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City Council Planning, Development & Environment Committee Auto captions

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

6:30 PM · 57m 17s · Council Chambers, 135 E. Sunset Way, Issaquah WA
Topic tracked across meetings:
Contractor Code of Conduct for Private Development Projects AB 8537 2/3
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
3a
Minutes of December 6, 2022
packet pp.5–6
Staff report:
APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) 12-06-22 City Council Planning, Development & Page (0000) Environment Committee Minutes CITY OF ISSAQUAH City Council Planning, Development & Environment Committee 6:30 PM Council Chambers, 135 E. December 6, 2022 MINUTES Sunset Way, Issaquah WA
4. AGENDA ITEMS
4a
Contractor Code of Conduct ID 1092
60 min · James Gray, Building Official · packet pp.7–32
Staff report:
The Administration recommends the Draft Construction Contractor Code of Conduct for private construction projects (
0:09 welcome everyone I councilmember hunt
0:12 called the January 4th 2023 Planning
0:14 Development and environment committee to
0:16 order
0:18 as a reminder we continue to have a
0:20 remote aspect to our meetings both staff
0:22 and members of the public may be
0:23 participating in tonight's meeting
0:24 remotely by a WebEx for those attending
0:27 remotely you may notice a slightly
0:29 different look to the virtual meeting
0:30 software tonight is our first meeting
0:32 using a new version of WebEx called
0:35 WebEx webinar please send the host a
0:38 chat message or email the clerk's office
0:40 at clerks at
0:41 issaquah.gov if you have any questions
0:43 or issues
0:45 I am here tonight with council president
0:48 Walsh and council member Ray who is a
0:50 member of this committee is excused this
0:51 evening
0:52 there are multiple public comment
0:54 opportunities at tonight's meeting there
0:55 will be a general public comment
0:57 opportunity at the beginning of the
0:58 meeting or you can make comments after
1:00 the presentation and committee question
1:02 answer period on tonight's one agenda
1:04 item
1:05 so we will start with public comments
1:08 members of the public May address
1:09 council at this time in person or
1:10 virtually and those who are signed up in
1:12 advance to make comments will be called
1:14 on first I will check in with there are
1:17 I will note that there are no members of
1:18 the public in council chambers this
1:20 evening and I will check with the city
1:22 clerk if there are any members of the
1:24 public
1:24 in in the meeting virtually before I
1:28 read the rest of the instructions
1:30 chair hunt no one has signed up
1:33 previously and no one is online uh
1:35 waiting to speak
1:39 we will go past public comments at this
1:43 time I will check in again after our
1:45 first
1:46 item
1:50 and
1:51 we have meeting minutes for the December
1:53 6 meeting I didn't have any edits do you
1:57 have any edits
1:59 you got me to move the approval of the
2:01 minutes
2:02 okay
2:04 um all those in favor say aye aye aye
2:06 all right those are approved and then we
2:08 will go to our one item for this evening
2:10 which is the contractor code of conduct
2:12 and I will hand it over to
2:14 um is IT director Dolly wall
2:20 good evening council members uh James
2:22 Gray is here to do the presentation so
2:25 he's attending virtually
2:27 okay great thank you welcome James
2:30 thank you and and uh thank you for
2:31 having me councilmember
2:34 are we ready
2:36 yes please go ahead
2:39 so we're here to present the
2:40 contractor's code of conduct this
2:42 evening again uh next slide please
2:46 so our our purpose is to to provide the
2:50 committee some more information about
2:51 our existing process for informing
2:54 contractors about the restrictions and
2:56 rules that they need to follow uh for
2:59 doing work in the City of Issaquah
3:01 next slide
3:04 we are requesting input from the
3:07 committee on our existing
3:09 pre-construction requirements checklist
3:13 if we could hold for just a moment
3:17 um that for the clerk I I'm not sure we
3:20 have our current uh presentation up
3:25 Chris if we could check that please
3:27 one moment
3:31 apologies
3:42 councilmember I wouldn't want to bore
3:43 you with the same presentation we gave
3:45 you last time no worries
4:11 I'm just
4:13 I'm getting there one
4:40 Chris I can share if that would be
4:42 helpful
4:43 if you have it up go ahead
4:45 it's not in pretty presentation form but
4:49 this should work
5:01 okay is everyone able to see my screen
5:04 we are not unfortunately
5:16 okay how about now
5:18 yes we can see it we can also see the um
5:22 the frame around it
5:25 see that yeah a um
