HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-09-08 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—September 8, 2015
Mayor Laurie Gere called to order the regular Anacortes City Council meeting of September 8, 2015 at
the advertised time of 6:00 p.m. Councilmembers Ryan Walters, Erica Pickett, Brad Adams, Liz Lovelett,
John Archibald and Matt Miller were present. Councilmember Eric Johnson was absent. The assembly
joined in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Citizen Hearings
No one present wished to address the Council.
Mayor/Council Communication and Committee Reports
Proclamation of Senior Center Month: Mayor Gere read a statement proclaiming September 2015 to be
Senior Center Month in Anacortes and called up citizens to recognize the special contributions of the
senior center participants and the special efforts of the staff and volunteers who work every day to
enhance the well-being of the older citizens of the community.
Mr. Walters reported from the Finance Committee that the committee would henceforth meet on 2nd and
4th Thursdays on 5:00 at Johnny Picasso's, 501 Commercial Avenue. He listed a number of projects
underway in the committee.
Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Ms. Pickett, to excuse the absence of Mr. Johnson. Vote: Ayes—
Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald and Miller. Motion carried.
Ms. Pickett reported from the Port/City Liaison meeting earlier in the day and discussed new ways the
Port and City can work together.
Ms. Lovelett reported from the Parks and Recreation Committee meeting the prior week. She announced
a fundraiser at the Brown Lantern on September 16, 2015 from 6-8 p.m. for the spray park. She reported
on the upper restroom renovations at Washington Park. She reported the discussion about food trucks on
the Depot plaza and queried her colleagues for their opinions on that potential use. Mr. Archibald and Mr.
Walters suggested discussing the matter in more depth at a study session.
Consent Agenda
Ms. Lovelett removed Items C and E from the Consent Agenda and moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to
approve the following Consent Agenda items. Vote: Ayes—Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller and
Walters. Motion carried.
a. Minutes of August 10, 2015, August 17, 2015, August 24, 2015 and August 26, 2015
b. Approval of Claims
d. Accept as Complete: 2015 Utility and Street Improvements Project(15-001-WTR-001)
The following vouchers/checks were approved for payment:
Voucher(check) numbers: 77402 through 77586, total $1,180,320.39
Payroll for August 20, 2015 in the total amount of$933,063.48:
Check Numbers 40737 through 40778 in the total amount of$27,084.62
Direct Deposit Numbers from 60059 through 60277 in the total amount of$643,680.47
EFT Numbers from 1847 through 1852 in the total amount of$262,059.83
Payroll for September 4, 2015 in the total amount of$692,824.38
Check Numbers 40782 through 40824 in the total amount of$36,187.13
Direct Deposit Numbers from 60278 through 60482 in the total amount of$393,577.42
EFT Numbers from 1853 through 1858 in the total amount of$263,059.83
Anacortes City Council Minutes September 8, 2015 1
Regarding Consent Agenda Item C, Amendment No. 3 to Skagit County Jail Facility Use Agreement,
Ms. Lovelett asked why only Sedro Woolley needed an amendment. Mr. Hoglund explained that Sedro
Woolley was the only party to the agreement that has already adopted its own public safety sales tax. Mr.
Walters disclosed that he is a fixed salary employed of one of the contracting parties to the Agreement,
Skagit County, and that he would abstain from voting. Ms. Lovelett moved, seconded by Mr. Archibald, to
approve Amendment No. 3 to the Skagit County Jail Facility Use Agreement. Vote: Ayes—Adams,
Lovelett, Archibald, Miller and Pickett. Abstain —Walters. Motion carried.
Assistant City Attorney Darcy Swetnam announced that Item E, Ordinance 2960: Amending AMC
10.24.070 on Truck Routes in Residential Areas, had been withdrawn from the Consent Agenda pending
further discussion.
