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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM111920S Including Hearing Comments re: Compliance Code (. 2J T MINUTES Jefferson County Board of Commissioners Jefferson County Board of Health Joint Special Meeting — Thursday, November 19, 2020, 2:30 p.m. Jefferson County Courthouse— Commissioners' Chambers 1820 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, WA CALL TO ORDER: Chair Greg Brotherton, Commissioner David Sullivan and Commissioner Kate Dean participated in the meeting remotely. Chair Brotherton called the meeting to order at the appointed time to hold a Joint Public Hearing with the Jefferson County Board of Health regarding the Jefferson County Code Enforcement Ordinance. JOINT HEARING re: Proposed Jefferson County Code Enforcement Ordinance: Jefferson County Environmental Health Director and Water Quality Director Pinky Mingo gave a presentation on the proposed ordinance. Chair Brotherton opened the hearing for public testimony. The following individuals provided testimony: John Tevis and Tom Thiersch. Another member of the public provided a comment not related to the hearing. Hearing no further testimony, Chair Brotherton closed the oral testimony portion of the hearing. He extended the deadline for submitting written testimony through November 20, 2020 Oat 4:30 p.m. and called for a Joint Special Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) and Board of Health to be held on December 10, 2020 to deliberate and potentially take action on the proposed Compliance Code Ordinance. Chair Brotherton adjourned the Board of County Commissioners' Meeting. NOTICE OF ADJOURNMENT: Chair Brotherton adjourned the meeting at 3:05 p.m. until the next regular meeting or special meeting as properly noticed. --''4, ' ,,� '" ' .•� `,, JEFFERSON COUNTY ',. j , BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS SEA v • xF- •# / • r` • ' I Gr-?_' �� air . : Appa d p '`4 ATTEST: I� , • David Sullivan, Member CA Pli 6ot- w Carolyn allaway, CMC Kat Dean, Member Deputy Clerk of the Board 1 Please publish: October 22, 2020 and October 29, 2020 Bill: Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners P.O. Box 1220 Port Townsend WA 98368 NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND PUBLIC COMMENTS ON A PROPOSED DRAFT COMPLIANCE CODE ORDINANCE Notice is hereby given that a joint public hearing will be held by the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners and the Jefferson County Board of Health on Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. Per the May 29, 2020 Jefferson County Public Health Officer Order, the BOCC meetings will be held virtually. To view the meetings live go to www.co.iefferson.wa.us Follow the links under "Quick Links: Videos of Meetings -Streaming Live " or those without internet can listen by dialing Phone #: 1-646-749-3122 - enter Access Code: 661-198-069#. Access for the hearing impaired and others can be accommodated using Washington Relay Service at 1-800-833-6384. The purpose of the hearing is to take oral and written testimony regarding an ordinance which, if enacted, will establish a uniform system of code compliance regulations, centrally declare public nuisances, establish a compliance system including monetary penalties and county abatement, and provide cost recovery for county related compliance expenditures. The proposed ordinance adopts new Title 19 JCC (Compliance Code), moves Public Nuisances to Title 19 JCC and deletes Chapter 8.90 JCC (Public Nuisances), and revises portions of Title 8 (Health & Safety), Title 15 (Building Codes), Title 17 (Master Planned Resorts), Title 18 JCC (Uniform Development Code). In addition to the November 19, 2020 joint public hearing, written testimony is also invited beginning on October 22, 2020 and ending on November 19, 2020 at the end of the Public Hearing, unless extended by the Board of County Commissioners and the Board of Health. Written public testimony may be submitted by Email to: jeffbocckco jefferson.wa.us or bohg`.jefferson.wa.us; or by Mail to: Jefferson County Commissioners' Office; PO Box 1220, Port Townsend, WA 98368 or Board of Health at 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368. To provide oral testimony at the public hearing, dial 1-646-749-3122 and enter access code: 661-198-069# by 2:30 p.m. so your call can be taken. The public may view the text the proposed draft Compliance Code Ordinance on-line at http://test.co Jefferson.wa.us/WebLinkExtemal/O/doc/2576646/Page1 aspx or in -person at the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioner's Office located at 1820 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368. Signe thi 191h d x 9cttsber, 2020 reg Brotherton, Chair Jefferson County Board of Commissioners Approved at the BOH Meeting on October 15, 2020 Sheila Westerman, Chair Jefferson County Board of Health Julie Shannon Ut From: Randon Draper Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 4:26 PM To: jeffbocc; Board of Health Cc: Philip Hunsucker Subject: Public Comment for Proposed Compliance Code Ordinance BoCC and Board of Health: This is a written public comment on the Proposed Compliance Code Ordinance scheduled for a joint public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners and the Board of Health at 2:30 p.m. on November 19, 2020. Commissioner Brotherton requested our office to provide a possible revision to the proposed Compliance Code to provide relief from filing fees for indigent appellants. In addition, we noticed Sections 19.35.045 and 19.35.050 of the proposed Compliance Code are in conflict as they require different amounts for the filing fee for an appeal to the hearing examiner ($250 and $500 respectively). The amount should be $250 in both places. To these ends, we propose the following edits: For 19.35.045, add the following sentence: "This fee may be waived at the Director's discretion for indigent appellants." immediately following the sentence "A $250 filing fee is required to file an appeal with the hearing examiner." For 19.35.050(1)(a), replace the amount of "$500" with the amount of "$250" and add the following at the end of the subsection: "If the appellant cannot afford to pay the filing fee, they may submit an application form provided to them by the Office of the Hearing Examiner to request a fee waiver. The application shall provide sufficient information regarding the appellant's finances for the Director to determine if the fee should be waived." Respectfully, Randon Randon Draper Civil Deputy Prosetutin ,Attorney P -�xN��i't nii:, Attar 11p#a,"s W icc 11.0. Box 1220, Port T::,tr :t ,i1, VVA w '36i3 Pn. 360-33-�424,i i d.,ro 3'i: _ jeffbocc From: tprosys@gmail.com Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2020 1:37 PM To: jeffbocc Subject: TESTIMONY for hearing on PROPOSED COMPLIANCE CODE ORDINANCE CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Commissioners and Board Members: In the BOH Code Enforcement presentation (PPT, slide 7) The step identified as "Subsequent Daily Fines" is too lenient. The language on the slide should be revised like this: "Case is actively monitored for compliance. If compliance is not achieved, daily fines may shall be imposed through subsequent NOVs. Subsequent NOVs may be appealed. Once compliance is achieved, enforcement case is closed and fees becomes due." The county has always been far too forgiving of violations, even those that have lasted for many years. Unless and until the county shows that it is serious and that penalties will be assessed against willful violators, people will simply continue to ignore the law. In other words, without meaningful penalties, "enforcement" will continue to be a joke. The Ordinance states: (ii) The person responsible shall be assessed a monetary penalty commencing on the date set for correction in the notice of noncompliance and thereafter, in accordance with JCC 19.20.010 or the penalty provisions of the voluntary compliance agreement, plus all costs incurred by the county to pursue compliance with this chapter and to abate the nuisance in accordance with JCC 19.20.015 and 19.30.020. Note: shall be assessed Again, if penalties are not vigorously pursued, the Ordinance will be meaningless. So, the language in 19.20.015 Notice of Violation and Order of Abatement at (1)(c)(v) should be changed: (v) A statement that the costs and expenses of abatement incurred by the county pursuant to JCC 19.30.020, and a monetary penalty in an amount per day for each nuisance as specified in JCC 19.30.010, f:�ay shall be assessed against the person to whom the notice of violation and order of abatement is directed; and, Tom Thiersch Jefferson County Julie Shannon From: Annette Huenke <amh@olympus.net> Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2020 1:59 PM To: Board of Health i Subject: public comment, 11/19 meeting CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Good afternoon. I'd like to address recent comments made by Board of Health members as reported by the Leader. Dr. Locke says "we all know we're heading into a crisis in Washington State." This sounds like the language that came out of the Imperial College this winter, which turned out to be cataclysmically wrong. No, we don't know we're heading into a crisis, that is simply a prediction based on results of unreliable testing. Commissioner Dean is 'disturbed at so much distrust,' as if a lack of confidence in a medical -industrial complex largely funded by profit -driven pharmaceutical corporations and so-called 'philanthropies' who stand to benefit from every single aspect of this crisis, is unwarranted. Over recent decades Merck, Pfizer, Glaxo and others have paid over thirty- five billion dollars in fines for criminal activity like manipulating and concealing data . Do you need reminding that it was the US Public Health Service and the CDC who conducted the Tuskegee syphilis experiment between 1932 and 1975? 