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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/25/94TAPE # 1205 UNAPPROVED DRAFT COUNCIL APPROVED JUN 15 1994 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MAY 25, 1994 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Bremerton was called to order in the City Council Chambers, 239 4th Street, Bremerton, Washington, Wednesday, May 25, 1994, at 5:30 P.M., with Council President Eileen Fitz presiding. Council members present were Morrie Dawkins, Bob Winters, John Law, Sherril Huff-Menees, David Farr, Richard Neville, A1 Colvin, and Lon Overson. Also present were City Attorney Ian Sievers and City Clerk Kathleen McCluskey. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Council President Fitz and Invocation given by Reverend Talmadge Wilson of Charleston Baptist Church. #0017 #0051 CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes of Meeting -- May 4, 1994 #AB94-101 M/S/C/U(Neville/Farr) to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. CLAIMS/WARRANT REGISTERS Vouchers audited and certified by the auditing officer as required by RCW42.24.080, and those expense reimbursement claims certified as required by RCW 42.24,090, have been recorded on a listing that had been made available to the Council. M/S/C/U(Colvin/Dawkins) on May 25, the Council does approve for payment those vouchers included and further described as follows: 175594 through 175735 in the total amount of $215,762.05; and Regular Payroll for the period ending 5-15-94 in the amount of $542,236.72; and Retirees Payroll for the period ending 5-31-94, in the amount of $86,663.93.. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORT8 Mr. Overson reported on the public meeting held on the proposed rebuild of the Elks building on 5th and Pacific Avenue as a housing facility. This proposal, if approved, will be in the July-August time frame and construction could be completed within a one year period. When traveling through Oregon recently, he saw things that reminded him why we have to be proactive in favor of the sewer system and problems that the City is now solvinq. There are parts of the Oregon where well water cannot be used as drinking water due TAPE #1205 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 2 of 20 to substances from the surface and septic systems having leaked into the water supply to the point where the well provides water that is not drinkable and in come cases dangerous. We, in this area, have approached the problem before it became a problem and if continued aggressive action is taken we will have a much better result. This City's pure water is going to turn out to be a true "diamond" in the future and more valuable than any other city asset. A recent Tacoma News Tribute article revealed (not published on the front page but printed in an inner section), that the Tacoma City Council had been discussing storm drainage and sewer costs increasing under a revised package that was to be before the City Council for formal action. Under the new schedule of rates, storm drainage would increase 34% and sanitary sewer rates will go up by 8.6%, both changes taking affect in July. Earlier this year, the Tacoma Public Works Department proposed increasing storm drainage rates by 64% and sanitary sewer rate by 37%, taking affect over the next three years. Mr. Overson emphasized this is what we are seeing throughout the State. Mr. Farr reported his Council District meeting, held on May 24, was at a good location and at a good time, however, only four District residents attended. The presentations made at that meeting were very interesting and beneficial to those in attendance. He wasn't sure what to think of the low turnout for his meeting other than perhaps most everyone in his District are happy with what is going on, whichlhe will assume. Based on that, within the next 2-3 months he will schedule one additional meeting and see how well it is attended. Mr. Law welcomed Captain Jim Harvey, who today took command of Squadron 17 at the Bangor Base and wished farewell to Captain Ed McNeal, who is being transferred to San Diego. He also acknowledged Tom Walker, who has assumed the Chairmanship of the East Bremerton Neighborhood Information Network group and extended a "thank you" to Drake Evans for his help in getting the organization started. He emphasized e all look forward to helping the east Bremerton Neighborhood group get going and we know it will interface well with Districts #1, #2 and #3. Mrs. Huff-Menees reported on a conference she, Councilmen Law and Farr and several City staff members and Mayor Horton artended in Oregon that was sponsored by the Local Government Commission For Washington/Oregon/California. The focus of that conference centered around revitalizing neighborhoods and downtowns and to learn from some of the challenges and successes of projects that have already been completed. She announced the next District #7 Neighborhood meeting is scheduled for May 31, 1994, 6:30 P.M., at the Bremerton School District Office. TAPE #1205 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 3 of 20 Mr. Dawkins reported on the Armed Forces Parade, Bremerton central Lions Pancake Feed and the Navyts cooking contest held on May 21. He extended a "job well done" to all who participated in the Armed Forces day activities. Mr. Colvin reported on a very successful District #1 Coalition meeting, held May 19, where 10 candidates for public offices had an opportunity to speak. Tom Long did as excellent job as moderator during that meeting. A "thank you" was extended to City Engineer Randy Witt for cleaning up brush that obstructed'view on Sheridan Road. Mr. Winters stated he enjoyed the Armed Forces Parade. He thanked the public for attending the YWCA~s fund raising event held on May 22, at the Roxy Theater, where they raised over $2,000. Further donations may be made by contacting Judy Bennett at the YWCA. He is planning for a District #9 neighborhood meeting at the home of Chuck Bait on a date in June. He urged anyone having topics or ideas for that meeting to drop them off at the City Council Office. He welcomed the following new downtown Bremerton businesses: The SilverCastle, 127 Pacific Avenue~ and a skateboard shop in the old Bremerton Sport shop. He suggested to the Mayor and other Council members to consider the day is coming when a skateboard park needs to be built within the City to service the skateboarders, just like basketball, softball and golfers. Mrs. Fits stated she has served as President of the City Council for 18 months and when she first took on that responsibility she only expected to have that position for one year. She firmly believes that