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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3576RESOLUTIONNO. 3576 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AUBURN, WASHINGTON, ADOPTING THE 2003 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA AND REQUESTING THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF AUBURN TO TRANSMIT SAID AGENDA TO MEMBERS OF THE WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATURE WHEREAS, the City of Auburn maintains a responsibility to ensure the health, safety and well-being of the citizens and businesses in the city; and WHEREAS, matters which come before the Washington State Legislature may have a direct or indirect impact on the city's residents and businesses; and WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council are dedicated to preserving the City's revenue stream, resisting unfimded mandates, enhancing funding for transportation needs, and maintaining local authority in such areas as land use, City rights-of-way, and public safety, among others; and WHEREAS, these issues of concern, and numerous others which may be considered by the Washington State Legislature during the 2003 legislative session, should be examined by the City and their final form reflect, in so far as is reasonably possible, the City's perspective and needs; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AUBURN, KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON, IN A REGULAR MEETING DULY ASSEMBLED, HEREWITH resolves that: Resolution No. 3576 February 11, 2003 Page 1 Section 1. The 2003 City of Auburn Legislative Agenda, a copy of which is attached hereto, denominated as Exhibit "A" and made a part hereof as though set forth in full herein, is hereby adopted by the City Council of the City of Auburn, Washington. Section 2. The Mayor is hereby authorized to transmit said Lcgislative Agenda to members of the Washington State Legislature for their consideration. DATED and SIGNED this 18h day of February, 2003. CITY ~ URN Peter B. Lewis MAYOR ATTEST: D~'~tle E. Daskam, City Clerk City Attorney Resolution No. 3576 February 11, 2003 Page 2 CITY OF AUBURN 2003 STATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA Transportation Legislation that will ensure development and maintenance of adequate or needed transportation systems is essential to preservation of a reasonable quality of life and the economic well-being of the State and local jurisdictions. The City supports an increase in existing and future non-regressive revenues to cities, counties, and the Transportation Improvement Board to help meet local needs for both improvements and preservation. ESSB 6140 created the Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID), which is proving to be a challenge in the aftermath of the failure of Referendum #51. The legislation provides no provision of funding for districts to perform project formulation, planning and preliminary engineering to develop reliable scopes of work, yet it assumes that districts will somehow determine reliable costs of projects that have no certain scope of work. This defect in the process is a significant one because it places an unfunded mandate on local governments to finance project formulation with local funds, which normally would be spent on local street improvements rather than planning for regional highway improvements. A city the size of Auburn, with a population of 45,000 and over 150 miles of streets to maintain, should be spending about $2 to 3 million dollars annually on street preservation. Auburn receives about $640,000 in motor vehicle fuel tax revenues from the State and spends $2 million dollars just to pay for the Street Division to operate and maintain streets at a basic level of service. Auburn's preservation budget has not exceeded $400,000 due to lack of a consistent dedicated revenue stream to finance preservation. In summary, Auburn is currently subsidizing the preservation of streets some $1.8 million over and above annual revenues. Auburn supports a local Street Utility Tax dedicated to no other purpose than to repair and rebuild our existing road system. The City of Auburn is committed to the FAST partnership and will actively pursue, through the State Legislature, the State's Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board (FMSIB) and the regional FAST Corridor program, funding necessary to improve the movement of rail and track freight throughout the Central Puget Sound Corridor. Funding for the FAST Corridor project to separate the at-grade crossing at "M" Street SE is essential to the economic vitality of the Auburn community. 4. Auburn supports the concept of a single, regional (multi-county) transportation group that has the authority and responsibility to resolve regional transportation issues. Such resolution must respect local authority and must not be predicated upon use of local maintenance and repair dollars. The City views the PSRC as this regional transportation group. Resolution No. 3576 Exhibit "A" Page 1 The City requests the State's assistance in obtaining the designation of the City of Auburn as a site for a future Amtrak passenger rail station location to serve the South King County and North Pierce County area. The City supports State Route 167 as a major state highway and treatment of this highway as a corridor road. Further, the City supports improvements to SR 167, including an additional general purpose lane on each side from I 405 to SR 512, the completion of the HOV system on SR 167 from I 405 to SR 512, and the addition ora 'hot' or express lane on SR 167 from 1 405 to SR 512. The City supports the completion of the SR 18 to SR 167 interchange as indicated by our recent support of this project in the RTID regional priorities. The Governor's proposal to combine TIB, CRAB and FMSIB should not occur unless a reasonable transition plan is in place to assure the servicing of ongoing state and federal grant administration. The City requests State assistance in acquiring funding for an alternate or link road connecting State Route 164 with SR 18 at the Green River Road junction. The emergency headquarters of the City of Auburn, the site of the FAA facility that has 350 employees on a 13~acre campus responsible for 300,000 square miles of airspace stretching from Canada to Northern California and Western Montana, are now at risk. A major elementary and high school campus located on the Auburn Adventist Academy property are now at risk, and a new retirement community will also be at risk, as there is no mitigated solution by WSDOT for emergency services access to SR 164 after June 2003. Municipal Finance The Legislature should ensure that no legislation enacted by that body either directly or indirectly impose unfunded service or program mandates upon local government. Protection against such action is required by Initiative 601 and should be respected by all levels of government. The initiative process should be modified to require that all initiative proposals tbr added service include income to fund the service, and that initiatives that propose revenue reductions also specify service reductions necessary as a result of the revenue that was eliminated. 