Whatcom County Council

1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL 2 Regular County Council 3 4 January 29, 2002 5 6 7 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Council Chair L. Ward 8Nelson in the Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington. 9 10 Present: Absent: 11 Barbara Brenner None 12 Laurie Caskey-Schreiber 13 Sam Crawford 14 Seth Fleetwood 15 Dan McShane 16 Sharon Roy 17 18 19ANNOUNCEMENTS 20 21 Nelson announced that the Council would not hold a public hearing on the 22Solid Waste Ordinance. 23 24 Nelson also announced that Sharon Roy and Seth Fleetwood were both 25appointed on January 15 to serve on Whatcom Transit Authority (WTA) board, but 26only one position is available so Councilmember Fleetwood will serve on the board. 27 28 Nelson announced that there was discussion regarding collective 29bargaining negotiations (AB2001-390) during the Committee of the Whole 30meeting. 31 32 33MINUTES CONSENT 34 351. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FOR JANUARY 15, 2002 36 37 Brenner moved approval. 38 39 Motion carried unanimously. 40 41 42OPEN SESSION 43 44 Nelson stated that the Council would not act upon the items scheduled for 45public hearing during this meeting due to the heavy snow and inclement weather 46conditions that may make it a problem for citizens to attend the meeting. The

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 1 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1hearings will be held open until the next meeting and action will be taken at that 2time. 3 4 The following people spoke: 5 6 Alex Cummings, York neighborhood resident, stated the first amendment is 7something they should all take very seriously. She quoted Martin Luther King, Jr., 8and stated that they are at a moment of challenge and controversy. She's been 9trying to teach her son about the first amendment, and the rights that go with it. 10She is also a nurse. A mother and a nurse should not have to be arrested because 11of the first amendment and wanting the right to speak. A mother and a nurse 12should also not ever been interrogated the night before a trial by a criminal 13investigator about who her friends are. That is McCarthyism. This city needs the 14resolution supporting protecting individuals engaged in nonviolent civil 15rights demonstration (AB2002-071) because people are getting arrested for 16wanting their right to assemble, dialog with their government, and be a part of the 17process. It needs to stop before another trial begins. She asked the County 18Council to do something on behalf of the three local citizens who went through a 19trial. Martin Luther King, Jr. had hope, and she has hope that the County Council 20will realize how valuable the resolution is. It can send a message to the City of 21Bellingham. 22 23 24PUBLIC HEARING 25 261. ORDINANCE REGARDING INSTALLING STOP SIGNS ON CERTAIN 27 COUNTY ROADS (AB2001-435) 28 29 Mike Donahue, Engineering Division, gave a staff report on this item and the 30next item scheduled for public hearing because they are related. The stop signs are 31on roads that have been built by developers during the last year or two. There are 3230 locations where they want to install stop signs in developments throughout 33Whatcom County. They are proposing a speed limit of 25 miles per hour on those 34roads. 35 36 Brenner asked to see a map next time they do this with the locations marked 37on the map. Donahue stated items one through 13 on Council packet page 376 are 38at South Hills near Lake Padden. Items 20 and 21 are at Anchor Manor on Birch 39Bay-Lynden Road. Items 28 through 30 are at the Woodlake Meadows subdivision 40on Hillsdale Road, near Britton Road. Items 23 through 26 are at Lincoln Green, 41which is a subdivision on Drayton Harbor Road. Item 22 is at Richmond Estates on 42Shintaffer Road at Birch Bay. 43 44 McShane asked how the staff makes the determination. A couple of people 45contacted him about installing stop signs in certain areas. The people were told 46that the stop signs weren't warranted based on a study that was done. Donahue 47stated the staff does a traffic study analysis and tries to install the stop signs