NEW BUSINESS
Contract Modification: Schwetz Construction -2014 Trip Hazard Project(14-012-TRN-001)
Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer requested Council approval of a modification to contract 14-
012-TRN-001 with Schwetz Construction. He advised that the work was complete late in 2014 but the
contract modification had only recently been finalized due to the contractor being away on a project out of
state. Mr. Buckenmeyer described the additional work encountered due to the extensive root system of
the trees that had to be removed. He said the original contract amount was within the mayor's signature
authority but the change order took the contract total over that limit so Council approval was required. Mr.
Buckenmeyer recommended approval of the modification in the amount of$23,239.94. He advised that
additional projects would follow in future years to address similar problems elsewhere. Mr. Walters and
Ms. Pickett requested that in future such projects come before the Public Works Committee and the
Street Tree Committee before being put out to bid so other approaches could be considered.
Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Mr. Miller, to approve the contract modification to Schwetz Construction
in the amount of$23,239.94. Vote: Ayes—Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Walters, Pickett and Adams. Motion
carried.
Open Record Appeal: Haddon Road Short Plat(SPL-2014-0003)
Mayor Gere reviewed the procedures for the hearing which were printed and made available to the
audience and added to the Council packet for the evening. She announced the speaker time limits for
appellants, applicant, and members of the audience. She read aloud the procedure for introducing
tangible evidence while speaking and advised that Exhibits G, H and I had been received prior to the
meeting. The mayor read aloud the rules for speakers.
At 6:23 p.m. the mayor called to order the open record public hearing on the appeal of the Administrator's
approval of the Haddon Road Short Plat SPL-2014-0003. She advised that this was a quasi-judicial
hearing before the City Council, acting at the appellant body reviewing the administrative decision of the
Planning Director.
City Attorney Brad Furlong discussed the standard of review presented in staff's August 25, 2015 memo
to City Council on this matter. He advised that the Planning Department would make a presentation,
appellants would present, and public comments would be accepted. He advised that Council was not
required to make a decision at the present meeting and noted the extensive record.
Regarding appearance of fairness, Mr. Furlong reminded that no one can sit in a quasi-judicial capacity
who has an actual conflict or what can be considered an appearance of a conflict, including anyone living
within 300 feet, anyone having a financial interest, or a relative with a financial interest. He added that no
one who has pre-judged the issue or has an open bias that prevents them from making a decision based
on the merits should sit on the decision making body. Mr. Furlong said that ex parte communication is
prohibited and must be disclosed.
Mayor Gere asked councilmembers if any of them had Appearance of Fairness Doctrine disclosures to
make.
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Ms. Lovelett advised that in August her daughter attended an art class taught by Julene Brogan, the
daughter-in-law of one of the appellants, and that Ms. Lovelett had been approached by Ms. Brogan
about"a road widening". Ms. Lovelett stated that she told Ms. Brogan that she could not discuss the
matter and any communication had to be submitted in writing through the proper channels. Ms. Lovelett
said this contact would not affect her ability to arbitrate in this matter.
Mr. Miller advised that he lives on Haddon Road and may have received a card from the City but that he
does not live within 300 feet of the subject property. He said his proximity to the property would not have
any bearing on his ability to judge this matter.
Mayor Gere asked if anyone in the audience had any concerns about any of the councilmembers hearing
this issue. No one in the audience raised any objections.
Planning Director Don Measamer then presented a slide show introducing the project. Mr. Measamer's
presentation was added to the record as Exhibit H. He summarized the surrounding zoning and land
uses, the critical areas review, the tree preservation plan, noticing and SEPA review, and the
administrative approval with 23 conditions (including SEPA MDNS conditions). Mr. Measamer advised
that five appeals had been received. He said the appeals had been included in the evening's Council
packet and that additional comments received prior to the present meeting had been distributed to
Council as additional exhibits.
Mayor Gere called forward the five appellants to address the Council, for three minutes each, beginning
with Rebecca Bean.
Rebecca Bean, 4315 Whistle Lake Road, read from prepared remarks which were subsequently entered
into the record as Exhibit J.
