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Home My WebLink About06/13/90 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Jun~_~...! 99~ 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, Wednesda? June 13 1990 at 5:30 p.m., with Council President Lynn Horton presiding. Council members present were: Lon-~ver$on, Wayne Estes, Spencer Homing, Hank Waibel, A1 Col%in.. COuncilmen Morrie Dawkins, Russ Johnson and C. R. "Tiny" Collins were ~bsent. Also present were Assistant City Attorney Kelley'Rinehart and Deputy City Clerk Gil Johnson The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Council President Horton Invocation was given by Councilman A! Colvin. ~esident Horton announced Item 6C had been pulled off the Agenda for one week. CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes Of Meeting - May 23, 1990, 9AB90-138 B. Minutes Of Meeting - May 50, 1990, %AB90-139 C. Bid Award Recommendation ~- Janitorial Set%ices, Awarded to True Service Co., low bidder SS,446'.32/month, %AB90-140 .Mr. Overso~ requested a comparison with this proposal and the current service being provided. Gil Johnson, Deputy. Clerk, explained the present contract is approximately $4~000 per month and the new contract adds some buildings and services, which account for the increased cost. And, it will fit into the 1990 budget. 063 M/S/C/U(Overson/Colvin) to approve Consent Agenda as presented. CLAIMS/WAPJ~ANT REGISTERS Vouchers audited and certified by the auditing officer as required by RCW 42.24.080, and those expense reimbursement claims certified as required by RCW 42.24.090, have been recorded on a listing which has been made available to the council. M/S/C/U(Colvin/Waibel) on June 13, 1990 the Council does approve for payment those vouchers included and further described as follows: 111265 through 111367 in the total amount of $242,823.05. COUNCIL M~MBER ~EPO~TS Mr. Overson pointed out significant progress is being made on the waterfront and said to keep watching because the City is now reaping the rewards of years efforts and more activity will be happening over the next two years. Tape $739 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 2 of 32 Mr. Estes reported last Thursday, June 7, a group of veterans met at Olympic College and observed a number of models created by the art students depicting a backdrop for the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier located in Ivy Green Cemetery. Several excellent presentations were made by the students' and if one selection is not made, possibly a composite design can be created using the best features of each design. He noted Ivy Green Cemetery is looking like a nice park and he feels it is one of the most unique cemeteries in the United S~ates since there is a Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier, the grave of the unknown sailors of the USS Saritoga and graves of veterans from the Civil War and Spanish American War, as well as many pioneers and veterans. Also, he has agreed to assist in developing a brochure on Ivy Green Cemetery and he requested if anyone had any information relating to the cemetery to please contact him. The brochure will be used by the Visitors & Convention Bureau in their mailings. Mr. Colvin stated citizens are noting the change in Ivy Green Cemetery and it does look like a park. The Chamber Of Commerce is currently trying to improve communications between the City Council and the Chamber and he had the opportunity to meet with one of their representatives, Randy Spitzer. He felt his meeting with Mr. Spitzer w~s very rewarding and he is going to extend a line of communication to his citizens. Today he had the pleasure of listening to Mike Phillips, Editor of The Sun, who gave a talk on the new proposed housing for Bremerton at the Bremerton Central Lions Club meeting. As an attempt to off set the current trend of "flag burning" with a flag raising, he introduced Jason Berger, a young man who is working on his Eagle Scout badge. Jason Berger, Troop 5439 sponsored by Holy Trinity Parish, briefly explained his Eagle Scout project was to install a flagpole at Pinewood Manor and landscaping the area around it. He has completed the project and a flag raising will be held Thursday, June 14, 4:30 p.m. Jason introduced his Scout Master', Bob Hoyer, who assisted him with the project. Mr. Colvin invited everyone to--come out and witness this flag raising ceremony. Mr. Colvin introduced Kaye Bait and asked her to speak on a project she is ~nvoived with. K__aye Bait stated about a year ago she assisted in the preSentation of a program forum for public access television about Earthquake Preparedness in Kitsap County. After the program, they felt there still was work to be done to inform the public of the dangers in the event of an earthquake. They devised a "Ribbon Signal" concept which is red, yellow and green. Their goal is to have one of these Ribbon Signals in every home in Kitsap County. In the event of an earthquake, at the end of the ground shaking each person would hang outside their front door one of the three colored ribbons: red if there was a life threatening injury that needed help immediately; yellow if there was an injury of some kind but it could wait for assistance; green meaning everyone is ok here, don't waste any time Tape 8739 City Council Reg. Mt~. Minutes June 13, 1990% , Page 3 of 32 here. They learned from other areas which experienced earthquakes that the first 72 hours are the most disrupted and many people don't realize until after the fact that they need to provide their own supplies and to be self-sufficient for that time period. In order to respond to many questions that came up, they developed a group called HELP (Help Everyone Learn Preparedness) and for the past six months members of this group having given presentations at schools and community groups throughout the County. They feel that Central Kitsap has made a great deal of process in the past six months in becoming more prepared for disaster and now they would like to bring this info~.ation to the residents of Bremerton. They have a video tape available to groups/schools and anyone interested can set up an opportunity to hear this presentation. She invited, everyone to an event scheduled for July 1, 1990, 6:30 p.m., at the Central Kitsap High School, where the man who wrote "On shaky Ground", John Nance, will be speaking. Mrs. Horton congratulated Jason Berger and Councilman Colvin for their efforts in assisting :Pinewood Manor residents obtain a flagpole. She reminded eye,one that on June 26, 4-6 PM, Citz Council Chambers, there will be a presentation sponsored by the BremertonArea Chamber Of Commerce on "Vision 20/20", which will be dealing with what growth and growth management is.wanted in Kitsap County. This program will be shown over TCI Channel 29 and Olympic Cablevision Channel 32. On June 21, Noon - 5:00 PM, Puget Sound Blood Bank is holding a kick off event for the summer campaign called "A Call To Arms Day", with volunteers manning telephones soliciting for blood donors during the summer months. The event will be held at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle and anyone may volunteer to work on this worthy cause. They are asking everyone to call two friends and ask them if they would consider donating blood during the summer months when the need is so great. On Tuesday, June 12, she spent the morning at the Puget Sound Air Quality meeting and reported one of the things that has arisen is residential burning and the attempt by the Air Quality Board to look at banning residential burning. There is a lot of evidence to ban residential outdoor burning and Bremerton will have a problem if that comes to pass before the City has gone to a different garbage collection contract. Right now residents in Bremerton cannot remove garden waste, Brem-Air Disposal has to remove it. Some people are burning yard waste at this time and if the burn ban comes into bein~ then something has to be addressed in the garbage collection contract that will allow people to remove their own yard waste. ~he related she and her husband spent two days cutting a hedge and feeding it through a grinder, which was not an easy task. She noted Mr. Johnson needed to be alerted to the possibility of such a ban and she would continue to work closely with the Air Quality group to hold off until Bremerton has some sort of recycling program up and running in Kitsap County. It was her Tape %739 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 4 of 32 understanding that the Air Quality Control Board would be holding public meetings on this issue before making a decision. PUBLIC ~COGNITION Gor~on Berg, 402 Chester Apt. ~3, reported he now has a Solicitation License (%945) and his fund raising efforts for the "Birds.' Nest" have raised $3,339.35. He reported that Bill Mattila, Pam Henthorn and he have incorporated as a non-profit organization and they have scheduled a fund raising dance "Flight Of The Birds' Nest", at the Kitsap Pavilion, $10.00 per person and all funds will be given to the "Birds' Nest". Another'fund raising effort is the sale of bird houses, available at Booth's Drug Store for S15.00, which are being made by Mr. & Mrs. Wagg, who are donating their labor costs. Pan Henthorn stated she and Bill joined Gordy in his effort in April and formed a non-profit corporation, which is called "Walk O~ The Birds' Nest"; the walk meaning getting others in the community involved with providing a home for the homeless. She noted Gordy has had a long hard walk since he started this project and she emphasized that she, Bill and Gordy are committed to this project. Their foundation purpose is to establish a home for th~ homele'ss, which would include job training, day care, therapy, 'self-care, etc. To kick off their program with all the community involvement they have received, they are having a large dance/fund raiser on June 30, at the Presidents Hall in the Kitsap Pavilion. They have a number of State and local politicians involved, KITZ, Ian Sanders will be emceeing the event, along with TV coverage, several mystery guest appearances, Cats & Dogs will be playing and Dwayne's Fabulous 50's. Funds raised from this event will be used to move the donated house to land they have been given. Del Knauss, 139 Olympic Avenue, stated Olympic College is running an ad in The Sun which seeks suggestions from the community to solve student parking problems. In that ad it quotes recent results of a survey they conducted indicating that a vast majority of the community would favor the college acquiring Roosevelt Field, if it could be exchanged for property suitable for a new soft ball facility. But, the truth is that this survey included 44.44 County residents. City residents passed a Parks Referendum with a 72.64 victory margin to protect City parks and this ad shows Olympic College has no respect for what the residents of Bremerton feel. Also, Olympic College states in their ad that they welcome suggestions from the community about property that might be appropriate for