Medical Lake’s Planning Commission used their regular meeting in February to learn all they could about the city’s residential zoning codes in preparation for the upcoming, Growth Management Act-required comprehensive plan review.
Most of the session featured a question and answer session, with commissioners quizzing City Administrator Doug Ross on aspects of the codes that govern single-family, duplex and multifamily residential in the city. A couple of questions from Commissioner Tammy Roberson centered on showing consistency for which entity had decision making powers over development – the commission, the City Council or an outside hearing examiner.
Ross said the city’s insurer, Washington Cities Insurance Authority, is urging pool members to transition away from decisions made by elected officials and towards those through a hearing-examiner system, even for developments such as subdivisions. WCIA has over 125 members and $118 million in assets, according to its website, and Ross said the feeling is because part of the job of elected officials is to talk with residents about issues, they could be influenced about aspects of a development more individual in nature rather than how they would affect the city as a whole.
Ross also gave the commission a short tutorial about nonconforming uses, which may have been legal when they were built but because of development changes now conflict with the zone around them. He said these uses are still legal until they are, for whatever reason, demolished, in which case the owner has 12 months to erect an identical structure or loss the nonconforming status.
Commission Chair Mark Hudson questioned Ross about references in the code that construction follow standards and requirements laid out in the International Building Code. Hudson asked what the IBC was and who made the decisions, expressing concerns that jurisdictions in the United States were having to conform to codes and regulations generated by other countries without U.S. input.
Ross said the state went to the IBC from the former Uniform Building Code about 5-6 years ago. IBC is likely an amalgamation of several boards, but develops standards of construction that are tailored to various regions of the country.
“So it’s still a U.S. board?” Hudson asked.
“Absolutely,” Ross replied.
Ross explained to the commission that as a code city, Medical Lake can develop its own standards. But when it comes to how those codes interact with similar state requirements, the city can only make its codes more restrictive, not less.
Ross said he didn’t expect a lot of changes to emerge from the city’s comprehensive plan review process. Growth in Medical Lake is static, a situation that wouldn’t require a lot of code changes.
Ross said some businesses might disagree, but the city is at a spot where it’s “just right.”
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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