5:27 okay let me maybe I can keep rolling if
5:30 I could council member until uh see if
5:31 Chris can
5:33 get the uh the presentation up uh so our
5:36 our purpose is sharing with the
5:37 committee our feedback that we've
5:39 received on the draft contractor code of
5:42 conduct uh we had a public meeting and
5:45 we're specifically requesting input from
5:47 the committee on that draft so we have
5:50 three tiers of projects that we are that
5:53 we are proposing to include for the
5:57 notification purposes their tier ones
5:59 two and three and I'll talk about those
6:01 in a little bit we want to find out if
6:03 those are acceptable and if there are
6:04 any additional items that the committee
6:07 thinks should be included
6:10 so the proposed notice requirements are
6:13 what we're talking about again for tier
6:14 one two and three and if we should have
6:17 any additional items based on the
6:20 committee's input that they've received
6:22 from the public or by email
6:25 so we had a public meeting
6:28 um in December a second public meeting
6:30 in December and we asked some questions
6:33 that that are up on the screen about
6:35 their Public's issues with construction
6:38 notice or format for signage about types
6:41 of projects and what additional concerns
6:45 that needed to be addressed
6:49 so we got quite a bit of feedback both
6:51 email and in person from the meeting and
6:53 by phone calls and a few things that
6:56 that popped up were primarily about
6:59 notification about regular notices of
7:02 meetings and including uh including how
7:05 many people need to be included in the
7:08 notification for a specific project
7:11 there was an emphasis on the lack of
7:13 response or action from the city on
7:15 certain types of Transportation projects
7:18 um inconsistent contractor response to
7:20 safety issues was another one we did
7:23 hear again about lack of response from
7:25 the city on some issues safety issues
7:29 and concerns that the public had on
7:31 particular on particular projects and
7:34 primarily they need a clear point of
7:36 contact for any any project
7:41 so our high our proposal again and and
7:43 we shared this with the committee last
7:45 time was about keeping the noise levels
7:47 down keeping Issaquah clean well
7:50 maintained and Community informed and
7:52 building in a safe manner which is our
7:54 primary goal
7:58 so we've we've formatted the code in a
8:02 in a in a format that we would like to
8:05 have basically postable for lack of any
8:08 better word on on job sites and we tried
8:11 to include it all in one page so eight
8:12 and a half by fourteen
8:15 and we want the contractor to sign this
8:18 it'll be posted at construction job
8:19 sites and a big piece that we got from
8:22 the public was that they wanted to be
8:24 able to get more information like with a
8:26 QR code
8:27 so our project tiers that we're
8:30 proposing and a largest tier would be
8:33 something a fairly major project like a
8:36 think a Costco or middle school and on
8:39 that type of a project we'd have a QR
8:41 code posted on the code of conduct that
8:44 the contractor would maintain that you
8:45 could scan if you walked up or drove up
8:48 to the site and it would give you
8:50 information on what the schedule is what
8:53 the Project's about
8:54 who the project contact is if there's a
8:57 24 7 contact that type of that type of
9:01 information you could get from that QR
9:03 code
9:04 and the detail Behind these four areas
9:07 is in this contractor code of conduct
9:12 we have a question if you could stay
9:13 here for a month
9:16 so uh I get the concept of what you're
9:22 presenting here I'd like to ask
9:24 what
9:26 what feedback you got about this being
9:29 in a public notice sign like did the
9:33 public feel like that being in the
9:37 public was important because I think
9:40 when we had previously talked about some
9:42 of this it was hey we would get
9:45 contractors to sign this during a
9:47 pre-construction meeting and we need to
9:50 update the signage I wasn't necessarily
9:53 seeing that the contractor code was
9:56 going to be
9:58 signage so was there any conversation
10:00 about that portion
10:03 sure it's a very good question
10:04 councilmember thank you I I I think the
10:09 signage that goes on the site would
10:12 actually be the code so the public could
10:14 see what the code is uh right right on
10:18 the site and it will serve two purposes
10:20 one of them is to remind the contractor
10:24 and all the subcontractors primarily
10:26 people who come and go what the what the
10:29 operating rules are in the City of
10:31 Issaquah and the public can see it but
10:34 then also the signature is there in the
10:36 QR code and the the the the contact