such an exchange. Prospective-properties must be large enough to serve as a soft ball field, the purchase price must be in the vicinity of $500,000, including three conditions for the property: (1) property must be in close proximity to the existing campus and capable of incorporation into an expanded campus in the future; (2) must be capable of parking at least 450 additional Tape %739 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 5 of 32 cars; (3) cost of the property must bein the vicinity of $500,000. He felt this was another insult to the residents of Bremerton because Olympic College is aware that Roosevelt Field is the only Droperty ~hat can hold 450 additional vehicles. And, it is also an insult that' Olympic College thinks Roosevelt Field can be replaced for $500,000. He urged every resident ~ithln the City limits of Bremerton to write the State College'Board, Governor Gardner and State Representatives asking for what held they can give Bremerton to stop the State from coming in and condemning a City park and ope~ space. Roy McInn~s, 2711 Maple Street, related a recent incident where visitors to the City, who were attending a Church event, were ticketed for overtime parking. He noted the visitors did go to the trouble of checking the meters to see when they were in force, however, they did not look on the back side, facing the street, where it indicated they would be enforce on Saturdays. He was embarrassed over this situation and hope~ that the City could do something that would make reading the parking regulations on a meter head more visible. Also, the visitors were somewhat shocked that they received a $10.00 fine for the overtime parking...they felt this was excessive. ~_rF Suetterlei_~, Parks Board member, expressed concern over the ads being run by Olympic College and noted a portion of the poll taken were not City'residents. She pointed out that !asr February almost 2,500 City residents cast their vote, making a statement that they believe City park lands should be protected. She complimented the Mayor, City Council and her fellow .Parks Commissioners on the fact that the City has become proactive and are working to change the City of Bremerton by meeting issues before they get too far along. The waterfront is changing, the parks are looking good, etc., and she urged everyone to "keep up the good work". She emphasized the fact that the City cannot afford to loose 7 1/2 acres in the core of the City. Don Larso~, 135 Rainier Avenue, stated he was still having problems with Brem-Air Disposal, Inc., regarding billing for garbage service at his residence. He stands by the fact that he has paid his share, based on the $1.75 minimum service stated in the Garbage Contract. He noted that the City Attorney has indicated several times that the $1.75 does apply and what he is finding is that Brem-Air Disposal is saying that no one can have that rate, even through it is stated in the contract. He pointed out that the Garbage Contract stipulates that Brem-Air has to haul garbage and that a citizen cannot haul it off site. He emphasized that fact noting that there is an unused refrigerator in the alley behind City Hall, which needs to be disposed of - no one is addressing getting rid of this appliance. He referenced Ordinance %4250, Tape ~739 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 6 of 32 adopted in November 1989, and the section stating that old appliances or rubbish must be removed within 72 hours after being notified by the Building Official. On May 23 he wrote a letter to the Council informing them about the old unused refrigerator in the alley and it is still sitting there. The alley between Woolworth's and the old Dalton Book Store is littered with old boxes, couch and general debris; and the alley down toward McDonaids is filled with litter'. Lastly, he has a proposal for an underwater park off the Bremerton waterfront in Sinclair Inlet or Dyes Inlet and what he would really like to do as a long range goal is to propose to Congress that Sinclair Inlet be named a National Park, put the inactiveNavy ships on display; etc. Included with his proposal is a petition seeking support of such a proposal. Gil Job-son, Deputy City Clerk, read into the record a letter receive~ from Jim Adrian, 621 Washington Avenue, relating to the proposal for establishment of the Bremerton KitsaD Redevelopment Agency. He noted the need for public hearings on this issue prior to taking any formal action.: He did not support high density low income housing projects to be developed in the City. And, there are virtually no HUD subsidies available to Housing Authorities these days for d~velopment of public housing. Public Housing Authorities can, however, borrow money for about 34 less than the private sector by selling Tax'exempt bonds. Also, they are exempt from paying property taxes 'to local governments. This ability provides them a significant advantage over the private sector. This means, in effect, that any public project developed must work on a cash basis. In other words, the gross rents must be able to service the debt and meet all other incidental expenses. In order to be able to do this, the Housing Authority is required to rent the units to tenants in the 804 of median income range, which is about $28,000 - $34,000 per year, depending on the number of dependents. The rents would also be in the $400-600 range for two to three bedrooms, hardly low income as we would understand it. In his opinion, there are several questions that the City Council must review and answer before embarking on this unchartered path: 1. Would it be good for the City to endorse the development of large complexes of public housing in the Bremerton community, which aggregate peoples of the same socioeconomic class? 2. Would it be in Bremerton's best interest to take additional properties off the tax rolls? 3. Does' a project like that discussed act as a catalyst or deterrent to Bremerton redevelopment? Tape ~739 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 7 of 32 4. What role should the Bremerton Housing Authority D!an in meeting the housing needs of Bremerton residents? Should they be providing public'housing for the $28-34,000 income range family or would this tyDe of housing be better Drovided by the 9rivate sector? 5. If the Housing Authority Droceeds with the City's endorsement to provide housing for a higher income clienteie than thW~ have in the mast, how will this affect their ability to Drovide help for the truly low income, i.e., the single mother with three children and a Dublic assistance check for $650.00 Der month? 6. What is the fundamental objective of the proposal: A. To Drovide more housing? B. to improve the quality of our housing stock? To tap into the 10 million dollars the Housing Authority has available.and move it through the community? 7. Are we respondinq to a short term tight housing market vista- vis a large influx of Navy that aDpears to go away sometime in the mid-90's? 8. Who will sit as the City's reDresentative on this new super agency, and what authority will the agency have.to bind or commit the City without subsequent City Council actions or aDproval? The Housing Authority has an ability to borrow up to 10 million dollars Der year. It may be Dossible that these dollars can be utilized in such a manner as to help improve the quantity and quality of the housing stock in the Bremerton community consistent with the-mission of the Housing Authority and the legitimate need of the community. In his oDinion, this can only effectively be accomplished with some type of Dublic/Drivate DartnershiD and not left exclusively in the Dublic sector. President Horton stated if anything is done on this issue there will be Dublic hearings and no decisions made behind closed doors. 6A - APPOINTMENT TO CABLE COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE - BEVERLY HAMMOND, %AB90-141 There is a vacancy on the Cable Communications Advisory Committee. It is recommended Beverly Hammond be appointed to the Committee. Public comment invited - none received. 549 M/S/C/U(Waibel/Colvin) to confirm the appointment of Beverly Hammond to the Cable Communications Advisory Committee. 6B - APPOINTMENT TO THE BP~RTON SOSID WASTE COMMITTEE -MICHELLE Tape ~739 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 8 of 32 DAWSON A~_ _._. JAME_~_~_c~O__N _A~__~,. The membership of the Bremerton Solid Waste Committee provides for three citizen members. The Mayor recommends two of those position be filled by Michelle Dawson and James McDonald. Bill A~o, 6625 Lake Drive, questioned how the City Council is informed of individual's background/exPerience in order to make a wise choice when confirming appointments made by the Mayor? President Horton explained the application and interview process used by Mayor Mentor when seeking volunteers to serve on City Boards and Commissions. $54 M/S/C/U(~aibel/Colvin) to confirm the appointments of Michelle Da~son and James McDonald to the Bremerton Solid Waste Committee. James McDonald, 2944 Pawnee Drive NE., gave a brief description of his educational/profession background and stated he looked forward to his appointment. ~ - PROPOSED LEASE. g~...~C__~ ._i~_O~..~0X._BRQ__S_~ The City leases space from Fox Bros., at 5217 1st Street for the repair of City-owned vehic!es-i The City's lease expired April 30, 1990. The City has negotiated a new two-year lease for $1~700 per month with a more favorable termination provision. Gil Jobn99n, Deputy City Clerk, requested three corrections to the proposal: (1) cost per month is $1,700.00, not $1,750..00; (2) under Section 3-Terms, written notice for termination must be given i20 days in advance, not 30 days; (3) the square footage is 5,000, not 500 sq. ft. ~_o.~_McID~is, 2711 Maple Street, questioned if the contract cost would remain the same for the entire two year period? Mr. Johnson stated yes, it would remain at $1,700 per month for the two year period. 867 M/S~C/U(Waibel/Horning) to approve the Lease Agreement with Fox Brothers as corrected. 