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 2 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1according to the Manual Uniform Traffic Control Devices. There are five criteria. In 2developments, they are installed where a road with a lesser volume meets a road 3with a larger volume. Away from developments, they have to do a traffic analysis, 4which includes accidents, volumes, speed, and history of the intersection. 5 6 Nelson opened the public hearing, and no one spoke. The hearing would be 7continued for two weeks. 8 9 Nelson questioned why the stop signs aren't a part of the requirements when 10roads are built for a development. Donahue stated the developer installs them as a 11part of their cost. The County has to have an ordinance so they are enforceable. 12 13 Nelson questioned whether these signs are paid for by development. 14Donahue stated they are. 15 16 Brenner questioned whether the signs are paid for completely by the 17development. Donahue stated that in most of cases he's worked on in the last 18eight or nine years, 95 percent of the stop signs have been completely paid for. 19 20 Fleetwood questioned whether any part of the decision is based on what the 21people in the neighborhood want. Donahue stated it is during the first several 22phases of a large development. However, it isn't if there is a smaller subdivision 23where the signs go up before the houses are built. 24 252. ORDINANCE REGARDING ESTABLISHMENT OF SPEED LIMITS ON 26 CERTAIN COUNTY ROADS (AB2001-436) 27 28 (Clerk's Note: See the above item for the staff report.) 29 30 Nelson opened the public hearing, and no one spoke. The hearing would be 31continued for two weeks. 32 333. RESOLUTION REGARDING VACATING ALL OF RAILROAD DRIVE 34 RIGHT-OF-WAY AS PLATTED IN SOUTH BLAINE FIVE ACRE TRACTS 35 (AB2001-393) 36 37 Mike Donahue, Engineering Department, gave a staff report and stated the 38road is just south of Blaine on Portal Way. There is a strip of County road right-of- 39way. It is not a road, but there was a trail permit that was a driveway for the 40facility on the property. The railroad owns the property. The proposal 41recommended by staff is to vacate that portion of the right-of-way. 42 43 Nelson opened the public hearing, and no one spoke. The hearing would be 44continued for two weeks. 45 46 Nelson questioned whether there are County trail access or easements in the 47area. Donahue stated the trail permit is not for a trail. It is for a driveway.

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 3 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1 2 Nelson questioned whether it could be used in connection to a multi-trail 3system in the county. Donahue stated it is disconnected from any county trail. 4 54. ORDINANCE IMPOSING AN EMERGENCY MORATORIUM ON THE 6 ACCEPTANCE OF NEW APPLICATIONS FOR SUBDIVISIONS OF LAND 7 INTO PARCELS SMALLER THAN FIVE ACRES WITHIN THE LAKE 8 WHATCOM WATERSHED (AB2001-377B) 9 10 Dave Grant, Senior Civil Deputy Prosecutor, gave a staff report and stated 11this hearing is required by State statute. This is just a procedural technicality. 12 13 Nelson opened the public hearing, and no one spoke. The hearing would be 14continued for two weeks. 15 165. ORDINANCE IMPOSING IN INTERIM MORATORIUM ON THE 17 ACCEPTANCE OF NEW APPLICATIONS FOR SUBDIVISIONS OF LAND 18 INTO PARCELS SMALLER THAN FIVE ACRES WITHIN THE LAKE 19 SAMISH WATERSHED (AB2002-063) 20 21 Nelson opened the public hearing and the following people spoke: 22 23 Cal Leenstra, 1802 Lakeside, stated he has owned property at Lake Samish 24for 25 years. At the time he purchased the property, it was zoned Rural 25Residential, three units per acre (RR3). He joined in the effort to bring the sewer 26into the area years ago. At that time, they were having problems with water 27quality. The sewer cost him $50,000, plus interest at 8.5 percent for 20 years. He 28still doesn't have the sewer system. The property was downzoned to two lots per 29acre. That wasn't right. Now, the proposal is to downzone it again to 25 percent of 30it's current zoning. That is unthinkable. It costs more than $60,000 to develop a 31lot from a half-acre to one acre. This will cost over $100,000 to develop a two-acre 32site with sewer. No one will buy a lot for $135,000 to $150,000 at Lake Samish 33with sewer. Across the road, they have a density of ten lots per acre at the mobile 34home park. On the lake, there are over five sites per acre. There is no justification 35to downzone to one house per two acres. There is no emergency. There is no logic 36to this proposal because the density is ten times the amount across the street. No 37court would uphold such lopsided land use. The proposed downzone is against the 38Growth Management Act, which encourages infill. The proposal discourages 39economic viability. The upland owners invested in sewer based on RR3 zoning, 40which was downzoned. Zoning is a critical element of value. The upland owners 41have a right to rely on the Comprehensive Plan and zoning when they make 42investment decision. Otherwise, there will be no predictability. He is being 43punished for being patient and prudent, which isn't right. The downzone sends the 44wrong message to the development community. The County is self-insured, and 45shouldn't be so reckless with taxpayer money. He suggested that the County's 46legal counsel review the Supreme Court Cases Nollan v. California Coast 47Commission, First Evangelical Church v. Los Angeles County, and Lucas v. South

