Chapter 17.78
HOMELESS TEMPORARY ENCAMPMENTS
Sections:
17.78.020 Frequency and duration of temporary use.
17.78.040 Indemnification and hold harmless requirements.
17.78.010 Standards.
A. No part of a homeless temporary encampment shall encroach on setbacks between properties as defined in Chapter 17.20, nor into a critical area or critical area buffer as defined in Chapters 17.52 through 17.52D; any tent, canopy or membrane structure, as defined in Chapter 24 of the International Fire Code, must be located at least twenty feet away from any building, parked vehicle, internal combustion engines or other tent, canopy or membrane structure.
B. A six-foot-high sight-obscuring fence is required around the perimeter of the homeless encampment unless the planning director determines that there is sufficient vegetation, topographic variation, or other site condition such that fencing would not be needed.
C. Exterior lighting must be directed downward and contained within the homeless encampment.
D. The maximum density of homeless encampment occupants is one person per four hundred square feet of parcel area provided the maximum number of occupants within a homeless encampment does not exceed one hundred regardless of the size of the parcel.
E. The minimum parcel size on which an encampment may be located is ten thousand square feet.
F. Required on-site parking for the host site’s permanent use shall not be displaced by the encampment. Required on-site parking for the host site’s permanent use shall not be used to meet the encampment’s parking requirements.
G. A transportation and parking plan is required which shall include provisions for transit services and a minimum of five parking stalls dedicated exclusively for encampment use.
H. The homeless encampment shall be located within one-half mile of transit service.
I. No children under eighteen are allowed in the homeless encampment. If a child under the age of eighteen attempts to stay at the homeless encampment, the managing agency shall immediately contact Child Protective Services.
J. The managing agency shall provide and enforce a written code of conduct, which not only provides for the health, safety and welfare of the homeless encampment residents, but also mitigates impacts to neighbors and the community. Said code shall be incorporated into the conditions of approval.
K. The managing agency and homeless encampment residents shall ensure compliance with applicable Washington State statutes and regulations and the Mukilteo Municipal Code concerning, but not limited to, drinking water connections, solid waste disposal, human waste, electrical systems, and fire-resistant materials.
L. The managing agency shall appoint a member to serve as a point of contact for the Mukilteo police department. At least one member must be on duty at all times. The names of the on-duty members shall be posted daily.
M. The managing agency shall permit inspections of the homeless encampment by the Snohomish health district, and timely implement all directives of the health district within the time period specified by the health district.
N. The managing agency shall take all reasonable and legal steps to obtain verifiable identification from prospective encampment residents and use the identification to obtain sex offender and warrant checks from the appropriate agency. All of the Mukilteo police department’s requirements with respect to identified sex offenders or prospective residents with warrants shall be met.
O. The managing agency shall immediately contact the Mukilteo police department if someone is rejected or ejected from the homeless encampment where the reason for rejection or ejection is an active warrant or a match on a sex offender check, or if, in the opinion of the on-duty member or on-duty security staff, the rejected/ejected person is a potential threat to the community.
P. The managing agency shall permit inspections of the homeless encampment by the city’s code compliance officers, building inspector, permit services manager, fire marshal or their designee. The managing agency shall implement all directives resulting from such inspections within forty-eight hours of notice.
Q. Consistent with the Mukilteo building code, the managing agency may not allow in the encampment, without first obtaining a building permit, any structure, other than tents, canopies or other membrane structures, that is greater than one hundred twenty square feet or provides shelter for more than nine persons.
R. The managing agency and homeless encampment residents shall cooperate with other providers of shelters and services for homeless persons within the city and shall make inquiry with these providers regarding the availability of existing resources. (Ord. 1197 § 3 (part), 2008)
17.78.020 Frequency and duration of temporary use.
A. The city may not grant a temporary use permit for the same use at the same location more frequently than once in every three-hundred-sixty-five-day period.
