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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Public Safety (Committee) - 05/03/1993 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES May 3, 1993 COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Judy Woods Leona Orr Jon Johnson STAFF PRESENT: Chief Crawford Roger Lubovich Dave Haenel Laurie Evezich Captain Byerly Tony McCarthy Chief Angelo Mary Berg MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: Tom & Mary Pinches, Beanery Jean Parietti 2 Unidentified Citizens The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Committeemember Orr. Orr noted that Judy Woods was filling in tonight for Paul Mann, Chairman. She also noted that because two regular members of the Committee are not present for this meeting, the Omni/ Beanery issue (Item #5 on the Agenda) will not be addressed until the meeting of May 17, 1993. Tom Pinches, Beanery owner, passed out a copy of the City of Kent Ordinance No. 2839 relat- ing to dance halls and then left the meeting because this item was removed from the Agenda. Committeemember Johnson arrived at the meeting late. Valley Communication Center Interlocal Agreement Chief Angelo explained that the wording for the existing Valley Communications Center Inter- local Agreement has been changed to make it more compliant with the way the State law reads concerning the holding of property, entering into contracts, etc. He noted that this change will also allow the City to enter into contracts with King County to receive funds for the County- wide regional radio system which will help pay for the sale of the City's radio system. Lubovich clarified that this is just basically a house cleaning measure. WOODS MOVED approval of this item with placement under the Consent Calendar for the May 18, 1993 Council Meeting. Johnson seconded and the motion carried 3-0. Civil Violations Ordinance City Attorney Lubovich explained that there has been an inadequate way to deal with junk vehicles, public nuisances, and debris in front of houses so the Mayor formed a committee 0 0 consisting of the Public Works, Planning, and Law Departments to put some concepts together to help draft ordinances dealing with these problems. He noted that the concept is to have a new chapter under Administration entitled, "Civil Violations, Abatement and Enforcement Chapter". He noted that this ordinance will be setting up the mechanism for the enforcement of a number of civil violations such as junk vehicles, public nuisances, zoning violations, weeds and vegetation so that a uniform process for dealing with violations can be used without having ten different processes. Upon Orr's question, Lubovich noted that the Civil Violations issue will be taken to the Planning and Public Works Committees. He also noted that the issue of weeds and vegetation will be taken to the Public Works Committee. WOODS MOVED for the adop- tion of this ordinance pertaining to civil violations. Johnson seconded and the motion carried 3-0. Disposition of Junk Vehicles on Private Property City Attorney Lubovich explained that the junk and abandoned vehicles ordinance is a scaled down version which follows the State law criteria. He noted that in order for a vehicle to be subject to abatement or violation, it-would have to be defined under State statute as a junk vehicle as follows: (1) 3 years old or older; (2) extensively damaged; (3) apparently inoperable without a valid current registration plate; (4) and, has the approximate fair value equal to the approximate value of the scrap in it. He stated that the notice criteria is almost identical to the civil violations with some added criteria like dealing with the Washington State Patrol and the Department of Motor Vehicles with the licensing issue, but the civil violations ordinance is referred to for compliance and enforcement. WOODS MOVED for the adoption of the junk vehicles ordinance. Johnson seconded and the motion carried 3-0. Public Nuisances Ordinance City Attorney Lubovich explained that the new ordinance is a more comprehensive one which repeals the public nuisances ordinance section relating to abatement. He noted that when the new Kent City Code was codified, a violation penalty was left out of the litter control ordinance with no fine for violation, but that the new ordinance adds a civil penalty of $100.00 for littering. Lubovich clarified that the litter ordinance will be left strictly "litter", and debris on private property will be included in the public nuisances ordinance. He explained that con- taminated soils has been added into the ordinance along with criminal activity so it's on the books and can be dealt with also. He added that a misdemeanor section has been included in all the new proposed ordinances (Civil Violations, Junk Vehicles, and Public Nuisances) to help deal with repeat violations where more than a citation is needed. Upon McCarthy's question, Lubovich clarified that "ugly houses" is not something that you just ban because it's ugly. He noted that if you are talking about a house that is partially open and partially boarded up, it becomes a Building/Fire Code issue. WOODS MOVED for the adoption of this ordinance. Johnson seconded and the motion carried 3-0. Omni/Beanery Issue Woods commented that this item is clearly not a legislative issue and should not be before the committee. She noted that the issue should be worked out between the parties involved and that it is her understanding that Capt. Byerly has been dealing with this issue. Lubovich noted that the only way it would become a legislative issue would be if the hours for,operation of the business would be changed and regulated. The meeting was adjourned at 6:05 p.m.