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 4 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1Carolina Coast Commission. Also review the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, 2which says that there shall be no taking of private property without just 3compensation. He questioned whether the sewer line fees they paid are based on 4density. If they are, he should be repaid. He also questioned whether the grants 5that were provided when the sewer went in were based on the zoning at the time, 6which was RR3. He questioned whether the Growth Management Plan used the 7population projections from the Office of Financial Management (OFM) to determine 8density, and where the density would go if it is taken away from this area. Mr. 9David Pros should excuse himself from all Planning Commission deliberations on 10this issue because he can't be unbiased according to the Appearance of Fairness 11Doctrine. Mr. Pros has made numerous public statements in support of a 12downzone. 13 14 In 1992, the Bellingham Herald quoted from the Washington Post regarding 15the connection between private property and individual freedom. He submitted a 16map of the area (on file). 17 18 Eric McHenry, 644 W. Lake Samish Drive, stated he represented the 19Concerned Neighbors of Lake Samish. He thanked the Council for the emergency 20moratorium. He recommended approval of the downzone proposal. This is the 21best way to prevent the problems faced by communities on small lakes in the local 22area. These areas face issues such as stormwater, roads, pollution, and the 23infrastructure needed to support such a community. There is an aerator in the 24middle of Lake Stevens to keep the fish alive. He is also aware of the issues at 25Lake Whatcom, Lake Sammamish, and Big Lake. Lake Samish residents do not 26want to join this club. Lake Samish is not Lake Whatcom with sweeping valleys 27leading into it. Lake Samish is a self-contained lake that serves a delicate drainage 28basin for the sheer mountains surrounding it. There are no major rivers diverting 29into it, where the water is continually flushed and replenished. It is a critical 30ecosystem that has a limit to what it can sustain. He urged the Council to do what 31it can to protect this community. 32 33 The majority of the people in the Lake Samish community have repeatedly 34voted down public water coming to the lake, because they are very concerned 35about the potential build-out in the area. Fifteen hundred homes would triple the 36community. There are not adequate precautions or regulations in the watershed to 37protect the community and environment. They want to see changes made before 38development gets out of control, and the quality of life is ruined. They are not 39opposed to all development, only that which doesn't conform to the existing nature 40of the community and/or the current environmental statutes. The roads are not 41adequate to accommodate the increased number of cars. The schools are not 42prepared for the increased number of students. Review the Comprehensive Plan to 43determine the correct zone for the Lake Samish watershed. 44 45 He is sympathetic to the legal issues that arise when an area is downzoned. 46Consider the fact that most of this land that is on the lake has a questionable value, 47based on the fact of not having public water. Also, much of this land was State

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 5 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1Department of Natural Resources (DNR) land that was purchased at a very low 2price. People sometimes buy property as an investment to reap the benefits and 3profits, but no investment has a guaranteed return. He questioned that these 4property could be sold as two- or five-acre estates for the same like value as 5current zoning permits, therefore limiting the growth and pollution, as well as lost 6revenue from said properties. These are the things that reflect and protect the 7rural nature of the Lake Samish watershed, the constituents of Lake Samish, and 8the crescent one voting district. He asked the Council to support the downzone 9issue, as the voting district supported the councilmembers in the last election. 10 11 Hearing no one else, Nelson stated the hearing would be continued for two 12weeks. 13 14 McShane explained the process to the public. The Comprehensive Plan 15amendment will be before the County Council possibly at the next Council meeting 16to docket it for consideration by the Planning Commission. There would be an 17opportunity to speak during the open session on that issue. If the Council dockets 18the issue, it would go to the Planning Commission for public hearings. 19 20 Brenner asked Mr. Leenstra to provide the Council with some of the 21background information on the sewer that he bought into. She would like to know 22the value. 23 24 Crawford asked for a map showing where the sewer line goes. 25 26 Brenner stated areas are marked on the map, but it doesn't show the 27number of lots in the areas. She wanted to see the number of lots by area. 28 296. ORDINANCE (2002-004) IMPOSING AN EMERGENCY MORATORIUM 30 ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF NEW APPLICATIONS FOR SUBDIVISIONS OF 31 LAND INTO PARCELS SMALLER THAN FIVE ACRES WITHIN THE LAKE 32 SAMISH WATERSHED (AB2002-063A) 33 34 Nelson explained this hearing is required by State statute, similar to the Lake 35Whatcom emergency moratorium hearing. 36 37 Nelson opened the public hearing, and no one spoke. The hearing would be 38continued for two weeks. 39 40 41CONSENT AGENDA 42 43 Crawford reported for the Finance and Administrative Services Committee 44and moved approval of Consent Agenda items one through ten. 45 46 Brenner withdrew item seven. 47

