HomeMy WebLinkAbout4-26-18 PSC agenda packet
Council Public Safety Committee
2nd Floor Conference Room
City Hall
April 26, 2018
3:00 p.m.
Members: Staff: Others:
Councilmember D. Gutierrez (chair) City Manager Cliff Moore
Councilmember Cousens Asst. City Manager Ana Cortez
Councilmember Funk Police Chief Dominic Rizzi
Councilmember White (alternate) City Prosecutor Cynthia Martinez
Brad Coughenour
Scott Schafer
Agenda
1) Approval of March 22, 2018 minutes
2) New Business
a) Proposed inspection fee revision – Markham
b) Strategic planning follow up – Cortez
c) Fire chief selection process
3) Old Business
a) Traffic calming procedure revision – Schafer
i) East/west arterial issues
b) Domestic violence
i) Legislative action
c) Dangerous dog ordinance
d) Conclusion of public forums/wrap up
4) Other Business
5) Information items
6) Recap of future agenda items
7) Audience Participation
8) Adjournment
Council Public Safety Committee
March 22, 2018
MINUTES
Members present: Staff:
Councilmember Dulce Gutierrez (chair) City Manager Cliff Moore
Councilmember Holly Cousens Asst. City Mgr. Ana Cortez
Councilmember Kay Funk Chief Dominic Rizzi, Police
Deputy Chief Pat Reid, Fire
Tony Doan, Fire
Scott Schafer, Public Works
Joe Caruso, Codes
Glen Denman, Codes
Prosecutor Cynthia Martinez, Legal
Ryan Bleek, Legal
Terri Croft, Police
The meeting was called to order at 3:03 p.m.
1. Election of chair
It was MOVED by Cousens and SECONDED by Funk to elect Gutierrez as committee
chair.
2. Approval of minutes of February 22, 2018
It was MOVED by Coffey and SECONDED by Gutierrez to approve the minutes as
presented. Motion PASSED unanimously.
3. New Business
A third item was added to new business – pit bull ordinance discussion
2.a. Fire Code inspections
Doan introduced proposed legislation that would clarify International Fire Code
regulations for cooking under tents. This will ensure safety while giving inspectors a
practical, consistent standard for inspections.
It was MOVED by Cousens and SECONDED by Funk to move the item to the full
council. Motion PASSED unanimously.
2.b. Enhancing crime victim participation
Martinez shared with the committee that HB1022, the safety and access for immigrant
victims act, was signed by Governor Inslee. The act will go into effect on June 7, 2018.
There will be some impacts on the city’s operations, which Martinez will review with
Rizzi. The item will be carried forward to the June agenda for additional information.
2.c. Pit bull/Dangerous Dog ordinance
At the direction of the full council, the committee discussed potential changes to the
dangerous dog ordinance. Bleek presented a matrix of other cities’ ordinances. The
current City of Yakima ordinance is very similar to other cities throughout the state.
Cousens inquired if the ordinance was missing any requirements such as ADA
accommodations. Bleek advised he had not looked at that issue.
Committee members discussed various requirements they would like to see regarding
the ordinance, including neutering requirements, insurance coverage, penalties for
making currently banned dogs “legal” if a the pit bull ordinance is repealed, and making
the repeal of the current pit bull ban a ballot measure. The committee discussed that
the direction from the full council was to ensure the City’s dangerous dog ordinance was
robust enough to stand if the pit bull ban is repealed.
The topic was opened to public comment.
- De Ette Wood of Selah spoke in favor of an additional licensing fee for pit bulls
- Becky Pascua of Yakima County inquired about stray control – Ben Zigan of City
of Yakima Animal Control advised currently the City employs one full time animal
control officer and contracts with the Humane Society for three additional animal
control officers.
- Vaughn Merry of the Yakima Humane Society spoke regarding the Humane
Society’s operations. He noted that he opposes breed-specific bans and also
that of the dogs they receive, 13% are pit bulls.