3. The City supports imposition of equitable sales and use taxes on all remote sales regardless of the point of origin or sale. 4. The City opposes any legislative efforts to reduce or eliminate City revenue resources without enacting offsetting reduction in State and Federal program and service requirements. The City encourages the Legislature to provide alternative revenues to Resolution No. 3576 Exhibit "A' Page 2 10. 11. 12. 13. replace those lost either directly or indirectly through legislative actions or lack thereof. The City opposes transfer of any financial or management responsibility to local government for those programs or initiatives reduced as a result of passage of 1-695, 1-747 or other initiative or legislative action. The City supports the inclusion of factors such as a city's ability to pay, local labor market conditions, and internal equity with other employees in arbitrator's determinations as required under PERC regulations, as well as inclusion of the Implicit Price Deflator as the appropriate cost-of-living measure if such measure is retained to limit growth in government. The City opposes any effort to reduce the 2% set aside for provision of local services contained in the State compact on Indian Gaming. The City supports State funding of essential human and health services at appropriate service levels since providing for the safety and essential health needs of its citizens is a paramount responsibility of state and federal government. The City supports State funding for public health needs, including mental health and health in our environment, including the immediate need for dealing with a possible West Nile Fever outbreak caused by untreated standing water. The City continues to oppose implementation of"ergonomics regulation" as proposed by L & I until scientific evidence to support the role of ergonomics in a safe workplace is made clear. The City supports extension of State funding necessary for the achievement of the goals of the Growth Management Act. The City of Auburn supports continuation of affordable energy rates for domestic and business usage. The City also supports protection of state and municipal rights to impose use taxes on all utility services whether the provider is located in or out of state. The City supports a voted excess levy for multiple years for capital projects, program expansion or operating purposes. The levee could be used for projects on a pay-as-you-go basis and not be tied to one project, but be used to fund any project in the adopted capital facilities plan. The excess levy could also be used to implement new programs or meet operating needs to continue current service levels. The City opposes imposition of any additional State-mandated caps on local gambling taxes. Local Authori ,ty/Safe .ty Resolution No. 3576 Exhibit "A" Page 3 The City continues to support unqualified local control over local rights-of-way and all other public facilities, land use decisions and revenue streams related to telecommunications, energy transmission, etc. activities within or directly impacting their respective jurisdictions. Cities should not be liable for acts of citizens on probation or pretrial supervision. The State Supreme Court in Hertzog v. City of Seattle significantly extended the City's liability in misdemeanor probation or pretrial release situations. The Court held that probation officers and pretrial release counselors who have supervisory responsibilities and their employment agencies have a duty to protect others from foreseeable harm resulting from the dangerous propensity of probationers and pretrial releases under this supervision. Legislation is needed to eliminate or reasonably control such liability. The City supports efforts to protect the identities of public safety personnel by eliminating public disclosure requirements for names and addresses, allowing private entities such as credit agencies to withhold names and addresses without prior consent of the individual and allowing such individuals to register personal vehicles at their places of employment. The City of Auburn continues to support legislation that will ensure a safer environment for cross-state pipeline operations that impact citizens and their communities. Citizens who live, work or recreate near pipeline routes should be provided with the assurance that the pipelines will be inspected and tested regularly and operated with the safety of the citizen and community as a paramount concem. The City opposes continuing imposition of increased training, response, and/or manning requirements and standards for public safety personnel without appropriation of adequate funding from state and federal sources to pay for increased obligations. The City supports the Governor's Fire Protection Task Force, whose purpose is to increase public safety by making Washington residents safe from life and property losses due to fire. This is accomplished through promotion of incentives and recommendation of strategies that encourage the use of fire protection equipment, built-in fire suppression systems, education, and the court-authorized access to inspection of potentially dangerous structures. State increases in mandatory criminal penalties that require extended jail time or legislation that requires additional police, court, probationary or jail services, including rehabilitation, juvenile diversion and involvement in courts of limited jurisdiction must be accompanied by funding necessary to construct and operate facilities to accommodate such increases and fund additional personnel and indirect costs necessary to carry out the requirements. 