Monday, June 1, 2013 Shoreline City Council Meeting

Kristie Anderson,City Code Enforcement Officer; Katie Larsen,
Sergeant Shoreline Police Department; Rachael Markle, Director Planning
and Community Development; Kevin Fagerstrom, Code Enforcement
Officer, City of Everett - testify in front of the Shoreline City Council

Monday July 1, 2013 Shoreline City Council Meeting

By Devon Vose Rickabaugh

Under discussion at the City Council Meeting were  reasons to adopt a Nuisance Property Management Code. Several members of the public spoke about noise and unsafe conditions. Susan Westphal living across from a problem house in the 1300 block of North 169th Street complained that until recently, over three years, people were coming and going at all hours of the day and night from the house. She said the neighborhood felt like it was under siege and her daughter wouldn’t let her granddaughter play in her yard. She hoped a nuisance code would help. Her neighbor Susan Armstrong said they care about the neighborhood and the illegal activity is taking its toll.

Sergeant Katie Larsen of the Shoreline Police Department said there had been 22 calls for service at that house since 2011. And that every time the Tactical Team (SWAT Team) is called to a residence or business it costs the city $22,000. When the team goes in they have found guns, black tar heroin and stolen articles.

Arrests have been made but in situations like this residents have been out on the street and back in the house in a matter of hours. 

She said the place is cleaned up for awhile but then the cycle starts again because the owner refused to cooperate with police. Larsen said the house is empty now and the person responsible for it is cooperating with police. Larsen said houses like this are rare but they can have a detrimental  effect on a neighborhood. She would like a chronic nuisance ordinance that would hold property owners responsible for violations when such activities repeatedly occur on their property. These properties are characterized as presenting significant health, safety and welfare concerns. A chronic nuisance ordinance is a tool that several area jurisdictions have employed to effectively eliminate repeat violation.

Kevin Fagerstrom, Code Enforcement Supervisor for Everett, said their chronic nuisance ordinance has been a great success. They monitor problem properties before they become a major concern and enlist owner and tenant in problem solving process. So far Everett has  not had to file a criminal case against any of these properties. The property owners and perpetrators have entered into contract with the city and followed through.

The Council directed city staff to come back with an ordinance. Deputy Mayor Eggen said any ordinance should be effective to ensure that neighbors don’t have to live in fear for years before the city has the tools to take care of it.

The Council adopted Regional Green Development Code Amendments to include provisions for electric vehicle infrastructure and bicycle parking, setback flexibility for rainwater catchment and exterior insulation, and light pollution and light trespass regulations.

The Council held two Executive Sessions. One to cover personnel issues and the other to discuss potential litigation.

Corrected address of house 07-05-2013 11:11am