HomeMy WebLinkAbout1537RESOLUTIONNO. !531
A RESOLUTION of the City Council of the
City of Kent, Washington, adopting findings of fact and
continuing a moratorium on the acceptance of
applications for and the issuance of any building, land
use, or development permit or approval for billboards.
WHEREAS, RCW 35A.63.220 authorizes cities to adopt moratoriums,
provided a public hearing is held within sixty days of adoption; and
WHEREAS, on April 20, 1999, the City Council adopted Resolution
No. 1536 imposing a moratorium barring acceptance of all applications for the
issuance of any building, land use, or development permit or approval for off-premises
signs as set forth in the Kent Zoning Code (hereinafter "billboards") until additional
review has been completed and any necessary code revisions have been adopted by the
Kent City Council; and
WHEREAS, RCW 35A.63.220 provides that a city adopting a
moratorium shall adopt findings of fact immediately after the public hearing held
within sixty days of adoption ofthe moratorium; and
WHEREAS, a public hearing was held on Tuesday, May 4, 1999,
before the Kent City Council; and
WHEREAS, the Kent City Council believes it is in the best interest of
the City to continue the moratorium for the protection of the health, safety, and
general welfare of the community; NOW THEREFORE,
1 Billboard Moratorium Continuation
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENT, WASHINGTON
DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Recitals and Finding of Fact Incorporated. The recitals
and findings of fact set forth in this resolution are hereby incorporated as if fully set
forth herein.
SECTION 2. Findings of Fact. The Kent City Council hereby adopts
the following findings of fact.
1. A number of billboards are currently located in the City of Kent and the
City Council is concerned about the potential impacts that such signs may create that
would be detrimental to the public health, safety, and general welfare ofthe citizens of
the City of Kent.
2. There is a possibility that the City could, in the near future, receive
more applications for billboards that would significantly increase the number of such
signs located within the City, especially in light of the new corridor projects planned
or under construction in the City of Kent.
3. The Kent City Code relating to billboards may not adequately address
the various impacts that these uses present and the protection of the public health,
safety, and general welfare would be jeopardized by the installation of new billboards
prior to a review of the matter and possible adoption of new regulations by the City
Council.
4. The citizens of Kent would be well served if the City more fully
addressed and understood the potential impacts in the form of health, safety,
economic, hazards to traffic, and the aesthetic impacts these signs impose upon
neighboring properties and the community as a whole.
5. The City needs time to review existing information on the affects of
these signs and to review the Kent City Code in a comprehensive fashion to determine
whether it officially addresses the impacts of such uses.
6. The Kent City Council understands that communication displayed by
billboards may be protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and/or
Article I, Section V of the Washington State Constitution, and that by passing this
2 Billboard Moratorium Continuation
resolution, the Kent City Council does not intend to impermissibly infringe upon any
protected free speech rights.
7. The purpose of this moratorium is to provide time in which the City
council may study its existing code, ordinances, and the impacts of such uses, during
this moratorium period; to determine whether any additional, reasonable regulation is
necessary to mitigate the impacts; and prepare for adoption of permissible restrictions
to regulate such uses.
SECTION 3. Continuation of Moratorium. Based on the findings of
fact adopted in Section 2, the Kent City Council hereby determines that it is necessary
for the moratorium enacted in Resolution No. 1536 to remain in effect for the entire
180-day period set forth in said resolution. Accordingly, the moratorium shall not
expire until midnight on October 17, 1999, unless the moratorium is shortened or
extended by action of the City Council or until the effective date of any ordinance
establishing new regulations governing billboards, which ever is sooner. During said
moratorium, no building, land use, or development permit or approval shall be issued,
nor shall any such permit or application be accepted for billboards.
SECTION 4. Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph,
sentence, clause, or phrase of this resolution is declared unconstitutional or invalid for
any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this
resolution.
SECTION 5. Ratification. Any act consistent with the authority and
prior to the effective date of this resolution is hereby ratified and affirmed.
SECTION 6. Effective Date. This resolution shall take effect and be
in force immediately upon its passage.
PASSED at a regular open public meeting by the City Council of the City
ofKent, Washington, this J./-th day of _m..fl_Y , 1999.
3 Billboard Moratorium Continuation
t'k.
CONCURRED in by the Mayor of the City of Kent this S day of
___,_,f(JC.LALL-LY----'' 1999.
ATTEST:
Him! U~:A: JACOBER, CITY CLERK 1 J:>E P~ TY
::J>o)()I'Jr} 0 uJA W'
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
ERA. LUBOVICH, CITY ATTORN
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of Resolution No.
I 53 7 passed by the City Council of the City of Kent, Washington, the Y. 'f11 day
of fYlAY , 1999.
B~~lDY'c JA{;;OQI;R, CITY CLERK J
J)o~NA SWA 1J 1)eA<ry
P.\Civil\Resolution\billboard morator ext.doc
4 Billboard Moratorium Continuation