City Council

NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING Mount Vernon City Council PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Mount Vernon City Council will be holding a special meeting on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers of the Police/Court Campus, 1805 Continental Place, Mount Vernon, WA. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and take action on the items listed on the attached agenda. _____________________________ Doug Volesky, Finance Director Copies provided to: ____Beaton ____Brocksmith ____Carias ____Hudson ____Hulst ____Moberg ____Molenaar ____KBRC ____KAPS ____Skagit Valley Herald ____Skagit County Commissioners  CITY OF MOUNT VERNON SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION Agenda October 30, 2019 - 7:00 p.m. Police/Court Campus A. Public Hearing – Continuation of Regulations for Severe Weather Shelters (This is a public hearing to allow testimony regarding severe weather shelters. Council adopted interim regulations by ordinance in March 2019 allowing severe weather shelters for the homeless. This ordinance would continue these regulations with a work plan.) (required action – ordinance) (staff contact – Rebecca Lowell) B. Open Record Public Hearing – Review Revenue Sources for the 2020 Budget and Discuss Setting 2020 Property Taxes (Staff will review revenue estimates for 2019 and 2020, and will discuss with Council setting the 2020 property taxes for the City.) (required action – none) (staff contact – Doug Volesky) COMMITTEE MEETINGS Committee of the Whole 6:00 p.m. Next Ordinance 3794 Next Resolution 972  AGENDA ITEM: A DATE: October 30, 2019 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: Rebecca Lowell SUBJECT: Public Hearing Regarding the Re-Adoption of Interim Regulations and a Work Program for Severe Weather Shelters RECOMMENDED ACTION: Council adoption of the accompanying Ordinance that declares an emergency and re-adopts interim regulations and a work program related to severe weather sheltres for the homeless. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: On March 13, 2019 Council adopted Ordinance 3780 (attached) amending Chapter 8.50 MVMC to allow severe weather shelters. Staff is requesting adoption of an Ordinance to continue these regulations with a work plan. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: As required by law, the City is holding a public hearing, re-adopting interim regultions and a work program. RECOMMENDATION: Adopt the accompanying Ordinance that ratifies and continues the regulations adopted through Ordinance 3780 for a six-month period of time with an associated work program. ATTACHED: Ordinance 3780 Ordinance 3783 Proposed Ordinance for Council’s consideration  ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON, WASHINGTON, DECLARING AN EMERGENCY, ADOPTING AND RENEWING INTERIM REGULATIONS AND A WORKPLAN TO ESTABLISH PERMANENT REGULATIONS TO ADDRESS SEVERE WEATHER SHELTERS TO PROVIDE TEMPORARY HOUSING OF THE HOMELESS DURING SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS. WHEREAS, the Mount Vernon City Council (Council) adopted Ordinance 3780 declaring an emergency and adopting interim control regulations for severe weather shelters; and WHEREAS, consistent with RCW 35A.63.220 and RCW 36.70A.390, the Council held a public hearing within sixty days and adopted Ordinance that confirmed, and continued the interim land use regulations adopted through Ordinance 3780; and WHEREAS, due to the complexities involved with drafting regulations involving temporary homeless shelters, and to ensure a through and robust public process the Development Services Department has created a work plan in which the Council adopts herein; and WHEREAS, a public hearing and notice was published in the Skagit Valley Herald on October 26, 2019 providing notice of a public hearing on continuing interim regulation regarding severe weather shelters to be held at a regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council on October 30, 2019; and WHEREAS, RCW 35A.63.220 and RCW 36.70A.390, as well as interpretative judicial decisions, authorize adoption of interim zoning controls and regulations with certain limitations, including the renewal of interim zoning regulations for one or more six month periods if a subsequent public hearing is held and findings of fact are made prior to each renewal; and WHEREAS, On October 30, 2019 the City held a public hearing regarding the interim controls proposed herein. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON, WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION ONE. Recitals Incorporated. That the City Council adopts the recitals set forth above as findings justifying adoption of this Ordinance and incorporates those recitals as if set forth fully herein. SECTION TWO. Findings. That the City Council adopts the following as additional findings of fact justifying adoption of this Ordinance enacting the interim and official controls herein. The Council may adopt additional findings in the event that additional public hearings are held or evidence presented to the City Council. 