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 6 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1 Motion to approve items one through six and eight through ten carried 2unanimously. 3 41. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A 5 CONTRACT AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY PUBLIC 6 WORKS AND INTER-FLUVE, INC. FOR PHASE ONE OF THE 7 STABILIZATION PROJECTS LOCATED IN THE MIDDLE FORK 8 NOOKSACK RIVER NEAR MOSQUITO LAKE ROAD AND BEAVER CREEK 9 LOCATED IN SUDDEN VALLEY IN THE AMOUNT OF $107,251 10 (AB2002-072) 11 122. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A 13 CONTRACT AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY PUBLIC 14 WORKS RIVER AND FLOOD DIVISION AND NOOKSACK SALMON 15 ENHANCEMENT ASSOCIATION TO PROVIDE PLANNING, TECHNICAL 16 ASSISTANCE AND OVERSIGHT OF PLANTING AND MAINTENANCE 17 WORK SUPPORTING RIPARIAN RESTORATION WORK IN THE 18 AMOUNT OF $100,000 (AB2002-073) 19 203. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A 21 CONTRACT AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY HEALTH AND 22 HUMAN SERVICES AND THE ARC OF WHATCOM COUNTY – PARENT 23 COALITION TO SUPPORT A BROAD-BASED COMMUNITY COALITION 24 OF PERSONS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES IN THE AMOUNT 25 OF $24,000 (AB2002-074) 26 274. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO PURCHASE TWO 28 REPLACEMENT VEHICLES USING THE WASHINGTON STATE 29 CONTRACT FROM FIVE STAR MOTORS IN THE AMOUNT OF $41,077.96 30 (AB2002-075) 31 325. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A 33 GRANT AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND THE STATE 34 OF WASHINGTON TO FACILITATE THE UPDATING OF WHATCOM 35 COUNTY’S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, CRITICAL AREAS ORDINANCE 36 AND RELATED ZONING TEXTS IN THE AMOUNT OF $86,250 (AB2002- 37 076) 38 396. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A 40 CONTRACT AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY SUPERIOR 41 COURT AND THE STATE OF WASHINGTON ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE 42 OF THE COURTS FOR THE DESIGN OF A COMPREHENSIVE, 43 COORDINATED JUDICIAL RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES 44 IN THE AMOUNT OF $15,000 (AB2002-077) 45 467. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A 47 CONTRACT AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY PUBLIC

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 7 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1 WORKS SOLID WASTE DIVISION AND THE WASHINGTON STATE 2 DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY FOR COORDINATED PREVENTION GRANT 3 ACTIVITIES IN THE AMOUNT OF $507,098 (AB2002-078) 4 5 Nelson moved to approve. 6 7 Brenner stated she noticed that some programs are to interface with the City 8of Bellingham. Many of them just talk about the County doing these things. She 9questioned whether much of this will be contracted out, because there are only two 10people in the Solid Waste Division. It seems that there are a lot of programs here. 11 12 Dick Prieve, Assistant Director of Administration, stated most of this work is 13contracted out. Regarding one of the contracts for toxics disposal, the County owns 14the land, but the City of Bellingham is the contractor. 15 16 Brenner questioned whether most of the programs would be contracted out. 17Prieve stated they would be. 18 19 Motion carried unanimously. 20 218. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A 22 MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND 23 WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY TO IMPLEMENT NUTRITION 24 MANAGEMENT EDUCATION AND RESEARCH PROJECTS IN THE 25 AMOUNT OF $63,000 (AB2002-079) 26 279. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A 28 MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND 29 WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY TO IMPLEMENT INTEGRATED PEST 30 MANAGEMENT EDUCATION & RESEARCH PROJECT IN THE AMOUNT 31 OF $75,000 (AB2002-080) 32 3310. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A 34 CONTRACT BETWEEN THE WHATCOM COUNTY JAIL AND GRANT 35 DEGER, M.D. FOR THE ADDITION OF ONE CLINIC PER WEEK FOR 36 PHYSICIAN SERVICES TO JAIL INMATES IN THE AMENDED AMOUNT 37 OF $12,000 FOR A TOTAL AMENDED CONTRACT AMOUNT OF $42,000 38 (AB2002-081) 39 40 41OTHER ITEMS 42 431. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A 44 CONTRACT AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY SUPERIOR 45 COURT AND THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION CENTER FOR 46 UNDIFFERENTIATED SERVICES IN THE AMOUNT OF $40,000 47 (AB2002-030)

