8/1/2023: Yakima County Commissioner Meeting
Rundown
Who? – The Yakima Board of County Commissioners (BOCC)
What? – Weekly agenda meeting.
Where? – The BOCC Conference Room, #33B @ 128 N. 2nd Street Yakima WA 98901. All meetings are also conducted on Zoom. Video footage is available on Y-PAC and the BOCC webpage.
When? – August 1st, 2023 @ 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Roll Call
Yakima Board of County Commissioners
- LaDon Linde (Chair, D3)
- Amanda McKinney (D1)
- Kyle Curtis (D2)
Secondary Staff
- Don Anderson (Legal Counsel)
- Julie Lawrence (Clerk of the Board)
- Erin Franklin (Deputy Clerk of the Board)
Report
The main meeting topics included the YVCOG Local Crime Lab in Zillah, and changes to the Yakima County Code (YCC) regarding short-term rentals and accessory dwelling units (ADU's). ARPA dollars will be funding improvements to the Buena wastewater treatment facility. Yakima Neighborhood Health scored almost $1.1 million in contracts. A member of the Flood Control and Water Resources division retired.
Active Public Concerns
- Housing Crisis | Short-Term Rentals – Two public hearings were held to consider editing Yakima County Code (YCC) after a legal review from Commissioners and the County Planning Division. The first hearing was for YCC 19.18.420 regarding short-term rentals.
Currently, most short-term rentals are classified as a Type 2 review, which requires a $1,925 fee, opportunity for a public hearing, and may even be referred to a Hearing Examiner. To unburden the public, it was recommended to reclassify short-term rentals to a Type 1 review. This lowers the fee to $425 and omits public hearing.
- Housing Crisis | Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) – The second hearing was for YCC 19.18.020 regarding Accessory Dwelling Units.
Revisions to the code are intended to streamline and offer more housing options to the public. The edits being considered include: water & sewer connection requirements, possible subdivision of the ADU, unit size/square footage limits, owner occupation requirements, the definition of attached and detached, visually secondary requirements, level of review, and parking standards.
At least 5 members of the public spoke, including Jordan Mitchell from AirB&B who thanked the Board for their careful deliberation and spoke in favor of these changes.
- Crime | The YVCOG Local Crime Lab (Zillah) – Sheriff Robert Udell gave a brief presentation on the status of the Local Crime Lab. There was a ribbon cutting for the facility on August 3rd. The Sheriff's Office branch in Zillah is renting out 585 square feet of space for the new Local Crime Lab. Rent will be about $7,605 annually ($634/month) from YVCOG to the County – dirt cheap, you can't find shack of an apartment for that price.
Other Matters
- The Retirement of Joel Freudenthal – Joel worked for 22 years in the county's Flood Control and Water Resources sector. He shared that he has greatly enjoyed watching local government's involvement grow into more meaningful and effective roles throughout various projects. This growth has afforded people the ability to better handle issues as they arise. Joel's retirement certificate was presented by David Haws.
- Human Services – A large amount of items were passed in the Consent Agenda regarding shelters and homelessness. The majority of these agreements were for Yakima Neighborhood Health Services.
- Buena Wastewater Treatment Improvements – An improvement project is moving forward with the Buena Wastewater Treatment facility. The project is funded via grants, loans, money from the Department of Ecology. Some of the funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which is good to hear. ARPA dollars were originally for improving infrastructure. The project is anticipated to take 18 months once started.
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