1. RCW 35A.63.220 and RCW 36.70A.390 authorize cities to adopt interim zoning and interim official controls to preserve the public safety, health, welfare, economic vitality and continued economic growth of the City while new plans and regulations are considered and prepared and to hold a public hearing at the time of adoption or within 60 days of the commencement of the interim zoning and interim official controls. The City adopted such an emergency ordinance by adoption of Ordinance 3732 and held a public hearing on its continuance within 60 days at a regularly scheduled hearing. The City has not completed its study of the issue and needs more time to consider and prepare new plans and regulations regarding emergency severe weather shelters; and 2. After hearing all public testimony, reviewing staff reports, the City’s Comprehensive Plan and the legislative record in its entirety the City Council ratifies and re-adopts all findings of fact previously  adopted within Ordinance 3732 in their entirety (including recitals therein) justifying that: i) an emergency exists and ii) the continuance of interim controls regulating severe weather shelters is justified until the City can fully study the issue and that permanent development regulations be adopted through the City’s normal process; and 3. That without the continuance of interim controls set forth herein, there is great potential that unregulated emergency severe weather shelters could be sited or allowed to operate in an unregulated manner or that severe weather shelters would not otherwise be allowed under current zoning resulting in well recognized adverse direct and secondary impacts including but not limited to negative impacts to: noise, light pollution, sanitation; traffic, crime, violence, transportation levels of service, litter, risk of fire, risk to and exposure to vulnerable classes of persons such as children under the age of 18 to severe weather events, and 4. As set forth in its findings adopted in Ordinance 3783 which are hereby incorporated in this Ordinance, the City Council affirms that, pending completion of permanent development regulations pertaining to severe weather shelters and the adoption of permanent zoning and permitting regulations, that severe weather shelters without such regulation tailored to public safety, health, and welfare issues will continue to cause direct, secondary, and cumulative negative impacts in the community or otherwise not be permitted; and 5. That full public participation and thorough study of the impacts in the community have not been completed and are ongoing; and 6. That in the absence of adoption of this ordinance current city regulations do not address emergency severe weather accommodations or mitigate health and safety impacts to the satisfaction and protection of both the persons in need for accommodation including the homeless community and the surrounding neighborhoods; and 7. That an emergency exists within the City, and that adoption of the proposed interim regulations herein is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, welfare, economic vitality and continued economic growth of the City until additional review has been completed and any necessary code revisions have been adopted by the City Council and is a legitimate exercise of the City’s police power. SECTION THREE. Work Program. The City Council hereby directs that the Development Ser vi ces Depart ment conti nue thei r study of the issue of severe weather shelters for the homeless within the City and including drafting proposed permanent regulations to be considered through the City's public participation process including allowing for public input and providing for public hearings at both the Planning Commission and City Council. Additionally, the City Council adopts the work program accompanying this Ordinance identified as Exhibit C and hereby incorporates this work program as if set forth fully herein. SECTION FOUR. Interim Regulations Adopted. That the City Council adopts the following interim land use regulations.  Chapter 8.50 SEVERE WEATHER SHELTERS Sections: 8.50.010 Purpose and Objective. 8.50.020 Definitions. 8.50.030 Determination of a severe weather event. 8.50.040 Permitting of severe weather shelters. 8.50.010 Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to allow for emergency shelters and implement procedural and substantive regulations to coordinate public and private resources and address impacts to public health and safety when temperatures or other conditions outside could pose an immediate danger to the health, safety, and welfare of unsheltered people and there is a need to provide emergency, temporary, severe weather shelters. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to religious organizations to the extent they are exempted by the provisions of RCW 35A.2 l .360. 8.50.20 Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, certain terms are defined in this section. A. "Basic Building Safety Standards" means the below listed conditions are met in building(s) used/operated as a "severe weather shelter" as defined herein: 1. The property or building is of sufficient size to accommodate the proposed number of residents and the on-site facilities required by this section. 2. Adequate provision shall be made for the provision of drinking water, disposal of human waste, disposal of garbage and other solid waste, and the provision of other services. Adequate access for fire and emergency medical apparatus shall be provided. 3. Adequate means of exiting the facility shall be provided including safe and unobstructed travel distances from portions of the shelter's sleeping area to egress doors. 