HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/01/2018 00 Misc Distributed at the MeetingDistributed at the
Meeting ..3-1-18
COUNCIL BRIEFING MEETING
March 1, 2018
City Manager Updates
1 Legislative Update (Attached)
2 Strategic Plan Process, schedule, agenda, questions
3 Letter from De Long, Baule and Austin, draft response (Attached)
4 Update on Fire Chief search plan
5 Selah Transit Agreement
6 Salvation Army request
7 Ann Macfarlane workshop
8 Update on possible capital construction project --
State Legislative Update
March 1st, 2018
Distributed at the
Meeting
LIFT Legislation
The House version of the City -requested legislation allowing local infrastructure investments to be
carried forward from year to year for the purpose of matching state funding contributions under the
Local Infrastructure Financing Tool ("LIFT") program, HB 2858, passed the House on Wednesday,
February 28th on a 96-2 vote HB 2858 now moves on to the Senate, which several weeks ago passed
its own version of the City -requested legislation, SB 6177, on a 47-1 vote The Senate is expected to
vote on HB 2858 in the next few days Passage of HB 2858 is critical to the City's efforts to build road,
water, and sewer infrastructure to serve the former Boise Cascade Mill site Representative Norm
Johnson, Senator Curtis King, and the City's Olympia lobbyists, Tony Sermonti and Susie Tracy,
deserve the City's sincere thanks for working hard on the LIFT legislation this session
$150,000 Yakima Gang Prevention Program Budget Proviso
Last week, both the House and the Senate unveiled proposals for supplemental operating, capital and
transportation budgets By last week's end, the Senate had passed its version of all three Funding for
a proposed City of Yakima's pilot gang prevention program was included in the Senate operating
budget proposal in the requested amount of $150,000 The House's proposal included half of the
requested funding ($75,000) and did not include specific language that was requested by the City The
City's lobbyists are working to get the House budget proposal changed to mirror the adopted Senate
language and dollar figure Senator King reached out to House budget leadership late last week to seek
those changes The City's lobbyists are also working with Representative Chandler, ranking member of
the House Appropriations Committee, regarding requested changes to the House budget language
Voting Rights Act
A modified version of the Washington State Voting Rights Act (SB 6002) passed the House on
Tuesday, February 27th on a 52-46 vote The Senate passed SB 6002 earlier this session, but the bill
was revised slightly by the House so must now be returned to the Senate for concurrence The Senate
is expected to vote on SB 6002 in the next few days
Breed -Based Dog Restrictions
Legislation prohibiting local jurisdictions from imposing breed -based dog restrictions was introduced
early this session Both SB 5094, prime sponsored by Senator Palumbo, and HB 1090, prime
sponsored by Representative Appleton, appear to be dead for this session
With the legislature's short session in its next -to -last scheduled week, a lot of activity is occurring
currently At this point, all indications are that the legislature will adjourn on or before its scheduled
March 8th short session end date
Distributed at the
Meeting 3-/-( t
AGENDA
City Council — City of Yakima
Strategic Planning Session — March 17, 2018
a Show approved vision and mission statements
b Show the four priority areas agreed upon
c Open the floor for presentations on committee structures
d Discussion
e Committee assignments
Stephens, Jodi
From: Claar Tee, Sonya
Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2018 1.13 PM
To: Stephens, Jodi
Subject: FW March 1 Council Briefing Session
Attachments: 20180225110714 pdf
Importance: High
From Moore, Cliff
Sent: Monday, February 26, 2018 2.03 PM
To All City Council <ccouncil2@YAKIMAWA.GOV>
Cc Cutter, Jeff <Jeff Cutter@yakimawa.gov>, Cortez, Ana <ana cortez@YAKIMAWA.GOV>, Claar Tee, Sonya
<Sonya ClaarTee@yakimawa.gov>, Price, Cally <Cally Price@yakimawa.gov>
Subject: March 1 Council Briefing Session
Council,
In preparation for your next Council Briefing Session on March 1, here is a list of items I have
ready for the City Manager Update section.
1 Legislative Update Earlier today Randy provided a written update for your review Staff
will be ready for any follow up questions
2 Strategic Plan Process, schedule, questions — should be a short conversation given your
direction at the Feb 21 Special Meeting on this
3 Letter from De Long, Baule and Austin, draft response (see attached — is this the
approach you would like to take in responding?)
4 Homelessness Update on TYT application and looking at options for the period between
March 15 and November 15
5 Update on Fire Chief search plan
6 Discussion about the donation offered for Naches Parkway
If any Council member would prefer to include any of these items during the Council Reports
section of the meeting, please let me know and I will remove it from my list. I know that several
Council Members will have possible items for the joint City Council/School Board meeting and
they will come up under Council Reports You have requested that a Plaza Update be a regular
item and I am assuming that will be led by a Council Member under Council Reports as well
Thanks
Cliff
Cliff Moore
City Manager
City of Yakima
129 N Second Street
1
Victor De Long, Chair
Downtown Association of Yakima
[address]
John Baule, Chair
Yakima Valley Tourism
[address]
Rich Austin, Chair
Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce
[address]
Re Letter of January 31, 2018 regarding homeless issues.
Gentlemen
Thank you for your letter of January 31, 2018 regarding the challenges associated with homelessness.