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 8 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1 2 Crawford reported for the Finance and Administrative Services Committee 3and moved approval. 4 5 Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, stated that the actual amount is 6$40,000 plus $10,000. The summary that they quoted in the motion is not 7accurate. It would be $50,000 in total. 8 9 Nelson stated there are two parts to the contract. Part A is for $40,000 and 10part B is up to $10,000. He understood that they haven't spent that much before. 11Desler stated that is correct. 12 13 Brenner stated she would like to have a presentation on what they actually 14do and how effective or ineffective they are with domestic violence cases. She is 15very confused about that. They have a domestic violence awareness week and give 16a lot of voice to the issue, but she just recently heard of a case. She wouldn't mind 17seeing a presentation on how they deal with it in Whatcom County. 18 19 Nelson stated this item doesn’t address domestic violence. It is for dispute 20resolution regarding divorce cases and child custody cases. What Councilmember 21Brenner is referring to is in the next item. In the future, they are going to have to 22look at this, and determine how much they can pay for that isn't required of County 23government. 24 25 Motion carried unanimously. 26 27 Nelson clarified that the motion was to approve authorization of the contract 28in the amount of $40,000 for part A and $10,000 for part B. 29 30 The Council unanimously agreed on the clarification. 31 322. ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2002 BUDGET, REQUEST NO. 1 (AB2002- 33 058) 34 35 Crawford reported for the Finance and Administrative Services Committee 36and moved to adopt. 37 38 Nelson questioned whether the total impact to the County budget is $27,000. 39 40 Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, stated the net affect to the general 41fund is a positive $3,000. 42 43 Motion carried unanimously. 44 453. ORDINANCE AMENDING WHATCOM COUNTY CODE 24.07, 46 ADMINISTRATIVE NOTICE PROCEEDINGS, CIVIL PENALTIES AND 47 ABATEMENT (AB2002-059)

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 9 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1 2 Crawford reported for the Finance and Administrative Services Committee 3and moved to adopt. 4 5 Motion carried unanimously. 6 74. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A 8 CONTRACT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND THE OPPORTUNITY 9 COUNCIL TO ADDRESS LEAD BASED PAINT HAZARD REDUCTION IN 10 THE AMOUNT OF $269,820 (AB2002-069) 11 12 Crawford reported for the Finance and Administrative Services Committee on 13this item and the following two items because they are related. The resolution 14supporting nonviolent civil rights demonstrations is a federal requirement of this 15contract. He moved approval of this item. 16 17 Caskey-Schreiber stated she would like to see that the City of Bellingham 18also be required to adhere to the resolution supporting individuals' rights to engage 19in nonviolent civil rights demonstration, because the County will be doing the lead- 20based paint project on some of the properties owned by the City of Bellingham. 21 22 Crawford stated this was discussed during the committee meeting. 23Councilmember McShane has agreed to write a cover letter to the City to let them 24know that the County is approving the resolution. 25 26 McShane stated the City would not have to abide by it because this is a 27County contract and grant through the Opportunity Council. Certainly there are 28places in the City of Bellingham that would receive a benefit of the program. He 29questioned whether the City would be required to adhere to the resolution for the 30work to occur. He was given an answer of no, because it is not something that the 31Opportunity Council wants to bother themselves with. He suggested sending the 32resolution to the City while expressing its concerns. 33 34 Desler stated that for many years, Whatcom County has not been a recipient 35of Community Development Block Grant funds from the Department of Housing and 36Urban Development. The City of Bellingham has been a recipient of those funds for 37some years. As such, they would be required to sign a similar policy document. 38 39 Motion carried unanimously. 40 415. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A 42 CONTRACT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN 43 SERVICES AND THE WASHINGTON STATE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY 44 DEVELOPMENT TO ADDRESS LEAD BASED PAINT HAZARD 45 REDUCTION IN THE AMOUNT OF $272,820 (AB2002-070) 46 47 Crawford moved approval.