4. Adequate fire alarm system(s) installed that complies with current fire code. 5. Adequate heating system in compliance with current building, mechanical, and fire codes. The Fire Marshal and/or Building Official has authority to place specific conditions to severe weather shelters in order to satisfy the criteria above and to place any other requirements on structures used/operated as "severe weather shelters" to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of prospective occupants and the general public. Attached as Exhibit A are illustrative but not exhaustive examples of permissible means of achieving compliance for some of the standards set forth in this subsection. B. "Mayor" means the City of Mount Vernon's Mayor, the Mayor pro tempore, or his/her appointed designee. C. "Severe weather" means the following: 1. A period of two or more days where temperatures are forecasted by the National Weather Service (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) or actually reach 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below. This may include the National Weather Service Wind Chill Chart found in Exhibit B to determine if a combination of forecasted wind & temperature combinations result in a corrected temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit; and/or 2. Snow accumulation exceeding or expected to exceed three inches in depth; and/or 3. Other conditions deemed severe enough to present a substantial threat to life or health. This includes but is not limited to: a. Severe weather alerts/warnings by reputable weather services or emergency providers; or b. Flooding or flood alerts/warnings by the National Weather Service involving waters located in the City; or  c. Other major adverse events resulting from natural processes of the Earth such as mudslides, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and other geologic processes. D. "Severe weather shelter" or "shelter" means a building(s) owned and/or operated by a religious establishment, fraternal organization, public agency or other entity that meets basic building safety standards for temporarily housing homeless persons as determined by the city's Building Official and the city's Fire Marshal. 8.50.30 Determination of a severe weather event. A. The Mayor is responsible for determining a severe weather event as defined in Section 2.40.020. The Mayor may consult with the Skagit County Department of Emergency Management when making a determination under Section 2.40.0I O(C).The Mayor is also responsible for determining when a severe weather event has concluded. B. The Mayor shall immediately notify the city council, city police department, fire department and Skagit County Department of Emergency Management upon making a determination of a severe weather event. A list of known severe weather shelters may be provided with the notification. 8.50.40 Permitting of severe weather shelters. A. Once a determination of a severe weather event is made, the Building Official is authorized to issue a temporary use permit as provided for in the International Building Code Section I 08 for severe weather shelters. The permit shall be considered a Type I permit pursuant to MVMC 14.05.050 B I. The limit as to time of service for operating a severe weather shelter shall not extend more than two days beyond the cessation of the severe weather conditions. B. A temporary use permit is required before operating a severe weather shelter. There is no fee for the temporary use permit. A notice of the temporary use permit issuance shall be given to the emergency service providers such as Skagit County Department of Emergency Management, police and fire departments, and other fire and emergency response agencies and to social service organizations serving the homeless. Such temporary use permit shall be valid during a severe weather event.  Exhibit A (Severe Weather Shelter Guidelines) FOR STRUCTURES THAT DO NOT HAVE AUTOMATIC FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS INSTALLED: 1. The occupancy shall not exceed one person per 100 square feet of floor area designated for sleep areas. 2. One toilet and one sink for every 50 occupants and refuse receptacles meeting the requirements of the city's solid waste division. 3. Exit doors that comply with all of the following: a. The minimum size of any exit door shall be 44-inches. The total width of exit doors shall be calculated by taking the occupant load and multiplying it by 0.2-inches (for example, if a severe weather shelter had an occupancy of 300 the total width of its egress doors would be required to be no less than 60-inches). b. No less than two exit doors shall be provided. c. All exit doors shall swing in the direction of egress travel. 4. The travel distance from all portions of the shelter's sleeping area to its egress doors shall be no more than 75 feet. Said travel distance shall be an unobstructed width of no Jess than 44-inches. 5. An automatic, commercial, fire alarm system installed that complies with current fire code. 6. A minimum of two (2) qualified personnel shall be on duty when the shelter is open. One of the staff members is to remain in the sleeping area at all times. The other member is required to inspect the premises and building every 30 minutes and complete (and maintain subject to inspection by the city officials) the below­ described activity Jog. The activity log shall include all of the following. a. Name of the person completing the log b. Date and time of activity c. Inspection of exit doors for operation, clear pathways, and to make sure they are not locked or blocked from the inside. These inspections shall occur every 30 minutes. d. Inspection of unoccupied and occupied areas. These inspections shall occur every 30 minutes. c. Inspection of fire extinguishers before the encampment opens every evening. f. Inspection and testing of emergency lights and exit signs before the shelter opens every evening. g. Garbage cans emptied daily while the shelter is in operation. h. Inspection to make sure that emergency evacuation plan is posted at all exits in the sleeping area before the shelter opens every day/night. 