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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-08-06 City Council Minutes Approved C.) I( 0etri`:: t9 w City Council Minutes—August 6, 2012 At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Dean Maxwell called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of August 6, 2012 to order. Roll call found present: Eric Johnson, Ryan Walters, Erica Pickett, Brad Adams, Bill Turner, Cynthia Richardson and Brian Geer. Roll call was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Minutes of Previous Meeting Mr. Geer moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, that the minutes of July 16, 2012 and July 23, 2012 be approved as if read. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Adams, Richardson, Geer and Johnson. Abstain - Turner. Motion carried. Citizen Hearings Sandra Spargo, 1408 11th Street, said Skagit County public records indicate the mayor has filed an application to amend the Anacortes Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Designation to add six parcels to the Anacortes UGA which would allow Tethys Enterprises to acquire title for those properties for its proposed bottling plant. Ms. Spargo said that this item has not come before the City Council and decried the lack of notice and public participation prior to submission of the application. Ms. Spargo stated that a City/County resolution to support the UGA application without public participation on the city level would endorse the Council's relinquishment of its representational powers and asked that this be remedied. Mayor/Council Communication and Committee Reports Mayor Maxwell announced that at the next City Council study session Council would review the application referenced by Ms. Spargo in her comments. The mayor called it a grand opportunity to replace 15 acres that the City lost as part of a purchase and would create jobs for the community. Mayor Maxwell announced that the Tyler Way right-of-way condemnation ordinance that was continued at the July 16, 2012 meeting had been continued to the regular City Council meeting on September 4, 2012. Proclamation: Assistance Dog Week: Mayor Maxwell read a statement proclaiming August 5-11, 2012 Assistance Dog Week in Anacortes. Recognize Mason Cole, AWC Center for Quality Communities Scholarship Recipient: Mayor Maxwell introduced Anacortes student Mason Cole who was awarded a$1000 scholarship by the Association of Washington Cities Center for Quality Communities. Mr. Cole thanked the community for its abundant support. Appointments to Board of Adjustment: Mayor Maxwell announced that he would like to appoint Cory Ertel as a permanent member of the Board of Adjustment and William Ballentine as an alternate member. Mr. Geer moved, seconded by Mrs. Richardson, to confirm the appointments. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Reappointments to Museum Board: Mayor Maxwell announced that he would like to reappoint Kay Reinhardt, Tom Kuhn and Gib Moore to the Museum Advisory Board. Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mr. Turner, to confirm the reappointments. Vote: Ayes—Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer, Johnson, Walters and Pickett. Motion carried. Bond Issue Update: Finance Director Steve Hoglund reported a successful bond issue on July 31, 2012 to finance the remainder of the Water Treatment Plant Improvement Project. Mr. Hoglund said the City's strong ratings from Standard and Poor's (AA-) and Moody's (A1) were reaffirmed prior to the bond issue. He said 3.02% is the total interest cost which is very favorable for the City and compares to a 3.63%total interest cost for the $40M of bonds issued two years ago. Mr. Hoglund explained how the City's strategy of financing the project in phases has saved ratepayers money. Anacortes City Council Minutes August 6, 2012 1 Unfinished Business: Public Hearing: Interim Ordinance Concerning Adult Concessions Planning Director Ryan Larsen recalled that at its June 4, 2012 regular meeting Council voted not to docket a proposed adult concessions ordinance but to move it forward more expeditiously and that at its June 18, 2012 regular meeting Council adopted Interim Ordinance No. 2881 regulating adult concessions. Mr. Larsen said state law requires a public hearing on the interim regulations. Mr. Larsen summarized the regulations spelled out in Interim Ordinance 2881. At the suggestion of legal counsel, Mr. Larsen asked that subsequent to the public hearing Council direct staff to prepare findings and a resolution reaffirming Interim Ordinance No. 2881 and adopting a work plan to develop a final ordinance. At approximately 7:16 p.m. Mayor Maxwell opened the public hearing. John Millard, 3213 West Second Street, said he would like an explanation of why the city is considering these regulations and said he didn't see a reason for this industry to exist in the community. Mayor Maxwell advised that state law requires the city to provide a zone where such businesses could locate and suggested that Mr. Millard speak with Mr. Larsen for more background on the issue. No one else wishing to speak, at approximately 7:18 p.m. Mayor Maxwell closed the public hearing. Mrs. Pickett questioned allowing such uses on the city's limited industrial land. Mr. Larsen replied that the interim regulations may be revised by Council for the final ordinance. Mr. Adams asked why Anacortes could not invoke a moratorium on such businesses. City Attorney Brad Furlong replied that based on research by MRSC and WCIA, an outright ban would violate