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Ordinance 25-013 Interim Allowance Communications Tower HeightCITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY SPOKANE COUNTY, WASHINGTON ORDINANCE NO.25-013 AN EMERGENCY INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY, SPOKANE COUNTY, WASHINGTON, ADOPTING IMMEDIATE HEIGHT RESTICTIONS FOR COMMUNICATION TOWERS USED BY REGIONAL FACILITIES FOR FIRST RESPONDER COMMUNICATIONS, AND OTHER MATTERS RELATING THERETO. WHEREAS, the City of Spokane Valley ("City") contracts with the Spokane County Sheriff's Office ("SCSO") to provide law enforcement services within the City, and receives both emergency medical and fire protection services from Spokane Valley Fire Department ("Fire Department") and Spokane County Fire District No. 8 ("Fire District" and collectively with the Fire Department, "Fire Service Providers"); and WHEREAS, the SCSO and the Fire Service Providers both contract with Spokane Regional Emergency Communications ("SREC"), a regional public safety answering point (i.e. a regional 911 call center) formed under RCW 3 9.3 4 et seq., to receive calls for emergency response services (i.e. 911 emergency calls) and dispatch appropriate emergency personnel to respond to emergencies (hereinafter "emergency communication services"); and WHEREAS, SREC currently maintains its regional 911 call center facility, including its primary/master communication tower, on property that SREC leases from the City of Spokane; and WHEREAS, the lease between the City of Spokane and SREC will expire at the end of 2025, after which the City of Spokane has stated it intends to begin occupying and using the property to operate its own emergency call center; and WHEREAS, the City, SCSO, and other current member agencies of SREC are not and do not anticipate becoming members or recipients of emergency communication services from the City of Spokane; and WHEREAS, in order to provide uninterrupted emergency communications to the City and SREC's other member agencies, SREC needs to have use of a fully operational regional 911 call center, including a new primary/master communications tower, before the City of Spokane fully occupies SREC's current leased facilities; and WHEREAS, SREC owns real property within the City located at 12809 Mirabeau Parkway (hereinafter "Property") on which it intends to locate its new regional 911 call center and primary/master communications tower; and Ordinance 25-013 Page 1 of 6 WHEREAS, the Property is located within the Mixed Use (MU) zone, and Title 22, Chapter 120 of the Spokane Valley Municipal Code ("SVMC 22.120 et seq.") prevents communication tower structures from exceeding 60 feet in height in the MU zone and prevents antenna array from reaching more than 20 feet above the tower, for a total allowable maximum height of 80 feet; and WHEREAS, in order to function properly and reliably dispatch emergency personnel throughout the Spokane County region without signal interference or refraction, SREC's primary/master communications tower structure must be constructed to be at least 100 feet in height without attached antenna arrays, and up to 120 feet in total height including all attached antenna arrays, such that it is able to send and receive signals free from interference of surrounding buildings, power lines, and other facilities; and WHEREAS, SREC will lose the ability to reliably and consistently dispatch emergency personnel to respond to all emergency calls for service throughout the region if the primary/master communications tower construction and 911 call center renovations are not completed and in operation before SREC no longer has use of the existing facilities owned by the City of Spokane; and WHEREAS, SREC needs to complete construction of the new primary/master communications tower on the Property before it can be programmed to effectively communicate with SREC's other supporting communication towers; and WHEREAS, SREC cannot construct the primary/master communications tower without first having a design for the same, and cannot design the tower to be both operationally effective and permittable by the City due to the current language of SVMC 22.120 et seq. WHEREAS, SREC must also complete renovations to convert the existing building into SREC's new 911 call center in order to receive and send emergency communications, but cannot take on the financial burden of proceeding with construction thereof unless and until the SVMC allows emergency wireless communication towers to be at least 100 feet in height (120 feet in total height including antenna array) because it could result in waste of public taxpayer funds; and WHERAS, SREC estimates it will take at least 2 months to complete design and construction of the new primary/master communication tower, and an additional 5 months thereafter to complete the necessary programming for the tower to be operational; and WHEREAS, between now and the date by which permits would need to be issued for SREC to complete the construction and programming necessary for the new primary/master communications tower to be operational, there is not enough time for (a) the City and the City Planning Commission to complete the process required by SVMC 18.10 et seq. to amend SVMC 22.120 et seq. and (b) City Council to thereafter consider and take action on the Planning Commission's recommendations; and Ordinance 25-013 Page 2 of 6 WHEREAS, (a) SREC will not be able to continue providing uninterrupted and continuous emergency communication services once it no longer has access to its current 911 call center unless its new facilities within the City have been constructed and are operational, and (b) SREC will lose access to the currently leased 911 call center and facilities after December 31 ,2025, once the City of Spokane has established and is operating its own 911 call center at that location; and WHEREAS, SREC does not currently own property that could serve as an alternative site for the new primary/master emergency