10:39 person's name and phone number is right
10:41 on that is right on that signage
10:43 now the other piece that's important
10:46 about this is this is of course not the
10:48 only signage that's on a site on a large
10:50 job there was probably a big 4x4 plywood
10:55 reader board that's got multiple bits
10:57 pieces of signage that have to do with
11:00 what's going on with the project but we
11:03 wanted to make sure that this code of
11:05 conduct is actually posted publicly on
11:07 the site
11:11 okay thank you
11:13 thank you for the question
11:16 so again this is acknowledged and signed
11:18 by the contractor during the
11:19 pre-construction meeting with the
11:22 community Planning and Development staff
11:26 so a couple of things we talked about
11:28 tier one two and three and we it's in
11:33 the uh it's in the staff report to
11:36 council tier one is a pretty small
11:40 simple project like an internal tenant
11:42 Improvement a single family home
11:43 something small that wouldn't take any
11:45 notification or or notification of
11:48 neighbors of those kind of things tier
11:50 two is medium-sized project that would
11:53 take some kind of public notification
11:56 and it would would have the code of
11:59 conduct signed and information would be
12:01 on the site but we wouldn't necessarily
12:03 require the contractor to keep a
12:05 database of schedule and detailed
12:09 information and QR code that's scannable
12:11 for the public
12:12 and then the tier three projects which
12:14 probably we're thinking is probably
12:17 going to have the most input from the
12:19 public or the most concerned would have
12:22 all of the all of the above plus they
12:25 would include this database that would
12:27 include schedule contact information a
12:30 QR code to scan for the for the public
12:32 to get more information about it
12:35 and that's that's our Direction that's
12:38 the direction that we need from Council
12:40 and the committee is if we need
12:42 additional items or if this these tiers
12:44 are acceptable and what council thinks
12:46 about that
12:47 that proposal
12:52 so after receiving our committee uh
12:56 feedback we're we're proposing to
12:58 proceed with finalizing the draft code
13:01 and bring it back to the committee in
13:03 March for final recommendation before
13:05 proceeding proceeding to the full
13:07 Council for adoption
13:12 and that's my presentation
13:16 great thank you very much uh I had one
13:19 question which was on the tears those
13:23 tears are they used in other parts of
13:26 the code I seem to recall that the 10
13:28 units is used elsewhere in the code for
13:31 example
13:33 so uh good question councilmember thank
13:37 you I don't I don't know that those
13:40 those specific tier breakdowns are used
13:43 elsewhere in the code certainly not with
13:46 regards to this code of conduct
13:48 uh they they are um they are
13:51 specifically for this code of conduct in
13:54 this context
13:56 hey director has additional yeah so uh
13:59 thank you council members um as the part
14:01 of the proposed Title 18 draft those are
14:05 um you know where we've distinguished
14:06 between what what are some super
14:08 thresholds and what are required to be
14:10 lead certified and all that is it the 10
14:13 unit is that threshold
14:18 Yeah question yes yeah go ahead
14:21 um so just getting that you know I know
14:24 this has been a long time coming and
14:27 something that the community has wanted
14:28 but I want to dig into
14:32 some of the whys of the Tier 1 and tier
14:36 2 knot having signage so what happens
14:40 right now if someone experiences a tier
14:46 one or tier two construction project
14:48 near them that's working after hours
14:50 that's loud that has a broken pipe
14:54 how would they handle that now and how
14:57 would they handle that in the future
15:01 it's a good another good question thank
15:03 you councilmember it's the same process
15:06 that we use currently which is they
15:08 would they would call code enforcement
15:10 they would call uh I know Public Works
15:13 has utility
15:15 brake lines there's there's uh there's
15:18 lots there's lots of ways to reach us
15:20 the the thing that you wouldn't have
15:22 like if you were building a house say
15:24 down on Front Street on an infill watt
15:26 we wouldn't require you to have a
15:29 signage that has a 24 7
15:32 um a 24 7 contact right so if you were
15:36 working on a Saturday then we would get
15:39 a complaint that would come into the
15:41 department that we would go out and
15:43 investigate with code enforcement
15:46 the the the break with the the tier two
15:49 or tier three project is that you're
15:52 gonna have someone that you can call and
15:54 talk to for instance the school district