6E- STATE OF WASHINGTON, PUGET APPKOVAL FO~ MAYO~ TO SIGN PEKSONAL SEKVICES CONTRACT, 9AB90-145 Puget Sound Water Quality Authority provides Centennial Clean water money to fund public involvement and education in issues surrounding water quality. The City of Bremerton has been awarded S19~000 to develop a public educational program discussing the sediment issue in Sinclair Inlet. Tape ~739 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 9 of 32 Connie DevaneI, Grants Procurement Manager., stated several months ago the Department Of Fisheries decided to withdraw $600,000 that had been awarded to the City to build a recreational pier on the downtown waterfront. At that Doint the Port Of Bremerton decided they would utilize their funds to construct that pier. One of the requirements on their construction permit was that they Dost "no fishing" signs on the Diet. This proposal is a small grant that will allow the City to meet that permitting requirement and also to provide some education to the public. It is intended to contract with Poulsbo Marine Science Center to develop the signs and a video tape. They will be training volunteers who will then take the video tape out to the community and discuss the history of the sediment issues, what progress has been made on cleaning uD the waters and how much more needs to be done. Don Larson, 135 Rainier Avenue, stated he is currently working with the Department O~ Ecology (DOE) on the ur~a~-'Bay Action Program For Dyes Inlet and Sinclair Inlet. The Dive Club he belongs to is also involved with the DOE and are~involved in putting on a "Washington Coast Weeks '90 event", whic~will highlight to the public things happening on the Washington coastline.. Their club's program will be September 22, at the. Kitsap Regional Library. He offered his services to the City. Mr. Waibel stated as a,matter of accuracy on this Council meeting he requested the identification of the individual serving as representative from the City Attorney's office. introduced himself, noting that most of the City's legal staff were away attending legal seminars. 078 M/S/C/U(Waibel/Colvin) to approve the Agreement and authorize the Mayor to sign and execute same agreement subject to Administrative Policy and Procedure. President Horton stated her displeasure with the State over the loss of funding and felt this was just crumbs they decided to throw to the City to try and appease for.their withdrawal of funding. Mr. Hornin= thanked Connie Devaney for her efforts and encouraged her to continue seeking funds even if it is in small numbers. 7A - ORDINANCE (FIRST READING) ESTABLISHING A TWO-YEA~ FISCAL BIENNIUM BUDGET, %AB90-1~6 The City Council has directed by Statement Of Legislative Intent ~10' that the City. establish a two-year fiscal biennium budget as authorized under RCW 35.34. The statute requires that the two-year fiscal biennium be adopted by ordinance. Rich Hanna, City Treasurer, stated it is the opinion of Mayor Mentor and himself that a biennial budget is not appropriate for Tape ~739 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 , Page 10t of 32 the City of Bremert0n at this time, however, as directed by the Statements Of Legislative Intent, he is presenting this ordinance for consideration. Public comment invited - none received. Mr. Colvi_n stated for public record that~ he ~ad the utmost confidence in the City Treasurer and a challenge he ~ould surmount. He noted it will not be etched in concrete and if it is not working, Council can certainly reverse their decision. Mr. Estes questioned if a bienni%Lm budget would work? Mr. HaDna stated he was sure it would work. Mr. Horninq stated he could not support this proposal even though it had been under discussion for over a year. He thinks Mayor Mentor and Mr. Hanna have searched out the proposal and he agrees with their position. · V Mr. Overso= stated th~ value of a two year budget is that it will give a longer term view of the City's finances. President Horton questioned in the event this item is not approved what affect would that have on the time schedule for establishing a Biennial Budget? M~. Hanna stated the statute requires that this ordinance be approved by the City Council no later than six months prior to the commencement of a fiscal biennium; so, the Council has between now and June 30 to process approval. Kelley Rinehart stated he was not prepared to give a-definitive opinion on this at this time. 278 M/S/C(Overson/Colvin) to approve Ordinance, on first reading, establishing a two year fiscal biennium budget beginning January 1, 1991, as authorized by RCW 35.34. Vote: In Favor: Overson, Colvin, Estes Opposed: Homing, Horton Abstain: Waibel 7B -- OP~DINANCE (FIRST READING) ELIMINATING SEVERAL FUNDS OF THE CITY~HICHAKE NO LONGER USED, ~AB90-147 Several ordinances, which created funds of the City, remain in effect while the funds, which they created, are no longer used. The proposed ordinance would repeal these several unneeded ordinances. Rich ~n~a, City Treasurer, stated each of the funds being proposed for elimination have not been used for varying lengths of time but in any event not less than four years. There is no money in any of Tape #739 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 11 of 32 the funds, so it is just the matter of removing unused legislation from the Municipal Code. President Horton requested that the fund · titles be read into the record for benefit of the public. ._Mr. Ha--a stated the titles are: {1) Public Works Revolving Fund - this was used at one time to perform locally funded public improvement project, similar to an LID project but without the cumbersome mechanism of putting together an LID assessment roll; (2) Recreation Facilities. Construction Fund - this was a capit&l projects fund that was utilized at the time the covered swimming pool was constructed by the City and created for that specific purpose; (3) Countercyclical Fund - he has no idea what this fund was used for, it has not been used for at least 10 years and no one who presently works for the City knows what it did in its time; (4) & (5) Electronic Equipment Maintenance Fund - at one time the Communications Department operated as an internal service fund in an enterprise type of accounting structure, which was eliminated in 1987 and both that and the Electronic Equipment Reserve Fund have been unused since that time. Public comment invited - non~:received. 570. M/S/C/U(Waibel/Colvin) to approve Ordinance, on first reading, repealing Ordinances No. 227~, ,2272, 3384, 3385, and 3758. 7C -O~DINANCE (FIRST ~R~DING) RELATING TO'UTILITY OCCUPATION TAX ON WATER AND WASTEWATER, $AB90-148 The proposed ordinance Will eliminate confusing language contained in the current ordinance and serve to clarify the relationships between the City, the Municipal Utilities and the Navy. Rich Ha-ha, City Treasurer, stated the language that is being proposed to delete from this ordinance is, in the opinion of himself and the City Attorney, extraneous to the construction of the ordinance and has served to provide some level of confusion in the City's dealings with the U.S. Navy under the old Utility Capital Construction Contract. Because the City is currently in the process of renegotiating that contract with the Navy, it is desired to have this language eliminated to provide a cleaner, legal basis. Public comment invited - none received. 583 M/S/C/U(Waibel/Colvin) to approve Ordinance, on first reading, amending Ordinance %3988 relating to Utility occupation tax on water and wastewater utilities. 7D - O~DINANCE (FIRST READING) REPEALING ORD._%2722 RELATING TO UTILITY PAYING AGENTS, %AB90-149 Ordinance No. 2722 authorized and regulated the use of paying Tape ~739 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 12 of 32 agents for collection of City utility bills. Paying agents are no longer used by the City and a resumption of their use is not foreseen, thus, Ordinance ~2722 is proposed for repeal. Rich H~-~a, City Treasurer, stated as indicated in the Agenda Bill the City has not used paying agents for the payment' of Utility bills for approximately four years because, the City now has both the City Hall (west side) and the Utility Administrative Offices (east side) as places where residents can Day their Utility bills in person. In addition, the City' has provided for automatic clearing house electronic payment as well as the mail- in of payment for Utility bills. There is no intent t° reinstitute this mechanism for payment of Utility bills any time in the foreseeable future. Typically, this kind of arrangement is used in Utilities whose service area is much larger than the City's, where customers would be physically removed from the offices of the Utility. Public comment invited- none received. Mr. Waibel questioned if there is any reference to Ordinance ~2722 in any other sections of the Bremerton Municipal Code (B.M.C.)? Mr. ~An~ stated no, they did not find any references to Ordinance %2722 in any other section of the B.M.C. during their research. 818 M/S/C/U(Overson/Colvin) to approve Ordinance, on first reading, repealing Ordinance %2722 relating to agents for payment of utility 8A - PUBLIC wR~KING -HEETERREZONE - TO ACCEPT PUBLIC COMMP~NTS AND CONSIDER THEPLANNING COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATION PERTAINING TO THE ZONING OF'A SINGLE LOT AT KITSAP WAY AND HARLOW DRIVE., %AB90-150 David Heeter has requested a rezone of a single parcel at the southeast corner of the intersection of Kitsap Way and Harlow Drive from its present designation of "Neighborhood Business" (NB)to "General Business" (GB). The property has been developed for commercial uses and is the site of a carpet sales business, which is a non-conformity under the present NB zoning. The Planning Commission conduced a public hearing on this request on May 15, 1990, and is recommending City Council denial of the rezone. Such requests are heard by both the Commission and City Council prior to the final decision. President Horton asked the "Appearance Of Fairness/Conflict Of Interest" question with all Council members present being seated. And, she announced that Councilman Russ Johnson was absent due to his attendance at the AWC Conference and that he would have had'to step down due to his residence being within 250 feet of the subject property. Tape %739 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 13 of 32 Kon Hough, Planning Manager, stated this request for rezone from Neighborhood Business (NB) to General Business(GB) is located in the southeast end of a commercial district. Part of the ~ustification of the application is that the existing use, carpet sales, is a. nonconformity in the NB zone. Nearby properties to the west and northwest are already zoned GB and there are properties with GB zoning to the east and west. The property and business are on a major arterial street (triangular in shape) with the long side of the property fronting on Kitsap Way. The NB zoning is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan but it may also be seriously affecting the property and business district since the NB designation does restrict businesses from expanding and going into some of the uses that are permitted in GB but not NB. This zoning district may be also affecting the insurance rate, marketing and financing of non-conforming uses in the area. As far as changes in circumstances, which is one of the criteria for rezones, the applicant states, that population growth .and increase in traffic are good reasons for rezoning this area, and upgrading it from NB to GB. And, by doing so it would be more consistent with the general commercial district that exists. Background: the property was rezoned in 1979 from low density Residential (R-l) to B-2 (commercial - a medium density). The B-2 zone included a variety of uses but it did not include some of the more intense uses that are now allowed in the GB zone and Business Core zone. In 1986 a building was built on the property, was occupied by Georgia Mills Carpet Sales. The eastern most triangular lot was not part of the original development but was purchased with the idea of building an office building at that location in the future. Mr. Hough provided a view graph showing the surrounding zoning and noted at first when the zoning map was adopted the'entire area with the exception of one property (a gas station/auto repair business) was designated NB as well as shown on the Comprehensive Plan as NB. The Plan does show the general area as commercial with the "N" designation, which designates NB. So, 'on that basis most of the area was zoned for NB. Later, through the corrections of errors process and review of the zoning, it was determined that some of the businesses on the north side of the street should be GB and one of the reasons justifying that was that they back up to industrial areas, i.e., the old drive-in theater, etc. They felt the impact of businesses, even if they were allowed to grow in that area, would have less impact backing up to Industrial Park than businesses in the southern location which backed up to residential areas. For that reason they felt the NB zone along the south side of Kitsap way would be better protection Tape ~739 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 14 of 32 for the residential area to the south. Prior to the Zoning Ordinance's adoption, there were opportunities to review the proposed Zoning Map and to correct errors. Following adoption, there was another six month review period and formal "Corrections Of Errj.