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 10 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1 2 Nelson stated this is a lot of money. 3 4 Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, stated the grant is for $272,820 to the 5County. The County would subcontract with the Opportunity Council for $269,000. 6 7 Nelson questioned what they are trying to accomplish. Desler stated they 8are going to look at significantly reducing the number of homes that have lead- 9based exposure in paints and walls, so children can live without exposure to the 10damaging effects of lead. 11 12 Nelson stated many of these homes are low-income. Lead-based paints are 13a significant health risk for mental conditions in children. 14 15 (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side A.) 16 17 Motion carried unanimously. 18 196. RESOLUTION SUPPORTING PROTECTING INDIVIDUALS ENGAGED IN 20 NONVIOLENT CIVIL RIGHTS DEMONSTRATION (AB2002-071) 21 22 Crawford moved approval. This is a stipulation of the above two contracts. 23 24 Motion carried unanimously. 25 267. RESOLUTION APPROVING ASSIGNMENT AND ASSUMPTION 27 AGREEMENT BETWEEN ARCO AND BP, ASSIGNING THE NON- 28 EXCLUSIVE PIPELINE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT TO BP (AB2002-046) 29 30 Brenner reported for the Public Works and Capital Projects Committee and 31stated this item has been held in committee. The agreement comes up for renewal 32in eight years. 33 348. REPORT ON COMMITTEE DISCUSSION REGARDING THE AMENDMENT 35 OF WHATCOM COUNTY FERRY RATES TO EXPAND THE CURRENT 36 SENIOR/LOW INCOME SPECIAL RATE TO INCLUDE LUMMI ISLAND 37 PROPERTY OWNERS WHO RECEIVE A PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION 38 AND THOSE WHO ARE ALSO MEDICAID RECIPIENTS (AB2002-082) 39 40 Brenner reported for the Public Works and Capital Projects Committee and 41stated a proposed ordinance would be brought back before the Council for a public 42hearing in the future because the committee is proposing some amendments, 43including expanding a fare discount for low-income, seniors, and disabled people. 44 45 Nelson questioned what constitutes low-income. 46

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 11 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1 Brenner stated the applicant would have to be eligible for Medicaid or show 2that he or she has a property tax exemption. 3 4 Nelson asked how they would define the low-income level and the age limit 5for seniors. 6 7 Brenner stated the applicant would have either a Medicaid card or a tax 8exemption from the Assessor's Office. 9 10 Dick Prieve, Assistant Director of Administration, stated two groups were 11identified. The Assessor's Office has a list of people who qualify for a senior low- 12income exemption. There are 28 people from Lummi Island currently on that list. 13The other group of people who would qualify are Medicaid recipients. 14 15 Brenner stated they would also look at those people who qualify for a tax 16deferral, which has a slightly higher income limit. 17 18 Nelson stated that would be the tax deferral for seniors program through 19State law. 20 21 Brenner stated the committee also talked about, which they will talk about 22again, the kind of financial impact there would be if they change the 25-trip punch 23card from an eight percent discount rate to a 15 percent discount rate for a trial 24period. 25 26 Dave Grant, Senior Civil Deputy Prosecutor, stated it would be helpful in this 27process to recite the specific statute involved. There may be confusion down the 28road if they don't do that. 29 30 Brenner asked Mr. Grant to do that. 31 32 Kremen stated the administration would make sure that Mr. Grant and Mr. 33Prieve get together to discuss the specific statutes. 34 35 Caskey-Schreiber stated the committee unanimously supported a punch card 36with a 15 percent discount rate for 25 trips. 37 38 Brenner stated the low-income, senior, and disabled discount was also 39approved unanimously by the committee. These two items were recommended to 40go forward. She would like the Public Works Department to bring an ordinance to 41the Council for a public hearing. 42 43 McShane moved to support the recommendation from the Public Works 44Committee to bring forward an ordinance for consideration by the Council 45regarding: 46  A 15 percent discount on the 25-trip punch card, and 47  A discounted fare for seniors, low-income, and disabled citizens.