B. Homeless encampments may be approved for a period not to exceed ninety days for every three-hundred-sixty-five-day period.
C. The temporary use permit shall specify a date by which the use shall be terminated. (Ord. 1197 § 3 (part), 2008)
17.78.030 Notice requirements, review process and appeal procedure for homeless encampment applications.
A. Notice Requirements for Homeless Encampments.
1. Community Informational Meeting. A minimum of forty-five calendar days prior to the anticipated start of the encampment, the sponsor and/or managing agency shall submit an application for a temporary use permit to the planning and community development department and shall participate in a community information meeting organized by the city. The city shall provide mailed notice of the community informational meeting at least ten calendar days before the meeting to the following: (a) owners of property within three hundred feet of the subject property; and (b) any neighborhood organization in the vicinity of the homeless encampment site whose contact information is known to or made known to the managing agency. The purpose of the meeting is to provide the surrounding community with information regarding the proposed duration and operation of the homeless encampment, conditions that will likely be placed on the operation of the homeless encampment, requirements of the written code of conduct, and to answer questions regarding the homeless encampment. The community informational meeting is not intended to be part of the official record of the application.
2. Application and Notice of Application for Homeless Encampment. The completed application shall contain at a minimum contact information for the applicant and detailed information regarding how the applicant will meet the requirements of this chapter, the temporary use permit and the International Fire Code. The managing agency of any encampment that includes a tent or membrane structure in excess of two hundred square feet, and canopies in excess of four hundred square feet, as defined by the International Fire Code, shall also obtain a permit and approval for the tent, canopy or membrane structure from the fire marshal.
A notice of application and copy of the application for homeless encampment shall be provided at least fourteen days prior to the decision regarding the issuance of the permit. The purpose of the notice is to inform the surrounding community of the application. Due to the administrative and temporary nature of the permit, the comment period shall begin upon mailing of the notice of application and shall end after seven days. The notice shall contain, at a minimum, the date of application, project location, proposed duration and operation of the homeless encampment, number of residents for the encampment, conditions that will likely be placed on the operation of the homeless encampment, requirements of the written code of conduct, and instructions on submitting comments.
The form of the notice and the application shall be provided by the planning department upon request by the sponsor and/or managing agency. The planning department shall distribute this notice as follows:
a. A copy of the notice and application, or summary thereof, will be published in the official newspaper of the city at least fourteen calendar days prior to the decision regarding the issuance of the permit.
b. A copy of the notice and application, or summary thereof, will be mailed to (i) owners of all property within three hundred feet of any boundary of the subject property; and (ii) any neighborhood organization in the vicinity of the homeless encampment site whose contact information is known to or made known to the managing agency, at least fourteen calendar days prior to the decision regarding the issuance of the permit.
3. Review Process. After review of the application for homeless encampment, the planning and community development director shall make a decision regarding the issuance of a temporary use permit. In addition to standards set forth in Section 17.78.010, the planning and community development director shall determine whether the following are met:
a. The proposed use will not be materially detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to the property or improvements in the vicinity of the proposed encampment;
b. The proposed use shall be in keeping with the goals and policies of the comprehensive plan;
c. All measures have been taken to minimize the possible adverse impacts which the proposed encampment may have on the areas in which it is located.
Because each homeless encampment has unique characteristics, including but not limited to size, duration, uses, number of occupants and composition, the planning and community development director shall have the authority to impose conditions to the issuance of the permit for homeless encampments to mitigate effects on the community upon finding that said effects are materially detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to the property or improvements in the vicinity. Conditions, if imposed, must relate to findings by the planning and community development director, and must be calculated to minimize nuisance-generating features in matters of noise, waste, air quality, unsightliness, traffic, physical hazards and other similar matters that the temporary homeless encampment may have on the area in which it is located. In cases where the application for homeless encampment does not meet the requirements and standards of this chapter or adequate mitigation may not be feasible or possible, the planning and community development director shall deny issuance of a temporary encampment permit.