~rs" process. The property owner took advantage of both opportunities. In the fall of, 1988, the zoning of the subject property was reviewed, an error was found, and the eastern most portion of the property was corrected from "SF-3" to "NB" In the Spring of 1989, a review of all properties within t~is commercial district was conducted and some properties on the north side of Kitsap Way' were changed to GB. The Heeter property and most other properties south of Kitsap Way remained "NB". In the s%unmer of 1989, another zoning review of the Heeter property was conducted by the ~oning R~eview Committee and City Council and again, it was determined teat no error had occurred and the property was correctly and i~tentionally zoned "NB". It was also noted that the type of change desired by Mr. Heeter could not be made through the "Correction~ OF Errors" process and that it would be more appropriate to consider it through the normal Rezone process. PE ~740 Nonconformities can exist in a NB zone indefinitely and this carpet sales business is considered a nonconformity at the present time. And, if it goes away, it can also be replaced within a year or it can be replaced with another nonconforming use through the Special Use Permit process if it is a reduction in intensity in the nonconformity or if it is uniquely suited to the existing building. This is somewhat of a safeguard for unusual buildings or buildings that were built for a special purpose, such as a warehouse, gas station, etc., and can be approved even though they are not allowed outright in a NB zone. Mr. Houg_~noted a list of "NB" zone uses was included in the Agenda packet that may be suitable for this structure, many are allowed outright and many are allowed by a Special Use Permit. Also, another list of uses was included for the GB zone, which could be considered for the property if it was rezoned GB. Many uses might be compatible with the area and many may not - the GB district is more intense, including more businesses that are nosier. Following the Planning Commission's review, the Commission determined that the request did not meet the criteria for approval of the Rezone, therefore they could not recommend approval and are recommending denial of this request. TAPE ~740 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 15 of 32 G~ Garti~, Bradley Scott, Inc.., representing David Heeter, provided a large map showing the zoning throughout the City and a printed handout. He relayed his feeling that the Planning commission did not recommend their denial of the rezone based on substance but rather on their dislike of his hair cut. Background: Mr. Gartin expressed concern that he was denied the opportunity to respond to some data-that was given during the August 23, 1989, review and desired to address some questions brought up b~ Councilman. Waibel. There were questions about nonconformity and whether this was reducing the value of the property, taking away, and what could be done with a nonconformity. He briefly reviewed the building information: Size - 10,500 sq. ft., built in 1986 and constructed of metal. Ceiling height is approximately 16 feet and there are 15 spaces plus truck loading area. Life expectancy of the building is as much as 30 years and the zoning when built was B2, with the current zoning NB - Nonconforming Use. He referenced Chapter IX, Section 3-D (page 2) of the Zoning Ordinance tha~ talks about "a land use of equal intensity of impact may not be substituted, for a nonconforming use unless the new use conform~ to, the current zoning"; the second part of that section ta!ks about if they do go back with this building (note: high probability this building will be vacant in the near future due to Mr. Heeter's non-competitive clause in a current contract, which would not allow him to re-enter the facility for a one year period for his Use). If they find another use that is nonconforming and ~even if it is less intense, but that it is specifically suited for the building, staff has indicated by Administrative SUP they would be willing, if it were close, to approve it. In the leasing world that is an extra hurtle that can make it very difficult to complete a deal. In looking at the "Discontinuation Of A Nonconforming Use", there are two ways to loose that right even to get an SUP use. If one of the appropriate uses for that building is located there and in t~o or. three years that use decides to move due to needing larger space, etc., they cannot go back for a Special Use Permit,.--.they can never use a nonconforming use in that facility, they ha~e lost that right. If the building is empty for one year they can. never go back to a nonconforming use - it is gone..i"The discontinuation of a nonconforming use for a period of one year or longer, or a change of the nonconforming use to a conforming use, shall constitute termination of the nonconforming status of the use ..... "(Zoning Ordinance Chapter IX, Section 3-G, Pg. 3). If they lease out the building they have to be careful not to lease it for a use that is allowable in the neighborhood. They also must make sure that they lease it within a year and with that type of structure it may take a year or more to find someone t° lease it. Another way the nonconforming use works a particular problem, is if TAPE ~740 ~ City Council Reg. Mtg. ~inutes~: June 13, 1990 Page 16 of 32 there was some kind of natural disaster or even= that destroyed 75~ of the building. As outline in Chapter IX, Section 4-G-2, Pg. 7, it could not be replaced as it was but could only be replaced with a 2,500 sq. ft. building - that is a loss of 7,550 sq. ft.. That is a substantial risk the building and property has been placed in. Mr. Waibel referenced a question asked during the. August 23 review, that focused on the Comprehensive Plan. Comprehensive Plan: "A designation in a Comprehensive Plan of something like Neighborhood Commercial. does not directly translate to a specific zoning. Comprehensive Plans-are such that they are concept things - they are not saying': "if this is in the Comprehensive Plan it means this particular zoning". That is not the way a Comprehensive Plan works in most planning situations. In the. introduction of the Comp=e~ensive Plan, it states: "As a vision this PLAN is not cast -~-,~n concrete", it recognizes that things do change. One of the emphasis on the overview was economics: "The City will reduce its dependence on government bF taking actions to keep existing businesses, to assist those bUSinesses in expanding and to attract new businesses". Making this. building less usable is not · consistent with that statement. Another item they talked about was the number of persons in Bremerton will increase very gradually by 164 between 1980 and the year 2000. He believed these figures are wrong and that this County area will double that amount. Neighborhood Commercial Facilities (Comprehensive Plan): "...serve the needs of adjacent residential areas". He noted there are residential areas adjacent to the subject property and on the other side is a five lane highway, a vacant lot on one side and some properties below it. But, the Plan continues: "Locate neighborhood commercial centers in concentrated compact patterns, within reasonable walking distance of residential areas..." Mr. Gartin stated he did not feel the subject property fit this description as "reasonable walking distance". He found it particularly interesting, when looking at the next section, titled Objectives: "DevetoD and implement a Callow Avenue/Charleston Business District Revitalization Plan", as part of the Neighborhood Commercial section of the Comprehensive Plan. That area is currently zoned GB. And, the second one ws, s to "Develop and implement a Manette Business District Revitalization Plan"...the current zoning GB. He pointed out the 'locations on the map of four locations of Neighborhood Commercial areas: 15th and Callow (this is currently zoned NB); Campbell and Wheaton Way (a mixture of GB and Professional Office (PO)), 11th and Wheaton Way (this is currently GB); Kitsap Way and Harlow (which is GB and NB). Just because something in the Comprehensive Plan says Neighborhood Commercial, it does not mean that requires it to be that designation; and, TAPE 8740 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, ~990 Page 17 of 32 nothing has been done to make it NB only. In discussing the B2 zone, Mr. Colvin questioned, dur{ng the August 23 review, if NB was' the closest zone designation to the previously designated B2 zone? Mr. Gartin reviewed a prior Zoning Map of Bremerton and he identified a total of 36 B2 zones in Bremerton; 29 ~f tho~e 36 were placed in Business Core or GB, one- Industrial ~Park, a couple designated Multiple Residential, one-Water District. Of those 29, four properties became NB and those four are: Sheridan and Elm (Sheridan Mini-Mart - completely surrounded by residential); llth Place and Pleasant (Handy Corner Grocery Store, approximately 500 square feet in the middle of residential area), 6th and Hi~h, Kitsap Way and Harlow - this area is vastly different from. the other three areas. Eighty six percent of the ones that were zoned Business Use went to a GB zone. And, in response to Mr. Colvin's question staff indicated NB was the most appropriate zone. Mr. Gartin stated clearly, if one looks at what was done in other parts of the City, that designation was wrong and inconsistent with what was done in the rest o~ the City. He noted the number of areas where GB and NB are mixed, because there is an inconsistency in the definition of those ~wo, there.is only one place in