- Morgana Holman of Yakima provided examples of the Tacoma legislation for
consideration
- Amy May of Yakima stated there has been no epidemic of pit bull mauling
- Taylor Sharp of Seattle spoke on behalf of Best Friends Animal Society and
stated the focus should be on negligent owners
- Bill Lover of Yakima stated the need to separate the issues of the pit bull ban and
dangerous dog ordinance
- Tony Coursey of Yakima felt the state and city laws should be combined
- Kelly Murray of Yakima and the board of the Yakima Humane Society corrected
an earlier statement regarding pit bull use in the military and noted that both the
military and Union Gap Police Department use pit bulls
After the public comments, the committee asked to have staff synthesize the information
from the public input and the Tacoma ordinance, to include the insurance, muzzle, and
spay/neuter requirements, as well as giving Animal Control discretion in assessment of
dangerous dogs. Gutierrez requested a penalty to bring pit bulls out of the shadows
also be implemented. The committee felt the April 17 date was unrealistic to
incorporate all of the input. It was decided that Legal staff would have a draft
dangerous dog ordinance prepared for the council briefing prior to the April 17th
meeting. At the briefing, the committee chair will discuss the possible ban rescission,
the possibility of making it a ballot measure, and fines to make pit bulls already in the
city legal if the ban is rescinded.
4. Old Business
4.a. Traffic Calming Procedure
Shafer brought forth a revised procedure for requesting traffic calming devices. The
revised document would require 75% approval of the neighborhood affected and public
input. He noted that the plan is a work in progress. He additionally added that Spokane
had dedicated $500,000/year for three years to address traffic calming issues. Yakima
is only able to dedicate $30,000/year currently, limiting the number of projects that can
be undertaken. Because of the limited funding, Public Works uses education,
enforcement, and engineering to address concerns. Engineering (speed bumps) is the
last resort and the need must be supported by data. Traffic studies take most of the
budget, leaving little to solve the problems.
Funk expressed concern over the public meeting cost. Schafer advised that the only
cost would be staff time for the public meeting. Funk also asked about the size of
speed bumps and the intended speed to cross them. Schafer advised Public Works is
working on standardization of the speed bumps. Gutierrez expressed concern that the
75% threshold could be difficult to obtain in high density neighborhoods and stressed
the need for equitable access.
It was MOVED by Gutierrez and SECONDED by Cousens to direct staff to obtain
information from other municipalities for an equitable access process. Motion
CARRIED by consensus.
Cousens asked about the cost for the modifications at the intersection of 40th
Avenue/Chestnut. The cost was $50,000 for that project. Schafer advised the cost per
speed bump is $1000.
The topic was opened for public comment.
- Gina Ord of Yakima discussed her concerns for pedestrian safety on the
east/west arterial streets and lack of regard by drivers for pedestrians trying to
legally cross the street. She asked how to proceed with traffic calming in these
areas.
- Joshua Hicks of Yakima expressed similar concerns about pedestrian safety and
the walkability of the area around Franklin Middle School. He also had observed
drivers on the main arterials not stopping for occupied crosswalks.
- Robert Strader of Yakima expressed his impression that speed bumps are
intended to redirect traffic to the main arterials and his concerns for children
walking on those arterials. He asked if there were any studies of the
40th/Chestnut intersection after the revisions had been made. He suggested the
committee consider property owners rather than residents and a 60% approval
rather than 75% for the revisions to the traffic calming request process.
Schafer stated that traffic calming would not be appropriate on the arterials.
The topic of east/west arterial pedestrian safety will be added to the April Public Safety
Committee agenda.
4.b. Domestic Violence legislative action
Martinez advised she had not had the opportunity to meet with other staff members to
complete the memo. The topic will be added to the April agenda.
4.c. Forum wrap up
Gutierrez distributed a draft summary report of the forums. There were some variations
in the summaries due to different note takers and staff doing one summary. Gutierrez
noted the importance of documenting the stakeholders who had attended the forums
and that the forums had gained the attention of the legislative delegations and school
officials. She asked for approval of the formatting of the report and advised she would
continue working through the remaining forum agendas to complete the report for the
April 3 council meeting. It was suggested that the format could keep the details specific
to each forum, but consolidate the comments and responses to questions into a table.
5. Other Business
No other business
6. Information items
There were no information items
7. Recap of Future Agenda Items
Traffic calming – April
East/west arterial pedestrian safety – April
Domestic violence legislative action – April
HB1022 - June
8. Audience Participation
There was no additional audience participation
9. Adjournment
It was MOVED by Cousens and SECONDED by Funk to adjourn the meeting. Motion
PASSED unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 5:20 p.m.
Approved:
Administration
Fire Suppression
Fire Investigation
Fire Training
Fire Prevention
Public Education
401 North Front Street, Yakima, WA 98901 (509) 575-6060
Fax (509) 576-6356
www.yakimafire.com
“The Yakima Fire Department is dedicated to providing
quality public safety services to our community.”