First Amendment rights but if a city wishes to regulate appropriate time, place and manner interim regulations is the successful way to do this. Mr. Turner and Mr. Furlong agreed that cities cannot prohibit such uses outright nor restrict them so severely that the restrictions result in a de facto prohibition. Mrs. Richardson said Interim Ordinance 2881 contains well crafted language and said it is important to get regulations in place ahead of any applications in order to protect residential zones and the central business district. Mr. Geer moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to approve Interim Ordinance 2881 and adopt the work plan. Mr. Walters clarified that the motion was to direct staff to bring back a resolution reaffirming Interim Ordinance 2881 and adopting a work plan back to Council for action at the next regular meeting. Vote: Ayes—Turner, Richardson, Geer, Johnson, Walters, Pickett and Adams. Motion carried. Consent Agenda Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Vote: Ayes— Richardson, Geer, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams and Turner. Motion carried. Approval of Vouchers/Cancellation of Checks Council voted unanimously that the following vouchers/checks audited and certified by the City's Auditing Officer (Finance Director) and subsequently reviewed and approved by the Council Finance Committee on July 19, 2012, July 26, 2012 and August 2, 2012 are approved for payment as of August 6, 2012. Claims Check Numbers 65337 through 65568 in the total amount of$4,231,088.19 EFTs Check Number 65336 in the total amount of $35.23 Prewritten Claims Check Numbers 65334 through 65335 in the total amount of $1,502.00 Payroll for July 20, 2012 in the total amount of$585,911.35 Check Numbers 37385 through 37429 in the total amount of$34,540.87 Direct Deposit Numbers from 45231 through 45420 in the total amount of$356,322.14 EFT Numbers from 1436 through 1442 in the total amount of$195,048.34 Anacortes City Council Minutes August 6, 2012 2 Payroll for August 3, 2012 in the total amount of$852,009.73 Check Numbers 37430 through 37501 in the total amount of $47,842.53 Direct Deposit Numbers from 45421 through 45630 in the total amount of$609,033.22 EFT Numbers from 1443 through 1447 in the total amount of$195,133.98 Cancelled Checks Check Number 65333 in the total amount of$1,082.00 In the same motion Council: Adopted Resolution 1845 setting a public hearing date of September 4, 2012 for a proposed vacation of a portion of 29th Street right-of-way; Accepted as complete the N Avenue Emergency Sewer Repairs project (Contract 12-008-SWR- 001 with Welch Brothers Construction); and Accepted as complete the South Fidalgo Bay Road Project, Phase 2 project (Contract 06-072- DEV-011 with C. Johnson Construction, Inc.). Ordinance: Medical Marijuana Collective Garden Regulations Assistant Planning Director Don Measamer introduced a draft ordinance to regulate medical marijuana collective gardens in Anacortes as authorized by RCW 69.51A.085. Mr. Measamer summarized the terms of the ordinance and displayed maps depicting the areas where gardens would be allowed at 500-foot and 1000-foot separation distances. Mrs. Richardson asked if the Tommy Thompson Trail was considered a park. Mr. Measamer said it had not been considered a park for the purposes of the proposed ordinance. Mr. Measamer said staff was recommending 1000-foot separation distance even though the Planning Commission recommended 500-foot separation distances. He added that at 1000- foot separation distances most of the industrial zone would be ineligible if the Tommy Thompson Trail were considered a park. Mr. Measamer noted that the Planning Commission recommended no more than one garden every 500 feet and the ordinance was written accordingly but that staff including the Anacortes Police Department recommended no more than one garden per parcel. He then summarized the rest of the regulations in the draft ordinance. He noted that the ordinance repeals the moratorium established by Ordinances 2861 and 2873 which expires September 12, 2012. Mr. Measamer said Mr. Furlong had recommended adding language to the ordinance to the effect that the issuance of any permit under this section would clearly state that it is still a federal crime manufacture, distribute, etc., marijuana. He suggested adding that language to the draft ordinance as part of Section 5.50.100. Mr. Measamer raised several discussion points. If the city issues a business license for a medical marijuana collective garden, would that be in violation of federal law? He said the city does not necessarily have to issue business licenses for collective gardens, the safety license could suffice. He also reminded that if marijuana is legalized under a current citizen initiative state law would change so Council could consider extending the moratorium another six months instead, until after the election. He suggested putting regulations in place with a safety license required. Mr. Adams noted no buffer for residences was included in the ordinance and suggested 300 feet. Mrs. Richardson asked if staff was suggesting Council adopt a final or an interim ordinance. Mr. Measamer said the City had completed all the steps required to adopt a final ordinance. Mr. Turner commented on medical marijuana as part of pain management, said collective gardens serve that need but questioned how many might be needed. Mrs. Richardson said the draft ordinance is well crafted and listed the concerns it explicitly addresses. She suggested changing the wording of the definition of collective garden to "collective garden (medical marijuana)". Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mr. Turner, to approve the ordinance with the one wording change she mentioned. Mrs. Pickett said there are lots of good parts of the ordinance but that it has a fundamental problem in that it doesn't clearly define whether or not medical marijuana collective gardens are a business. She questioned whether signage was appropriate. Mr. Measamer noted that businesses in the LM1 zone can Anacortes City Council Minutes August 6, 2012 3 only sell products manufactured in the same building so they couldn't sell paraphernalia manufactured elsewhere. Mrs. Pickett said cost of the license indicates the garden would be earning money, have employees, and be a business. Mr. Measamer said the language could explicitly forbid retail activity in conjunction with the collective garden. He emphasized that the sale of marijuana is illegal, dispensaries are illegal, and the ordinance only allows medical marijuana collective gardens as authorized by state law. The mayor added that drug paraphernalia is not allowed in the city. Mr. Furlong responded to Mrs. Pickett that state law prohibits selling and dispensing marijuana so this ordinance doesn't need to restate that but can explicitly repeat it if Council desires. He said the ordinance does prohibit retail sale of paraphernalia but could make that more explicit and could also refine the signage restrictions if desired. Mr. Walters ask how the draft ordinance addresses the round robin issue of members being added to and dropped from the collective garden thus effectively increasing its membership to more than ten persons. Mr. Measamer said it doesn't and that state code may not allow cities to restrict that. Mr. Furlong agreed that the state does not require a membership duration and that probably prevents cities from requiring one but that Anacortes could try it. Mr. Walters called it unlikely that the state legislature will resolve the issues in the next six to twelve month so extending the current moratorium would not resolve anything and said he was comfortable taking action at this meeting. Mrs. Richardson withdrew her motion until after public testimony. At approximately 8:00 p.m. Mayor Maxwell opened the public hearing. James William Stevens, 4119 R Avenue, said he runs a private company, MMCWS Medical Collective, licensed by the state and the city, to help educate and assist Washington State residents to obtain their prescribed medical marijuana. Mr. Stevens urged compassion for community members who are suffering. He said he has proposed a collective garden to serve those who are disabled, cannot or don't want to grow their own medical marijuana. He said such patients should not be treated as segregated, second class citizens. He reminded that there is a lot of medical marijuana already being grown and collective gardens are to help those who can't grow their own. He asked that collective gardens not be limited to the LM1 and Industrial zones. John Millard, 3213 W 2nd Street, said this is a possible culture shift that will affect families. He proposed that Council postpone this decision until after the summer when families are back in town. Mr. Millard said other cities have had some problems so Anacortes needs to be really careful and not make a hasty decision. Virginia Heiner, 804 K Avenue, spoke on behalf of cancer patients. She said someone who is dealing with cancer is not in any physical condition to be growing his own marijuana if that is what is prescribed by his doctor. She urged Council not to forget the people who are so sick and in so much pain and to be compassionate when deciding. No one else wishing to speak, at approximately 8:07 p.m. Mayor Maxell closed public hearing. Mr. Geer shared his views from his personal and law enforcement perspectives. He favored tabling the discussion and revising the ordinance to resolve remaining questions such as round robin, signage, and the intent of collective gardens to arrive at a controlled medical marijuana facility. Mr. Johnson observed that no ordinance on this issue will last forever since state and federal law continue to evolve. He suggested Council pass this ordinance now and revise it later. He asked Chief Bowers why she favored one garden per parcel. Chief Bowers replied that police officers have to be able to determine that the number of plants on site is correct for the ten patient members of the collective garden and it is hard to do that when there is more than one garden at a site. Mr. Adams listed the questions he felt needed to be addressed including possible setbacks from the Tommy Thompson Trail, residential setbacks, whether consumption at the collective garden is allowed, Anacortes City Council Minutes August 6, 2012 4 what are the hours of operation, should only local citizens be able to use collective gardens in Anacortes, and what happens if the federal government cracks down. Mr. Adams said he does support the use of medical marijuana in Anacortes but wanted to make sure Council adopts a solution that fits the community. In response to licensing questions, Mr. Measamer said the city can decide whether or not to require a business license, it is not required by the state. He said the separate safety license is intended to ensure the safety of the operation and the buildings around it for fire control, security, background checks and so forth so that could be the extent of the licensing needed. Mr. Turner asked for an estimate of the number of medical marijuana users in Anacortes and said