the County where they are mix...on Kitsap Wal. If you look at an area where there is a newer building and a high traffic zone that is NB..there is only once place in the City where that exists and that is where Mr. Heeter's building is located. Mr. Gartin reviewed a partial list of uses allowed in B3 zones and not in B2 zones: department stores, main banks, hotels, brokerage agent offices, liquor stores, feed and seed stores, greenhouses, newspaper plants, upholstery shops, trailer courts, automobile (major repairs). He s~ated looking at the B2 zone and seeing what was not allowed in NB: Residential (that's the one when the question was asked staff what the difference was...the only use mentioned in response to Mr. Waibet's question was - residential}: a bank, experimental or testing laboratory, frozen food lockers, motel, mortuary, automobile rental, printing and publishing, electrical shops, plumbing shops, sheet metal shops, small animal clinics, retail lumber stores, dance halls in enclosed building, taverns in enclosed building, service stations, Police or Fire stations, storage building for household goods. He pointed out that under the B2 zoning designation dance halls and taverns were allowed if they were in an enclosed building. He emphasized there is substantial differences between a B2 zone and a NB zone...a substantial down grade. Plus, it is not consistent with what has been done with NB throughout the City. Going once step further, he provided a partial list for potential uses for the building that are no longer allowed but would be allowed under GB: retail stores over 2,500 sq. ft., library, photographic services, tires, batteries and.other auto accessories, construction services office TAPE ~740 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 18 of 32 without yard, banking services, building maintenance services, retail groceries and markets over 7,000 sq. ft., heating and plumbing equipment-retail, paint, glass, wallpaper - retail, electrical supplies and services, furniture and equipment sales, rental and leasing, apparel manufacturing, medical' laboratory, cameras., photographic supplies - retail, optical goods - retail, car repair services, small engine repair, .repair services other than auto and engines, admin, offices for parks, schools and other public facilities, lumber and other retail sales of building materials, research, development and testing services, newspaper publishing, printing', commercial printing. He stressed the fact that there is a substantial impact on uses of the subject property. Financial effect of rezoning: if the building were destroyed and was replaced with a 2,500 sq. ft.., building, the owner would stand to loose approximately $200,000 because of the down zoning. In the best case scenario, for any investor looking-at the building, they would say this creates a situation that increases potential for vacancy. And, an investor looks at cash flow - at a minimum that would be a potential 10~ inCrease in vacancy with a minimum loss of $40,000. He reiterated he believed if he had been allowed to provide the above information during the August 23, 1989, review and those facts had been before Council and they weren't thinking the difference was only residential between a B2 and NB designation; and they were not thinking this is what was done throughout the City...realizing the subject property had been down zoned, that there would have been a different decision made at that time. At the end of the August 23 meeting, several Council members stated since an error was not found, they suggested the applicant come back requesting a rezone...which they have done. In reference to the Staff Report, (page 3) the statement that "the zone did not permit ......... restaurants and bars..", was false - it did permit restaurants and bars (page 28 Zoning Ordinance), if they were in a completely enclosed building or completely enclosed portion of a building when within 50 feet of any residential district. Therefore, that building would have been allowed to have as a use a restaurant, tavern, pool hall, theater, skating rink under the old zoning. Adjacent zoning - on one side of this triangular shaped piece of property is a five lane major highway, on the other side is a two lane highway and on the other side of that two lane highway is vacant property. On one of those three sides of the triangular is a residence and there has been included a 50 foot buffer for that residence. It would be their position, if that buffer had been put in when the B2 rezone was designated it would or should go away if TAPE ~740 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 19 of 32 the NB designation stands because of the down zone condition of the property. They have already discussed the idea of the effects on the NB Zoning on the property and the Staff Reports says that it will allownonconforming uses. It does not go on to say what would happen, if they ever put a conforming use in there, which would mean they could never do another Special Use Permit. It does not go on to say what would happen if' it was empty for a year, which would mean they would not be allowed to put another nonconforming use in, or what would happen if it were totally damaged. Referencing Rezone Criteria (Staff ~eport), Mr. Gartin made the following points: 1. The rezone is substantially consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Looking at what happened to other Neighborhood Commercial areas and what was done in those-areas, as discussed, GB is very consistent with what has been done i~ other parts of the City. This is not consistent with the general plan, because the general plan does not determine zoninq, it gives concepts that are desired to approach. 2. The rezone is necessary-because eithp~.~ (A) conditions in the immediate vicinity have so markedly changed that a rezone is required in the public interest (which Mr. Gartin believes took place)~ (B) The Rezone will correct a zone classification or zone boundary that was inappropriate when established. (Mr. Gartin pointed out that if you look at what was done to almoSt every other NB zone that had any kind of development on it - in every case it was designated BG. Therefore, he believes there was an inappropriate zoning on the subject property when it was established.) 3. The Rezone would not result in adverse environmental consequences: The major highways surrounding this property are not a problem. In conclusion, Hr. Gartin emphasized that this rezone request is consistent with all the criteria required and if a rezone is not approved, that decision would drastically down zone this property, treating it differently than any place else in the City. The Planning Commission based their decision on something that was not in the Zoning Ordinance... theI wanted to buffer a residential zone. If that was an intention, it should have been placed in the ordinance; and if that was the intention, it should have been done somewhere else in the City also. Paul Hoskinson, 919 Weslon Pl., stated he did the design work on the building located on Mr. Heeter's property. He also did the approval process getting it through the Site Plan Review and TAPE ~740 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 20 of 32 community hearings that were necessary. With the B2 zoning designation, this piece Of property came along with a lot of baggage because of its sensitive nature at the time Mr. Heeter purchased the property. He and Mr. Heeter have a lot of respect for the community in that area and they worked very hard to meet the needs of the community, i.e., buffer area requirements were.~ strictly enforced, no trees were to be cut and none have been cut.'~ They did a number of redesigns in regard to access in and out of the property as it pertains to the Harlow Drive intersection; changes were made to the landscaping, buffering and fencing in the. storm detention area and protecting the back of the property for view from the neighborhood. At that time, the community had the. opportunity to come in and affect the development of this proposal, which they did and Mr. Heeter complied with. He agreed with Mr. Gartin, to come into this point of the program and literally down zone the property and restrict the uses is inconsistent with what the community approved when the B2 zone was apDa-rent and when the building was first built in 1986. ~e did not understand how a piece of property could be down zoned without compensating the owner and it has. been his understanding that recent State or Federal law has supported owners of property in a down zoned situation to the point of awarding financing benefits to that owner because of the loss that the property could, would or has occurred because of the down zone. A good example of a down zoned building and what could happen is looking at the old Coca Cola building near the Bremerton High School. When Coca Cola moved from that facility, Chuck Hazelwood purchased the building as part of the deal to get Coca Cola to relocate because they could not market their building. It had been a nonconforming use in a residential zone and there were v~ry few businesses that could utilize that building. He stressed the possibility of such problems happening with Mr. Heeter's attempt to lease his building. In reference to the vacant piece of property attached to the site, if an additional building were requested to be built on that site they would have to go through site plan review procedures that was attached to that property when it was a B2 zone, or maybe there could be a provision that would allow protection for the neighborhood. Tim Arnold, Bradley Scott Associates, 400 Warren Avenue Suite 450, stated he is in the commercial real estate business and had been for approximately 20 years. He complimented the City on its public hearing process in adoption of the Zoning Ordinance as well as the process established for correction of errors and omissions. The sad point he has seen in this particular property is going through the procedure trying to get corrections, which on the surface and after further study was an obvious mistake that was influenced by personal issues, maybe the strong neighborhood group that has been influential for some time. He believes that the Correction Of Errors procedure faltered in this instance and he felt the Staff TAPE ~740 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 21 of 32 Report was' an example of the most glaring, short sighted reports he has read. He stated there was no doubt, in his opinion as a commercial agent, that this property value had been severely damaged right now. He emphasized that this issue needs to be aggressively dealt with by a type of decision that falls in line with zoning and planning, not special or emotional issues. If there is a problem, on the emotional side where~ ther® are businesses that are adjacent to residential, the City has an Ordinance %4226, which legislates noise nuisance. NB designation is not a buffer zone, was never designed for a buffer zone and that is what it was called several