1. Verify that the emergency evacuation plan is practiced by occupants each and every day the shelter is in operation. J. Verify that information is compiled in writing and provided to the staff in charge that lists/describes each of the occupants at the shelter every day the shelter is in operation. This form will be used to account for everyone in the building in the event of an emergency 7. The two shelter staff on duty shall have certified fire extinguisher training in the last12 months. Each member shall have their card upon request. 8. No cooking in the structure will be allowed. 9. No smoking or open flame allowed in building. Smoking may take place at least 25 feet from the building. Smoking materials to be place in an approved metal container. Smoking signs to be posting in areas where occupants are permitted 10. The buildings fire alarm(s) shall be operational at all times, if the fire alarm becomes inoperable for any reason the shelter shall be closed until the alarm is repaired. 11. Partitions (if used) shall be non-combustible or limited so that it is not easily ignited by open flame. FOR STRUCTURES THAT HAVE AUTOMATIC FIRE SPRINKLERS AND AUTOMATIC FIRE ALARMS INSTALLED: 1. The occupancy shall not exceed that which the exiting door widths would allow per the IBC adopted by the City. 2. One toilet and one sink for every 50 occupants and refuse receptacles meeting the requirements of the city's solid waste division. 3. Exit doors that comply with all of the following: a. The minimum size of any exit door shall be 44-inches. The total width of exit doors shall be calculated by taking the occupant load and multiplying it by 0.2-inches (for example, if a severe weather shelter had an occupancy of 300 the total width of its egress doors would be required to be no less than 60-inches). b. No less than two exit doors shall be provided. c. Where the occupant load more than 49 all exit doors shall swing in the direction of egress travel. 4. The travel distance from all portions of the shelter's sleeping area to its egress doors shall be no more than 200 feet. Said aisle width shall not be less than that which is identified in the IBC adopted by the City for the occupant load permitted, as determined by the Building Official. EXHIBIT B SECTION FIVE. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this O r d inance should be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of any other section, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance. SECTION SIX. Savings Clause. All previous ordinances which may be repealed in part or their entirety by this ordinance, shall remain in full force and effect until the effective date of this ordinance. SECTION SEVEN. Effective Date and Declaration of Emergency. The City Council hereby declares that an emergency exists necessitating that this Ordinance take effect immediately upon passage by a majority plus one of the whole membership of the Council, and that the same is not subject to a referendum. Without an immediate interim regulation on the City's acceptance of business licenses, building applications, permits or other types of land use/development permits/approvals, such applications could become vested under regulations subject to change by the City in this comprehensive review and regulation amendment/adoption process. This Ordinance will not affect any existing rights, or any vested applications previously submitted to the City. This Ordinance, including but not limited to the interim controls, zoning, and regulations contained within and all attachments shall be effective for a six month period of time (unless renewed or extended subsequent to an additional public hearing and findings as required by law) or when the City’s comprehensive review and possible amendment/adoption of regulations have been completed repealing the interim regulations and controls, whichever is sooner. The City Council shall make this decision to terminate the interim controls and regulations by ordinance, and termination shall not otherwise be presumed to have occurred. The City shall hold all necessary public hearings and adopt new findings as required under RCW 35A.63.220 and RCW 36.70A.390 if necessary and justified to continue the imposition of the interim regulations until the City’s review has been completed. SECTION EIGHT. Ordinance to be Transmitted to Department. Pursuant to RCW 36.70A.106, this Interim Ordinance shall be transmitted to the Washington State Department of Commerce as required by law. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 30th day of October, 2019 SIGNED AND APPROVED this day of October, 2019. ______________________________ Doug Volesky, Finance Director ______________________________ Jill Boudreau, Mayor Approved as to form: ___________________________________ Kevin Rogerson, City Attorney Published _________________________  EXHIBIT C WORK PROGRAM APPROXIMATE MILESTONES DESCRIPTION TIMING Impact Analysis Assessment of consequences correlated with severe December 2019 weather shelters Regulatory Options Study of regulation schemes implemented by others to December 2019 determine how effectively others have implemented different types of regulations Regulatory Analysis Determine if regulation options previously outlined January 2020 provide adequate options to present to City Council for their review and guidance Public Involvement Craft an on-going public outreach and communication January 2020 process for the review of recommended regulations. City Council Guidance Present to Council the results of the impact analysis, January-February regulation options, and interviews. Request Council 2020 guidance with regard