15:56 you could talk to someone at the school
15:57 district who's the project manager on
16:00 some uh some more frequent basis
16:05 okay and in reality most people don't
16:09 know that there's a public works line or
16:12 a code enforcement person that they can
16:14 talk to so they are more likely to call
16:16 the police I would assume and if that's
16:20 the case do we have contact information
16:23 for anybody who's doing construction
16:25 projects that if there are problems then
16:28 the police have a process for routing
16:31 that back to code enforcement so that
16:33 the problem can be taken care of
16:36 and we do we were we were very closely
16:39 with ipd and they know
16:41 they know exactly I I think our our Code
16:44 Enforcement Officers Lori and she uh
16:47 she's on speed dial with police chief so
16:51 um yeah they they communicate pretty
16:53 regularly
16:54 but but I think it's important just to
16:57 be clear that uh the police doesn't have
16:59 a directory of private project contacts
17:02 they'll contact code enforcement they'll
17:03 contact Public Works they have all of
17:06 those the on-call folks for public works
17:08 for example if there's water leak or
17:10 something associated with that but
17:11 they're not they don't have contact for
17:13 individual private developments the
17:14 police
17:16 thank you Wally yeah and the police
17:18 wouldn't be the ones solving the issue
17:21 anyway if it was somebody working on a
17:23 Saturday that they're a Sunday that
17:25 they're not supposed to or any of that
17:27 um it would all go back through a code
17:29 enforcement type okay thanks
17:36 okay
17:38 um I I didn't have any more questions at
17:40 this time so we will go check in with if
17:45 there's any public comment
17:47 have another one okay
17:49 go ahead
17:53 this all is proposed to apply to only
17:57 private projects can you talk through
18:01 why that's the case and whether there
18:05 would be an option or how difficult it
18:07 would be to apply to private building
18:10 projects as kind of one tier versus I
18:15 think there's also this other concern
18:17 about private
18:19 right-of-way and Road and other projects
18:22 like that
18:26 so I if I could uh maybe Turf that off
18:29 to the city manager I think he might
18:31 have a better might have a better uh
18:33 grasp on what the plan is on that
18:37 uh thank you uh council president
18:40 councilmember hunt uh certainly uh we
18:43 want to make sure that the public has
18:45 access on public projects as well we
18:47 already have some existing processes in
18:49 place for that we would certainly be
18:52 happy to come at a future meeting and
18:53 talk further about that uh but the
18:56 Dynamics of public projects are usually
18:58 different than private projects so we're
19:00 not proposing at this point that the
19:02 public projects would be subject to this
19:03 this particular code if you'd like us to
19:06 talk about public projects in the future
19:07 meeting we'd be happy to do that
19:15 I mean I hear you I I also hear what the
19:19 community is saying about this and so I
19:22 think understanding
19:26 what some of those problems are
19:29 um are probably important in being able
19:31 to make the decision because all I can
19:33 do at this point is you're saying there
19:36 are
19:37 different reasons
19:39 um I don't really know how to parse that
19:43 different projects have different
19:45 players involved we have multiple
19:46 departments involved we have other
19:48 agencies involved and before we could
19:51 come up with a policy
19:53 it's very hard because there's not one
19:56 size fits all and so we'd be happy to
19:59 talk about that we're not prepared to do
20:00 that this evening because as far as
20:01 we're concerned the issues are more
20:03 complex we already have I think good
20:06 dialogue with the community
20:09 people know to contact the police
20:11 generally again most of these are
20:13 right-of-way issues we don't necessarily
20:16 we're not building buildings mostly but
20:19 the right-of-way could be ours it could
20:20 be utilities it could be the states and
20:23 so before we want we would want to have
20:25 a policy we would like to talk
20:27 internally we'd also like to talk with
20:29 our partners so the scope of this is
20:31 larger than it is with the with the
20:33 private companies so if that's the
20:35 committee's desire we'd be happy to come
20:37 back at a future meeting
20:39 thank you
20:44 all right any other questions no okay so
20:47 at this time we will I will check in
20:49 with city clerk if there are any members
20:51 of the public online also note that
20:53 there are still new members of the
20:54 public in council chambers