Ms. Swetnam suggested swearing in the evening's speakers. Mayor Gere asked everyone who intended
to speak to stand, raise their right hands, and swear to tell the truth in their testimony. Speakers did so.
Jeaneen Brogan, 304 Haddon Road, said her property borders the subject property. Ms. Brogan read
from prepared remarks which were subsequently entered into the record as Exhibit K.
Gene Derig, 1302 K Avenue, spoke on behalf of himself and his wife, Marilyn Wells Derig, in support of
the appeal and against the Decision. Mr. Derig read from prepared remarks which were subsequently
entered into the record as Exhibit L.
Patrick O'Hearn, 11039 Post Drive, spoke from written remarks which were subsequently entered, along
with attached supporting information, into the record as Exhibit I.
Gary Jones, PO Box 1245, Mount Vernon, 98273, attorney for Patrick and Carol O'Hearn, referenced and
emphasized sections from his response to the August 25 staff report. Mr. Jones' response was entered
into the record as Exhibit I.
Vernon Lauridsen, 2219 32nd Street, stated that the description of the property, the neighborhood, and the
property, the access to the area in the wetlands and the buffer that he included in his brief was a fair and
accurate description based on his actual being there and observing it. Mr. Lauridsen referenced his
prepared remarks which were subsequently entered into the record as Exhibit M. Mr. Lauridsen said the
key statute at stake, 17.70.360, was not mentioned in the Decision approving the plat.
Mayor Gere invited the applicant to respond to the appeals.
Brian Allen, 6218 NE 137th St, Kirkland, 98034, spoke to the five issues raised by the appellants. He said
the applicant was attempting to do a responsible short plat proposal to address the housing needs in
Anacortes City Council Minutes September 8, 2015 3
Anacortes. Mr. Allen referred to his slide presentation which was subsequently entered into the record as
Exhibit O.
Mayor Gere then opened the floor to any member of the public who wished to address any issue raised
by the appellants or applicant and limited those comments to one minute each.
Lisa Rhoades asked to give her time to Allen Rhoades. Mayor Gere advised that was not allowed.
Allen Rhoades, 4105 Mitchell Drive, asked to speak for one minute on his own behalf and for one minute
as the president of the Stittwood Homeowners Association. Mayor Gere consented. Mr. Rhoades said the
HOA was concerned with stormwater mitigation and said the City had not addressed the fact that four
Stittwood lots remain undeveloped and that the stormwater system needed to handle those four lots first.
He said 4210 Brant Circle has had stormwater issues in the past year and it took multiple contacts with
the city to the get the storm drain cleared. Mr. Rhoades said the sanitary sewer plan was flawed and it
would be a travesty for the last four Stittwood lots to be denied development because the system was
maxed out by the eight homes added by the subject short plat. He said Stittwood's common ground was
at risk for trespass pressure because of the short plat lot configuration. Mr. Rhoades asked if common
grounds in the short plat were really part of individual lots and noted that common grounds in Stittwood
are common grounds, not part of individual lots.
Speaking personally, Mr. Rhoades called the lot size and shape egregious. He suggested that if the
applicant wanted to emulate R2 zoning he should have asked for a rezone. Mr. Rhoades said city staff
has a responsibility to protect them from irresponsible development and development which violates the
intent of the code. He said the Administrator's Decision had forced the citizens to go into the appellant
process instead of protecting the citizens.
Jim Macy, 3918 Mallard Place, in Stittwood, called the project a very innovative lot arrangement but said
he could not get down a one foot wide path. He said he lives right above the lift station and has
repeatedly asked if the sewage and the drainage are adequate and will the sewer system including the lift
station handle the additional flows. He noted the four lots in Stittwood that had not yet been developed.
Mr. Macy said he had asked this question repeatedly but it had pretty much been ignored.
Deborah Martin spoke in opposition to the Haddon Road short plat. She called it a fragile area, said the
density did not fit, and said a minimum of 90 vehicle trips would be added to the corner. Ms. Martin said
that would be an irrevocable change to how the community uses the area, that R1 is precious and rare,
and that should be considered.