times during hearing before the Planning Commission. He encouraged'Council to support correcting this zone in'essence to what it should have been - GB. Patrick Go~dard, 6215 Maple View Drive and business owner along Kitsap Way near the applicant's property, stated his business is zoned B2 and in all fairness it would be more apt to fall into the category of NB than the subject property. He believes there had been some injustices, done many years past when the property was annexed from the County into 6he City. At that time a promise was made that those businesse= would not loose the zoning they had when they were ih the County. Shortly after being annexed, the City Attorney stated they could~ not promise that, so the property had already been down graded once before from B3 to B2. He Stated he would be in favor of changing this zone to GB. Butch Steward stated for 19 years Mr. Heeter has worked to make a better life style for himself and his family. He felt it was a gross injustice on the City's part to down zone this property. He pointed out Mr. Heeter has worked within the community supporting local youth and community activities. J4m Wooten, 6965 Chico Way, stated hehas followed this particular issue through all the Dlannin~ procegses ~tartin~ in August when the simple thing would have been to acknowledge that an error had been made. He felt that some of the Council members appeared to not even know what they were voting for and in fact changed their vote afterwards. During the Planning Commission's meeting, representatives from the neighborhood testified that Mr. Heeter was a good guy, that they approved what he wanted to build,, however, now they don't want him to do any t~e of development on the subject property other than a carpet business. He Pointed out that there are GB designated areas in the City next to residential neighborhoods that do not have a buffer. And, he emphasized the fact that the subject property is not accessible from Harlow Drive and it obviously does not serve that neighborhood. He also noted Bremerton is going to grow to the west and he was amazed that a five lane highway going past businesses could be considered a Neighborhood type area. TAPE 8740 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 22 of 32 Dave Heeter, applicant, stated he has been a resident of Bremerton for 24 years and a Bremerton businessman for 19 years. In 1986 he put his life's assets on the line to build the facility now known as Georgia Mills. He was not asked to make any promises at that time as to whether or not it would always be a carpet store, he never miss lead anyone that his intention was to always have a carpet store located there. The property was zoned B2, which allowed a number of different uses. He went into this investment project with the City's and neighborhood's blessing and with the promise that the building he was building could not be taken away by the City and this promise came in the form of' the B2 zoning designation, which was in place at the time he purchased his' property. The B2 zoning permitted him, without any special Use Permit to operate a dance hall, tavern, service stations, sheet metal shops., mortuary, motel and bank...just to name a few~ Now they have been told that NB designation is closer ~%~r'his original B2 status than the GB designation. He emphasized the fact that this is clearly not the case. As. Mr. Gartin documented in his discussion, 864 of the previously designated B2 properties were rezoned to GB and every sinc~ that meeting of August 23, 1989, he has been compiling some facts...at first he took some statements made by Mr. Hough as fact, however, upon studying he finds them inaccurate. At the August meeting, Councilman Homing stated that if it would take special conditions to rebuild the main structure in the event it was destroyed, then in fact Mr. Heeter had been down zoned. To this M~. Hough replied: "...Mr. Heeter could rebuild the same structure though not for the same use". Mr. Heeter stated that statement by Mr. Hough is not correct, he could not rebuild that same structure. Mr. Hough also stated, at the August meeting, that if for whatever reason his property was vacant for a period of one year and another carpet business came along and desired to use that building that it could apply for a Special Use Permit and possibly have it approved. He, Mr. Heeter, asked Don Pratt~ Director Of Community Development, about this scenario and he told him in no uncertain terms that there was.no way after a -~-year of vacancy that he could see clear to allow a retail operation in that facility. At the August ~3 meeting Mr. Waibel inquired into whether or not the NB designation was the closest to B2, and was told yes. Well, in fact, the answer should have been no. According to the minutes of that meeting, Mr. Colvin and Mr. Hough both stated that the property had been down zoned. In fact, there was no disagreement on that point. If his property was down zoned and if GB was the closest use designation to B2 how can it be logically argued that the property not be zoned GB. He also pointed out to the neighbors that he also resides in this area and has for many years. He is concerned about the neighborhood. A number of months back he received some negative feedback about two storage trailers parked on the adjacent property TAPE %740 City Council Reg~ Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 ] Page 23 of 32 to the building. At ~hat time he approached his tenants of the building and asked them to remove the trailers, which they did. Recently there had been a problem of an over flowing dumpster - he also intervened on that issue and the owner agreed to increase his frequency of garbage pickups. And, he will continue to monitor this property in the future. He stated there is a goos possibility that he will be moving his own existing business b~ck into the building in the near future and he did not want to:alienate the neighbors. Finally, he comes before the City Council requesting their consideration of the facts and logic- behind his request for a rezone. He questioned was it fair that his life's earnings have been put in jeopardy by a broken promise and please make no mistake about it...his family's future and his retirement have been put at serious risk. He trusted the City when he purchased the property, built his building and he is requesting at this time that the City stand by their word. ~ Bill D-~pshon stated Mr. Heeter actually funded the placement of a dumpster at the subject property in order to make sure that the area is cluttered with garbage from the carpet company. Jim Strait, 6530 Harlow Drive, President of Kitsap Lake Neighborhood Association, stated when this area was annexed into the City it all came in as Residential. This .included all businesses - the City Commissioners asked the neighborhood to set up a committee to Come up with a recommendation for zoning of the area. He chaired this group, which ~as made up of business and residential people. They spent many hours coming up with what they considered a proper zoning and then he had the task to make presentation of those recommendations to the Planning Commission and City Commissioners for their consideration and approval. Ail recommendations were approved and signed by the property owners. The Planning Commission, after considerable consideration recommended that this piece of property be zoned B2 primarily because at one time there had been a neighborhood gas station on a portion of the property. What they were hoping for was that an office building or branch bank would eventually go on the property. And, if Professional Office zoning had been available, he believed they would have zoned that piece of property as such as there is residential housing both to the south and to the east with NB to the west. There is GB across the highway and all concentrated in one area up to the Kitsap Golf and Country Club. There is one piece of property that is zoned GB on the same side as Mr. Heeter's property and he still does not know how it got that designation. That property, when it was rezoned did not have a repair shop, it was a gas station that catered to the neighbors who signed for their gas and paid monthly. When the new Zoning Ordinance when into TAPE ~740 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Pa~e 24 of 32 effect, the subject property was zoned NB because it was so close to the neighborhood area on and adjacent to Kitsap Lake and because sound carries so far in this area. Lastly, he.believes that NB zoning is much closer to the old B2 designation than GB. He expressed concern that some other use would be found for the subject property that would generate excessive noise-, which would greatly reduce the property value-of the neighborhood. Mr. Stra~ provided Council with some pictures which showed the exterior of the building and surrounding area being in a run down condition. He urged the City Council to not approve the requested rezone and if any thing, it should be rezoned Professional Office Building. Bill Amo, 6625 Lake Drive, stated he lives about 200 feet due south of the subject property. He gave a brief review of activities in that area starting in 19§3, noting that some business are gone and some are still there. In particular, the restaurant on the north side of the highway is still in business and does create noise which impacts the neighborhoo~ in a negative way. During times of normal living behavior the n~ise is not as noticeable, however, during the night time it is very apparent. He has not officially complained about-the noise from the restaurant but it does degrade the quality of living in his area. He noted that the area does not generate a huge demand for intense business. In response to the statement that this area is being treated differently than other areas within the City, he pointed out this is the- only area in Bremerton which has a lake and he viewed that as a real asset to the City. During the August 23 Correction Of Errors review he reported that an Osprey nest and .eagle nest were in the close proximity...the Osprey are not back this year but the eagles are. He does not know that the Community needs intense business at Kitsap Lake - he does not believe they do. He believes the community needs a stable neighborhood with peace and quiet and the opportunity to develop as such. He also believes there is plenty intense, commercial property available and downtown Bremerton has all kinds of opportunity for intense business. W. A. Sei~el, 6504 Lake Drive, stated he felt the applicant presented just speculative reasons and situations for changing the. zoning, not any convincing reason. No one knows what Mr. Heeter has in mind, except to preserve the value of his property. He did not support creeping business zoning into long time residential areas. Ral~._W~it~, 6519 Lake Drive, stated he moved to Kitsap Lake 38 years ago because of the zoning. About two. years ago this summer he did an extensive remodel on his home on the strength that there would not be any change