violation remains unresolved. Presentation during Committee. City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 7 of 12 12/6/2021 Minutes  Committee voted to pass this ordinance, to approve the City's code enforcement procedures and definitions. Lisa Anderson / Daniel Hammill moved for first and second reading. MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Hannah Stone excused. Committee Of The Whole 1:30 PM Hannah Stone, Chair Gene Knutson, 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. 23184 1. A Resolution Establishing Juneteenth as a City Holiday and Setting Forth the Revised City Holiday Schedule Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the emancipation of those who have been enslaved in the United States. Juneteenth became a federal holiday and a Washington State legal holiday earlier this year. The proposed resolution adopts Juneteenth as an official City holiday and also establishes Juneteenth as a paid holiday for City employees starting in 2022. Establishing Juneteenth as an official City holiday will bring awareness and consciousness to a crucial day in history. It also designates a day not just to reflect on the harms of the past, but to actively work towards dismantling discriminatory systems and creating an antiracist future in our city and country. By creating an additional City holiday, there will be some holiday and budgetary impacts, including $130,000 already included in the mid-biennium adjustments. Presentation during Committee. Michael Lilliquist / Lisa Anderson moved for approval. MOTION CARRIED and was thereafter named Resolution #2021-30 MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Hannah Stone excused. 23145 2. An Ordinance Amending the 2021-2022 Biennial Budget, Providing for Adoption of the Mid-Biennium Adjustments to the Biennial Budget Pursuant to the Terms of RCW 35.34.130 City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 8 of 12 12/6/2021 Minutes  This proposed ordinance is the culmination of the 2021-2022 Mid-Biennium Budget adjustment process that began in early October. It adds new Citywide revenues of $64.9M, including $12.6M in the General Fund, and Citywide expenditures of $66M, including $8.9M in the General Fund. It also adds, removes and changes budgeted positions throughout the City for a net increase of 49.5 full time equivalents (about half which are Firefighters or EMS response). The new budgeted total is $780 million for the biennium (revised 2021-2022 expenditures). Discussion during Committee. Michael Lilliquist / Gene Knutson moved for first and second reading. MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Hannah Stone excused. 23185 3. Council 2022 Work Plan Priorities The full Council discussed its work plan priorities for the upcoming year. Themes included: continued interest in environment, affordable housing, climate change, responding to homelessness and issues of mental and behavioral health, better ways to addressing public safety and policing reforms, the importance of continuing work on the waterfront, continued work on broadband initiatives, emergency sheltering, economic development, support from the tourism industry, support businesses recovering from the downturn, establishing greater library service, and enhancing communications to the public through social media and having more engagement opportunities (e.g. Town Hall) Councilmembers were asked to look at the Top Issues section of the website to determine if those in fact are the current issues, or if Council should add or remove some topics (and decide if the website needs to be updated to reflect current focus and priorities of the Council). New Councilmembers will also have an opportunity to weigh in during the upcoming meeting in 2022. Discussion during Committee. 4. Approval of Minutes Gene Knutson / Pinky Vargas moved approval of the November 22, 2021 minutes of the regular City Council meeting as submitted. MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Hannah Stone excused. 5. Old/New Business There was nothing to report during Old/New Businesses. City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 9 of 12 12/6/2021 Minutes Executive Session 2:30 PM Closed to the public. Report in the Regular Meeting only: 1. Potential Property Acquisition: Staff provided information on a potential property acquisition. For information and discussion. No action taken. 2. Potential Property Acquisition: Staff provided information on a potential property acquisition. For information and discussion. No action taken. 3. Potential Property Acquisition: Staff provided information on a potential property acquisition. For information and discussion. No action taken. 4. Potential Property Acquisition: Staff provided information on a potential property acquisition. For information and discussion. No action taken. 5. Potential Property Acquisition: Staff provided information on a potential property acquisition. For information and discussion. No action taken. 6. Potential Property Acquisition: Staff provided information on a potential property acquisition. For information and discussion. No action taken. 7. Litigation: Eldard v. City of Bellingham. Staff provided information on a litigation matter. Action: Entertain a motion to authorize the Mayor to enter into a contract with outside legal counsel to assist the City Attorney’s Office in representing the City of Bellingham in this lawsuit. Daniel Hammill / Pinky Vargas moved to recommend approval. MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Hannah Stone excused. 1. Potential Property Acquisition (Stamps, approx. 2 min) 2. Potential Property Acquisition (Stamps, approx. 2 min) 3. Potential Property Acquisition (Stamps, approx. 2 min) 4. Potential Property Acquisition (Stamps, approx. 3 min) 5. Potential Property Acquisition (Stamps, approx. 3 min) 6. Potential Property Acquisition (Stamps, approx. 3 min) City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 10 of 12 12/6/2021 Minutes  7. Litigation: Eldard v. City of Bellingham (Good, approx. 5 min) 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. 23186 1. Authorization of A/P Transactions Issued November 05, 2021 through November 12, 2021 23187 2. Authorization of A/P Transactions Issued November 13, 2021 through November 18, 2021 23188 3. Authorization of A/P Transactions Issued November 19, 2021 through November 24, 2021 23189 4. Authorization of Payroll Labor Cost Payments Dated November 01, 2021 to November 15, 2021 23190 5. Resolution Authorizing Submittal of Four Brian Abbott Fish Barrier Removal Board Grant Applications MOTION CARRIED and was thereafter named Resolution #2021-31 Gene Knutson / Daniel Hammill moved approval of the Consent Agenda in its entirety. MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Hannah Stone excused. Final Consideration of Ordinances 23170 1. Consideration of an Ordinance Accepting the Donation of the Pier at Little Squalicum Park from Lehigh Northwest Cement Company Gene Knutson / Hollie Huthman moved approval for third and final reading. Upon motion, said bill was placed on final passage and approved by the following roll call vote: AYES: Knutson, Hammill, Vargas, Anderson, Lilliquist, Huthman NAYS: (None) EXCUSED: Stone MOTION CARRIED and was thereafter named Ordinance 2021-12-050 MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Hannah Stone excused. City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 11 of 12 12/6/2021 Minutes 23174 2. An Ordinance Creating a Salary Commission Pinky Vargas / Gene Knutson moved approval for third and final reading. Upon motion, said bill was placed on final passage and approved by the following roll call vote: AYES: Knutson, Hammill, Vargas, Anderson, Lilliquist, Huthman NAYS: (None) EXCUSED: Stone MOTION CARRIED and was thereafter named Ordinance 2021-12-051 MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Hannah Stone excused. Adjournment There being no further discussion, the meeting adjourned at 8:52 PM. Hannah Stone, Council President ATTEST: Nalini Margaitis, Legislative Assistant APPROVED: 12/13/2021 City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 12 of 12 12/6/2021 Minutes