Gary Van Luven, 1019 Haddon Road, expressed concern about added traffic on Haddon Road and
through the dangerous intersection at 0 Avenue and Haddon Road.
James Elson, 4210 Brant Circle, echoed Mr. Rhoades' concerns about the storm sewer. He said he
during heavy downpours the manhole at his property backs up. Mr. Elson described a root system that
had grown into the pipe and clogged it. He asked if the pipe was big enough.
Richard Oleson, 4116 Brant Circle, said he had a problem with the gerrymandering of the short plat to
attempt to make one party superior to the city ordinance.
Bud Anderson, 11067 Post Drive, spoke in support of development on the basis of the intent of the code
which allows for four, maybe five lots. Mr. Anderson displayed a letter containing his comments and
highlighted two of his four points. He suggested the project should have been a PUD. He said parking
becomes very congested now and 9 lots will cause a challenge for street maneuverability. He challenged
the notion of a flag lot and whether that was the intent of the code. Mr. Anderson said this is a hazard
area that needs a 50' buffer from the edge of the slope or solid engineering evidence that the buffer can
be reduced, which had not been provided.
Anacortes City Council Minutes September 8, 2015 4
Stephen Beets, 4501 Fidalgo Bay Road, expressed concern about water runoff. He said his parents live
at 4019 Whistle Lake Road and own property on Haddon Road. He suggested taking a deep breath,
stepping back and taking a look at what is going on. He said you can't take property away from people.
Laurel Wright, 619 Haddon Road, described the walkers and horseback riders on the roads in the areas
and said that nine or even eight houses is not a good idea for this rural area.
Dawn Gillman, 6755 Hiline Lane, directly south of the subject property, spoke in support property owners
being able to develop their property within the constraints of the code. She said she plans to fully develop
her land in the county according to the rules of the county.
Brian Wetcher, 814 26th Street, expressed concerns about how these types of plats are developed in the
future. He said many who participated in developing the city's development standards and wetlands
protections had no intention of stretching the definitions. He called the project expansion by violation and
disagreed with staff's interpretation. Mr. Wetcher said once the development is done the city has
accepted liability for the geotechnical engineering.
Jim Taylor, 301 5th Street, suggested a PUD. He said dealing with five or six different owners in regards to
the wetland will be a problem. Mr. Taylor said the proposed homes would not be built to an affordable
standard.
No one else wishing to speak, Mayor Gere invited any appellants who wished to speak for one minute of
rebuttal to come to the microphone.
Vernon Lauridsen, 2119 32nd Street, said that the broad goals of the comprehensive plan do not trump
the development regulations. He said flag lots are being misused according to the city code because
those need at least a 30 foot strip connecting to street frontage. Mr. Lauridsen said the land can be
developed, according to the code, or a PUD could be proposed.
Patrick O'Hearn pointed out that rebuttal materials had been submitted into the record and urged Council
to review those. Mr. O'Hearn said that there are no duplexes on Haddon Road. He said he himself lives
on a flag lot but that a one foot wide strip of land is not a flag.
No other appellants wished to speak in rebuttal.
Mayor Gere then invited the applicant to speak in rebuttal.
Brian Allen submitted a thumb drive with his presentation for addition to the record. Mr. Allen addressed
three items. First, he said there are in fact two duplexes on Haddon Road and his presentation had
provided the parcel numbers. Second, he responded to the idea of using a PUD for the project. He said a
PUD would offer a much larger expansion potential for the property with dramatically different density,
road impact, etc. He urged the appellants to be careful what they ask for. Third, he said the one foot flag
is not intended as an easement or walking path. He said they did not intend access into the native growth
protection easement.
Mayor asked Council if they had any questions for the speakers.
Mr. Walters asked what utilities the 10 foot utility easement serves. Mr. Measamer said sanitary sewer.