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 12 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1 2 Nelson questioned whether the committee requested additional information 3on the impacts to the motion. 4 5 Brenner stated they did. The committee recommended those two items as 6amendments to the County Code. That is what the entire hearing is about. 7 8 McShane stated his motion is to provide direction to the administration to 9prepare an ordinance. Prieve stated the staff is going to look at the financial impact 10of going to a 15 percent discount from an eight- percent discount. The way the 11schedule is set up now, there would be a surplus of approximately $35,000. He 12would look at whether the increased discount would do away with the surplus. That 13is the only thing he would look at and study regarding the impact of increasing the 14punch card discount. 15 16 Nelson stated he understands the intent. He preferred to hold the 17amendments until after the public hearing. Otherwise they are voting on 18something without having a public presentation on the issue or the information they 19need from the staff. 20 21 Brenner stated that if the Executive is comfortable with two 22recommendations coming from the committee without the Council voting on it, then 23that's fine. She was under the impression that direction had to come from the full 24Council. 25 26 Pete Kremen, County Executive, stated it is always nice to get input and 27collaboration from all the councilmembers. It is irrelevant whether it is a 28committee recommendation or a full Council recommendation. The issue will be 29dealt with in its final stages at a later date anyway. 30 31 Nelson stated they don't need the motion. They can deal with the issues at 32the time of the hearing. 33 34 Brenner stated the committee came up with some recommendations. Those 35are directions they are thinking of going. They usually don't do this just by a 36committee. 37 38 McShane stated the motion is on the floor. This is something they should do. 39He restated the motion to support the recommendation from the Public Works 40Committee to bring forward an ordinance for public hearing by the Council 41regarding: 42  A 15 percent discount on the 25-trip punch card, and 43  A discounted fare for seniors, low-income, and disabled citizens. 44 45 Motion carried 6-1 with Nelson opposed. 46

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 13 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 19. ORDINANCE AMENDING THE OFFICIAL WHATCOM COUNTY ZONING 2 MAP FROM RURAL (R5A) TO GENERAL COMMERCIAL (GC) FOR 3 APPROXIMATELY FOUR AND ONE-HALF ACRES ONE QUARTER MILE 4 SOUTH OF THE SOUTHEAST INTERSECTION OF EAST SMITH ROAD 5 AND GUIDE MERIDIAN (AB2002-060) 6 7 McShane reported for the Planning and Development Committee and stated 8the committee recommends scheduling a public hearing, because no one on the 9Committee supports making the zoning change. It requires a public hearing 10because the Planning Commission recommended approval of the rezone. No one 11on the committee supports the rezone. He so moved. 12 13 Crawford stated the proposal is an appropriate use of the land. The 14character has already been defined. The Planning Commission made a good 15recommendation. 16 17 Brenner stated commercial zoning in that area should have to do with what 18they said it would, which is widening the Guide Meridian. Councilmember Crawford 19says the money is already allocated for the road widening, but she'll believe that 20when she sees it. They should not add any more traffic until they see a widened 21Guide Meridian. 22 23 Motion carried 6-1 with Crawford opposed. 24 2510. ORDINANCE AMENDING THE OFFICIAL WHATCOM COUNTY ZONING 26 ORDINANCE, CHAPTERS 20.10, 20.84 AND 20.90 TO PROVIDE 27 SPECIFIC PROCEDURES FOR NOTIFYING AND OBTAINING INPUT 28 FROM CITIES FOR ZONING AMENDMENTS AND PROJECTS WITHIN 29 CITY UGA’S (AB2002-061) 30 31 McShane reported for the Planning and Development Committee and moved 32to approve. 33 34 Carried unanimously. 35 3611. RESOLUTION ADOPTING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OPEN 37 SPACE/OPEN SPACE, OPEN SPACE/FARM AND AGRICULTURE 38 CONSERVATION AND OPEN SPACE TIMBER APPLICATIONS (AB2002- 39 083) 40 41 McShane reported for the Planning and Development Committee and moved 42approval of the Open Space/Timber applications for Harris, Zender, Vekved, 43Williams, and Hruby, and the Harris Open Space/Open Space application. 44 45 Motion to approve carried unanimously. 46 47 McShane moved to approve the Luhrs Open Space/Timber application.