4. Notice of Decision Regarding Issuance of Permit and Appeal Procedure. If issued, the permit for the temporary tent encampment shall be issued jointly to the sponsor and managing agency. A notice of decision stating whether the permit is granted or denied, along with information regarding the procedure for appeal of the decision, shall be mailed as required for the notice of application within three business days after the decision to applicant and parties of record, posted on the site and at designated posting locations and published in the official newspaper of the city. The information regarding the procedure for appeal shall state at a minimum as follows:
a. The deadline for filing a notice of appeal of the planning director’s decision is seven calendar days from the date the decision is mailed; and
b. The notice of appeal of the planning director’s decision shall be filed with the city clerk with the appropriate appeal fee.
The planning director’s decision may be appealed to the city’s hearing examiner, who shall have jurisdiction to hear this matter as a Type II hearing under Chapter 17.13 and who will issue the final decision of the city after a public hearing. The notice of the time and place of the public hearing shall be provided to the applicant and to any person who, prior to the rendering of the decision on the permit, made a written request for notice or submitted substantial comments on the application for the permit.
The hearing examiner shall issue findings within ten business days of the conclusion of the hearing. Within three business days of rendering the written decision, copies shall be mailed to applicant and all who have requested notice by signing a register provided at the hearing. The hearing examiner’s decision shall constitute the city’s final decision. Any appeal of the city’s final decision may only be made to Snohomish County superior court in accordance with Chapter 36.70C RCW. The burden of proof on appeal shall be on appellant.
B. Additional Requirements for Applications Requesting Modification of Standards for Homeless Encampments. The applicant may apply for a temporary use permit that applies standards that differ from those in Section 17.78.010 only where, in addition to satisfying the requirements in subsection A of this section, the applicant submits a description of the standard to be modified and demonstrates how the modification would result in a safe homeless encampment under the specific circumstances of the application. Such requests shall be reviewed by the city’s hearing examiner as a Type II hearing under Chapter 17.13. The hearing examiner shall make a decision regarding the issuance of a temporary use permit and modification of standards. The notice of the time and place of the public hearing shall be to the applicant and to any person who, prior to the rendering of the decision on the permit, made a written request for notice or submitted substantial comments on the application for the permit.
In considering whether the modification should be granted, the hearing examiner shall first consider the effects on the health and safety of residents and the community. The hearing examiner shall issue findings within ten business days of the conclusion of the hearing. Within three business days of rendering the written decision, copies shall be mailed to applicant and all who have requested notice by signing a register provided at the hearing. The hearing examiner’s decision shall constitute the city’s final decision. Any appeal of the city’s final decision may only be made to Snohomish County Superior Court in accordance with Chapter 36.70C RCW. The burden of proof shall be on applicant. (Ord. 1197 § 3 (part), 2008)
17.78.040 Indemnification and hold harmless requirements.
The sponsor and/or managing agency shall provide a written indemnification and hold harmless agreement stating the city is not responsible for the actions, inactions or omissions of the sponsor and managing agency or of any resident of the homeless temporary encampment. The sponsor and managing agency shall indemnify, defend and hold the city, its city councilmembers, employees, agents and volunteers, past and present, harmless from all losses, actions, liabilities for and against any liability for damages to persons or property as the result of: (a) the actions, inactions or omissions of the sponsor and managing agency or of any encampment resident; and (b) the city’s lawful entry into the homeless temporary encampment to enforce this chapter. (Ord. 1197 § 3 (part), 2008)
17.78.050 Enforcement.
Violations of this chapter are punishable under Title 18 and as otherwise provided by law, and are subject to criminal prosecution, injunctive and other forms of relief which the city may seek. (Ord. 1197 § 3 (part), 2008)
17.78.060 Conflict.
In the event that there is a conflict between the provisions of this chapter and any other city ordinance, the provisions of this chapter shall control. (Ord. 1197 § 3 (part), 2008)