He said project engineer Dave Lervik was present to speak to that question. Mr. Walters asked where the
easement tapers off. Mr. Measamer said mid-point in the cul-de-sac and pointed out the area on the
overhead. Mr. Measamer described the sanitary sewer serving the project and the review of same by the
Public Works Department.
Mr. Adams asked if it didn't make more sense for the road improvements to be on the City side of the
street. Mr. Measamer said city and county staff had been discussing placing the street improvements on
the south side of the street so they would not significantly impact adjoining properties.
Anacortes City Council Minutes September 8, 2015 5
Ms. Lovelett noted concerns expressed that the third party review of the geotechnical information had
been performed during a time of no rain and asked if a review had been performed during heavy rain. Mr.
Measamer said he did not believe so. He summarized the third party review addressing that concern.
Ms. Lovelett asked if there would be additional city financial liability to build the infrastructure necessary
for the development. Mr. Measamer said no, those would be at the developer's expense. He reported that
the public works staff review did not indicate any need for improvements to the sanitary sewer pump
station. Ms. Lovelett asked about a storm drain that had been impeded by roots. Mr. Measamer said he
would review that question with public works staff and report back.
Ms. Lovelett noted two references in the applicant's documents to "opportunities for affordable housing"
and asked the applicant what that means to him. Mr. Allen said it is hard to find a building lot in Anacortes
for under$100K so to get affordable single family housing you have to start with lot costs. He said this
development offered an opportunity to start lower and provide housing that's reasonable to people.
At 7:57 p.m. Mayor Gere inquired if anyone else in the audience had anything else to say. No one present
wishing to speak, the Mayor closed the public hearing.
Councilmembers agreed that it would be wise for them to have time to review the new material received
at the meeting before deliberating. Mayor Gere concluded that Council consideration would be continued
at a future meeting and that public notice would be provided of the date. A member of the audience asked
if Council's decision on the appeals would be the final decision. Ms. Swetnam said yes.
At approximately 7:59 p.m. Mayor Gere called a five minute recess. At 8:05 p.m. the mayor called the
meeting back to order.
Ordinance 2958/Resolution 1923: Changing Start Time of City Council and Study Session
Meetings to 6:00 p.m. (Discussion/Possible Action)
Mr. Walters suggested removing the meeting start time from the municipal code and instead specifying
the meeting start time by resolution. He referenced an unnumbered draft ordinance in the evening's
Council packet that would achieve that.
Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Archibald, to adopt Ordinance 2958 deleting AMC Chapter 2.04 to
allow setting Council meeting dates and times by resolution.
Brian Wetcher, 814 26th Street, asked if this time change would only be for study sessions. Mayor Gere
said the new time would be for all Council meetings. Mr. Wetcher expressed concern that the 6:00 p.m.
start time would be problematic for people with commutes and child care responsibilities and was not
conducive to achieving maximum public comment before Council.
Ms. Lovelett agreed with Mr. Wetcher's comments. Mr. Adams acknowledge pros and cons of both 6:00
and 7:00 start times but observed that special 6:00 meetings had been successful during the year thus
far. He said 6:00 p.m. start would help avoid meetings lasting until 9:00 or 10:00 at night.
Vote: Ayes—Archibald, Miller, Walters, Pickett and Adams. Nays- Lovelett. Motion carried.
Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Miller, to adopt Resolution 1923 amending Resolution 1867 to set
earlier City Council meeting times. Vote: Ayes— Miller, Walters, Pickett, Adams and Archibald. Nays -
Lovelett. Motion carried.
Executive Session: Real Estate Discussion per RCW 42.30.110(1 b, 1 c)
Anacortes City Council Minutes September 8, 2015 6
At approximately 8:12 p.m. Mayor Gere announced that Council would convene in Executive Session for
approximately 15 minutes to discuss a potential real estate transaction about which open discussion
could result in terms unfavorable to the City and that no action would be taken.
There being no further business, at approximately 8:30 p.m. the Anacortes City Council meeting of
September 8, 2015 was adjourned.
Anacortes City Council Minutes September 8, 2015 7