8. The City opposes legislation and/or other efforts to remove the authority of municipalities to provide local law enforcement services regardless of the potential for service contracting. The City would also oppose actions or legislation that would transfer incarceration responsibilities and/or funding from the state or county to municipalities. Resolution No. 3576 Exhibit "A" Page 4 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. The City would support efforts to allow police officers to enforce the State's laws anywhere within the state. This extension of powers would reduce the liability for cities with officers who assist with incidents outside the city's borders. As it stands now, jurisdictions must exchange letters giving consent to officers to enforce law outside of their jurisdictions. The City opposes any preemption of local legislative or regulatory authority over regulation of rental housing or the siting of manufactured residential structures. The City supports refinements to current domestic violence law necessary to afford appropriate protection to victims, enable improved enforcement and support the effective prosecution of domestic violence cases. Supportive services such as safe housing and shelter and improved access to economic subsistence should be continued. The City supports adoption of a certificate of merit procedure as a requirement to validate negligence claims against government jurisdictions. The City also supports efforts to exempt cities from joint and severable liability provisions and exemption of employees from civil liability for their good faith disclosure of information regarding former or current employees' job performance. The City requests exemption of records that would reveal the strategy of a local government regarding collective bargaining, legal defense or grievance procedures from public disclosure. The City supports legislative action related to tort reform to clarify that it should not be mandatory that the defendant join all potential "at fault" entities in litigation or risk losing the ability to apportion fault to the third party(s). Any move to the contrary would inappropriately shift the burden of proof from the plaintiff to the defendant in proving fault. The City supports legislation to reinstate administrative search warrants as a tool for use by Fire Marshals. The City opposes any proposal from the State or County to site further human service facilities, including sexual predator housing, within the South King County or North Pierce County area. The City supports legislation to continue the inspection by WUTC employees of hazardous materials transported by rail. Social and Human Services 1. The City supports legislation that would maintain support for human service programs including those that may be delegated to the State from the federal government. Such Resolution No. 3576 Exhibit "A" Page 5 legislative action should ensure proper funding support and appropriate local government input into development of dispersal regulations or procedures. The City supports efforts by the State to provide incentives to cities and school districts to work collaboratively in addressing local youth issues. Gambling, Liquor Control and Adult Entertainment The City supports legislation to require the State Liquor Control Board to support a community's ability to manage the expansion, creation or reestablishment of liquor retail establishments when licensing such enterprises would contribute to crime or blighting influences. The City supports giving local governments the authority to regulate the siting of gambling establishments and enact moratoriums on the acceptance of applications for gambling establishments. The City also supports legislation allowing the State Gambling Commission to limit the number of licenses it approves for a given geographic area. The City supports authorizing local governments to minimize the negative secondary impacts of adult establishments on their communities by adopting strict requirements for location and hours of operation. Water Resources 1. The City remains committed, with the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) and Washington Water Utilities Council (WWUC), in supporting key principles to successful new water resources legislation. These guidelines include: 1) preservation of flexibility regarding the definition of "place of use" for water rights; 2) reasonable, locally sensitive, and scientifically-based conditions on water use that do not hamper a utility's ability to serve in its service area; 3) preservation of "perfected" and "inchoate" water rights for water systems planning in accordance with GMA--the City needs at least a 50-year timeframe allowed to perfect its inchoate rights without threat of loss; 4) application of outcome-based conservation measures uniformly to all water resources, and not just to domestic water purveyors; 5) funding assistance for new large infrastructure projects required by Federal legislation (treatment facilities); storage projects, including Aquifer Storage and Recharge (ASR) projects, to enhance in stream flows; and replacement of aging infrastructure; 6) requiring fluoridation only on approval by the municipal governing board or vote of users. Resolution No. 3576 Exhibit "A" Page 6 Environment The State has taken a leadership role in developing strategies to save the region's salmon runs and respond to the Endangered Species Act listing. The City of Auburn supports these efforts and would like to be a part of the solution under the following conditions: Reliable soumes of additional funding must be available to cities and other agencies that participate in habitat restoration projects. Local funding is committed to maintaining essential public health, safety and direct citizen services. State and federal requirements to protect environment must be accompanied by funding necessary fbr their implementation. No community should be expected to bear the burden of ESA because of location, geography or land use. No City should be