everyone on the Council should have the opportunity and responsibility to hold one of the Council offices. Because of her added work load at her place of full time employment and their business and family health problems, she will step down as City Council President. An election for a new Council President, Vice President and Mayor Protem will be held on Wednesday, June 1, at the beginning of the Council meeting. The City Council does have a policy that allows for an election inJune and she has elected take that action PUBLIC RECOGNITION Mayor Lynn Hotton stated after having served as City Council President for three years, she certainly understands President Fitz's sentiments. It is amazing the time commitment it takes to be Council President and she thanked President Fits for serving in that position. She hada busy week of activities that included the Senior Center open house on May 20, a Masonic ceremony on the evening of May 20, the Armed Forces Parade on May 21~ and she and her family drove to Mt. Hood where she attended the Communities seminar. She noted there is a lot going on in our community and TAPE #1205 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 4 of 20 she is veryproud to be its Mayor. She hopes people will recognize that Bremerton has far more good in the community than bad. In reference to a skateboard park, one of the things she is hoping to do over the course of the summer and into fall is to initiate a Youth Council. She is looking at it as an open general assembly of participants where the youth elect an Executive Board so that they can sit as an Ad Hoc Advisory Committee to the Parks and Recreation Commission to help the City inlooking at youth recreation programs and facilities. Many times things come into.vogue and six months later it is out of fashion, so whatever is selected as youth activities and facilities that cost money she wants to get their commitment to the program and then we, as adults can determine how it can be funded. It is her intention that the Youth Council is comprised of just youth and participation will not be determined on grade point or by Council District, but rather a community representation and that means youth from the Alternative School and possibly young adults who are not in school. Eventually she would like to work towards the School District co-sharing the responsibility so that we can bring on board issues that affect kids in schools as well as within the City limits. Tom'Long thanked Councilman Colvin for inviting him to serve as moderator at his last district meeting. It pleased him that over 50 people attended that meeting along with 10 candidates for elected offices. As a way l'to control the time allotted per candidate, the Council's "timer" was used and it worked very well. He was impressed with the quality of the candidates and he encouraged citizens to take advantage of future opportunities to hear these candidates speak and outline their platform for being elected. He found that having a Candidates Night at a community meeting is really grass roots democracy. Don Atkinson, Bremerton Main Street Association, echoed Mr. Overson's remarks over the presentation made on the new uses of the old Elks Temple building. That presentation was video taped and will be rebroadcast on the Access Channel on June 6 and 9, 7:00 P.M. Newly elected Main Street officers are: Lou Weir - incoming President, Sandy Perry- Vice President. On March 24 54 new bricks were engraved on the boardwalk and future engraving will be done in increments of 50 bricks throughout the summer. Main Street is working with Kitsap Transit to develop a free downtown shuttle, which is one of the steps toward getting people into the upland businesses. There is concern in the business community that there isn't sufficient transportation and circulation, so they are trying trade on the draws to the community of the boardwalk, harbor tours and the Turner-Joy. Mr. Overson asked for further details on the "free" shuttle bus as soon as they are available...when will it start and hours of service. Mr. atkinson explained they are working with Kitsap Transit to use existing runs - the east bound TAPE #1205 City Council Reg- Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 5 of 20 bus would bring people up to the vicinity of 4th and Washington and the west bound bus would bring them up to the Bremer/Wycoff Building. Brian Mueller stated three weeks ago he and Kal Leichtman had a debate/roundtable discussion with Mayor Horton and Larry Stone about the pros and cons of disincorporating the City. The response has been phenomenal, he imagined on both sides, so he is asking Mayor Horton to participate in a second discussion using the same site and format. Jose W. Marquina owner of Los Andes Imports and Exports, stated Bremerton is alive and he located his store in downtown Bremerton because he lives in Bremerton and he wanted to help his community. When he has a need to purchase something, he always looks first to see if a business within the City can provide that need, that way the taxes that he pays will remain within his own community. He likes to think of Bremerton as: the mother of all citizens in Kitsap County, being the oldest one; a mountain taking a nap while children like Port Orchard, Silverdale, Poulsbo, and Winslow are playing in the background and growing up a little. Bremerton is not dead...like some citizens think. He believes Bremerton is "waking up now" and instead of wasting a lot of time and energy trying to find something bad or negative to print in the newspapers or see on TV, he urged people to concentrate and put energy into positive things and saying something good about Bremerton. To him, the following are positive things about Bremerton: his store in downtown Bremerton, renovation of the Admiral Theater, renovation of the Elks building, renovation of 4th Street, the waterfront boardwalk, 50+ business owners in downtown, and many more. Carl Johnson stated he wanted to publicly thank and express his appreciation to A1 Colvin and a team of people who work in District #1 to put on District neighborhood meetings. He happens to be a candidate for County Commissioner that participated in the District #1 meeting on May 19, which he found to be a good experience. He complimented Tom Long on the excellent job he did as moderator at that meeting and there was an outstanding turnout of citizens and candidates. Don Larson announced the Department Of Ecology forwarded to him Certificates of Appreciation for the people who helped out on the Save Sinclair Inlet clean up held in April, and for those individuals assisting on the "educational signs" project, which does involve the. City of