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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Public Safety (Committee) - 11/12/2013 II KENT Wn8N1NpTO CITY OF KENT PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES November 12, 2013 COMMITTEE MEMBERS: William Boyce, Chair, Les Thomas, and Dana Ralph. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson William Boyce at 5:31 p.m. Changes to the Agenda: Chief Ken Thomas moved item five "Six-Month Marijuana Zoning and Business License Moratorium Ordinance to item two. 1. Approval of Minutes Councilmember Thomas MOVED and Councilmember Ralph SECONDED a Motion to approve the October 8, 2013 minutes. Motion PASSED 3-0. 2. Six-Month Marijuana Zoning and Business License Moratorium - Ordinance Acting City Attorney, Pat Fitzpatrick presented information regarding the moratorium. Pat informed the council took action to prohibit medical marijuana collective gardens on June 5, 2012. Many changes have taken place since that time. Collective gardens under the medical marijuana statute are prohibited in Kent. On November 6, 2012, I-502 passed regarding recreational marijuana and the Liquor Control Board established rules and regulations and we have also watched what other cities are doing. An update was provided at the June 4, 2013 council workshop regarding the city's code and how it related to recreational marijuana in addition to informing the council on the interpretation of the city's code. Pat indicated that the city's code allows land uses that are specifically delineated in the code and if they are not delineated, they are generally not permitted in the city. If a person wants to engage in a land use in a particular zone in the city that is not specifically permitted, they can come in on an exception basis as long as that use closely resembles another permitted use in the city. Recreational marijuana land uses would most resemble medical marijuana land uses which are prohibited, and therefore, under our code, recreational marijuana uses are not permitted. Recently the Liquor Control Board issued draft recommendations to the Legislature that will essentially eliminate the medical marijuana statute so that all marijuana regulations can be under the control of the state. Anticipate that collective gardens will not be an accepted use under state law (Pat clarified that collective gardens are not allowed in Kent) and if that happens, that will create confusion in our code. Recreational marijuana uses are not permitted in Kent, but the code would be somewhat confusing. When the planning director would need to determine if a recreational marijuana use is available in a certain zoning district the director would need to compare it to something that does not refer to the code to see if recreational marijuana uses are allowed in Kent compare it to something that does not exist under state law. Pat recommends the council get in front of this issue instead of being reactive, Public Safety Committee Minutes November 12, 2013 Monday, November 18th the Liquor Control Board will begin accepting state licenses for recreation marijuana retail outlets, three are designed for Kent. Pat recommended that the committee approve a moratorium that will go on other business on the November Igth city council meeting so that we can put a placeholder go before the Land Use and Planning Board where there will be a hearing and then to the Economic and Community Development Committee. Pat would like the code to be clear to avoid litigation. Moratorium will allow time for amending the code while the liquor control board considers licenses for Kent. The moratorium can last up to six months. The public hearing for public comment will take place January 7th if adopted at the November igth city council meeting. Councilmember Boyce asked to confirm the public comment and hearing process. Councilmember Ralph asked for confirmation that the plan is for the legislature to look at the changes in the session that starts in January, but there are no guarantees that any action will be taken. Councilmember Ralph likes proactive, lots of conflict between our laws and I-502, Pat indicated that the city of Kent is currently in the court of appeals. Assistant City Attorney David Galazin is deeply involved in the development of law in the state of Washington regarding this issue. Pat indicated that he is confident that the City has the ability to take the action and have the position that it has. Recommendation from Attorney's office is to ensure that the council's policy is carried through as strongly as possible and the change to the code will result in that. If the code is not changed, the result may be the same, but it may take some costly litigation to get there. Councilmember Thomas introduced an amendment to the motion to read "move to recommend council adopt an ordinance prohibiting the establishment, location ...' Pat indicated that this amendment would result in a Defacto zoning code amendment. Whenever we amend our zoning code, the amendment must go to Land Use and Planning Board in addition to doing a preliminary SEPA-type analysis and give the state of Washington notice. The moratorium will result in a stop of everything related to recreational marijuana for six months and in the process we will process that zoning code change that will come back to the council. The intent is that the city process a permanent zoning code amendment. Christine Masse, attorney with two clients, Chris Kealy and Natasha Combs who are interested in opening a producer/processing business relating to I-502. Recommend and encourage a more nuanced approach. State regulated I-502 business, manufacturing and processing only business only, with surveillance, security, transportation, waste disposal requirements, cameras on every door, fencing. Makes sense with what Kent has to offer regarding manufacturing, warehouse distribution. Ms. Masse believes that this type of business will fit in Kent. Would like city to allow this use. Chris Kealy is prepared to invest 20 million dollars in business in Kent that would offer over 100 jobs, contribute to B&O tax base and property tax base. Consider this as you would consider any other manufacturing businesses as long as they meet all the regulations the city and state require. Concern over moratorium because licensing window opens on Monday and is only open for 30 days and that considers this an outright ban. Worried that the licensing window will never open again and if this moratorium is in place, then people will not look to open in Kent. Ms. Masse believes that