MEMORANDUM
Date: March 28, 2018
To: City of Yakima Public Safety Committee
From: Aaron Markham, Deputy Fire Chief
RE: Inspection Fee Schedule Adjustment, YMC 10.05.015 (Table 10.05.015B)
On December 6, 2016, the Yakima City Council approved an ordinance establishing a fee schedule
for the Fire Code Inspection Program. Since the implementation of fee collection, over a year has
passed and we now have enough data to review the number of inspections and revenue generated.
We are proposing 3 changes to the current Municipal Code Fee Schedules for Fire and Life Safety
Inspections.
One element of our program that is often contested is the charging of a fee for vacant occupancy
inspections. Vacant occupancies must be inspected due to the dangers that may exist. However,
local business owners do not like being charged for something that they themselves are not
generating revenue on. Our first proposal is to reduce the fee for these vacant occupancy
inspections by $25, which, at a minimum, would continue to support the program.
In the 2017 calendar year, the Fire Code Inspection Division generated $176,715.00 in billable
services. This was met with an 82.3% payment rate. In 2017, 85 vacant building inspections were
conducted; by reducing the fee by $25.00 (one step down on the current fee schedule) the City of
Yakima would have seen a decrease in revenue of only $2,125.00.
Our second proposal is to offset the reduction in revenue from vacant building inspections we
offer, for consideration, the addition of an hourly rate to the inspection fee schedule for the extra
time needed to do inspections in larger occupancies (over 10,000 sq. ft). For instance, a 100,000
sq. ft. occupancy may take 6 hours to inspect, but the fee schedule only generates revenue for two
(2) hours at the $50 per hour rate. As proposed, the additional hourly rate would allow those
occupancies that are 10,000 square feet and larger to be charged additional hours to conduct the
Page 2 of 2
initial inspection, up to a maximum of $200.00. This is similar to the fees for special event fire and
life safety inspections.
Our third and final proposal is a change in the compliance re-inspection fees. The compliance re-
inspection fees generated $29,420.00 in revenue in 2017. We propose an option to generate
additional revenue by increasing the compliance re-inspection fee. The first re-inspection fee will
remain the same and be at no charge. During the course of 2017, just over 2,000 compliance re-
inspections were completed; 530 of these inspections required two or more visits, which means
25% of the re-inspections generated revenue. The current fee schedule has a $30 incremental
increase for each compliance re-inspections. We propose a fee schedule increase to $50 with
incremental increases for each compliance re-inspections to a maximum of $250.00. The proposed
fee would have added $18,980.00 to 2017’s billable services.
We believe that implementing these revisions, in whole or in part, would strengthen the
relationship between the City of Yakima and those that reside and work in it, as well as a
commitment to financially sustaining a cost-neutral Fire Code Inspection Program.
Yakima Municipal Code
Page 1/3
The Yakima Municipal Code is current through Ordinance 2018-004, passed February 6, 2018.
10.05.015 Fire code plan review and inspection fees.
A. General. Fees as set forth in Table 10.05.015A shall be paid to the city for review of building plans for
compliance with Chapter 10.05 YMC and for inspection of construction for compliance with Chapter 10.05 YMC.
Existing buildings, and special events licensed pursuant to Chapter 9.70 YMC and other events requiring fire and
life safety inspection, will be subject to an annual fire and life safety inspection, and fees for such inspections shall
be paid as set forth in Table 10.05.015B.
B. Fees Required for Plan Review. For construction projects for which the fire code requires submittal
documents, the hourly plan review fee indicated in Table 10.05.015A shall be charged for the time to perform the
plan review. The plan review fees required by this section are separate from the inspection fees required by this
section, and are in addition to any inspection fees. When submittal documents are incomplete or are changed so as to
require additional plan review, additional plan review fees shall be charged at the rate shown in Table 10.05.015A.
C. Fees Required for Construction Inspection. For construction projects for which the fire code requires
inspection, the hourly inspection fee set forth in Table 10.05.015A shall be charged for the time to perform the
inspection. The inspection fees required by this section are separate from the plan review fees required by this
section, and are in addition to any plan review fees.
D. Fees Required for Annual Fire and Life Safety Inspection. For existing buildings, and for special events for
which the fire code or other applicable city codes require inspection, the inspection fee set forth in Table 10.05.015B
shall be charged based on the area to be inspected or for the time to perform the inspection, as applicable. The fees
required by this section are separate from the plan review fee and construction inspection fee set forth in subsections
B and C of this section, and are in addition to such fees.