Bremerton. Mr. Larson formally presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Mayor Horton for service contributing to the conservation and enhancement of Washington"s TAPE #1205 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 6 of 20 Gordv Byrd reported he enjoyed the Armed Forces Parade and related activities, however, during his travels that day he lost his notebook, which is very important to him. The cities of Bremerton and Poulsbo renewed his license free of charge. Mary Lou Long stated all of a sudden there are flowering speeches on how great Bremerton is now that there is a movement to disincorporate the City and that people are fed up paying for things that were paid for previously and have to pay again and again. She referenced Mayor Horton's comments, at the previous Council meeting, that the City did not change the design plans for the sewer plant. Ms. Long emphasized if the City doesn't have any plans in its possession how does Mayor Horton know that the City didn't change any planS? Mrs. Long was told by a City staff member that the City does not have in its possession sewer treatment plant plans because CH2M Hill has proprietorship over them, which means they can sell them to anyone they choose. The reason she was looking for a copy of those plans was to determine if the City was redesigning something that already exists. In the Court documents and records and settlement agreement between West Hills Association and City of Bremerton, the three complaints were against the design of the plant, the operation and maintenance of the plant and the construction of the plant. She anticipates citizens will see another rate increase in a year or two due to the Utility not meetings its expected income levels. She is continuing to bring to the public's attention that the City of Bremerton is not doing a good job for the citizens and as a government body is extremely expensive. Because of the elements that she has seen over the past 17-20 years, she believes it is a good time now to seriously look at eliminating one level of government that is extremely costly for living in this particular area and returning it to the County status. Rule and conditions for living in the County must be very agreeable with the people because it is growing in all areas, on the other hand, Bremerton has many empty businesses, rentals and seems to be dying. Anyone wishing to sign the petition to disincorporate the City they can contact her at 479-3621. President Fitz asked the City Attorney to provide at the next Council meeting, the rules and regulations regarding campaigns and use of Cable Access television. Ian Sievers, City Attorney, stated that topic is scheduled for the June 6th Study Session. C.D. Montgomer7 stated a few people are using the Council's Public Recognition time as a platform, for which it was intended to air problems of great concern to them, some to just get on TV and others for political purposes. The only way the public can perceive that the government is acting on their behalf is for the citizens to become involved. Attending open government meetings is not a privilege but a responsibility and a right. Voting is not a TAPE #1205 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 7 of 20 privilege, but a guaranteed right and if citizens do not vote they have no right to complain about the government or how the .government is being run. At the same time, the elected City officials must listen to citizen concerns and keep them informed as to the major and minor changes to Federal and State laws that will affect them. As an example, the sewer treatment plant requirements and stormwater requirements seem to be the main thrust of concern at this time. Nevertheless, some sense of order must prevail to afford each person time to speak on their concerns without beating a dead horse to death. We have heard the public and the Council being criticized the way Public Recognition is being conducted. Therefore, it is time for rules for Public Recognition be formalized and enforced. He proposed that the City Council and public consider the following: (1) the President of the City Council enforces the three minute rule; (2) each person being allowed to speak only once for a three minute period during Public Recognition as that time is not a period for citizens to debate non-agenda items. Or, as an alternate, the Council move the Public Recognition to the end of the City Council Agenda. This would' provide time for each citizen to speak once and only once on whatever is on their mind and not have a three minute limit imposed. Further, he proposed a quarterly Town Meeting be called in placed of a regular City Council meeting to enable citizen to speak on one or two subjects agreed upon by representatives of each District. The subjects of those meetings would be announced on the Cable Access Channel (12) and paid advertisements in The Sun. In addition, flyers could be printed and distributed well in advance of the designated meeting. He believes that either the first or second proposal coupled with the third proposal would present elected official in a better light and provide citizens a change to prove they are interested in the management of City government by active participation. Jack Lefcoski stated earlier in the year when the increased sewer rates were implemented the question was raised "where is the grant funding"? He requested the Council or Mayor Horton provide a monthly report on how many grant proposals have been submitted, for what amount and if any responses had been' received from those applications. J. R. Bechanka stated for the past 3-4 years he has resided in Bremerton and every Friday before the Armed Forces Day Parade it is announced in the late afternoon that vehicles must be moved off the street by 6:00 A.M. the following morning. He and others have no problem moving their vehicles, but they feel notice should be given prior to one day before the event. He thanked Councilman Winters and Mayor Horton for their comments on youth during their reports. President Fits asked Mayor Horton if she could follow up on this issue. TAPE #1205 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 8 of 20 Mrs. Huff-Menees left the Council Chambers at 6:30 P.M. President Fits announced the Public Hearing item (SA) will be heard following the New Business item. 6A - 8INGLE 8OURCE PURCMASE OF CEMENT TREE PLANTERS FOR THE BREMERTON BOARDWALK, #AB94-102 The Parks & Recreation Department is requesting purchase of twenty- six (26) concrete tree planters to be placed on the Bremerton Boardwalk. The total purchase price for these planters is $14,615.12 (including shipping and Washington State sales tax), an. amount which is in excess of the thresholdof $10,000 required for Call-for-Bid. The planters will be designed and manufactured by Olympic Pre-Cast Company, the same company that produced the cement bollards for the Bremerton Boardwalk. These tree planters would therefore be categorized as a single source purchase. The funding source for these planters is a Washington State Department of Natural Resources Urban Forestry Grant. The Department intends to plant Weeping Cherry trees in these planters and place them at various locations along the length of the Boardwalk. Jodie Wroblewski, Assistant Director Of Parks And Recreation, stated they were asked to look into other alternative sources, which they did and found that the type of planters they desired were not available other than the identified source. After talking with the Design Committee, it was their recommendation that the planters be obtained from the same firm that provided the cement bollards in order to match the bollards on the boardwalk. President Fitz asked if the planters would have a place for plaques to be mounted and if so, how many spaces will be available? MS, Wroblewski stated yes, each planter will have eight spaces for plaques. Elizabeth Buell asked if the City had the money to spare for purchasing the planters? She noted that generally people make reference to the "boardwalk" rather than overwater park and questioned who named it the "boardwalk"? Ms. Wroblewski stated this purchase is being financed by a Department Of Natural Resources Urban Forestry Grant. Mr. Dawkins questioned the height of a weeping cherry tree? Wroblewski stated they grow to approximately 20 feet. MS · Mr. Law stated he wanted to assure the public that proposals that come before the Council are reviewed by at least one Council committee. He hoped that would clarify the concern of some individuals that the Council's vote was just a "rubber stamp". In this particular case, the bid procedures is proposed to be waived #1905 TAPE #1205 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 9 of 20 due to the fact the Parks Department could find only one vendor that could produce a planter that would match what was already on the boardwalk. Mr. Farr stated he supported the proposal going to the same builder of the bollards in order to carry.on the theme. He was also pleased to see the plaque program being expanded as part of the part of the planter design. M/S/C/U(Farr/Winters) to waive the Call-for-Bids procedures, and authorize the purchase of cement tree planters as a single source available item from Olympic Pre-Cast Company. 8A - CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING= AMENDMENTS TO CRITICAL LAND8 ONDINAMCE, CHAPTER VIII WETLANDS REGULATIONS, ,AB94-100 The Growth Management Act (GMA) has mandated that the City develop "interim" regulations protecting critical areas including wetlands. The Bremerton Critical Lands Ordinance was adopted by the City Council in July of 1993. Since its adoption, planning staff have identified several issues which have prompted requests for amendments to the wetlands section. On April 19, 1994, the Planning Commission held a public hearing and forwarded a recommendation of approval to the City Council. At the hearing, the Commission received written comments from the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Suquamish Tribe. The Commission directed planning staff to consider and incorporate the comments into the ordinance as it is reviewed with the Councilts Operations Committee. The Operationsts Committee has reviewed the amendments and has forwarded the revisions to the City Council. These amendments are shown in the ordinance in "highlighted" form, and are further explained in the executive summary. Jack A11ingham, Current Planning, stated since the Critical Lands Ordinance was adopted, the City has found a need and a request to fine tune the ordinance, which is a fairly familiar process when adopting new regulations. There are three factors that form a wetland: (1) hydrology (2) soils7 (3) vegetation. Hydrology is an event where there is water standing for 7-10-or more days during the growing season from late February to October. Soils that develop with a lot of water present are called hydrasoils and when vegetation adapts living in those soils it creates a wetland. The Critical Lands Ordinance categorizes wetlands into four types: Type I, which is a very significant wetland that has the characteristics of several wetland classes... open water class, some emergent vegetation, such as TAPE #1205 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 10 of 20 cattails, salmon berries, and a forested element that has things such as alders, hemlocks and cedars. The Type II wetland may have those same elements, but it is not quite as critical a wetland. Type I and Type II Wetlands provide habitat for endangered species and are wetlands that are not easily replaced and their functions are not easily replicated. Type III and Type IV wetlands are wetlands that do not have the elements of Type I and Type II. What is being proposed at this time is to allow modification to Type III and Type IV Wetlands only. What is being requested is allowing up to one acre, but no more than 25% of a wetland Type iII or Type IV on a piece of property to be disturbed. This could include fill or intrusion into the buffer surrounding the wetland. He used an example of a 20 acre site with a five acre wetland and the revision to the ordinance would allow fill of up to one acre but no more than 25% of that wetland. In order to allow this to occur, the ordinance being amended would require two things to happen: (1) the applicant to provide a wetland report on what is to occur, the type of wetland and how the wetland will be impacted. And, that report must contain assessment of the habitat, water quality purification and enhancement function of the wetland, stormwater detention, ground water recharge capabilities, any shoreline protection that the wetland is providing and erosion protection functions that the wetland may be providing. Once again, Type III and Type IV wetlands are primarily water quality and stormwater detention type wetlands and not the significant habitat wetlands that the Cityts ordinance seeks to preserve. When the City receives the report, there is specific criteria that must be met before a wetland modification would be allowed: (1) the City must find that it wontt adversely affect water quality~ (2) wontt destroy, damage or destruct a significant habitat7 (3) will not have an adverse affect on drainage or stormwater detention capabilities~ (4) wontt lead to. unstable earth conditions or erosion hazards7 (5) nor be materially detrimental to