there is a high likelihood that this legislation gets opened back up to put in a direct revenue provision for local jurisdictions just as liquor did. She does not believe that this business will not put a drain on city resources, Public Safety Committee Minutes November 12, 2013 Councilmember Thomas indicated that he does not want this type of business in Kent because it is against federal law. Councilmember Ralph asked for clarification regarding whether or not there is a limit on the number of manufacturing and processing businesses. Pat indicated that he does not believe that there are any specific limitations or city-specific allocations regarding manufacturing and processing. There are square footage limitations in the state of Washington. Councilmember Ralph also wanted confirmation that the liquor control board will be issuing licenses without any concern regarding local controls. Pat indicated that the liquor control board asked the Attorney General's office regarding an opinion as to whether they need to consider local zoning restrictions. Councilmember Ralph also noted that the cities of Federal Way, Renton, Auburn have been enacting similar moratoria. Pat indicated that Kent is taking a firm stance on this issue. Ms. Masse believes that the questions to the Attorney General are 1) Does the city of Kent have the authority to ban? 2) Does the city of Kent have the authority to make it so hard to be here that it is essentially a ban? Chris Kealy spoke regarding being a producer/processor that purchased property in the city of Kent in 2006 and 2008. Mr. Kealy asked about the timing of the effective date of the moratoria. Could the City push the decision to a later date? Mr. Kealy also indicated that the citizens voted for this. Councilmember Ralph clarified that the vote tonight is to recommend moving this to the full council, it is not a final decision on this issue. After deliberating, Councilmember Thomas MOVED and Councilmember Ralph SECONDED a Motion to recommend Council adopt an Ordinance adopting a six-month moratorium within the city of Kent prohibiting the establishment, location, operation, licensing, maintenance or continuation of marijuana processors, producers, and retailers claiming authorization under Chapter 69.50 RCW or any other law of the state of Washington and setting a date for a public hearing. Motion PASSED 3-0. 3. Professional Services Contract — E-S Press "Emotional Survival" Chief Thomas and Assistant Chief Padilla discussed the professional services contract with E-S Press. This training furthers the cultural respect training and civility training. This training is an investment in staff for emotional survival. Working with staff to have a positive, productive workplace and how our officers interact with citizens. Ass January 8, 9, 10 and January 201h. The Kent School District is partnering with the police department and the trainings will be held at the Kentlake performing arts. This training helps with stress management and provide them with coping mechanisms for police personnel and their families in addition to inviting regional agencies. This training is mandatory for all officers and civilian staff. After deliberating, Counciimember Thomas MOVED and Counciimember Ralph SECONDED a Motion to recommend the Council authorize the Mayor to sign a professional services agreement with Kevin Gilmartin d/b/a E-S Press, Inc., in the amount of $27,500, with terms and conditions acceptable to the City Attorney and Police Chief. Motion PASSED 3-0. 4. School Resource Officer Agreement Public Safety Committee Minutes November 12, 2013 i Chief Thomas presented information regarding the School Resource Officer Agreement officers at Kentridge and Kent Meridian high schools and the middle schools within the city of Kent that feed into those schools. The School Resource Officers will stay at the schools year round. The police chief has the discretion to put the officers if resources are reduced. During the summertime, the Officers train staff on defensive tactics and also prepare emergency planning for the schools. After deliberating, Councilmember Thomas MOVED and Councilmember Ralph SECONDED a Motion to recommend Council authorize the Mayor to sign the School Resource Officer Agreement between the Kent Police Department and the Kent School District for the 2013-2014 school year, with terms and conditions acceptable to the Police Chief and City Attorney. Motion PASSED 3-0. S. WTSC Memorandum of Understanding DUI and Seatbelt Enforcement Chief Thomas presented information regarding the $8,000 DUI and Seatbelt Enforcement grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. Councilmember Ralph indicated that she fully supports this program. After deliberating, Councilmember Ralph MOVED and Councilmember Thomas SECONDED a Motion to recommend Council authorize the Mayor to sign the Memorandum of Understanding between the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and the city of Kent in the amount of $8,000, reimbursing the city for DUI and Seatbelt enforcement, amend the budget, and authorize expenditure of the funds in accordance with terms and conditions acceptable to the Police Chief and City Attorney. Motion PASSED 3-0. 6. Chief of Police Update Chief Thomas presented information regarding the street racing problems within the city of Kent. The police department is working on traffic mitigation measures to help reduce the racing in the City. 200-300 cars gather in the north end of Kent to race. Speed bumps or some other alteration in the roadway are options that the police department is considering to help ensure the safety of the citizens of Kent. City of Kent is partnering with other regional partners to invest in facial recognition software that uses booking photos to identify people on the street, or video from crime scenes. The city of Kent was chosen to be part of a pilot program for the Automated Fingerprint Identification System. On October 22nd, the city of Kent police department went live with this system, Since then the system has been used 15 times and at least 5 positive identifications were retrieved within 5 minutes. The police department is working smart to help make our community as safe as can be. Councilmember Thomas asked for confirmation regarding the School Zone Traffic Safety Camera Program. The Chief indicated that warning period will start and enforcement will begin the first day of school after the school winter break. Adiournment Councilmember B yce a 'ourned the meeting at 6:25 p,m. Kim A. Komoto Public Safety Committee Minutes November 12, 2013