1 could go on. Who in their right mind assumes that government and its agencies have only good intentions or always make the right choices? It is dangerously naive for policy -makers to navigate this realm denying the overwhelming influence of money. I find it 'offensive'that legitimate peer -reviewed science is being willfully ignored by local authorities who now have unprecedented control over the populace with zero liability for negative outcomes. Dismissing out -of -hand the considered opinions of credible physicians and scientists as 'untrue rhetoric and conspiracy theories' is offensive. This is a back -handed call for the deplorable, undemocratic exercise of censorship. One of those credible physicians was quoted on Tuesday — Cambridge and Royal College -educated pathologist Dr. Roger Hodkinson said "There is utterly unfounded public hysteria driven by the media and politicians. It's outrageous. This is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on an unsuspecting public. There is absolutely nothing to be done to contain this virus other than protecting your more vulnerable people. It should be thought of as nothing more than a bad flu season. ...positive tests, which do not accurately reflect whether you have the virus, are driving "public hysteria," adding "testing should stop unless you show up at a hospital with respiratory problems." [source Dr. Locke might say that this man has no place in "the science group," because his professional opinion is unwelcome consider the possibility that Dr. Hodkinson, along with scores of his colleagues, comprehends phenomenon that Dr. Locke does not. sincerely, Annette Huenke 5708 Jackman St. Port Townsend Julie Shannon From: John Tevis <johnetevis@gmail.com> , Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2020 2:20 PM 1l��� � ? To: Board of Health = ° µk t f x Subject: public comment regarding Compliance Code Ordinance Attachments: WSU study on Code Enf Oct 2016.pdf, a typo.png CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. To the Board of Health and the Board of County Commissioners: In October of 2016, Philip Morley directed a study about the lack of code enforcement in Jefferson County (attached), authored by Laura Lewis, then director of the local WSU extension. As you know, my neighbors and I have advocated for the last two and a half years for a coherent code enforcement program in Jefferson County that would emphasize interdepartmental cooperation and public -faced accessibility. Ms. Lewis's study couldn't have been more clear on those points. A few of you were aware of the problem at least since the publication of the report, as evidenced by its distribution chain. Yet when we jump-started the conversation about this county- wide issue in April 2018, many of you looked at us as if we were speaking Greek. Others of you denied the problem existed and stood in our way. We support —by and large —the County's efforts to tweak the language in this ordinance to bring the worst offenders to heel. Though we question the sudden urgency to complete a project four years in the making, we appreciate that the county faces a myriad of inter -related problems. But we are discouraged by the deliberate vagueness in the language of the ordinance and alarmed by the likelihood that even more power will be vested in the unelected County Administrator. We also know from experience that hiring someone to address code compliance issues doesn't mean that the county will actually address these issues, a situation that will only be exacerbated by the unclear language regarding the county's discretion to pursue code violations. In a county where solid waste is dumped willy nilly on abandoned propertiesour code compliance officer cites people for building a yurt. In the middle of a housing crisis. Speaking of priorities, shortly after Ms. Murdock was hired and began her work in the summer of 2019, we called on her to help us with a new problem of illegal dumping in our neighborhood: seven RVs chock full of metal debris dumped across the street from our homes. Not my job, in short, was her reply. In a sleight of county hand, her job description had changed and solid waste was not in her portfolio. That responsibility was shifted right back to where it had been for years, hidden from the public in Environmental Health and funded only for a half-time position by a state grant. For the first nine months of her tenure she prioritized the investigation of a decade - long backlog of complaints and not the most pressing concerns facing the county. 14 months later, the last two trailers were finally hauled away last month, largely through the efforts of Pinky Mingo, who, when you visit the code compliance page on DCD's website, is not listed. Because, as you know, she works in Environmental Health. Who but a county employee or someone who has spent years working on this issue would know this? If you need to report a solid waste violation in Jefferson County, you must call the general number for Public Health. After two and half years of support for this position, we are right back at square one; we resent your use of our advocacy for such obfuscation. We need specific language in this ordinance that works for citizens instead of creating the opportunity for mission creep. In a document rich in detail regarding infractions, there is precious little about how each department will pursue their responsibilities. When you write about a "director" (page 7) please name the department that this individual works for. When you describe the guidelines (19.10.035) for which problems are to be addressed first, please make clear in black and white that the "director" or the director's proxy actually addresses the serious problems, rather than citing people for expanding a deck. I would also call on the county commissioners themselves to step up here. I —we all —applaud you for your hard work. But we didn't ask you to run for your offices. This is an emergency. Your own job descriptions allow great leeway in asserting your executive authority as well as your normal legislative and quasi-judicial responsibilities. With regard to the hard work occasioned by the eventual passing of this ordinance, carve out a role for yourselves. For example, each of you could resolve code violations in the districts you represent. That would place Commissioner Dean squarely in charge of the inhumane situation at the Fairgrounds and leave the unincorporated parts of the county that are swimming in solid waste to Greg Brotherton and the incoming commissioner from District 2. That way the code compliance officer will have time to cite people for building yurts. Thank you. U'lefferson County Draft Report on Code Enforcement Activities in Jefferson County Overview When: October 28 h, 2016 Where: BOCC chambers Present: Jefferson County Departments present: Community Development, Health, Noxious Weed Board, Sheriff's Office, Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and Extension Objective This meeting was organized to discuss the current challenges of code enforcement across several Jefferson County Departments and Programs. The majority of Jefferson County code violations and complaints are currently unresolved because of the high volume of reports and lack of capacity within and between departments to close cases. Additionally, each department has different policies and procedures for management of code violations and complaints. The first step of this initial meeting was to detail each departments policies and procedures for recording and managing code violations and complaints. Then participants each provided examples of systems in other jurisdictions that might be applicable. Finally, we had a brainstorming session to discuss how a future Jefferson County code enforcement program might operate. The presentations from each department demonstrated the complexity of the current Jefferson County code enforcement and complaint management systems across programs. Each department typically receives several hundred complaints each year and also discovers code violations through inspection and other department activities. None of the participating departments is currently able to meet the demand of their code enforcement system. However, each department did report certain actions they are currently using that encourage voluntary compliance and provide citizen education. Taking these successes and acknowledging the current challenges, we discussed how a more functional and sustainable code enforcement program could operate. The overall consensus of the group was that Jefferson County needs a holistic code enforcement policy and procedure across all departments with a centralized team to manage and coordinate these activities. Developing policies and procedures that streamline processes through better triage and cross -department coordination was the highest priority. Following below is an outline of current policies for each of the participating departments as well as recommendations that were developed during our discussion session: Department of Community Development: • Public groups are very interested in compliance and enforcement • 100+ complaints/year (voluntarily reported) o Some can be resolved by front office o Others are more lengthy • Currently DCD uses a form to document complaint o If complaint involves another Department, a copy is sent to them • Share a lot of complaints with the Health Department • Occasionally will have to do a site visit • Triage is important (life -safety issues) — letters are sent first, wait for voluntary compliance • Work well with Sheriff's office when necessary • —50% of complaints are resolved through voluntary compliance DCDs Greatest Concerns: • Never having a resolution • Some complaints are over 10 years old • More complaints then they have the capacity to manage Department of Public Health: • 200+ complaints/year — many more then this when you include inspection violations • Triage and time constraints o Inspections find code violations o Community complaints o Life -Safety Criteria for Triage • Need to validate complaint to make sure it is a violation • Inspections can result in compliance issues that need to be resolved ASAP o What happens when a person doesn't have the resources to become compliant (need an abatement fund to support compliance to deal with issues of poverty)? • Volume of complaints has been going up rapidly • Increases in complaints with foreclosures • Complaints are also referred from other agencies — DNR, ECO, Health, WSDA Noxious Weed Control Program: • The majority of complaints come from neighbors • 150-200 people submit a complaint/annually • Current System: o Send Letter immediately without verification o Second Letter sent to follow-up to make sure they are aware it is a problem (still no verification yet) 0 60% of complaints are resolved voluntarily through the first two letters received 0 100+ need further follow-up o Adding a FAQ page to the website has had a positive impact Sheriff's Office: * Need PA Civil Deputy • One of their officer's does Civil Work • Can get a search warrant, but not