adjoining properties or to the City as a whole7 (6) will not result in modification of more than one acre or 25%. A second element of the proposed revision, if allowed, would require mitigation in accordance with another section of the ordinance, which is Section 1,270. There are types of mitigation which are replacement of in-kind and function of the wetland (recreating) or a monetary compensation to the City to place in a fund for wetland improvements or mitigation elsewhere within the City. President Fitl asked if that kind of fund is currently in place? Mr. Rilingham stated no, they have not had to administer. this ordinance or accept any monetary compensation. The Wetland Ordinance that the City currently has in place is a very strict preservation ordinance and in order to meet other elements of the Growth Management Act to accept additional population densities, there may be the need to engineer Type III TAPE #1205 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 11 of 20 andType IV wetlands and the ordinance proposes that to happen. It is also recommended that the definition of Type II wetland be amend to reflect "Wetlands equal to or greater than one acre...", rather than "Wetlands equal to or less than one acre in size...". Mr. Law asked how did the proposed ordinance compare to Kitsap County~s Wetlands Ordinance? Mr. A11in~ham stated it was his understanding that Kitsap Count had adopted policies that they administer under their State Environmental Policy Act regulation. Mr. Law asked if there was a time frame to have such an ordinance enacted? Mr. A11ingham stated yes, the Growth Management Act required that cities and counties adopt policies or regulations protecting critical areas. The County chose to adopt policies rather than an ordinance. He noted an ordinance is not required by the GMA. Mr. Farr questioned if the City had an inventory of wetlands within City boundaries? Mr. a11~ngham stated no, the wetlands within the City have not been mapped, but the ordinance defines the parameters of what constitutes a wetland and controls wetland development. Mr. Farr stated some of the discussion on stormwater indicated the commercial accounts with large impervious surface areas are going to have an option to mitigate, which could include natural drainage ditches that looks like once created they would fit into the category of a wetland. He questioned if such a situation would fall under this protection? Mr. a11~ngham stated no, the current ordinance excludes wetlands that are created through stormwater management, however, by definition they are a wetland. Mr. Dawkins questioned who determines permanent wetlands or seasonal wetlands? Mr. A11~ngham stated he was not aware of any City staff members who met the definition of a Wetlands Specialist, but the ordinance does defines a Wetland Specialist. The way the ordinance envisions to work is the application would provide a report prepared by a Wetlands Specialist, the City would then verify that report by consulting with another Wetlands Specialist at the applicant~s expense. The theory in that process is if two experts to agree that the wetland modification would not have any adverse affects then the City could accept the wetland modification. Mr. Dawk~ns questioned if the City~s review and the Wetland Specialist~s opinion was in conflict, who would then make the decision? Mr. A11inghamstated the ultimate decision would be made by the Director Of Community Development. Mr. Colv~n asked for further clarification on the point of creating another wetland area as part of a mitigatingaction. Mr. allingham stated the type of wetlands that this discussion covered was Type III andType IV wetlands, which can be recreated using soils, water and vegetation.. TAPE #1205 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 12 of 20 Mr. Overson referenced a letter from Puget Power that recommends a change to a section that was totally removed before they made the recommendation. He questioned why were they given something where they would infer the wrong thing and what did staff do with their recommendation? Mr. allinuhamstated because this is a legislative process, there were several drafts of the ordinance prior to it coming to Council. Puget Power commented on an earlier draft that the Department Of Ecology (DOE) and the Suquamish Tribe also commented on. Following up on DOEws recommendation, the ordinance was revised and those revisions also addressed Puget Powerts concerns. Mr. Overson stated there was a letter from Northwest Community Housing talking about the proposed change and they wished to make a change, however, after reviewing the ordinance it appears that change was not incorporated. Mr. a11ingham stated Mr. Overson was correct that the requested change did not make it into the ordinance. What they requested was in certain instances where the city was trying to meet the goals and policies of Housing Bremerton, which is an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan, to go beyond the 25% or one acre limitation and allow up to 40-50% wetland fill. That was the original staff recommendation to the Planning Commission, however, after their review they are recommending to Council that no more than one acre or 25% of a wetland be allowed to be filled on a piece of property. Mr. Farr asked if a single family residence exemption applies to Types III and IV or to the higher grades of wetlands? Mr. A11inghamexplained the single family exemption is intended to only apply to Types III and IV wetlands. It does not except them from providing a Wetland Report, but does except them from having to fund an independent report. Mr. Dawkins set up a scenario where Puget Power was putting up a series of poles and the fourth pole in that line was setting in the middle of a wetland, he questioned could they place a cresol type pole or would they have to run their line on the outside edge of the wetland? Mr. a11ingham stated there isno regulation adopted by the City pertaining to treated wood in aquatic environments. The State does have concerns over the use of treated woods in aquatic environments, however, no regulations have been adopted pertaining to that situation. There is concern in the treated wood industry, regarding regulations, and the use of treated woods, which he thinks has held the State back from adopting regulations regarding treated wood. Mr. Gomez stated he believes the question before Council is a balance between what is required by the Growth Management Act and what is good public policy in terms of protecting wetlands and the reality of what it takes to live in an urban environment and concentrate housing and other growth within an urban environment. TAPE #1205 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 13 of 20 Bremerton has a much higher density with less land inside the City so the flexibility to deal with the circumstances that arise is what this amendment speaks to. Staffts recommendation is very sensible in terms of protecting water quality, and quality of wetlands allowed to be affected seemlto be consistent with good biology. What they presented in their letter was to ask Council to consider one more factor, which is if the City is committed to the GMAcommitment, which is 20,000 new dwelling units within the City limits, you need to consider that as one of the values beyond just anything in the City's Comprehensive Plan and to allow the City the ability in those rare circumstances to fill not more than one acre or more than 25% of a wetland of a specific site. Jack Lefcoski questioned does wetlands include saltwater or just freshwater? Mr. A11in~ham stated it includes saltwater. Mr. Lefcoski questioned if the City is absolutely required or is it optional to have a City ordinance to control wetlands? A11ingham explained the GMA did not say the City had to adopt an ordinance, but gave an option of adopting policies or regulations and the City chose to adopt regulations so that it would be more clear and concise as to how they would be regulated. Policies do not seem to have the affect that regulations do. TAPE #1206 Mr. Lefcoski stated he is totally against a City ordinance for wetland procedures. There aren't that many wetlands within City boundaries. When he thinks of wetlands he envisions back yard swamps and owners of that kind of property would love to fill it in, but according to the proposed regulation could not do so to an extent to make it usable. He encouraged Council to go to the least requirement and that may be in the form of a policy rather than an ordinance. A case in point of his discussion is a small pothole swamp at the Pendergast Regional Sports Complex site that the ecologypeople made the City protect. He believes that area should be filled and made into a parking lot. GordyByrdquestioned if the proposal means that someone could take any piece of property and make it into a wetland and then if someone buys that property it could be revised? Mr. a11ingham stated it would not prohibit anyone from creating a wetland and in some circumstances it would allow modification of that wetland. Mr. Lefcoski described the location of a small wetland area between the City's sewage treatment plant and Highway 3 on the west side. He believes that site should be filled in because it is neither attractive or productive. Ted Hoffman stated he works with Mr. Gomez and hat he has TAPE #1206 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 14 of 20 discovered is that wetlands do have a value. He wanted Council to know is that the Federal government is also watching closely what happens on this land. Through the permitting process, he has had to work with the Federal government and has been very impressed with how careful and diligent they have been in the area of wetlands. The City has more restrictive regulations than those imposed by the Federal government, they allow fill up to one acre - no problem; two acres - with mitigation, no setbacks, and they do not care about percentage, however, they do care about wetlands. He agreed that a balance has to be struck. He believes the City adopted State regulations and prior to that there were no wetlands regulations. Mr. Allinghamstated the City's ordinance was modeled after a model ordinance developed by the Washington State Department Of Ecology. It was further modified by the City of Tacoma and then further modified by the Bremerton Planning Commission and City Council to mold it~to local conditions. The City adopted the ordinance and now effort is being made to fine tune it even more to local conditions. Eli~abeth Bus11 stated she agreed with Mr. Lefcoski that the City should make minimum requirements. In the winter time she has a wetland in her front yard, but she is not doing anything about'it because she doesn't know how to correct it. Mr. Colvin asked Mr. Allingham's response to Mr. Lefcoski's comment about the small wetland near the City's sewer treatment plant? Mr. A11ingham stated his response would be that on the other extreme wetlands are very important and they have a lot of functions and values outside of just habitat, such as storm drainage detention and they also provide biofiltration of the water or water quality purification. The idea here is we are not trying to eliminate those functions from the wetlands that are allowed to be filled, but the idea is to modify them to continue to have the water quality, filtration and storm water detention. Mr. 0versonquestioned if the comment about the Federal regulations being much less strict than those of Bremerton was accurate and if so, is the City too restrictive and driving development out of the City? Mr. A11ingham stated he did not know if the City was being too restrictive. During the adoption of the ordinance, they reviewed how other jurisdictions were dealing with wetlands and wetland buffers. The State decided that everyone in Washington must address the protection and preservation of wetlands. There are also national interest in preserving wetlands. If we got into national heritage wetlands, we would find the Corp of Engineers to be right in line with the City's regulations. The Corp apparently does not have the time or commitment to work on Type III and Type IV wetlands, but the very value and most pristine wetlands would be #0391 TAPE #1206 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 15 of 20 consistent with the Corp. Mr. Overson stated as Mr. Lefcoski recommends it is lenient enough for it to be functional. and he recognized that Northwest Community Housing would like to create a greater concentration inside the City than this apparently allows. Again, that must be balanced with the requirement for environmental control and his only answer there would be that there are many areas within the City that allow significantly greater concentration than what they are proposing and possibly a move would be to go and buy up some of the older housing in the City, tear and it down and build up new. Mr. Law stated in reviewing the Bremerton Planning CommissiOn'S minutes, it states that the letter from Mr Gomez was not considered during their hearing. Mr. A11ingham stated yes, that letter is following the Planning Commission's hearing, however, Mr. Gomez did participate in the hearing but the Planning Commission did not incorporate their request in their recommendation. M/S/C/U(Dawkins/Colvin) to approve on the amendments of the Bremerton Critical Land Ordinance, Chapter VIII - Wetlands, and direct the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance for amending the Critical Lands Ordinance. 