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2017, 08-15 Study Session MINUTES SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL MEETING STUDY SESSION Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers Spokane Valley, Washington August 15,2017 Attendance: Councilmembers Staff Rob Higgins, Mayor Mark Calhoun, City Manager Arne Woodard,Deputy Mayor John Hohman, Deputy City Manager Caleb Collier, Councilmember Cary Driskell, City Attorney Pam Haley, Councilmember Erik Lamb,Deputy City Attorney Mike Munch, Councilmember Mark Werner, Police Chief Ed Pace, Councilmember Mike Stone,Parks&Recreation Director Sam Wood, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director Marty Palaniuk,Planner Micki Harnois,Planner Lori Barlow, Senior Planner John Pietro,Administrative Analyst Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Mayor Higgins called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present. 1. Crave NW Report—John Hohman, and Tom and Karen Stebbins Deputy City Manager Hohman introduced Tom and Karen Stebbins with Crave NW, and Crave NW's Culinary Director and Chef Mr. Adam Hegsted, to give a follow-up report of the Crave NW Event held over Father's Day weekend at the CenterPlace Event Center. Via their PowerPoint presentation, Mr. Stebbins explained about the objectives for the event,mentioned the celebrity chefs, spoke of the feedback both good and "not as good" and said the event was well attended; he spoke highly of Visit Spokane and their media team's coordinated effort for the event; said a lot of excitement was generated by Cheryl Kilday as well as a great deal of support;said next year they plan to hold the event July 12-15 which will hopefully be the least rainy week of the year.Mr.Hegsted mentioned that people came from all over the United States and said it was great to have so many together in one place. Councilmember Haley asked about them donating the proceeds to the food bank and Mr. Stebbins explained that there wasn't any food to donate, but they donated$5,000 to the Second Harvest.Councilmembers expressed their appreciation for the event and for tonight's follow-up report. 2.Urban Farming and Animal Keeping—Micki Harnois Via her Memorandum included in the Council packet, Planner Harnois went over the discussion points brought up at the previous meeting,i.e.,(1)gnawing animals;(2)swine;(3)animal non-fencing enclosures; (4)animal fencing enclosures;(5)community gardens;(6)beekeeping;(7)contract with SCRAPS/Spokane County; and (8) animal keeping certification; followed by discussion and options concerning each point. Ms. Harnois also noted that SCRAPS Regional Director Nancy Hill and WSU Small Farms Coordinator Patricia Munts are available if there are additional questions. Councilmember Haley expressed concern with enforcement since we only have one code enforcement officer; said she received some letters from citizens who don't have livestock next to their home, and said she personally does not want livestock next to her home either. Councilmember Pace said he feels this is Council Study Session:08-15-2017 Page 1 of 4 Approved by Council:09-12-2017 "partly a property rights thing" and some will like it and some won't; said this is part of the tradition of Spokane Valley and we can mitigate some concerns by requiring the certification, which he said he was strongly against at first,but now feels it will give others confidence;also said it doesn't seem too bad adding that amount to the SCRAPS contract; and that he feels the other items noted in the memorandum seem like a good compromise.Councilmember Haley said that she is aware of the history of the valley and that certain people's property rights should not infringe on other's property rights. Deputy Mayor Woodard said that he feels mink and chinchilla must be removed; and that he agrees about keeping rabbits and guinea pigs; said he feels it is not right to put these animals in a high density area; if someone wants to be a farmer they could get a larger area;said he already sees problems with pigs or other animals getting above the regulated size,and he asked how that would be enforced;said we can't enforce the nuisance regulations we have now and it's not right to add more;and feels that this is part of a faddish move;said he would not support having farm animals in our urban area. Councilmember Munch said he also feels this is a property rights issue and if this causes issues,then the neighbors could complain; said we have a right to use land as we see fit, and that he doubts there would be many having the farm animals; adding that he too can see the benefit of requiring the certification. Councilmember Collier said he agreed with Councilmember Munch; said that it works in Spokane and he feels it could work here.Councilmember Wood said this is not a"cut and dried" issue; that he is a property rights advocate and we won't have people running out buying these animals; some will but not a lot, and he supports this. Councilmember Munch and Wood both said they do not support including pigs. Mayor Higgins stated that this is not a property rights thing but is a common sense type issue; he rhetorically asked if what we have is broken; said we can do some modifications if needed, but said that sheep have a terrible smell; said we need to think about the neighbors and the animals. There was agreement from Councilmembers Munch,Pace,Collier and Wood to move this forward. Ms. Munts said the City of Spokane does not allow male goats as you can smell a goat from a mile away; and in response to Councilmember Munch's statement about a neutered goat no longer having a scent, she said she feels it is probably better to exclude them, adding that neutering an adult requires vet services. SCRAPS Director Hill said she reviewed the draft code and has a few concerns that enforcement and penalty are not clearly defined; said animal owners will be more successful if they know the penalty and know what to expect; said SCRAPS primarily handles at-large impounding, holding and re-homing if needed; said she also recommends including a noise component that is enforceable; said SCRAPS already responds to neglect. City Attorney Driskell said they will review the existing interlocal as well as any modifications to bring back to Council;said they examined some penalty provisions,and that what we have now concerning noise usually relates to dogs; said there are some noise issues addressed in the nuisance section,but he would need to do further review,adding that it will take some time to bring all this together. Ms. Hill mentioned the new Washington law regarding animal tethering,which she said became effective July 23 and which the City of Spokane adopted last night; she said SCRAPS automatically enforces the law. Councilmember Pace said he hopes to make this specific that dog barking or sheep bleating is all a part of that;and add noise and smell to put a hard limit because it will happen, include penalties,and leave out male goats and sheep. City Attorney Driskell mentioned that it is difficult to put a hard cap on smell; and that he will research the noise language. 