effective currently because there is not a Civil Deputy Attorney Prosecuting Attorney's Office: • Need a Civil Deputy Attorney General Concerns: • We need to be clear about what the county can or cannot do in terms of enforcement • There needs to be consistency across all county departments - for example DCD takes anonymous complaints but Health does not Examples From Other Jurisdictions • Clallam County ran a compliance program that was more focused on old corn fiance ather then enforcement - focused primarily on abandoned cars and illegal dumping • Clearing House in Kitsap County called "Open Line" - used to triage all complaints and call flow • KNAT: Kitsap Nuisance Abatement Team - collaborative approach; team identified people across departments who could work together Recommendations for the future of Jefferson County Code Enforcement A code enforcement manager could coordinate and manage code violations and complaints in all Jefferson County Departments and could coordinate and collaborate code violations and health and safety issues with the City of Port Townsend and the Fire Departments. There was a strong desire to be closely associated with the Sheriff's Office and the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for management of enforcement actions. • One possibility was to collaborate on other violation management, such as: o Civil Division o Code Enforcement o Animal Control o Noise • Person/Team could be the focal/contact point for all complaints o Triage as a county and prioritize those violations that are life/safety concerns • Avoiding violations through education and deliberate outreach would lead to less infractions • Goal = Voluntary Compliance • Opportunity for consistency for code compliance within a department and across all county departments • Policies across the county would create a timeline for compliance and enforcement based on a triage process • Need for a clearing -house and person/team to hold all of this together • Fire and City of PT should be collaborators • A Code Officer/Team could also potentially check on civil complaints while en route to other sites urA 1.�� From: Barbara Morey <bemorey@yahoo.com> Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2020 4:32 PM To: boh@jeffersoncountypublichealth.org; jeffbocc Cc: Carol McCreary; Gary Keister; vikis@ecopraxis.org; Jesse E. Thomas; Julia Cochrane; Justine Gonzalez -Berg Subject: Hearing: Revisions to Policy: Basic Sanitation for Non -Permitted Living Conditions CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. To the BOH AND BOCC: Regarding the Revision to Policy re: Enforcement - Basic Sanitation for Non -permitted Living Conditions p 29- 36, Tables 2 and 3 Temporary Encampments PLEASE REVISE THE WORDING regarding the portable kitchen requirements in tables 2 and 3 as follows: "A Portable kitchen trailer for cooking and hand washing are required if congregate/shared meals are prepared on site for encampment residents." Additionally: "A portable kitchen unit is not required if meals are individually prepared by each household, such as those tenting independently or living in an RV. However, potable water and garbage disposal should be available at the temporary encampment for use by individual camping units." SECONDLY: RE: Encampments on private property Please refer to the Kitsap Emergency Housing Resolution that Greg has shared with you. It is important that guidelines for sanitation include private property as well as public, religious, or non- profit owned property. All of these un-permitted encampments --including those that are in the backyards of county residents are "Non -Permitted Living Conditions" and exist in reality. Wouldn't it make sense to protect health and environment in the un-permitted tent encampments out by the Mill, in the forests, or in a private backyard by providing sanitation guidelines, and even sanitation support, such as garbage and sanitation services at these encampments? Perhaps through the BOH or OlyCAP or Emergency Management or the landowner. Encampments on private land still exist. Denying that in a policy, doesn't make it any less true. We can't outlaw homelessness, but we can, as a community, make sure that even these unsupported and unstructured "non -permitted" encampments on private land have adequate sanitation and garbage collection to protect public heath and the environment. That is the basic understanding that underlies the ability of a private land owner to add porta potties and/or hand washing stations for "guests" camping temporarily on private land on table 2. Third: I believe that it would clarify septic system requirements and usage capacity in the county by referring to number of occupants the system is meant to handle as opposed to number of bedrooms? Instead of "5 bedroom house," it could be "8 individuals" or a number that is equivalent to a septic capacity of 60 gals per day per person (gray and black water total), or another direct measure defining the number of people that can safely live on site. Thank you for your work and efforts to address temporary encampments of various kinds in the additions to policy for Jefferson County. It takes the whole village, Barbara Morey, Housing Advocate 206 326-9022 Port Townsend Nevertheless, she persisted...