to refining regulatory options and goals. Planning Commission Present to the Commission results of the impact January-February Guidance analysis, regulation options, and interviews. Request 2020 Council guidance with regard to refining regulatory options and goals. SEPA Analysis Development Services staff to compile the data January 2020 necessary and then complete a SEPA checklist for a non-project action. SEPA Process Development Services staff to complete the process February 2020 necessary to comply with the SEPA process. Commerce Review Draft regulations remitted to the WA State February 2020 Department of Commerce to commence their required review. Public Noticing Public hearing notices distributed, published, and March-May 2020 placed on the City’s website Public Hearing(s) before Open record public hearing(s) before the Planning May-April 2020 Planning Commission Commission for them to make recommendation(s) to the City Council. Public Hearing(s) before City Open record public hearing(s) before the City Council April 2020 Council for them to make final decision(s) on the new development regulations.  AGENDA ITEM: B DATE: October 30, 2019 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: Doug Volesky, Finance Director SUBJECT: REVIEW REVENUE SOURCES AND DISCUSS SETTING 2020 PROPERTY TAXES RECOMMENDED ACTION: None. Informational only. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: A major part of the City’s budget process is establishing revenue estimates for the budgeted year. The City’s revenue policies include: 1. Current revenues will be sufficient to support current expenditures, 2. Calculated using an objective, analytical process, and will be neither overly optimistic nor overly conservative, 3. Estimates will be performed utilizing accepted analytical techniques, and shall access the full spectrum of resources available to finance City programs and services. Estimated total revenue included in the 2020 Preliminary Budget is $67,995,677. This is a decrease of $4,719,472 or -6.5% from the City’s 2019 budgeted revenue amount. This decrease is due mainly to a decrease of $5,532,609 in intergovernmental revenue which included large funding amounts for capital projects budgeted in 2019. Total city-wide tax revenue is increasing by $480,843 which includes new tax revenue of $500,000 from the Local Infrastructure Finance Tool (LIFT) state program. Sales tax is estimated to remain consistent with 2019 budgeted numbers. Decreases are projected in utility taxes in the amount of $146,320 and Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) of $200,000 from 2019 budgeted numbers. Per MRSC, “As part of the budget process, the taxing jurisdiction establishes the amount of property tax revenue needed to fund the budget. That amount needed to fund the budget is called the levy. It is the total amount to be collected from the taxpayers by a taxing district. In Washington, property tax increases are not based on the increasing value of properties. They are based on last year’s property tax levy, which is simply the amount of the property taxes that were assessed in the prior year. By November 30 of each year, the amount of taxes to be levied by taxing districts are certified to the county assessor in a dollar amount. In Mount Vernon, our tax levy amount in 2019 was $7,810,740. The county assessor calculates the levy rate necessary by dividing the total levy amount by the assessed value of taxable property in the district. By law, this number is expressed in terms of a dollar rate per $1,000 of valuation. For example, a rate of $0.00025 is expressed as 25¢ per $1,000 of assessed value. The formula for property tax collections is expressed as: Levy = Levy Rate x Assessed Value (AV)”. The City of Mount Vernon is required by law to hold a public hearing to review revenue sources for the coming year and also to set property taxes for the coming year. The City’s property tax increase is limited to the lesser of one percent (1%) or the implicit price deflator (IPD) for the year. Additionally, a City may capture 100% of all new construction and may take any “banked capacity” available to them. Some important facts to consider when setting the 2020 property tax include: 1. The IPD for the year is over 1% so tax districts will be allowed to levy 1% more than they collected in 2019. A 1% adjustment to the property tax is $85,579. This amount is currently included in the 2020 Preliminary Budget. 2. Banked Capacity. As a result of the City of Mount Vernon not taking the maximum regular tax which could lawfully be levied in past years, the City has accumulated banked levy capacity of $747,176. The amount of banked capacity changes each year because the highest lawful levy and the actual levy are recalculated. Having banked capacity for one year does not guarantee the city will have the same amount the following year. The City realized a loss of $20,472 in banked capacity from last year. 3. New construction value per the County Assessor’s Office is $59M which will generate $131,233 of new revenue to the City in 2020. The new construction has been included in the 2020 Preliminary Budget. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: No action is being requested of Council at this time; however, for future consideration, staff recommends that City Council: - Set the property taxes in 2020 at 100% of the 2019 revenue amount and consider taking the 1% adjustment, - Take all new construction allowed to the City, - Council consider applying an amount of banked capacity to help fund operational needs of the City in the proposed 2020 Preliminary Budget. RECOMMENDATION: None. ATTACHED: None.