New building code for Warden

WARDEN — Warden is holding a public hearing on a new zoning code today at the city council meeting.

The city is revising its zoning code as part of an update to its comprehensive plan. The former plan, which expired last year, covers all aspects of the city from parks to utilities. The plan as well as a critical areas ordinance were sent to the state Department of Commerce for review.

The zoning code is the last of the documents sent to the department as part of the process.

While the revised code is larger than the city’s present code, Darryl Piercy, the consultant creating the code, said much of the document was the same as the city’s original zoning ordinances.

“The process has a lot more explanation than the code does today. So the volume is in part to try to create a lot more clarity by providing more detail,” he said.

The more detailed procedures help protect the city from potential lawsuits and help developers understand what the city expects, Piercy said.

Several councilmembers brought up concerns about references to livestock being allowed in the city limits.

“We don’t want chickens. We don’t want cattle,” City Administrator Mike Thompson said.

Piercy asked if the city wanted to allow livestock in transition areas where the city annexes land. Thompson said the city didn’t.

The councilmembers also asked about the two additional residential zones added to the code. Piercy explained one of them was intended as a transition zone for people who are annexed into the city.

“A lot of jurisdictions use a lower density zone, so that when somebody comes into the city they’re not instantly non-conforming,” he said. “They can still come into the city and then as they develop they might come to the council for a zone change.”

Since the council doesn’t want livestock in city limits, Piercy said the transition zone isn’t necessary. The other new zone serves areas with high density development, such as senior apartments. 

Councilmember Tony Massa asked for some kind of process to allow people to build on lots smaller than 6,000 square feet, saying there are several of them in the area.

“We don’t want to condemn them to be vacant lots forever,” he said. “(We want) some kind of process that at least we can go through an exception and say, ‘You’re right. You can’t build on this lot as it is.’ Because I can think of at least three in town that are for sale right now that are smaller  than that.”

Piercy said the city should develop an ordinance to allow deviations from the code. When it does it will be able to deal with the issue one lot at a time.

“In Soap Lake, we had a difficulty of dealing with a whole bunch of 25-foot-wide lots,” he said. “So that’s what we established the deviation process for. It happens that most of those don’t have any services yet. So part of the deviation process was, ‘Well you can develop those, but you need to bring in at least some level of city services.”

City Attorney Katherine Kenison also suggested adding a time limit for people living in an RV on their property.

Thompson said the existing ordinance allows people five days, unless they are rebuilding after their house burned down if they have a building permit.

Councilmember Mike Leavitt said he was concerned about the limit, adding he supports people being able to do what they want with their property.

“If they’re staying in it in the day, or sleeping in it at night because there is no room in the house … I understand you can’t do that, but I want to know why,” he said.

City Clerk and Treasurer Kris Shuler called the distinction a fine line, saying there are residences where there are five people living in an RV on the property.

“They are all over town, so we’re trying to stop it because what ends up (happening) is it just gets worse and worse and you’ve got the neighbors complaining,” she said. “It’s not a traditional living unit.”

Shuler pointed to RVs where people built a structure around it, including one where a resident’s child was living in it. She said it still looks bad even after the person moved out.

“You still got the plywood piled up around it. The air conditioner hanging out the window,” she said. “That’s what it ends up being. It ends up being a little RV and then it ends up being a trailer with all of this plywood around it.”

Leavitt asked whether they should ban all RVs in the city.

Mayor Roldan Capetillo said the city didn’t need to, adding people can own one and keep it on their property, but they can’t live in it.

Councilmember Tony Massa said he understood Leavitt’s concerns, adding he supported people’s right to do what they want with their property.

“But let’s say you want to sell your house and your neighbors moved in three travel trailers, plus his house and has got 40 people living in the lot next door to you and you can’t sell your house,” he said.

Kenison also said it’s a safety issue, pointing to a recent fire in Mattawa where a mother and two small children were found dead after their single-wide mobile home caught fire.

Copies of the unrevised code are available at Warden City Hall, located at 201 S. Ash St.