20:58 cheer hunt we have no virtual attendees
21:00 at the moment okay thank you so I will
21:04 um we will go past the public comment
21:06 and I will also note that written
21:07 comments can be submitted at any time to
21:09 city council at issaquah.gov so now we
21:12 will discuss and make recommendation and
21:15 we have the one question which is about
21:17 the tears and then any additional
21:19 Direction
21:21 um do you like to start us off council
21:23 president
21:25 um I guess maybe with a sense of what is
21:29 the proposed process
21:31 um going forward I know we had asked
21:34 when this came to us previously that it
21:36 go to the public and get a little bit of
21:38 feedback and you've done that and I very
21:40 much appreciate reading through all of
21:43 those comments but is there any sense
21:46 that you'd like this to go before a
21:50 commission or board or what's the next
21:54 step
21:55 uh council president councilmember hunt
21:57 uh you know we've gotten a lot of
21:59 feedback we've gotten feedback from
22:01 residents we've gotten feedback from
22:02 Builders associations I don't know what
22:04 additional feedback there is to be
22:06 gotten
22:07 um you know certainly this is not
22:10 necessarily time sensitive so if the
22:12 committee wished to ask questions we
22:13 would bring it back we don't believe
22:15 this is something we can bring back in
22:16 February given the title 18 discussion
22:18 uh but we could bring it back at a
22:20 future meeting otherwise if you're
22:23 comfortable with it there's no reason
22:25 why this couldn't move forward with the
22:26 council and the action could be to adopt
22:29 this code most of the provisions are
22:32 included already
22:33 under other requirements so we think
22:37 that if you wish to just adopt to have
22:39 the council adopt it we would move
22:41 forward
22:42 at a staff level to implement it as it's
22:44 been described if you wish to have it be
22:47 codified more specifically we could do
22:50 that too but our our feeling based on
22:52 the input we've received the C he was
22:55 pretty straightforward to us and if the
22:57 council agrees we'd rather just move on
22:59 and have the council adopt it okay I was
23:02 just making sure the feedback wasn't
23:04 to like PPC over hey these are the areas
23:08 that we think need adjustments and all
23:11 of that
23:13 um my general
23:16 feedback
23:18 is that a contractor code of conduct is
23:21 important for
23:25 staff and the Contracting team in a
23:30 pre-construction meeting and that it's
23:33 important to
23:36 lay out what those requirements are and
23:39 all of that and then the other part
23:40 that's important is clear signage on
23:44 location so that someone knows the
23:48 contact information and
23:51 um knows the hours of operation and when
23:54 the place should be quiet and you know
23:56 all of those things so
23:59 I'm not sure I 100 see the need to post
24:04 a signed version of this maybe it will
24:08 be useful for somebody
24:11 as a public member or as a subcontractor
24:14 I'll Trust you on that one
24:17 there was also
24:19 you know questions from one of the
24:22 building associations that said hey is
24:25 this additional work for contractors to
24:28 have so I'm wondering if there is any
24:31 commentary on that it was something
24:33 around the having to notify people that
24:35 were 300 or 500 feet
24:39 around is there a sense of whether that
24:43 current
24:45 uh sure I can take that one James
24:49 um so the title 18 is under review right
24:52 so we can figure out what to put in the
24:55 code once we know what what notice the
24:57 requirements we have so right now our
24:59 notice requirements are more focused on
25:01 when we're doing permitting so for stuff
25:04 that goes to land use approval there are
25:06 different levels that require a
25:08 circulation of a male notice we are
25:12 changing it to 500 feet from 300 feet
25:15 we're including not just the property
25:17 owners but residents so if you have an
25:20 apartment building you will love to
25:21 notify all the residents and that and
25:23 all that
25:24 the question I think for Master Builders
25:26 is it it's going to require
25:29 for larger projects only so tier three
25:31 to do that additional notification once
25:34 they're ready to do so there's
25:35 additional resources additional time and
25:37 all that so you know once a few options
25:40 to address their concerns could be if a
25:44 project typically those kind of projects
25:45 would have had an underlying land use
25:47 approval so if we have a parties of
25:49 record list already from the first round
25:52 when the circle the notice was
25:53 circulated maybe we could just limit it
