CHENEY – Planning Commission members weighed in on several proposed city ordinance changes at their February meeting Monday night — the first dealing with occupancy of single-family residences.
The issue of occupancy — or more accurately over-occupancy — has generated the most repeat complaints from not only Cheney residents but also commission members and City Council. These stem mostly from the number of unrelated individuals living in a home in what is referred to as the “functional family” in city codes and how that definition impacts such things as parking and noise complaints in neighborhoods and ultimately whether or not the codes on the number of unrelated persons allowed is enforceable.
The proposed changes remove most of the current language in the occupancy codes. The city is instead requiring adherence to federal and state fair housing laws while adopting the International Property Maintenance Code standards for minimum per person area requirements “for bedrooms as well as overcrowding.”
Specifically the city is looking at sections 404.4 and 404.5 in the international code’s chapter four. The first requires every living room to contain not less than 120 square feet and every bedroom not less than 70 square feet with every room occupied by more than one person not being less than 50 square feet of floor space for each occupant.
The second section, 404.5, addresses minimum area requirements where allowing occupancy below the minimum would be considered overcrowding.
The changes also make failure to follow the occupancy codes punishable by penalties already established by the city.
In presenting the commission an overview of the proposed changes, senior planner Brett Lucas said they were looking at something to deal with the occupancy issue that was not only “new, different” but also not cost prohibitive and “reasonably enforceable.”
Most of the commissioners seemed to agree with Commissioner Dan Turbeville’s assessment that what was being proposed was a good start. Turbeville pointed out the ordinance’s provision that it would go into effect 30 days after passage — which falls to the City Council to enact — and the fact the city does not currently have a code enforcement officer.
“We will be hiring one shortly,” City Administrator Mark Schuller said.
Commission Chairman Rick Mount asked about penalties for not complying with the ordinance, wondering if “we are putting any teeth into this or is this a slap on the hand.”
Public Works Director Todd Ableman pointed to the existing chapter on penalties cited in the ordinance. Under those, each day the violation is not remedied is considered a new violation, with the first violation carrying a $250 fine, the second separate violation $500 and a third separate violation $1,000.
Mount asked where these penalties went, and Ableman replied he assumed they were applied against the landlord.
“And you know what happens when we assumed,” Mount said. Lucas added that language could be inserted into the ordinance specifying the penalties be directed at the landlord.
Commissioner David Early noted the fair housing requirements applied only to residents of Cheney, and that a landlord who doesn’t live in the city but owns property in Cheney could claim those provisions do not apply since they were not a resident. Mount added this was a “major loophole” that needed fixing, and city staff said they would work up language to address it.
Finally, Schuller alerted the commission to Senate Bill 6302, which is currently under consideration in this legislative session. The bill, if passed, would “prohibit local governments from limiting the number of unrelated persons occupying a home” to address a lack of affordable housing within the state.
Schuller said the bill is driven by issues in Western Washington, and that cities in Eastern Washington — especially college communities such as Cheney — have different issues.
“Local jurisdictions should be able to regulate residential occupancy as they see fit,” Schuller said.
The commission also received an overview of changes to city codes on landscaping.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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