E. Fees Required for Re-inspections. For construction inspections, a fee shall be charged for re-inspection for
each inspection that must be made: (1) because work for which inspection is called by the permittee is not complete
and ready for inspection; (2) when the inspection record card is not posted or otherwise available on the work site;
(3) when the approved plans are not readily available to the inspector; (4) for failure to provide access on the date
for which inspection is requested; or (5) when corrections required by an inspector are not satisfactorily made when
the permittee calls for a follow-up inspection for corrections. No re-inspection fee shall be incurred for verification
of corrections when such corrections are satisfactorily made. To obtain a construction re-inspection, the permittee
must pay the re-inspection fee stated in Table 10.05.015A in advance.
Re-inspection fees for compliance with the annual fire and life safety inspections are assessed in accordance with the
fee rates set forth in Table 10.05.015B below.
Table 10.05.015A
Plan Review and Construction Inspection Fees
1. Plan review for compliance with Chapter
10.05 YMC and for changes, additions or
revisions to approved plans (minimum
charge—one hour)
$47.00 per hr.
2. Normal inspection (minimum charge—one
hour)
$47.00 per hr.
3. Re-inspection (minimum charge—one hour) $47.00 per hr.
4. Inspections for which no other fee is
specifically indicated (minimum charge—one
hour)
$47.00 per hr.
Yakima Municipal Code
Page 2/3
The Yakima Municipal Code is current through Ordinance 2018-004, passed February 6, 2018.
Table 10.05.015B
Annual Fire and Life Safety Inspection Fee Schedule
E, I, F, H, M, S Occupancy a,b
Area in Square Feet Fee
0—5,000 $75.00
5,001—10,000 $100.00
10,001 and Over $125.00
A, B, R Occupancy a,b
Area in Square Feet Fee
0—5,000 $50.00
5,001—10,000 $75.00
10,001 and Over $100.00
a. For vacant occupancies, deduct $25.00 from fee schedule. Vacant occupancies shall contain no storage and
be unoccupied at time of inspection.
b. The hourly rate will be applied if the fee schedule does not cover the hourly rate of fifty dollars per hour to
a maximum of $200.00.
Special Event Fire and Life Safety Inspection Fee Schedule
To Be Charged to the Event (Not to the Individual Vendor)
Time per Day Fee
2 Hours (Minimum) $100
3 Hours $150
4 Hours $200
5 Hours $250
For every additional hour add fifty dollars per hour.
Compliance Fire and Life Safety Re-inspection Fee Schedule
Number of Re-inspections Fee
1 $0
2 $3050
3 $60100
4 $90150
5 $120200
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Yakima Municipal Code
Page 3/3
The Yakima Municipal Code is current through Ordinance 2018-004, passed February 6, 2018.
Compliance Fire and Life Safety Re-inspection Fee Schedule
Number of Re-inspections Fee
6 $150250
For every additional re-inspection add thirty fifty dollars to the previous inspection fee to a maximum of $250.00..
F. Severability. If any part of this section is declared invalid or unconstitutional for any reason, such decision
shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this section. (Ord. 2016-033 § 1, 2016: Ord. 2016-011 § 1
(Exh. A) (part), 2016: Ord. 2012-27 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2012: Ord. 2002-16 § 1, 2002).
YMCA Aquatic CenterMill site partnershipsSchoolsEquityCodeRoads, sidewalks and streetsOtherGOAL This Committee seeks to:Between 2018‐2020 to accomplish this goal, the Committee will:The City of Yakima will build cooperative and reciprocal partnerships with local, regional, state, federal, international, non‐profit, and private entities, to enhance thevitality and quality of life of city residents, businesses and guests to leverage resources with other organizations.1. Set policies needed to further large collaborative projects that enhance economic vitality, public safety, and community/ neighborhood health and welbeing 2. Set policies that lead to the successful development of the mill site and the YMCAAquatic Center 3. Resolve the future of the YMCA AquaticCenter2018‐2020 PARTNERSHIP COMMITTEE Kathy Coffey, Brad Hill, Carmen Mendez, Holly CoThis Committee will discuss, analyze, consider, review data, input and i
Port DistrictWastewater TreatmentPolicies and rules of procedureThis Committee will review, consider, evaluate policies, activities and programs using two perspectives:Equity Benchmarking ousens (alt)ideas on the following topic