that would help Council decide how many collective gardens it needs to allow for and what would be an appropriate separation distance. He said he is not concerned about patients from off Fidalgo Island belonging to a collective garden here but is concerned about marijuana being used inappropriately. He said Council needs more education and more time to think about the issue but had no problem acting at the current meeting to make collective gardens possible. Mrs. Richardson said a business license should not be required since a collective garden is not a business. Mr. Walters asked what evil the City is trying to prevent. Chief Bowers said the City needs to guard against the misuse of the concept of a collective garden for personal gain, i.e. selling marijuana, which is illegal. She added that the City also needs to ensure safety for its citizens and said there have been local instances of patients who grow medical marijuana for personal use being robbed. Mrs. Pickett said sick people can already designate someone else to grow for them and questioned the economics of a collective garden. Does each patient pay a share of the costs? How does the person doing the work get paid? Is it a business? Mr. Johnson proposed altering the ordinance to limit collective gardens to one per parcel. Mrs. Richardson disagreed and preferred the 500-foot separation between gardens instead because parcels are of different sizes. Chief Bowers explained that the goal was to keep from concentrating collective gardens in a single neighborhood. Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, that the agenda item be tabled to the next regular meeting and asked staff to prepare a revised ordinance addressing the concerns raised at the meeting. Vote: Ayes—Geer, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams, Turner and Richardson. Motion carried. Ordinance: Investment Policy Update Mr. Hoglund introduced an ordinance to make two minor revisions to the City's investment policy and provided a copy of the updated policy indicating the revisions. Councilmembers Walters, Pickett and Richardson suggested that in Section 5.0 of the policy, procedures should remain written. Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Mrs. Pickett, to approve Ordinance 2885 amending Ordinance 2795 dated February 2, 2009, adopting the revised Investment Policy, but preserving the requirement for written procedures in Section 5.0. Mr. Walters asked if the ordinance needed explicit language to amend the city code to conform to the revised policy. After some discussion Mr. Furlong suggested that the ordinance be revised to add "pursuant to AMC Section 3.20.200" after the word "hereof" in Section 1. Mr. Adams amended his motion in accordance with Mr. Furlong's suggestion and Mrs. Pickett seconded the amended motion. Vote: Ayes—Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson and Geer. Nays— Walters. Motion carried. Public Hearing and Ordinance Adoption: 2013-2018 Capital Facilities Plan Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer reviewed the nine new items proposed to be added to the 2013-2018 Capital Facilities Plan (CFP). He reminded that these were previously reviewed by Council in study session. Mayor Maxwell clarified that items approved in prior plans remain in the plan until Anacortes City Council Minutes August 6, 2012 5 completed or dropped. Mr. Buckenmeyer emphasized the importance of including transportation items in the CFP to support grant opportunities and transportation planning. At approximately 8:52 p.m. Mayor Maxwell opened the public hearing. No one wishing to testify, the mayor closed the public hearing. Mr. Turner asked to add an item to the CFP to resurface the north parking lot of Storvik Park off 29th Street. Mr. Buckenmeyer agreed but explained that it would be a Parks project and would have to rely on non-right-of-way funding. Mr. Turner moved, seconded by Mr. Geer, to approve Ordinance 2886 adopting the Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) for the 6-Year Period 2013-2018 as presented with the addition of a$30,000 item to resurface the north parking lot at Storvik Park. Mr. Adams inquired if CFP items that are completed or dropped are tracked. Mr. Buckenmeyer replied in the affirmative and the Mayor added that a list of completed and dropped projects is included as an Appendix at the end of the CFP each year. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer and Johnson. Motion carried. Ordinance: Authorize Contractual Water Customer O&M Rates Mr. Hoglund reminded that two weeks prior Council reviewed proposed new fixed and variable rates for the City's six contractual water customers. He said the rates have not been updated since 2008 which causes the annual reconciliation charges to grow larger each year. Mr. Hoglund introduced an ordinance to implement new O&M rates effective September 1, 2012. He clarified that the O&M rates are separate from the capital rates. Mrs. Richardson said it was high time to adjust the rates and moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to approve Ordinance 2887 setting rates and charges pursuant to Water Supply Agreements with certain regional wholesale and industrial customers, amending Chapter 13.32 Anacortes Municipal Code, and amending Ordinance 2851 adopted April 4, 2011. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. There being no further business, at approximately 9:00 p.m. the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of August 6, 2012 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes August 6, 2012 6