Bellingham City Council

Shall the council:

227. Request that the Washington State Department of Revenue begin collecting a sales and use tax approved by city voters? (Council acting as the Bellingham Transportation Improvement District.) At the November 2, 2010, general election, 58 percent of Bellingham voters approved the tax. Projects to be funded include: arterial pavement resurfacing; non-motorized transportation options such as sidewalk connections, flashing light crosswalks, bike facilities and transit enhancement. (Resolution 2010-03) Approved 7-0

228. Extend the operating agreement with the Bellingham Public Development Authority for 60 days? The City Council created the Public Development Authority at the 5/5/2008 meeting, vote #136 and approved the seven board members at the 7/21/2008 meeting, vote #210. The initial operating agreement with the authority was approved at the 11/10/2008 meeting, vote #308. It allocated duties and responsibilities for management and pre-development of city owned properties in the waterfront, Old Town and downtown districts, and to develop financing and marketing strategies for the properties. The agreement is set to expire on 12/31/2010, the extension will allow negotiations for a second agreement. (AB19048) Approved 7-0

229. Appropriate $3,037,685 for goods and services checks issued from November 5 through November 19, 2010? (AB19050/19051) Approved 7-0

230. Appropriate $2,386,335 for payroll checks issued from November. 1 through November 15, 2010? (AB19052) Approved 7-0

231. Adopt a transportation impact fee base rate for 2011? The base rate for each p.m.-peak-hour vehicle trip is adjusted every year based on actual construction costs and the costs of improvements needed to accommodate new growth and development. The 2011 base rate is $1,927, slightly lower than the 2010 base rate of $1,932. These fees allow the city to recover part of the infrastructure costs incurred due to new development. The new base rate goes into effect on AB19042 (Resolution #2010-31) Approved 7-0

232. Extend the permanently affordable home ownership program for two years? (Public hearing held at 11/22/2010 meeting.) The program was established at the 11/22/04 meeting, vote #257 and extended at the 12/5/2005, 12/4/2006 and 12/8/2008 meetings; so far only one project by the Kulshan Community Land Trust at Harris and 15th has been completed. The land trust is planning a second affordable housing project in the Birchwood Neighborhood and will be ready to start design and site planning in early 2011. Projects may receive up to a 50 percent density increase and modification of development standards.This ordinance will extend the demonstration program until 12/31/2012.AB19025 (Ordinance 2010-12-63) Approved 7-0

233. Authorize and regulate automated traffic cameras? By state law, the city must create a new section of its municipal code to regulate the use of traffic cameras before implementing a photo enforcement program. This ordinance will limit usage to two-street arterial intersections, railway crossings, and school speed zones and the locations must be clearly marked. Photos will be taken of vehicles and license plates, not the occupants. Violations do not go on the driving record and the maximum fine is $250. Notice of a violation will be sent to the registered owner of the vehicle who may request a hearing or pay the fine. The registered owner may also submit oral testimony or a written statement if someone else was in possession of the vehicle. The city will initially spend approximately $18,000 for viewing stations at Municipal Court and other computer hardware. The program is expected to generate about $500,000 during 2011. Council amended the ordinance limiting stop light cameras to specific problem intersections at Holly and Forest, Ellis and Lakeway and Samish and 36th; school zone cameras to specific areas at Shuksan Middle School and Roosevelt Elementary and requiring a council review no later than one year from authorization. AB18977 (Ordinance 2010-12-64) Amended at third and final reading and approved 6-1, Seth Fleetwood opposed.

234. Authorize the mayor to accept a $16,956 state grant to complete a historic resource survey? The city was awarded this grant from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. Fifteen thousand dollars will be used to hire a preservation consultant to complete the survey and National Register of Historic Places district nomination for the Broadway Park area of the Cornwall Park neighborhood and the remaining $1,956 will pay for staff labor costs. The grant funds must be spent between 10/1/2010 and 8/31/2011. AB19033 (Ordinance 2010-12-65) Approved 7-0

235. Receive and spend a $15,324 state grant for traffic safety enforcement patrols? The Washington Traffic Safety Commission grant will be used to pay overtime for high visibility “impaired driving, speeding and seat belt” patrols. The police department will conduct DUI patrols after 4 p.m. on holiday and seasonal weekends; will conduct speeding patrols during the summer and zero-tolerance seat belt and child car seat patrols after 4 p.m. in the spring. The performance standard is a minimum of three vehicle stops per hour with ticket, unless circumstances dictate otherwise. All patrols will take place at locations where violators have caused the highest rate of deaths and/or serious injuries. The grant runs from from 10/1/ 2010 to 9/30/2011. AB19034 (Ordinance 2010-12-66) Approved 7-0

236. Reclassify a position in the police department from “tech support and training specialist” to “tech support/application support specialist?” The duties of the employee in this position have increased to include trouble shooting and 24/7 response to problems for all hardware, software, applications and databases, programming, acting as the local area network administrator for the Mobil Data Terminal, working with vendors on diagnosis and problem solving, recommending software and ensuring data integrity in all systems. Human Resources conducted an audit and recommends the change in classification beginning 9/16/1010. The increased salary and benefits for the position will amount to an additional $1,068 during the remainder of 2010. AB19035 (Ordinance 2010-12-67) Approved 7-0

Shall the council:

237. Authorize the mayor to sign an agreement with Whatcom County, the Port of Bellingham and the port’s Industrial Development Corporation to jointly fund economic development services? Economic development services are: business retention, expansion, recruitment, assistance and supporting research. The four parties to this agreement have been contracting separately with economic service providers and will save money by pooling their resources. Past provider-contractors include Northwest Economic Council, Center for Economic Vitality and the Technology Alliance Group among others. Effective immediately, the agreement also sets up an allocations committee with one representative from each party and designates the Industrial Development Corporation as its administrator. (AB19053) Approved 7-0

238. Authorize the mayor to sign a 2011–15 management services agreement with the Mount Baker Theatre? The theatre belongs to the city, but until 2027, the city shares ownership of the theater with the Bellingham-Whatcom Public Facilities District. The Mount Baker Theatre leases the facility from the public facilities district. The city will pay $266,000 per year in management service fees and $20,000 more in maintenance. The 2006–2010 agreement expires on 12/31/2010. The management service fees are paid from lodging taxes and the rest from other sources. The agreement runs from 1/1/2011 through 12/31/2015. (AB19054) Approved 7-0

239. Authorize the mayor to award the low bid of $408,577 to Faber Brothers Construction of Lynden to rehabilitate sewers on Alderwood and Cherrywood avenues? Using trenchless technology, 11 manholes will be replaced with new concrete manholes and 3,845 lineal feet of sewer pipe will be lined with a cured-in-place pipe. Approximately half of the work lies outside city limits. A city engineer estimate the cost at $446,261. Six bids were received. (AB19056) Approved 7-0

240. Authorize the mayor to accept a $300,000 state grant for the Eldridge Avenue municipal landfill site? The total project cleanup is estimated at $779,000. An amendment to this agreement is pending, which will add another $100,000 in grant money. These funds will reimburse the city for approximately 50 percent of the costs incurred in conducting the remedial investigation/feasibility study and drafting a cleanup action plan. The council authorized the mayor at the 6/7/2010 meeting, vote #116, and amended at the 9/27/2010, vote #190, to sign an agreed order for this work. The Eldridge Municipal Landfill is located west of the Bellingham Technical College parking lot in the 3100 block of W. Illinois. It covers about 12,650 square feet of Little Squalium Park property which is owned by the county and operated by the city. For a few years in the mid-late 1930s, the city used the site as a “sanitary landfill.” The landfill was included in the 2006 study of the Little Squalicum Park cleanup site; it was listed by the state as a separate site in 2009. The site contains the physical remains of garbage and also the soil is contaminated with PAHs, benzoic acid, pthalates, PCP, cadmium, copper, lead. mercury and zinc. (AB19057) Approved 7-0

241. Grant an extension to the noise variance issued to Razz Construction for the Pattle Point trestle renovation project? Construction work in residential areas between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. requires a noise variance. The variance for minus tide work was initially approved at the 11/1/10 meeting, vote #210, for work at Boulevard Park from Nov. 2 through 6 and Dec. 2 through 6. Due to a change of conditions the contractor has requested an extension in order to complete the project on time. The new request is for Jan 2 through 12 when minus tides will also occur. (AB19018) Approved 7-0

242. Approve the mayor’s appointment of Jeff Brown to the Planning and Development Commission? This will be Mr Brown’s first full term, he is filling a vacancy left by the resignation of Jim Bishop. His is a 21 year resident of Bellingham and has resided in four neighborhoods. Mr Brown holds a B.S. in environmental studies and he is a contracting consultant for municipal waste collection. His term will end on 1/1/2015. (AB19065) Approved 7-0

243. Request staff hold a public meeting to implement bicycle lanes on Northwest/Elm/Dupont streets? Bike lanes on these streets will complete a bicycle corridor between downtown and Whatcom Community College, with six K-12 schools also located along the corridor. There will be a public meeting of concerned parties to discuss the possible plans to implement bike lanes and parking improvements. Originally, it also called for actual construction of the lanes and authorized the Transportation Commission to review and decide on future non-motorized transportation improvements which may affect parking. Council amended the resolution to just include conducting the stakeholder/public meeting. AB19059 (Resolution 2010-32) Amended and approved 7-0.

244. Replace the Mt. Baker neighborhood with the Irongate and Barkley neighborhoods and modify the King Mountain neighborhood? (Public hearing held at June 7, 2010 meeting.) The idea of splitting the Mt Baker neighborhood into two parts was requested by the Mt. Baker Neighborhood Association in August 2007. The two new neighborhoods will be more accurately named and, being smaller, will provide better representation for the residents and business owners in the area. Located adjacent to the city’s northern edge, the new Irongate neighborhood is zoned almost entirely Industrial. It contains about 900 acres east of I-5 and the King neighborhood; north of Sunset Drive and the Barkley neighborhood. The new Barkley neighborhood is zoned for mixed uses and consists of 814 acres located south of Sunset Drive and north of the Roosevelt and Alabama Hill neighborhoods and focused around the urban village at Woburn and Barkley Blvd. Zoning tables and maps will also be adopted for the new neighborhoods and revised for the existing King Mt neighborhood which will expand from 635 to 1,057 acres. King Mountain is a residentially zoned neighborhood located between the new Irongate and the existing Meridian neighborhoods. AB18875 (Ordinance 2010-12-68) Approved 7-0

245. Amend the Puget neighborhood plan? (Public hearing held on 7/26/2010 meeting.) These changes will update the transportation, open space and utilities sections of the neighborhood plan. The plan was last updated in 1996. The updates will reflect changes in circumstances since then, identify problem areas, state the values and priorities of the neighborhood, address current transportation safety issues and add language to support development of urban village projects, additional parks and trails and multi-modal transportation. AB18921 (Ordinance 2010-12-69) Approved 7-0

246. Establish entertainment districts in downtown and Fairhaven and provide criteria for noise regulation within those areas? (Public hearing held on 8/9/2010 meeting.) Before taking any action when evaluating noise complaints within the new districts, police officers will consider: time of day or night; duration and volume of sound; nature of sound; character of the venue, and also locations of both venue and complainant. Amendments made by council: removal of redundant language concerning the “character” of the venue and a change to the Fairhaven entertainment district map. AB18967 (Ordinance 2010-12-70) Approved 7-0

247. Lift building height restrictions on part of the waterfront by rezoning the area? (Public hearing held at 9/27/2010 meeting.) The rezone requires amending the Central Business District neighborhood plan.The site lies at Squalicum Harbor, on the west side of Roeder Avenue and north of Coho Way. Seaview North Boatyard on Harbor Loop Drive is requesting a rezone from “commercial waterfront,” which has a 35 foot building height limit to “light industrial,” which normally has no height limit, but in this case a condition of the rezone would limit building height to 60 feet on the property leased by the boatyard. AB18969 (Ordinance 2010-12-71) Approved 7-0

248. Amend the Happy Valley neighborhood plan? (Public hearing held at 9/27/2010 meeting.) The Happy Valley Neighborhood Association submitted the request to add new goals and policies to the neighborhood plan. The plan was last updated in 2001. It will develop a green infrastructure plan, providing a unified approach to managing environmentally sensitive areas. The tree canopy plan specifies percentage for each sub-area to be reached by 2029. AB18970 (Ordinance 2010-12-72) Approved 7-0

249. Rezone part of the Happy Valley neighborhood and amend the neighborhood plan? (Public hearing held at 9/27/2010 meeting.) Western Washington University requested a rezone for their property in Happy Valley from “residential-multi” to “institutional.” Amending the neighborhood plan also requires amending the neighborhood table of zoning regulations and land use and development map and code. The area, which is next to the university’s physical plant, is located between 25th and 26th and between Taylor and Douglas. AB18971 (Ordinance 2010-12-73) Approved 7-0

250. Repeal the Meridian and the Guide Meridian/Cordata neighborhood plans and replace them with an amended Meridian neighborhood plan and a new Cordata neighborhood plan? (Public hearing held at 10/11/2010 meeting.) The proposal more accurately names the two neighborhoods and also reduces the size of the new Cordata neighborhood, while expanding the size of the Meridian neighborhood. The Meridian neighborhood is located between the new Cordata and the existing King Mountain neighborhoods and is zoned for commercial, industrial and residential uses. The adjacent Cordata Neighborhood is located west of Guide Meridian and north of Bakerview Rd. and extends north, west and southwest to city limits. It is zoned for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional uses. AB18991 (Ordinance 2010-12-74) Approved 7-0