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 14 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1 2 Motion carried unanimously. 3 4 McShane stated there is no committee recommendation on the Luhrs Open 5Space/Open Space application. There is a legal issue that couldn’t be answered 6today. There is no recommendation at this time. There is some concern that the 7shoreline designation in the area is for conservancy already. That creates some 8legal issue that they have to clarify. They will hold this application in committee 9until a recommendation comes forward. 10 11 Crawford questioned whether this application would provide beach access for 12the public if it is approved. 13 14 McShane stated it would, unless the Council makes an exception, which is 15allowed. 16 17 Sylvia Goodwin, Planning Division Manager, stated there would be public 18access to the property from the water, not from the road. The idea is that people 19in kayaks or small boats could use the beach, but there is no road access from the 20road. 21 22 Crawford questioned whether the Open Space access signs would face the 23water. Goodwin stated they could. 24 25 Nelson moved to amend the current resolution to withdraw the Luhrs Open 26Space/Open Space application. 27 28 Motion to amend carried unanimously. 29 30 Nelson moved to approve the resolution as amended to remove the Luhrs 31Open Space/Open Space application. 32 33 Motion carried unanimously. 34 3512. ORDINANCE AMENDING WHATCOM COUNTY CODE 11.32, BOATING 36 SPECIAL RESTRICTIONS (AB2001-401) 37 38 McShane moved to adopt. 39 40 Dave Grant, Senior Civil Deputy Prosecutor, stated the swans were dying last 41year. The State Department of Fish and Wildlife began an investigation. The 42contractors for the investigation had to collect the sick and dead swans for analysis 43by rowboat on Wiser Lake. Wiser Lake is closed to motorized craft except in the 44case of emergency for health or property issues. This expands the exception to 45allow for research and wildlife management activities to occur with motorized craft 46on Wiser Lake during that period of time. 47

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 15 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1 Nelson stated an exception was done last year, but it was only for one year. 2 3 Brenner stated her husband's theory is that the swans are dying because 4there are so many of them, more than usual. 5 6 Motion carried unanimously. 7 813. APPOINTMENT TO THE PORTAGE BAY SHELLFISH PROTECTION 9 DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (AB2002-086) 10 11 Brenner moved to appoint Christine Woodward. 12 13 Motion carried unanimously. 14 15INTRODUCTION ITEMS 16 17 Caskey-Schreiber moved to accept the Introduction Item. 18 19 Motion carried unanimously. 20 211. RESOLUTION INITIATING COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND ZONING 22 AMENDMENTS (AB2002-084) 23 24 25OTHER ITEMS 26 27Addendum: 28 29 ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 24 OF THE WHATCOM COUNTY 30 CODE TO INCLUDE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR AN ADEQUATE 31 WATER SUPPLY AND MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SELLER TO 32 PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE BUYER CONCERNING THE WATER 33 SOURCE WHEN SELLING DEVELOPED PROPERTY (AB2001-369) 34 35 Brenner reported for the Public Works and Capital Projects Committee and 36stated this item was held in committee. 37 38 39OTHER BUSINESS 40 41 McShane moved to send the resolution supporting protecting 42individuals engaged in nonviolent civil rights demonstration (AB2002-071) 43with a cover letter to the City of Bellingham regarding citizens' right to nonviolent 44protest. 45 46 Brenner stated she supported the motion. 47

5 6 Whatcom County Council, 1/29/2002, Page 16 1DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee 2minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are 3not the final approved minutes. 4 1 Roy stated she would like to see the letter before she would support it. She 2has uneasy feeling about that kind of interaction with another government body. It 3puts the County Council in the position of feeling superior, without having to deal 4with the situation that the City Council is dealing with. 5 6 Crawford agreed with Councilmember Roy. He would entertain the concept 7of a cover letter, but he would not vote for it until he sees what it says exactly. 8 9 Nelson agreed with Councilmember Crawford. 10 11 Brenner stated she is ready to vote on it. 12 13 McShane stated everyone should see it. 14 15 Brenner stated the City of Bellingham and the County trade 16recommendations a lot. It's part of what they do. 17 18 (Clerk's Note: The Motion was not voted on.) 19 20 21REPORTS AND OTHER ITEMS FROM COUNCILMEMBERS 22 23 There were no reports. 24 25 26ADJOURN 27 28 The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m. 29 30 31______32Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription 33 34 These minutes were approved by Council on __February 26__, 2002. 35 36ATTEST: WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL 37 WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON 38 39 40 41______42Dana Brown-Davis, Council Clerk L. Ward Nelson, Council Chair 43 44

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