8B - TO ACCEPT PUBLIC COMMENTS AND CONSIDER THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION REGARDING THE REOUEMT FOR REZONE FOR A PORTION OF THE PARCEL LOCATED BETWEEN LILAC LANE AND BRUEN AVENUE, NORTH OF HARLOW DRIVE= APPLICANT: JENNINGS KAHN, INC., #AB94-104 The subject property is a 0.65 acre portion of one vacant lot that was expanded by Boundary Line Adjustment. The request is a REZONE of the lot from "Single-Family Residential (SF-3)" to "Industrial General (IG)". The lot is located immediately adjacent to the "IG" zone. This proposal was presented and discussed at the Planning Commission public hearing on April 19, 1994. The City Council is required to make a determination on this request, and if approved, pass an ordinance for the action. President Fits asked the "Appearance Of Fairness/Conflict Of Interest" question. Councilman Novills and Council President Fitz stepped down from this issue with Morris Dawkins assuming the position as City Council President. Shane Jensen, Current Planning, stated the issue at this time is considering rezone of the subject area that was expanded as a result of a Boundary Line Adjustment. The subject site is owned by the Jennings Kahn Corporation. A Rezone is required when an enlargement of a lot by Boundary Line Adjustment is approved between two parcels with different zoning, and where the adjustment TAPE #1206 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 16 of 20 would clearly allow the use of a different zone where they would not otherwise be permitted. Some of the discussion that hinged around this site was what types of uses are allowed in both types of zones. As a single family residential parcel it was calculated that 4,800 sq. ft. per dwelling unit could have a maximum density of six single family dwelling units. For a parcel zoned Industrial General, an allowable use would be what is proposed as a future expansion of the Jennings distribution facility, but other uses include social service and welfare facilities, car, truck,motorcycle,RV repairs and sales, non-accessoryparking, many types of repair, construction, manufacturing, wholesale sales, warehousing and distribution uses. The primary request for the fezone is that the Comprehensive Plan designation for the area is denoted as Industrial Business Park and the current zoning does.not match that designation. Compliance with the Comprehensive Plan is one of the foremost criteria in establishing the approval or disapproval of a rezone request. Also, the rezone change is necessary and allowable because of the use of the property adjacent and the need for industrial lands within the City limits that are served by urban services and utilities. And, it is found that the rezone request would be in the public's best interest because of the opportunity to put industrial land on the tax roll and it will make more needed industrial land available in the.city. Following its public hearing on April 19, 1994, the Bremerton Planning Commission found that this rezone request met all fezone criteria. The Commission voted unanimously to recommend City Council approval of the Jennings Kahn Inc., rezone request. Mr. Overson stated he has heard of people selling real estate and including that real estate in their previous parcels, but he does not recall.seeing such a boundary adjustment. Me asked Mr. Jensen to explain how a boundary adjustment that added such a quantum piece of property to changed distribution area. Mr. Jensen stated to his howledge the City has no limits on the amount of property that can be exchanged on a Boundary Line adjustment even though it has a diffident zoning, and the Jennings Kahn Corporation owned both lots involved in that action. Ian Sievers, City Attorney, explained it is an exception to the State Platting statue and is to be handled through a summary procedure where they don't create additional lots, but simply adjusting boundary lines between two lots. Mr. Colvin questioned the zoning of the surround properties? Mr. Jensen stated the entire corridor of Bruen Avenue is industrial properties and also to the south. Mr. Colvin stated there seemed to be more justification to fezone than not to approve the rezone. TAPE #1206 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 17 of 20 Mr. Jensen explained the rezone would bring the zones into compliance with the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Farr questioned if some of the surrounding property uses were single family residential? Mr. Jensen stated yes. Mr. Law noted one letter from TimKath Partnership was received and questioned the location of the piece of property it referenced? Mr. Jensen stated he did not know where that particular site was located. Jeff Kuhlman gave a brief history of the Jennings Corporation founding and development. He noted that firm has grown and needs additional room to expand. The current property is zoned Residential #3. In reference to the Boundary Line Adjustment, the property, which was a little over an acre, was purchased in 1977 for the sole purpose of expansion foresight as the company has grown to its present condition. The company felt they did not need the entire acre and that it would be more beneficial to everyone involved so they separated the property and left the exiting residence to stay a single family resident and took the' portion nearest the warehouse and undertook a Boundary Line Adjustment, which will provide for their future expansion. Mis presence at this meeting is to ask the City Council to approve the rezone. Mr. Winterslquestioned how soon does the Jennings Kahn Corporation plan to expand their facilities on that site? Mr. Kuhlman stated Robert Jennings passed away in 1992, and the company was purchased from the estate by his son John Jennings, a Vice President of the firm and another vice President Joann Jennings Kahn and the current President Lance Kahn. The new owners have not set a date for the expansion project. Me expects the owners plans are to build a building to house their vehicles and equipment some time within 1-6 years. Kathleen McCluskey read into the record a letter received from Betty Vaughn opposing the requested rezone due to the amount of noise they experience when trucks are being loaded and unloaded. Mr. Kuhlman noted he did meet with Mrs. Vaughn about her concern over excessive noise. After that issue was brought to his attention on April 14, he met with the owners, who then held a company meeting and issued a memorandum instructing their employees to be sensitive to any