in the zoning. He is very opposed to any rezoning. TAPE ~740 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 25 of 32 B_%~l Carlse~, 6604 Lake Drive, stated' he lives just across Harlow Drive from the subject property and is opposed to the rezone. He pointed out the five lane highway ends about 200 feet east of the' subject property, therefore, he does not feel that has any bearing on th~s r~zone. Paul Lindblad, 6607 Lake Drive, stated he has lived in that area about 4 years and also had been disturbed by the noise from the Lakeshore Restaurant during night time hours. He expressed concern over what might be allowed on Mr. Heeter's property if it were rezoned, therefore, he was opposed to the proposed rezone request. Rose Kerson, 1725 Lakehurst Drive, stated her opposition to the proposed rezone due to traffic conditions, which could increase with more intense businesses in that area. Job- McDonald, 6614 Lake Drive, stated he lives approximately 100. yards or less from the front door of the subject building. He stated the noise from across the street at the Lakeshore Restaurant is very loud and from all indications given during the hearing he has not heard one thing about what kind of business would be going into Mr. Heeter's building or what kind of nuisance or pest, unfavorable conditions, were to be presented to the neighborhood. He noted he could not condemn what they want to change the zone to, he is only interested in what kind of business will be in the building and the noise level it would create. He stated he is completely in harmony with the existing zoning designation. Albert Hagebloom, 6601 L~ke Drive, stated he is opposed to the rezone and would consider it a serious detriment to the residential neighborhood. He noted they would have no control over what type of business could go into the subject building. If it created adverse conditions, such as excessive noise, property values would decrease, which could or should result in a decrease in property tax. Gil Joh~s_o.~L Deputy City Clerk, read a letter into the record from M. E. Johnson, 6530 Lake Drive, in which she voiced her opposition to the proposed rezone. She cited the requested rezone would be a violation of the general policies of the Bremerton Comprehensive Plan, a blatant violation of the Kitsap Lake Neighborhood Comprehensive Plan, which was submitted to and accepted by the City of Bremerton. She pointed out that this particular property was to be a buffer from the high use commercial areas to the north and the single family residences to the south, including those on Harlow Drive. She believes the property has been used in a manner which goes far beyond what would be anticipated from a neighborhood business, i.e., semi-truck trailers were parked in the parking area for months, construction equipment and vehicles have been stored on TAPE ~740 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 26 of 32 sight for long periods of timer extremely large accumulations of trash routinely overflow the large dumpsters, landscaping has not been maintained. And, there is a source of significant drainage problems due to runoff from the property directly into Kitsap Lake. Gary Gartin. noted there were major concerns about noise and traffic during previous testimony. Once again he pointed out that the neighborhood has lived with the possibility of noise type businesses under the B2 designation - that possibility under the proposed rezone has not changed so what they are asking for is a down zone on the property. He questioned the reason to down zone a piece of property for a reason there is an alternative solution to - there is an ordinance that deals with noise. As Mr. Arnold mentioned previously, an example of a similar situation where Yee's Restaurant is now located. In terms of traffic, the traffic access is only onto Kitsap Way - there is no drive way off Harlow. He noted if the property were in the County it would be just the opposite, they would require the access off the side street and not off the main road. He emphasized that the B2 zone is very similar to GB. What the owner is asking for is to have exactly what he had before under the B2 zone and the opportunity to use the building. The home owners .in that area would be in no more jeopardy than they were under the previous zoning. ~avid Heeter stated there seems to be a fear among the neighborhood residents that he has a clandestine plan to put in a dance hall in his building. It was mentioned that no one heard what his intentions were...they are to continue operating a carpet store; and if he is operating a carpet store, it will be a commercial business he operates now because of his non-competitive clause with the people he sold the Georgia Mills business to. There are no plans to change the usage...all he is asking is for some protection, he is not asking for any thing different than what he had going into the property and what the residents agreed to. As far as noise levels, carpet business is noted for being a quiet business. Jim Strait stated there were restrictions placed on the subject property when it was zoned B2, which required that they go through the zoning process to come up with what would go into that building. ~__o~._~g_h~ stated he wanted to clear up the statement made by Mr. Strait about previous zoning conditions placed on the previous rezone that required some sort of approval. He was not real clear about what that is all about and was not aware it exists. Some of the old rezone ordinances, when it was rezoned from R-1 to B2, are probably no longer on the books, however, some portions are on the books and the part providing for the buffer is still valid. TAPE ~740 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 27 of 32 In response to comments regarding 29 of 36 B2 properties went to GB, 29 of 36 went to GB with the new zone, the other 7 went to some other zone and he did not have those comparisons and said it would be difficult to say why most of them went to GB and why certain others didn't, but each area%was looked at individually. Part of the reason the subject~area wren to NB was due to the Comprehensive Plan designation for NB in this a~ea and there may be other reasons as well. Some. people .sta~ed it was an obvious zoning error - he did not feel it was an obvious error and had been reviewed several times by staff, Zoning Review Committee, Planning Commission and City Council; and, in each case it was found that it was not a zoning error. As pointed out, there may have been some errors in the staff report listing some of the uses that may have been' allowed under the old zoning. In regard to the comment made that Don Pratt stated if the building burned down. they could not approve another retail business at that location - he did not believe~ this was a true statement, it is NB with a whole list of retail~uses and it also has a claus that another nonconforming uses. may be allowed to replace a nonconforminguse by Special uSe Permit when the new use is clearly a reduction in the nonconformity or intensity or when the.new use is found uniquely suited to the building structures. 741 It was mentioned that the rezoning was some sort of a promise that the building could remain virtually forever and the uses listed in that zone could remain forever - he did not believe the City or any other jurisdiction makes zoning promises like that. Zoning changes all the time and City's occasionally adopt new Zoning Ordinances and in this case the City did. Not all new zones are directly compatible or related to the old zones. It is very hard to compare straight across the NB zone to the B2, B3, B1 zones, it is a mixture. This particular zone was tailored primarily for neighborhood situations - small service areas, generally not on arterial streets (note: this property is on an arterial street through, but it also tends to serve a smaller neighborhood or at least that is the intent). There was mention of down zoning and the fact that if a down zone happened then the property owner should be compensated. Taking issues have gone through the courts many times and he felt in this case down zoning may have occurred...not a drastic down zone as there are still lots of uses available for this property. He noted that the Planning Commissions recommendation, is denial of the rezone request. Mr. Estes questioned that the dumpster overflow problem had not been corrected - as of Tuesday, June 12, there appeared to still be a mess on the site. He has received lots of complaints from TAPE %741 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 28 of 32 residents who live nearby about the condition of the property. Mr. Heeter stated he believes the general condition of the property is good and he did acknowledge the problem with overflow of the dumpster, which he has taken measures to correct. Mr. Estes questioned-in back of the building how far does it go to the back property line? Mr. Heeter stated '1/3 of the parcel remains undeveloped. Mr. Estes stated he has been questioned how much more of the property can be developed into GB to cause more disturbance to the neighborhood. Mr. Heeter stated he has gone on record before saying that he would be more than happy to agree to prohibitions that would answer their concerns. Prohibitions against taverns, night clubs, dance halls, or many other things - he has no interest in either developing something of that nature or selling it to someone who would; he stands by that agreement. Mr.. Estes. stated he believed Mr. Heeter had the same rights as before and he could remain there as long as he wanted. Mr. Heeter stated yes he can, but in the future 5-10-20 years when he decides to or is able to retire he did not feel it was right that he, be bound to future generations carrying om the floor covering business in order to preserve the property. Mr[. Estes. questioned 10-15 years in the future what kind of protection wi[1 the neighborhood have? Mr. Heeter stated they would ha4~ relatively the same protection they had under the. B2 zoning. Mr. Overson co~%mented the new Zoning Ordinance changed a lot of uses throughout the City and it is felt the changes are for the better. In this.case, it gets contentious in that Mr. Heeter has a piece of property that is not directly well suited to his current use, it is certainly not well suited for many of the uses in GB and he did not think its value was what was presented to Council - he could not see someone buying it for a GB use. However, if it was zoned General Business he believes there is a perception that a lot of the residences in that area would significantly change in value. Mr. Waibe! stated whatever decision Council makes ma~ be appealed to the Courts and he wanted to make sure all of the information on record is accurate. In reference to drainage pr~blems - he questioned if there is a drainage problem or was the statement made that a drainage containment system was in place correct? Mr. Heeter stated one of the requirements by the City for placement of the current building was to have a retention pond. It