The City shares your desire to build on the successful revitalization of the downtown area and create a
healthy and vibrant downtown core for our residents and visitors. As a downtown property owner, the
City is familiar with challenges presented by the homeless population in the area
Homelessness is a community issue, and one that cannot be solved by the City alone As you probably
have read in the newspaper, Transform Yakima Together has asked the City to approve a year-round 24
hour homeless shelter for homeless individuals and families. The project's proposed location is outside
of the downtown area, off of North 16th Avenue The Hearing Examiner recently heard testimony both
for and against the location and project and his determination is pending. If that application is
approved, and survives an appeal (if one is filed), there will be a place for up to 150 homeless persons to
sleep, eat and obtain services.
Further, there are additional projects that are in the works that will provide housing for the homeless.
The Roy's Market affordable housing project plans to break ground this year, and will provide
transitional housing, with management, to up to 40 individuals. This affordable housing project will
provide housing for 40 people who may have been previously homeless, removing more people from
our streets and providing them services they need to be successful. Other affordable housing projects
are in the pipeline, including one focused on veterans. Once these affordable housing projects have
been completed, the City believes there will be fewer homeless people on the streets.
In response to your specific requests, the City has taken a role in developing additional solutions. In
addition to the affordable housing projects listed above, the City has taken an active role in the YVCOG
Homeless Planning and Policy Council—the group that makes recommendations regarding funding of
housing and other services for the homeless. The City Council is regularly updated as to those meetings,
and a City Council member sits on the Board that makes ultimate funding decisions (the YVCOG
Executive Committee)
The zoning code currently limits the types of uses in each district. Currently most of the downtown is
designated Central Business District, or CBD The CBD zone is approximately located from Martin Luther
King Jr Blvd to East Chestnut (in some areas to East Walnut (from S. Naches to Front Street and N 2nd
Ave to S 6th Avenue)) and from 9th Street to 7th Avenue Missions, which are most commonly
associated with homeless individuals, are only allowed in the CBD with a Type 2 enhanced review,
requiring notification to all property owners within 300 feet, and a hearing examiner's public hearing to
hear testimony regarding the proposal Similarly, Group Homes and Halfway Houses also must go
through the same basic procedures under a Type 3 review in the CBD Churches and community centers
can be located within the CBD under a Type 1 administrative review because under the current code
those uses are presumed compatible with the surrounding property uses.
To change the review, or remove the ability for certain uses in certain zones, a change must be made to
the ordinance The Planning Commission is currently looking at a number of changes to Title 15, the
Zoning Code, and the City Council recently opened up the one time per year that the city-wide
Comprehensive Plan can be amended You may want to address the Planning Commission directly and
ask the Commission to review the zones in which these uses can be sited, as well as the type of review
necessary to evaluate a proposal The zoning code, review types and chart of zoning district uses can be
found in Title 15 of the Yakima Municipal Code
You also may wish to participate in the monthly Homeless Planning and Policy Council meetings. These
meetings are open to the public and include many of the homeless service providers, including
Transform Yakima Together, Yakima Neighborhood Health Services, Catholic Family Charities, and
People for People HPPC meetings are the second Tuesday of each month at 10:00 a m. (see the YVCOG
website for further details) Another option may be to attend the monthly Homeless Network meeting,
which is held at YNHS This network is a group of providers seeking to increase collaboration in
providing homeless services, and may be a good place to voice concerns and work constructively on
improving communication between the business community and the service providers. The City also is
invited to attend those meetings and a City Council member is assigned to attend when available
The City seeks to work with all sectors of the community on this community issue We look forward to
seeing your organizations represented at these various meetings, and involved in the discussion when
amending or evaluating our zoning code
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me
Sincerely,
January 31, 2018
Mayor Kathy Coffey
City of Yakima
129 North 2'd Street
Yakima, WA 98901
Honorable Mayor and Members of Yakima City Council
RECEIVED
CITY OF YAKIMA
FEB 062018
OFFICE OF CITY COUNCIL
The Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Association of Yakima and Yakima Valley
Tourism have been at the forefront of creating a healthy and vibrant downtown. The millions of dollars
in public and private investment that went into revitalizing our downtown have paid huge dividends and
brought new life to Yakima and its visiting guests.
A major challenge Yakima and other cities have faced in recent years is the increase in homelessness —
especially in downtown areas.
As you know, business owners in Downtown Yakima voice many problems of loitering, litter public
urination/defecation, destruction of property, drug deals, prostitution and other illegal activities which
they believe have increased in the last five years. This has had a direct and negative impact on our local
businesses and potential revenue, and action is needed now
We respectfully request that City of Yakima
• Take a leading role in swiftly developing additional solutions that lead to real action in abating
and minimizing these issues in the downtown area
• Establish zoning ordinances to create a 'buffer zone' to prevent homeless services on the main
arterials of the city
• Encourage that existing homeless support providers with services in the downtown district be
obligated to work collaboratively with local businesses, the city and our organizations to manage
the mentioned negative results from the homeless population and those that prey on the
homeless.
We want to be part of the solution and will assist any way we can to create a safe place for all residents,
customers, guests and visitors plus those currently dealing with homelessness. Please don't wait any
longer to address this pressing matter
Signed,
V' tor Deng, Chair
Dwnto n Association of Yakima
John Baule, Chair
Yakima Valley Tourism
•
•
Rich Austin, Chair
Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce