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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-13-2000 - MinutesMEDINA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES March 13, 2000 Medina City Hall 7:00 PM 501 Evergreen Point Rd. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Pro Tern Morgan called the regular meeting of the Medina City Council to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was recorded on audiotape. ROLL CALL Present: Councilmembers Suzanne Cohen, Paul Demitriades, Jim Lawrence, Mary Odermat, Steve Preston and Mayor Pro Tern Thomas Morgan Absent: Mayor Daniel Becker Staff Present: City Manager Doug Schulze, City Attorney Kirk Wines, Police Chief Michael Knapp, and City Clerk Kristen Finnigan. ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Pro Tern Morgan announced that Mayor Becker was in Washington, D.C., at the National League of Cities Conference. He also reported on the Traffic Committee Meeting, stating that Clyde Hill had agreed to review the plans again, relative to the restriction of traffic between 4:30 pm and 7:00 pm on 841h Avenue, having previously preferred the access to be restricted at the on - ramp to SR 520. Discussion followed regarding the traffic light at NE 24th & 84th. Councilmember Preston noted that timing appeared to be improved for Medina residents. Councilmember Cohen voiced concern that the original focus of the Council, for a four- way flashing red light had not been achieved. Mayor Pro Tern Morgan spoke to the matter, explaining that there had recently been a change of leadership at Clyde Hill. He went on to say that the flashing red light had been turned down, but that Clyde Hill had offered significant change in the operation of the light. He said that, for this reason, it was decided to give this change a chance and set the original focus aside for the time being. City Council Meeting March 13, 2000 Page 2 City Manager Schulze stated that he had been consulted regarding the timing of the light. He reported that Clyde Hill had said that they were willing to work with the new sequence, so traffic leaving Medina would have the least delays possible. Councilmember Demitriades announced that the due date for comments for response to Proposed Tri-County, ESA 4(d) Rule Framework had been moved up from March 30th to March 20th He also reported that the Jet Noise Meeting scheduled for April 4th, had been moved from St. Thomas to Medina Elementary School. He invited all to attend. CONSENT AGENDA Councilmember Cohen moved to approve the consent agenda. Councilmember Demitriades seconded the motion. Councilmember Lawrence stated that he had not received a list of the personnel warrants within his finance committee materials. He moved to remove the personnel warrants from the consent agenda, for approval at the Study Session, scheduled for March 27th. Seconded by Councilmember Preston, all were in favor and the following items were approved: A. Minutes from Regular City Council Meeting of February 14, 2000 B. Minutes from City Council/Park Board Joint Study Session Of February 28, 2000 C. Approval of February 2000 Warrants/Treasurer's Report Regular Warrants - #13343— 13481, 813304, 913304 $405,429.34 STAFF REPORTS PUBLIC SAFETY REPORT Chief Knapp reported that enforcement of the 25 mph speed limit went into effect on March 131h. He reported that an expensive automobile had been taken from an unlocked garage and was recovered shortly thereafter, after having sustained damage. He also reported that the human bones found in Medina had been investigated and were determined to not have been from a North American, had not been buried and were likely an artifact from the previous homeowner's travels. He said that the case had been closed. In response to the question from Councilmember Demitriades, Chief Knapp reported that the Dispatch Agreement with the City of Kirkland was going well. Chief Knapp stated that 911 would automatically go to Kirkland as of April 2nd. He stated that Bellevue had been given a 6-month notice, which would expire April 1st, 2000. He further explained that Kirkland would waive dispatch costs for the rest of the year. City Council Meeting March 13, 2000 Page 3 PARK BOARD City Manager Schulze reported that the Park Board did not meet in February, due to lack of a quorum. PUBLIC WORKS City Manager Schulze reported that he had been working with AGI, the contractor doing work in Medina Park, regarding items not yet successfully completed. He explained that a number of items needed to be addressed and that the contract should be completed by the middle of April. Councilmember Demitriades noted that, according to reports, subcontractors had been blamed by AGI for having created problems with the job. He suggested that there might be a lesson to be learned and questioned what the City could do about it. City Manager Schulze said that there was a possibility that legal action may be taken. PLANNING City Manager Schulze stated that there would be no report from Interim City Planner, Jenny Schultz, as she had only been in her position for two weeks and had not had an opportunity to assemble a report. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Raymond Lee, 1259 Evergreen Point Road, brought concerns to the council regarding development in the area. He passed around photographs of the changes that he had experienced since the beginning of construction of a new home next to his own. He expressed dismay over the friction within his lane due to problems related to this home's construction, as well as a decrease in the value of his property, due to the loss of his view. Councilmember Cohen commented that a 25' height limit had been considered in the past but that the idea had been shut down. Discussion followed regarding mitigation plans and triggers for their requirement. Councilmember Morgan said that the Council is very concerned about the deterioration of relationships between neighbors. He noted that there is an R-16 Committee meeting on a monthly basis, for the purpose of addressing related issues. Henry Paulman, 1415 80th Ave. NE, encouraged neighbors to get together before a project starts. He further stated that he believed that covenants could then be drawn up in court. City Council Meeting March 13, 2000 Page 4 Mr. Paulman thanked Mayor Pro Tern Morgan and City Manager Schulze for taking a trip to Olympia, to exempt Medina from cellular companies siting facilities at any location. He noted their extra effort and said that they had been successful in their efforts. Mayor Pro Tem Morgan noted that they were still in session in Olympia. OTHER BUSINESS PARK BOARD APPOINTMENT Councilmember Odermat read into the record the Personnel Committee's recommendation for the Park Board appointment. She said that their recommendation was for James C. McGraw to be appointed as a regular Park Board Member and Jerry Hartman and Paul Pinard to be appointed as alternates. Councilmember Demitriades moved to approve the nominations. Seconded by Councilmember Cohen, all were in favor. NEW BUSINESS Councilmember Demitriades opened the discussion as to whether or not the City should respond to the Proposed Tri-County, ESA 4 (d) Framework Rule, now up for comments. Councilmember Demitriades reviewed a list of policy guidelines/comments for ESA 4 (d) responses, which he had assembled for the Council: City of Medina will continue to participate in WRIA 8 planning, as members of Lake Washington/Cedar Sammamish Watershed Steering Committee/Forum, (This means we would sign proposed Interlocal Agreement - $3,000 - $5,000 per year — unknown is how much salmon habitat restoration — including land acquisition money is required?) and commit to Early Action Program. 2. Any WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Program must be based on best science available — the Lake Washington Watershed assessment must be completed and reviewed prior to specific land use regulations. Responsibility for watershed assessment be assigned to King County (for cities & towns). 3. The two-phase 5-year schedule (including an Early Action Program) is optimistic and assumes June 2000 release of the final 4 (d) rule by NMFS. (This seems unlikely based on public comments?) A schedule cannot be committed, until local government workloads are identified and costed. City Council Meeting March 13, 2000 Page 5 Phase II cannot begin until NMFS identifies Chinook salmon species de - listing criteria, so Phase I results can be evaluated. 4. The land use regulation management zone proposal (50' — 300') is unreasonable for developed urban areas, adjacent to Lake Washington lakeshore or streams. The Medina Environmentally Sensitive Areas Ordinance defines a 25' buffer zone for regulated activities adjacent to wetlands and streams. 5. We suggest that the State/NMFS consider programmatic (sub -basin level, e.g.) Biological Assessments/Biological Evaluations. Within the City of Medina, e.g. we could establish several zones: a. Lake Washington — Evergreen Pt. South to Dabney Pt. b. Lake Washington — Dabney Pt. To Clyde Beach Park, and/or Meydenbauer Bay. c. Lake Washington — Fairweather Bay, including the Town of Hunts Point. He said that this approach would preclude individual property owners from having to complete a BA/BE — each property owner requesting a shoreline permit (dock, bulkhead, pier) within these zones would complete an ESA checklist for permit purposes. He further stated that the state should consider a Lake Washington level BA/BE in conjunction with the Lake Washington watershed assessment (see #2) Councilmember Demitriades stated that King County had announced previously that they would receive comments until March 30'h, but that the date had now been moved up to the 201h of March. He further stated that the NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) was receiving comments for several months more. Councilmember Demitriades explained that if Medina participated in the Tri County Framework, he did not know how much the City would be assessed. In explaining the history of the issue, Councilmember Demitriades said that NMFS published 4 (d) Rule and that Medina had commented as did others. He said that Medina's response was that they had exceeded their authority. He said that it was considered unique to put these requirements upon built up urban areas. He said that the US Corps of Engineers had stopped processing applications on Lake Washington and had a backlog of 750. Councilmember Demitriades stated that this was very impactful on a community such as Medina. He went on to explain that Medina is a member of WRIA. (Water Resources Inventory Area) Lk WA Sammamish Cedar River Watershed. He said that Bellevue, Mercer Island & Renton were not going to respond to Tri County Framework. He explained that one option for cities & towns would be to do nothing at this time. He noted that when the final rule is published in June, it would become law. Mayor Pro Tern Morgan said that Councilmember Demitriades had attended a seminar that had been prepared for the Washington Association of Realtors, where the feeling City Council Meeting March 13, 2000 Page 6 was that the rule was so flawed, so vague and unconstitutional that they believed that local governments should write to fisheries and tell them that what they are doing is something that does not comply with their own procedures. Mayor Pro Tern Morgan said that an environmental impact statement had not been done City Manager Schulze explained that the deadline of March 20'n had been opened by the King County Executive and that the comment period will be opened up again and directed to NMFS. Councilmember Demitriades agreed that Medina would have another opportunity to comment. Councilmember Morgan stated that he and Mayor Becker had attended the recent Suburban Cities meeting where there had been a review of the issue. He related that most cities had indicated that they would attempt to learn as much as possible, but not join the Tri County Framework. Discussion followed regarding additional legal advice and the consensus was to wait until later to obtain, if necessary. City Manager Schulze reported that Roth Hill's government relations staff was going to be attending the March 27'n Study Session to report on the issue. The consensus was to not respond by March 201n to the King County Executive, but to continue to go to the meetings and keep well informed. TREE PRESERVATION Mayor Pro Tern Morgan reported that former City Planner Christine Schwamberger had written a letter to the Council regarding trees in the city. The consensus was to form a committee to look at the recommendations which she had made. Councilmembers Demitriades, Cohen and Morgan were chosen to look at this issue and bring back to the City Council Study Session on March 27'n, for discussion if ready by then. BUILDING DEPARTMENT Councilmember Demitriades related to a letter of concern that the Council needed to discuss and it was decided that that letter would be discussed in Executive Session at the Study Session, on March 27'n Councilmember Cohen stated that she had had a concern voiced to her by a resident, regarding what things might be necessary for health & safety during the building permit process and those which may not be necessarily so. City Council Meeting March 13, 2000 Page 7 POLICE REPORT (continued) Police Chief Knapp spoke to clarify the car incident mentioned in his Police Report, stating that the vehicle stolen had been abandoned in Kirkland, with two flat tires and the engine still running. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Demitriades moved to adjourn the March Regular City Council Meeting. Seconded by Councilmember Cohen, all were in favor and the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Darnel F. Becker, Mayor Attest: Kristen Finnigan ity Clerk