City Council Committee Agendas

City of Mount Vernon Economic Development Meeting Minutes from March 18, 2015 Committee chairperson Joe Lindquist called the meeting to order. Present were Council members Mike Urban, Dale Ragan, Gary Molenaar, Bob Fiedler, Mark Hulst, Ken Quam and Mayor Jill Boudreau. Staff members Rebecca Lowell, Kevin Rogerson, Ana Chesterfield, Rick Prosser, Ken Lee, Bob Hyde, Jerry Dodd and Roy Hari. Minutes: Mr. Urban moved, second by Mr. Ragan, to approve the minutes from January 21, 2015. Motion carried. Mr. Lindquist requests to change the sequence of the agenda items. Code Enforcement: Mr. Prosser presented a summary of code enforcement cases for the year 2014 that included the types of violations and the case status. Code Enforcement coordinates with the Parks and Solid Waste departments to clean up dilapidated properties and homeless camps. It was also noted the issues with v acant houses has decreased and leveled off due to the responsiveness from the banks and service companies. Miscellaneous – Residential Occupancies: A lengthy discussion ensued regarding rentals in single family residential zones. Council has received complaints about a home on Kiowa Drive being used as a rental and subsequent noise and other code violations. Michael Seago, 4207 Seneca Drive, and two residents from the same neighborhood were present and voiced their concerns. Staff explained the city code allows for renting of rooms in a single family residence to not more than two people. Up to 8 unrelated people may reside in a single family residential zone. Group homes, shelters, duplexes, bed and breakfasts, specialized housing for the elderly and accessory dwelling units (mother-in-law) are also permitted; either outright or through a land use permit process. Council expressed concern about neighborhoods becoming out of character as property owners frequently rent out their homes, and asked if the City code would address this. Staff explained it’s very difficult to regulate who lives in a residence; over occupancy is a subjective issue. But there are codes that address parking, noise, junk vehicles and other nuisances that can be utilized. Council directed staff to research this issue. Code Enforcement, Police and Legal will meet to work on a solution. Miscellaneous - Update on Cascade West Apartment Fire: Since the fire theft of plumbing and wiring has occurred. It’s currently being monitored and the owner anticipates they will be re-building soon. Extension of Trumpeter ROW Lease Agreement for Trumpeter Public House: Mrs. Chesterfield provided a brief background on the right-of-way lease agreement with the Trumpeter Public House restaurant for an outdoor dining deck. The right-of-way lease agreement was originally approved July 2013 and has been extended twice. It expired December 2014. The applicant is asking to renew the agreement for a period of 3 years. The deck will be re-constructed as it was damaged from a delivery truck but will remain the same size as the original. There will be review of a traffic and safety plan prior to issuance of right-of-way and building permits. Staff will review the right-of-way lease agreement annual. Following a brief discussion on parking Council directed staff to provide the right-of- way lease agreement for review at the next City Council meeting. Page 1 of 2 Miscellaneous - Plastic Bag Bans: Mr. Rogerson provided a brief overview of regulations and restrictions regarding the banning of plastic bags. The Council is not in favor of banning plastic bags. Proposed Amendments to Engineering Fees and Permits, continued: Mrs. Chesterfield continued her presentation of engineering permits and fees. For this meeting she focused on right-of-way permits. She provided two proposals; one with an hourly rate based on staff time. The second proposal featured flat fees and a comparison to other local municipality rates. Either fee schedule is more realistic in recovering the cost of staff time to process engineering permits. She will bring the remainder of the proposed amendments to the engineering fees to the next committee meeting. Miscellaneous – Downtown Design Guidelines: A brief discussion was held regarding the design guidelines for downtown. Ellen Gamson and Kip Bisagna both shared their concerns about retaining the downtown historic character, and would like to see further discussion on this issue. The general consensus of Council is to maintain the downtown character without over regulating. Council members Mike Urban and Bob Fielder will chair a sub-committee on this topic. Status of Approved Preliminary Plats & Possible Code Amendments to Extend Some, continued: Mrs. Lowell provided a spreadsheet with approved preliminary plats, short plats and binding site plans. They are vested to older development standards. Staff recommends a two year extension to plats with infrastructure. Among those is the Trumpeter Plat which is nearing completion of construction and preliminary plat has expired. Staff was directed to bring the Trumpeter Plat before City Council for an extension. Status of Code Amendments: Code amendments in progress include the Sign Code, Vendor Ordinance, and Preliminary Plat Extensions. Mrs. Lowell reported the sign code will have additional legal review by an attorney from WCIA. The language recommended by Mr. Rogerson needs to be incorporated as well. Other upcoming code amendments include Adult Entertainment, Tent Cities, Cell Towers, Resolution 491 Public Participation, a new reference for Critical Areas Ordinance, and new SEPA thresholds. 2015 and 2016 Comprehensive Plan Schedules and Work Plan: Mrs. Lowell provided schedules for both 2015 and 2016 plans. 2015 Comprehensive Plan Amendment requests will be docketed this month. The public input for the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update may begin by May. Miscellaneous: Mr. Hyde handed out a list of weekly pre-application meetings held by the Community & Economic Development Department. These will be provided to Council monthly. Mr. Hyde also mentioned the construction of two roundabouts proposed at Division and Waugh Road; the other at LaVenture and Section Streets. A major water line project by PUD will begin next week. Chief Dodd requested direction from Council regarding the City’s dog kennel. Chief Dodd was directed to move forward on the bid process for a new dog kennel. There being no further business the Committee meeting adjourned. Page 2 of 2