outside perimeter noise they might make. It is now company policy that they have actually changed how they do business at their warehouse to specifically handle the situation. He noted that area is an industrial area that includes a 24-hour car wash, the Bremerton School District's bus barn and two other beer warehouses plus auto lots. Six thousand vehicles a day drive down Harlow Drive, which also generates noise. He did #1129 #1236 TAPE #1206 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 18 of 20 talk with Mrs. Vaughn on May 24 and asked how the new company policy was working. She indicated to him that there had been some improvements, but there also had been some lapses. Following his meeting with her, he met with the Jennings Corporation and conveyed that message, which will again be worked on. Mr. Overson stated the downtowndistrict experiences the same kind of industrial activity from bordering single family dwellings and there have been people who have moved out of the City because of such noise. This was the first time that Councilhad heard there were noise problems in the subject area and it sounds like the resident and industrial operations have learned to live well with each other. He questioned if the structure tobe installed could improve the reduction of noise? M/S/C/U(Winters/Colvin) to approve theMZONE, and also to approve the ordinance on first reading. Council President Fitz and Councilman Neville returned to the Council Chambers at 8:00 P.M. 7A - ORDINANCE NO. 4461 (SECOND READING) AMENDING BUDGET ORDINANCE AND B.M~C, 2.50 AND 2.22 TO REFLECT TITLE AND SALARY OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER, #AB94-093 Public comment - none. M/S/C(Overson/Winters) to pass Ordinance No. 4461 on second reading, reclassifying the position of Personnel Director in the Department of Personnel; and amending Chapters 2.22, 2.28, 2.50, and 2.92 of the Bremerton Municipal Code and the 1994 budget. Vote on motion: Motion carried In Favor: Overson, Farr, Law, Fitz, Huff-Menees, Dawkins, Colvin, Winters Abstain: Neville 7B - ORDINANCE (FIRST READING) AMENDING PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT COMPENSATION PLAN, #AB94-103 This proposed ordinance removes the list of management and professional employees from Chapter 2.50 of the Bremerton Municipal Code and adopts, by reference, this employee group which is included pursuant to State law in the City's annual budget ordinance. This change eliminates amending two ordinance with the same information, and saves the expense of duplicating and distributing a new page to the Municipal Code whenever a management position is added, deleted, or renamed. Mr. Overson stated when this item was before Fiscal and Budget Committee there was a point of concern that without this ordinance TAPE #1206 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes May 25, 1994 Page 19 of 20 we do not have a stable established definition of the management positions. If something is going to happen to the budget document such that it will then represent that information, he could support the proposal. Ian Sievers, City Attorney, stated a solution may be to correct the Salary Schedule of Elected Officials And Management and Professional Employees, which is a part of the Budget document. That page contains the list that should be identical to Section 2.50.020. Perhaps appointed positions need' to be clarified and labeled ManagementAnd Professional Employees. The two ordinances contain the same information and the Budget Ordinance includes the salary range for those positions. His principle thrust in recommending the deletion from Section 2.50.020 is a cost savings and it seems like this list has been mended so frequently since it was first included in the Municipal Code (MC) Book in 1991, that it contradicts the permanency which the list may imply by being placed in the Municipal Code. Because of the number of title changes made in the Public Works area and now this proposal, it has become more confusing using the same process of trying to update the BMC. Mr. Overson stated his concern is that the intention is to have a current Section 2.50.020, and he was not sure how to go about updating the Budget document, thereby producing a method that identifies the latest version of this exhibit. Mr. Sievers stated the Budget document would not be more than one year out of date due to the fact a new Budget is produced each year. Updated sheets for the Budget Ordinance should be provided to all those included on the Budget document distribution list. He believes the City has the list available and people can access it and he believed that method would be as reliable as the BMC process. Mr. Colvin questioned if he understood correctly that the salary schedule could be changed at a later date without amending the ordinance? Mr. Sievers stated yes, simply by changing the Budget Ordinance. Mr. Colvin asked if the salary schedule would be marked in some way to identify what and when action was taken on a particular position? Mr. Sievers stated no, the Departments responsible for tracking and administering salaries has to have the latest Council authorized range and those ranges can be adjusted mid-year.. Placing some kind of effective dating notation can be included to identify specific Council action. President Fits stressed her confusion such matters due to changes coming in often and the difficulty following what had changed before. She felt it was important that Council be provided documentation, very soon after a change has been made, showing those changes. Mr. Sievers stressed the point in initiating this proposal was if it is in both ordinances, particularly this ordinance, it requires more copies be published by the Director Of Administrative Services and distributed for the BMC than those #1591 TAPE #1206 City Council Reg. May 25, 1994 Page 20 of 20 Mtg. Minutes needed to be distributed for the Budget Ordinance. President Fits emphasized the need to have such changes dated and update sheets provided to Council. Public comment - none. M/S/C(Dawkins/Colvin) to approve Ordinance #4461, on second reading. (NOTE= The motion was read on the correct issue, however, an incorrect Ordinance number was referenced and the correct motion on this issues is as follows= "To approve Ordinance, on first reading, amending the management and professional staff compensation plan= and amending Chapter 2.50 of the Bremerton Municipal Code", Vote on Motion: In Favor: Overson, Neville, Farr, Law, Fitz, Huff-Menees, Dawkins, Colvin, Abstain: Winters With no further business meeting adjourned at 8:10 P.M. KATHLEEN L. Y, City Clerk City of Brem~e~onn KLM/EF/me cc: Normal Distribution File/Vault