251. Adopt a land use and rezone change in the Meridian neighborhood? (Public hearing held at 10/11/2010 meeting.) Richard and Janis Gray own approximately 9.37 acres in Area 1 and requested a land use change from “industrial” to “commercial/industrial” and a rezone from “industrial, planned” to “commercial/industrial, planned.” The property is located at the southwest corner of Dover Street and Division Road. A condition of the rezone requires provision for a continuous through road from Northwest Road to Pacific Highway. AB18992 (Ordinance 2010-12-75) Approved 6-1, Jack Weiss opposed.

252. Adopt the 2011 budget? (Public hearing held at 11/22/2010 meeting.) The council voted on the following amendments. 1. Allocate $70,000 to continue the library outreach program, 50 percent of the funds to come from the capital maintenance account and the rest from reserves. 2. Restore the legislative analyst position from part time to full time and also apply the council intern wages to the position. 3. Allocate $20,000 from reserves to restore the spray park program. These changes reinstate a few of the items that were cut due to the economic downturn. The budget goes into effect on 1/1/2011. AB18993 (Ordinance 2010-12-76) All three amendments and the budget were approved 7-0.

253. Amend the York neighborhood plan? (Public hearing held at 10/25/2010 meeting.) Part of the York neighborhood consists of predominantly pre-WWII single family dwellings. The York Neighborhood Association wishes to apply for Historic District designation and to preserve and restore the historic character of the neighborhood; to add open space, parks and recreational areas, pedestrian and bicycle trails, and to support the use of environmentally sensitive planning. They have requested a rezone reducing the residential maximum density for development from 1,000 square feet per dwelling unit and a height limit of 45 feet to 3,000 square feet per dwelling unit and a high limit of 35 feet. New development will be encouraged to be compatible with existing architecture, and to provide affordable housing. AB19002 (Ordinance 2010-12-77) Approved 7-0

254. Amend the city code concerning tax exemptions for multi-unit residential property located in urban centers? (Public hearing held at 11/1/2010 meeting.) The duration of the multi-unit property tax exemption will be changed from 10 years to eight years or 12 years for affordable housing. Other provisions for affordable housing will be added along with criteria for reporting data annually to the state of Washington. The exemption area will be increased from the city center to Samish Way Urban Village and the Fountain District Urban Village. The tax exemption will not apply to developments that include the demolition of structures listed on a local, state or national register. AB19015 (Ordinance 2010-12-78) Approved 7-0

255. Amend the Silver Beach neighborhood plan? (Public hearing held at 11/22/2010 meeting.) The Silver Beach plan has not been updated since 1980. In 2007, the Silver Beach Neighborhood Association requested that all sections of the plan be updated. Since Silver Beach is in the Lake Whatcom watershed, it is important to note that the proposed amendments have been found to be consistent with and supportive of the Lake Whatcom Reservoir Management Program. Objectives include: promoting transportation safety; rebuilding streets to treat stormwater runoff before it enters the lake; promoting the use of street trees to help treat stormwater runoff; accommodating multiple modes of transportation, developing more watershed friendly pedestrian paths throughout the neighborhood; developing safe routes to Silver Beach Elementary School and improving access to public transportation. AB19026 (Ordinance 2010-12-79) Approved 7-0

256. Authorize the mayor to accept a $274,995 state grant for municipal stormwater? The funding will be used for activities and programs that will improve the city’s ability to comply with Phase II of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit. Such activities and programs may include: public education and outreach; detection and elimination of pollutant discharge; pollution prevention; water quality monitoring; source control programs; annual reporting, etc. AB19043 (Ordinance 2010-12-80) Approved 7-0

257. Amend the water utility tax to reflect changes in state law? Recent changes in state law no longer allow costs associated with fire hydrants and fire protection related to water infrastructure to be paid by the water utility. These costs must now come out of the general fund. To provide the revenue to pay for these costs, the city government must increase the utility tax from 11.5 percent to 18.25 percent. At the same time, the water utility will be able to lower water rates because of not having to pay fire protection costs, so there should be no difference to the rate payer. AB19044 (Ordinance 2010-12-81) Approved 7-0

258. Accept and spend $52,809 in donations to the library gift fund? The donations came from Friends of the Bellingham Public Library, other organizations and individuals. The money will be spent for: new books ($32,409); DVDs ($7,500) and equipment ($12,900). AB19049 (Ordinance 2010-12-82) Approved 7-0