3. Shipping Containers—Marty Palaniuk Planner Palaniuk explained the background of the proposed changes, which he said came about from a citizen request to reuse a shipping container for personal storage in a residential zone;said that the Planning Commission held a meeting May 25,2017 and a public hearing June 8,2017 and following the hearing and deliberations,the Commission voted six to one to recommend that the proposed code text amendment not be approved. Via his PowerPoint presentation, Mr. Palaniuk explained what shipping containers are and their general purpose; explained they are currently prohibited in residential zones, and then went over the draft regulations including permits,placement requirements and criteria,residential character,and that they only be allowed as an accessory structure. Mr. Palaniuk noted the Planning Commission discussion which led to their Findings and ultimate vote of six to one in favor of not adopting the amendment. Council Study Session:08-15-2017 Page 2 of 4 Approved by Council:09-12-2017 Councilmember Collier asked about the painting requirement,said these containers are used throughout the country for various reasons,and said he hasn't heard about a nationwide crisis of people dying of hazardous materials. Councilmember Pace said he agreed, and rhetorically asked who are we to determine a public need as this is a property rights issue; said it makes sense to require a building permit, and said Spokane allows them and they don't have any problems. Councilmember Haley said she is against this amendment; and she also asked how many code enforcement officers Spokane has; she also speculated about what we want the landscape of the valley to look like and have anyone put anything on their property regardless of the neighbors; said we are letting the minority rule which means the majority will have to put up with it; said we keep adding things for code enforcement to take care of; said we don't want the picture of the Valley of shipping containers and goats. Councilmember Wood asked if a building permit is required for a garden shed,and Mr.Palaniuk explained that a permit is not required for a structure under 200' square feet, but it would still have to meet lot coverage and setback requirements. Councilmember Wood also asked about the complementary colors and who would judge if something were complementary. Mr. Palaniuk said the idea behind that is to allow the City the opportunity to address these containers if they had graffiti or were rusted; and Councilmember Wood said there are a lot of rundown sheds in the valley and we can't force people to do things to sheds or barns, and these containers look a lot better than sheds. City Attorney Driskell explained that we use code compliance to respond and make reference to the Police Department, or to notify the Police if we have some gang component; said we would look at the graffiti abatement program as we try not to re-victimize the property owner. Councilmember Munch said he would like to remove the regulation of having concrete or asphalt underneath; said there will likely be some ugly comments but a metal box on a wooden floor is very secure; said we have a lot of property theft issues and these containers would be a good way to secure goods, adding that they are not cheap,that he doesn't see an issue with allowing them on properties, but would not allow them in the front yard. Councilmember Haley replied that these containers are not very expensive, as they range from about $500 to $2100. Mr. Palaniuk replied that the concrete under the structure would make the container stable,and Councilmember Wood added that we don't need concrete slabs. There was agreement from Councilmembers Munch,Pace, Collier and Wood to move this forward. 4. Public Defender Agreement Amendment—John Pietro Via his PowerPoint presentation, Administrative Analyst Pietro went over the background of the public defender agreement, as well as the summary of the changes, including the indirect rate, investigator allocation basis, general administration and maintenance and operation costs, annual impact cost, and multiyear cost reconciliation,with the next steps of bringing a motion before Council to consider approval of the amendments,and once approved by both parties,changes would be made retroactive to their effective dates. Mr. Calhoun added that the$114,000 mentioned is in the public safety budget as a contingency,and Mr. Pietro added that the goal is to make the estimates as close as possible, and staff feels we will be able to stand on these changes for several years. There was Council consensus to bring this forward at a future meeting for a motion consideration. 5.Advance Agenda—Mayor Higgins There were no suggestions to the Advance Agenda. 6. Council Check-in—Mayor Higgins There were no comments from Council. 7. City Manager Comments—Mark Calhoun City Manager Calhoun mentioned the draft letter at the dais addressed to Attorney General Sessions concerning the current administration's consideration to withhold some future grant monies to communities designated as sanctuary cities; and to avoid any confusion between Spokane Valley which has not been designated as a Sanctuary City,and the City of Spokane which has,Mayor Higgins suggested we send this Council Study Session:08-15-2017 Page 3 of 4 Approved by Council:09-12-2017 letter, drafted by City Attorney Driskell, along with our Resolution 16-002 Declaring that we are not a Sanctuary City.There were no objections to having Mayor Higgins sign and send the letter. Mr. Calhoun noted a motion for an application for the JAG grant will be before Council at the August 29 meeting and Mr.Koudelka is working to determine what we would seek to fund in the Police Department. Mr.Calhoun also noted that the City Hall building is nearing completion and the building will be turned over to us by September 30; and as part of that, we will have departments beginning to pack up and move over to the new building in waves; he said it won't happen all at once, and there is a lot involved in moving the technology; said some of the equipment in the Council Chambers will move to the new building, so we may have a meeting or two without video, but we will continue Council meetings and can simply audio record them.Mr.Calhoun said we don't know exactly when all this will occur and he will keep the Council appraised;adding that a grand opening/open house dedication is tentatively set for Saturday September 30, and more information on that will be forthcoming as the time gets closer. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 7:34 p.m. / .44E4711110,- dl A S : L.R. Higgi i;R•' 1 . _ Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Council Study Session:08-15-2017 Page 4 of 4 Approved by Council:09-12-2017