communications tower and 911 call center; and WHEREAS, emergency communication services being unavailable for any length of time could foreseeably result in delay or non -delivery of emergency lifesaving services, and therefore presents an imminent risk of harm to the health, safety, and welfare of persons both in and outside the City; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Article 11, Section 11 of the Washington Constitution, the City of Spokane Valley ("City") is authorized to "make and enforce within its limits all such local police, sanitary and other regulations as are not in conflict with general laws," which includes the adoption of regulations governing land uses within the city; and WHEREAS, RCW 35A.63.220 authorizes the enactment of an interim land use regulation prior to holding a public hearing, provided the City conducts a public hearing on the interim regulation within 60 days of the date of adoption of the same; and WHEREAS, pursuant to WAC 197-11-880, the adoption of this interim land use ordinance is exempt from the requirements of a threshold determination under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) and future permanent zoning regulations will be reviewed in accordance with SEPA Rules; and WHEREAS, due to the urgent need for SREC to construct a new primary/master communications tower and 911 call center to ensure SREC can reliably provide continuous uninterrupted emergency communication services to the region and City, this emergency ordinance is necessary to protect public health, safety, and welfare; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the emergency immediate interim ordinance amendment established by this Ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, public safety, public property and public peace. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Spokane Valley ordains as follows: Section 1. Preliminary Findings. The City Council hereby adopts the above recitals as findings of fact in support of this Ordinance. Section 2. Interim Amendment Adopted. The City Council hereby declares an emergency and adopts an interim amendment to Title 22 SVMC by adding a new section Ordinance 25-013 Page 3 of 6 22.120.060 SVMC "Towers for Emergency Communications Services," as provided in Exhibit A on an interim basis for the period of 180 days while this emergency ordinance is in effect. This temporary interim amendment is adopted pursuant to RCW 35A.63.220 and RCW 36.70A.390. Section 3. Public Hearing. Pursuant to RCW 35A.63.220, the City Council shall conduct a public hearing on this interim amendment on September 16, 2025, at 6:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, to hear and consider the comments and testimony of those wishing to speak at such public hearing regarding the interim amendment set forth in this !Ordinance. The hearing will take place at the City of Spokane Valley City Hall in City Council Chambers, 10210 East Sprague Avenue, Spokane Valley, 99206. Immediately after conducting the public hearing, the City Council shall adopt findings of fact on the subject of this interim amendment and either justify the continued adoption of the interim amendment, cancel the interim amendment, or modify the interim amendment as determined necessary. Section 4. Duration. The interim amendments set forth in this Ordinance shall be in effect as of the date of this Ordinance and shall continue in effect for a period of 180 days from the date of this Ordinance, unless repealed, extended, or modified by the City Council after subsequent public hearing(s) and entry of appropriate findings of fact, pursuant to RCW 35A.63.220. Section 5. Ratification. Any act consistent with the authority set forth herein and prior to the effective date of this Ordinance is hereby ratified and affirmed. Section 6. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance shall be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of any other section, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance. Section 7. Declaration of Emergency; Effective Date. The City Council hereby declares this Ordinance is in response to a public emergency and is necessary for the protection of public health, safety, and welfare to establish an interim amendment that provides a building height allowance for those regional facilities providing emergency communication services for first responders. This interim amendment must be imposed as an emergency measure to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, and to promote the effective emergency communications throughout the region for effective policing and lifesaving services while the City considers permanent amendments to SVMC 22.120.060. This Ordinance does not affect existing vested rights, nor will it prohibit development within the City since all other allowable uses are not affected by this interim amendment. Based on the reasons and declaration of emergency stated herein, this Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon adoption by the City Council. Passed by the City Council this 291h day of July, 2025. Pam Haley, Mayor Ordinance 25-013 Page 4 of 6 AT EST: City Cle , Marci Patterson Approved as to Form: Office Yrthe City Attorney Date of Publication: RU, (�c Effective Date: r 1 2 Ordinance 25-013 Page 5 of 6 Section 22.120.060 — Towers for Emergency Communications Services Wireless communication services, including transmission towers or antenna support structures, that are used by regional facilities for first responder communication shall be exempt from the provisions of SVMC 22.120-1 Tower Height Limitations. Such regional facilities that assist with first responder communication shall be allowed a height restriction of up to 100 feet for the tower and up to 20 feet for the antenna array attached to the tower, for a total combined height up to 120 feet (where the tower is no more than 100 feet from the ground and no antenna array extends more than 20 feet above the top of the tower). Ordinance 25-013 Page 6 of 6