was an expensive piece of work to have done - it was approved by the City Engineers and to his knowledge there is no drainage problem on the property. Mr. Waibel questioned if the conditions described for the reservoir remain in effect if this was~rezoned GB? Mr. Hoqg~ stated for any development that goes on a property the drainage will be reviewed individually to make sure the runoff is adequately provided for. If there is a problem there now, it should be corrected now, not through a rezoning or some other use. Even the TAPE ~741 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 29 of 32 most intense zoning of the site would be planned and designed to accommodate the runoff so there would not be a runoff or pollution problem in the lake - that is why drainage and runoff was not considered a serious criteria. Mr. Waibel stated it seems there were some other conditions for landscaping, etc., for providing within the B~2 zone and buffering - he questioned if those conditions stay in effect if the GB zone was approved? stated that was a separate Ordinance, which was retained on purpose when the zone was changed. He saw no reason why that would not be kept alive. Mr. Waibel stated he wanted to know if it would be or would Council have to make a special provision? Mr. Hough stated since there is already an Ordinance containing those conditions he did not believe they would have to be restated. Mr. Houq~ stated he felt that could be worked out with Council. Mr. Waibel stated Mr. Gartin. men~i0ned the fact that if this property would become a confoz~ business that he would not be able to go back and make it a nonconforming use (Mr. Waibel felt this was accurate) - and Mr. Gartin stated twice that ~f it would become a conforming use he would not be able to use a Special Use Permit (Mr. Waibel felt this statement was ihaccurate) - udder the NB ~esignation it would be required'to have a Special Use. Per, it for certain uses under the Neighborhood Business zoning.- Mr. Gartin stated what he meant was that they could no longer go back to uses, such as a carpet store, which is not permitted in NB even with a Special Use Permit. Most of the uses that would fit that building are not really permitted in NB even with the Special Use Permit. Mr. Waibel questioned Mr. Gartin's comment regarding percentages (82~ went to GB) and in passing mentioned 'that maybe some of the things being called GB might have been Business Core? Mr. Gartin stated out of 36 there were 4 NB, 22 GB, 3 Business Core, 1 Industrial Park, 3 Multiple Residential, 2 Professional Office and I Water Department. Waibel stated he wanted this information on the record because Business Core is often a neighborhood area and because it is in the downtown area it is desired to maintain those restrictions. And, Mr. Gartin mentioned that the Comprehensive Plan does not require a particular zone (this is accurate), however, the City is required by State Law, which has been made more strict in the last session of the Legislature, that the zoning is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. If it is inconsistent, we are one of the Counties Who will be required by 1991 to get all zoning consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. ~. Gartin pointed out that his handout contained information that the City has not been consistent in other areas such as Manette, Callow, etc. He noted those areas were mentioned specifically in that section of the Ordinance and the idea that zoning doesn't go with the Comprehensive Plan - is a concept not strict zoning. He stated he would feel much more comfortable with this decision if the City went back and rezoned all the other things that fit into this category consistently. TAPE %741 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 30 of 32 , _Mr. Colvin pointed out the greatest concern of the neighborhood residents is what is that building going to be used for and to'him that is a logical and legitimate concern. Mr. Gartin stated that the denial was. based on the way he cut his hair...does he actually feel that was the reason or was that just a joke? Mr. Gartin stated that was ~is boss's opinion after the Planning Commission's meeting.~.M=. COlVin quest$oned for clarification that Mr. Heeter built the building under B2 zoning? Mr. Hough stated yes. Mr. Colvin questioned at the time the property was zoned to NB did many of the uses under .the B2 zoning designation go away and was the quote that Mr. Hough considered the property has been down zoned correct? Mr. Hough stated yes, many uses did go away and in reference to the quote he was not sure he said it, however, when ever uses are taken away it is generally considered down zoning. In this case, it is a whole new zoning district, which also includes some uses that were not allowed in the old B2 district; and it eliminated all the residential uses. Mr. Colvin questioned if this could be considered as a "taking" case? Kelley Rinehart, Assistant City Attorney, stated a taking case would be very difficult to make out in circumstances like this. He believed Mr. Overson and Mr.. Waibel referred to the fact that zoning is.a fluid process of going on all the time. The only concern that he would have, based on the fact that he has relatively little specific knowledge about how many uses were lost moving from B2 to NB, is that there would have to be drastic use losses to make out a taking case and that no reasonable use of the property has been left to the property owner. Mr. Colvi~ questioned what Mr. Rinehart meant by "drastic"? Mr. Rinehart stated an obvious taking case may be made out when a business use is completely deprived of its business value...limiting it to a residential district or open space district. The area in this case is much more gray and he felt a taking case in this instance was very unlikely. Mr. Colvin stated it was difficult for him to determine if the City has wronged Mr. Heeter or not. Mr. Hornin~ stated he certainly understood the neighbors concern that something that will violate their rights, privacy, is possible in the future. Although, at this location up against a major highway on one side and a substantial highway on the other, it is unlikely that this is going to be used for just any use. The very nature of the shade of the building will dictate the type of uses. It would be very costly to put in some of some of these things that would be very offensive and the fact that there are only 15 parking spaces available and with the buffering in the back it appears unlikely there will be additional parking, which would enhance that property. He noted he is not as fearful over the future use of the building as the residents are, considering all of the information provided and the location of the property. The City saw fit to give a B2 designation during the rezone process in 1979 and he felt TAPE ~74~ City Council Reg.. Mtg. Minu~es June 13, ~990 Page 3~ of 32 there was no question that there was a "taking" here. He stated the City has no right to take something so clearly as this. If the property were located closer to the residential area he would feel differently, but it isn't. He sees no other use for this property than business. And, Mr. Heeter has stated that he int6nts' to operate a carpet business at that,location. No one wi.il live forever and hopefully the physically property will go on for a long time if it is maintained and the fact that it is not maintained absolutely perfectly right now is disappointing but is not criteria for a take away. President Horton stated what she finds hard to understand is why this property was zoned B2 in the first place. She knows it was worked out with the neighborhood, but it does in fact butt up to the only lake property in the City and it is a very viable and vital neighborhood. There were uses under the B2 designation that the neighbors would not have approved of such as taverns and dance halls and she questioned if such uses were included under the B2 designation? Mr. Hough reviewed the section of the Zoning Ordinance pertaining to allow-able uses and confirmed that taverns and dance halls would have been permitted providing that they be in an enclosed building or completely enclosed portion of a building when within 50 feet of any residential district and when within 500 feet from any public school, playground or public park entrance. Mrs. Horton noted that obviously under the old zoning the threat to have taverns and/or dance halls' was present under the old zoning ordinance. Now the dilemma is does the City go back and address what should have happened in the beginning and that was to truly enforce NB, or is it addressed trying to make a correction to what is perceived by the owner as a down zone. When the rezone was done on the whole City, effort was made to make the zoning appropriate for the areas...looking at it case-by-case. This particular case is in more of a gray area but what was the intent of the Zoning Ordinance was to make the neighborhoods neighborhoods and buisness zones business zones and make neighborhood businesses compatible with the neighborhoods. From her position she does not see the subject area will grow in business but she does see that it could become compatible with the growing neighborhood. If the intent is to hold to the Zoning Ordinance and to make things as correct as possible, then she feels the NB designation needs to be upheld for that area. Mr. Waibel stated because of the rezone process, it seems to be a win/loose situation. A statement was made by the applicant, which would be a solution to making that win/loose situation and have the potential of a win/win situation, however, they as the Council cannot require the solution be implemented. That solution is if, in fact, the applicant voluntarily requests that the zone have certain conditions on it as a part of the rezone Council can pass TAPE ~741 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes June 13, 1990 Page 32 of 32 a rezone with those limitations. The City Council cannot require those limitation but there has been an opening allowed by the voluntary statement of Mr. Heeter that conditions could be placed on the rezone. And, he would support continuing this hearing until the applicant has the opportunity to Dossibly pursue this. idea. Mr. Overson questioned if this item were continued would it revert back to the Planning Commission or would it come back to City council? Mr. Waibel stated it is his intent to continue the hearing to come back to City Council. Mr. Colvin requested a legal opinion on this situation? Mr. Rinehart stated if the item is simply being continued for three weeks when it will come back to the Council. 399 M/S/C/U(Waibel/Colvin) that this hearing be continued for three weeks to allow for a potential win/win solution between the neighborhood and the applicant to be designed and resubmitted to Council to continue the hearing. With no further business meeting adj6urned at 9:00 p.m. APPROVED L~HORT~N,~Co~uncil President City of Bremerton KLM/LH/me cc: Normal Distribution File/Vault