HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/17/1998 Adjourned Meeting / Study Session 67
CITY OF YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
FEBRUARY 17, 1998
ADJOURNED MEETING - STUDY SESSION
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I/ The City Council met in session on this date at 7:30 A.M., at
the Wastewater Maintenance Facility, 204 West Pine Street,
Yakima, Washington, Mayor John Puccinelli, presiding. Council
Members Clarence Barnett, Henry Beauchamp, John Klingele, Mary
Place, and Bernard Sims (present after 7:45 a.m.) were present.
Council Member Lynn Buchanan absent and excused. City Manager
Zais, Assistant City Manager Rice, Leonard Hall, Code
Administration Manager; John Hanson, Director of Finance and
Budget; Glenn Valenzuela, Director of Community and Economic
Development; Richard Colgan, Building Maintenance Manager;
Assistant City Attorney Larry Peterson; City Attorney Paolella,
and Deputy City Clerk Skovald also present.
Mayor Puccinelli called the meeting to order, and it was the
consensus of the Council to discuss Code Enforcement first, out
of sequence of the agenda.
Review of City Hall Rehabilitation Design Plan
Due to the time limitation of this meeting, discussion of this
item was postponed to today's Business Meeting under "Other
Business."
Continuation of Discussion Regarding Code Enforcement
Glenn Valenzuela provided background information about the
proposed enhanced code enforcement program developed to improve
and expedite the code enforcement program in the City. He
explained that the minor changes from Council direction during
the Study Session on September 16, 1997 have been made to
clarify certain language. Also included is an educational
process that has been developed to help citizens more easily
understand code enforcement of community standards.
Using an overhead projector, Leonard Hall outlined several
issues, beginning with a standard outlining the minimum number
of containers to alleviate overflowing garbage containers.
Under Nuisance definitions, this issue applies to containers on
private property and in private streets and alleys. Property
owners would be the responsible party to assure that adequate
containers are provided. Council Members Barnett and Place
expressed concern about using the number of bedrooms as the
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Adjourned Meeting -- February 17, 1998
standard on overflowing containers. They failed to see the
relationship between the number of bedrooms and the number of
cans. Recycling or unoccupied bedrooms should be taken into
consideration. In addition Mayor Puccinelli objected to
government regulating this issue, but feels a heavier fine
should be imposed. On the other hand, Council Member Beauchamp
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feels a standard is needed to control the overflowing garbage
cans. An adequate number of containers must be provided for
the amount of people in residence. Council Member Place
suggested a form letter be sent to those who do not have
adequate containers. Council Member Barnett referred to the
Yakima Municipal Code 4.16.030, which authorizes abatement
letters. He feels the authority to do that is already there
and nothing new needs to be added; existing City ordinances
should be enforced. There was continued discussion among the
Council, city staff, and citizens about various issues,
including who should have the responsibility for supplying the
appropriate number of cans, the landlord or the tenant;
charging for additional cans; imposing fines, and the nuisance
of people putting garbage in someone else's dumpster.
Mr. Hall directed attention to the Property Maintenance issue
and explained the language needs to be amended to give
authority to the Code Administration Manager where the term
"Health Officer" is indicated. This needs to be updated
because the City no longer has a Health Officer and the Health
Department handles those issues. Mayor Puccinelli pointed out
that two different standards should not exist and needs to be
coordinated with the Health Department's standard. The same
situation is true of the City's building code.
The next issue was the timeframe required for notification for
abandoned and' derelict vehicles. There was discussion about
the differences among illegal parking, impounded vehicles, and
vehicle hulks. Also discussed were parking enforcement,
identifying unattended vehicles and abandoned vehicles, and
whether boats, trailers, and recreational vehicles should be
allowed to park on the street. Also discussed was the issue of
repairing vehicles on the street. Local law can be more
stringent than state law as it relates to enforcement. Council
Member Place suggested all the timeframes be basically the
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same. Council Member Barnett asked if any provision already
exists to address notification timeframes.
There was discussion about what would be an acceptable
timeframe for graffiti removal, whether the proposed two -day
limit for removal was impractical, and whether a reward system
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Adjourned Meeting -- February 17, 1998
would be feasible. Council Member Beauchamp noted the
effectiveness of the Alley Cats efforts and suggested their
role be reintroduced.
Whether to reduce the six -month time period to three months to
I/ declare abandoned buildings a nuisance was the next issue.
Dangerous buildings should be razed and the claims settled
later. There was discussion about the multiple processes of
declaring a building a nuisance, the legal process of abatement
and then the delays in the courts. Identifying how to expedite
the compliance process of abatement by standardizing the
enforcement processes should be the main focus. Mr. Zais feels
this should be defined. Council Members Place and Barnett
requested a report be prepared outlining the compliance steps.
There was a considerable amount of discussion concerning the
issue of Proposed Inspection of Rental Units prior to re-
renting. Currently, this is not an established procedure.
Mr. Hall merely asked for Council direction as to whether this
might be something Council would want to pursue. The landlords
present strenuously objected calling it over regulation of the
of the rental industry. The intent is to make sure the rental
meets minimum standards and to address the issue of
overcrowding.
There were several topics not discussed due to time limitation,
including types of fines, appeals to the Board of Adjustment,
voluntary correction agreements, and compliance notices. These
will be addressed at a future study session yet to be
scheduled.
The meeting adjourned at 9:05 a.m.
READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY: /0/2-144r COUNCI MEMBER ` DATE
COUN MEMBER DATE
ATTEST:
t i .rte i
CITY CLERK - JOHN PUCCINELLI, MAYOR
Minutes prepared by Deputy City Clerk Skovald. An audiotape of this
meeting is available in the City Clerk's Office.
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