asked to remedy the results of historic practices or habitat destruction outside their jurisdictions. In the State's plan the State assumes almost total responsibility for management of issues related to harvest, Tribal concerns, dams and forest practices. Local government is limited to input regarding habitat restoration through WRIA planning. Aggrieved parties can file lawsuits against local government for perceived failures or violations of ESA. It is possible that salmon restoration may fail or prove inadequate even if the cities are able to optimize fish habitat within the geographical limits of their jurisdictions. The State's process may permit cities to be sued for failure essentially beyond local control. The State must assume liability for ESA issues arising from harvest, Tribal concerns and practices and dam operations and forest practices. Failure to do so could result in a breakdown of the State's ESA process and force each city and county to confront the concern on its own. The City requests the State work with local municipalities, King County and the Army Corps of Engineers to restore Mill Creek and find solutions to the flooding of portion of West Auburn near SR 167 at Main Street caused by incursions on the City of Auburn by outside influents. The City supports full funding for the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP). The City of Auburn should support funding at the $55 million dollar level. In 2002 the legislature funded $45 million. Governor Locke's budget shows $30 million. These funds are vital to our community, as money is needed for trails, a community center, park improvements and acquisitions. Provision of Affordable Housing 1. Basic housing is being priced out of the range of families of modest means. The State needs to recognize that market fomes such as material, labor and land costs are for the Resolution No. 3576 Exhibit "A" Page 7 most part responsible for escalating home prices. Over the past decade, zoning ordinance provisions that have resulted in some additional cost have been modified or deleted, and time required to obtain required permits has been reduced. Permits and impact fees do elevate home prices to a degree, but are still a small fraction of the total cost and do not reflect full recovery of the indirect costs of development. Real progress in meeting the housing needs of families can be accomplished only through commitment of substantial State and Federal funding in addition to such programs as first time buyers, builder incentives, loan guarantees and similar programs. Land values and other fomes operating within the Puget Sound housing market are creating large areas of low-income housing. The result of such practice is to permit segregation based upon wealth or ability to pay. Credit should be given to communities that have accepted low-income housing in the past, and every effort should be made to effect a more representative distribution of future affordable housing stocks throughout the Puget Sound region. Legislation regarding affordable housing density requirements should be modified to reflect changing lifestyles to include condominium zoning as a substitute for high-density apartments. The City of Auburn opposes efforts to reduce the twenty-year GMA housing targets into more limited time intervals and punish cities not meeting targets. Additional reporting requirements, if enacted, should be accompanied by requisite funding. The City will oppose legislation that pre-empts local zoning authority by attempting to mandate at the State level the inclusion of manufactured housing in single-family zones. Such controls must be at the local level and left to individual communities that best understand the community's needs and issues. Growth Management Act The City endorses the Growth Management Act (GMA) as an essential and responsible planning tool. The Legislature should continue to monitor the efforts of local agencies and address necessary refinements to the Act in an effective and timely manner. Such refinements may include clarification of the role and responsibilities of the State in developing policies and capital plans in conformance with adopted comprehensive plans, assuring the adequacy of funding sources to provide adequate infrastructure, and providing urban services, housing and employment opportunities within urban growth areas. 2. The City supports legislation preserving flexibility in meeting GMA requirements. Growth Management Hearings Boards should defer to local decisions, policies and processes implementing the goals of the GMA when these actions are otherwise consistent with the GMA. Resolution No. 3576 Exhibit "A" Page 8 Thc City supports legislation that further defines, coordinates, simplifies and streamlines land use decisions and permitting under the GMA as well as under the State Environmental Policy Act and the Shorelines Management Act. Such legislation should balance the benefits of statewide uniformity with the need for local communities to govern themselves. The City supports the State Building Code Council's jurisdiction over building codes and other State codes, and the Council's request for legislation adopting the International Building Residential, Fire and Mechanical Codes in Washington, as approved by the Governor. The City supports continued efforts to integrate shoreline management planning into local comprehensive plans and eliminate the requirement for separate shoreline master plans. Separate State-level shoreline use permits should be eliminated in favor of permits issued by cities in accordance with approved plans. The City supports the participation of local governments in policy discussions relating to restructuring of energy providing entities, protecting authority of municipal utilities and other matters concerning possible deregulation of the electrical energy industry. The City supports practical solutions to private property disputes that address specific concerns of property owners, including regulatory reform if necessary. These solutions should not alter the Constitutional definition of takings, place an undue financial burden on taxpayers, or diminish local governments' ability to protect the public health, safety and welfare of their communities. Resolution No. 3576 Exhibit "A" Page 9