25:56 to anyone who's expressed an interest to
25:58 follow this project will be notified and
26:01 and hopefully we have email addresses or
26:03 or not the other option could be the
26:06 posted sign itself should be sufficient
26:08 but they could add a line if you want to
26:10 be known you know kept up in the prized
26:12 on a monthly basis or weekly basis you
26:14 know whatever that time frame is please
26:17 send us an email at this or sign up for
26:19 an email at that point that would forego
26:21 the actual notification sending a mail
26:23 for the other contractor which could be
26:26 Time Savings for them I think we're
26:28 trying to figure about what's the most
26:30 efficient way to keep the community
26:31 apprised not necessarily to create more
26:33 burden on anyone so those are some
26:36 options if we if you know to address
26:39 that comment
26:41 yeah okay that's great my perspective as
26:44 a resident is if there was construction
26:47 nearby I might not think to check my
26:50 mail for that but I would certainly want
26:53 to see a sign and use that as a way to
26:57 understand when the construction was
26:59 going to happen and who I could contact
27:00 if I had a problem so from my
27:03 perspective that is probably enough
27:07 let me gather the rest of my thoughts
27:12 um what is the current
27:15 we we do currently notify residents
27:18 about certain kinds of
27:20 projects can you explain the difference
27:23 from currently yeah I don't think we
27:25 have consistently had had a process in
27:28 place so for some projects uh like the
27:31 talus you know Cougar Mountain Middle
27:33 School there was a notification that was
27:35 going out to the HOA for instance that
27:38 would disseminate that information to
27:39 the community about the status or
27:41 anything like that
27:43 um but it's not consistent like for
27:45 every larger project we have a process
27:48 in place so it's been hit and miss
27:53 kind of thing
27:55 okay just wondered what it was to
27:57 compare to you okay good
27:59 perhaps many you could say what it will
28:01 be under Title 18 absent this code of
28:04 conduct yeah so the current draft of
28:06 Title 18 just talks about notification
28:08 during the land use process not during
28:10 construction process
28:12 this this would be separate notification
28:16 heretofore we've not provided any kind
28:19 of consistent way the code currently
28:22 doesn't require it the future code AS
28:24 drafted doesn't require it so this would
28:26 be something brand new for these
28:28 projects and I think one of the reasons
28:30 staff is tearing them is because of that
28:33 notice requirement if the committee
28:35 feels an appropriate sign is sufficient
28:37 then that's that's more than we do now
28:40 or more than we require now and it you
28:43 think the notice makes sense again the
28:44 issues of mail are changing in the world
28:49 that's up to you and certainly it's an
28:51 onerous it can be an onerous process
28:53 especially depending on the type of
28:56 property owner I mean those large
28:58 construction companies do this all the
29:00 time they know who to call they give the
29:04 parameters and for a price they can do
29:06 this pretty easily for smaller companies
29:10 less so because they would know that
29:13 there are firms out there that
29:14 specialize in doing this sort of thing
29:16 so I don't know from a staff's
29:19 perspective we feel strongly about this
29:21 I think at the end of the day we just
29:23 want people to have the information
29:24 you know a website is going to be the
29:27 single easiest way to do that a QR code
29:29 probably the single easiest way to
29:30 access the website
29:32 so maybe it's science sufficient
29:35 yeah I'm quickly looking into our
29:37 existing code to see where if there is
29:40 anything related to construction there's
29:42 there's a section called public
29:43 notification
29:46 uh but it's all
29:56 yeah it's all related to land use that I
29:58 can tell
30:04 okay yeah well
30:07 um I think potentially when this comes
30:10 back to council it might be helpful to
30:12 provide a little bit more information
30:14 about what if if neighboring cities do
30:17 have any sort of notification for these
30:20 large projects to
30:22 um just so we know what our peer cities
30:24 are doing in that regard or if they're
30:26 using if they're not using mail that
30:29 would be good to to to know
30:32 um I I think for the most part this
30:36 contractor code of conduct takes a big
30:38 step towards letting people know about
30:40 what the construction is that's going on
30:42 in their neighborhood and what impacts
30:44 to expect and
30:46 um and it also helps to let the
30:49 contractor know about the expectations
30:51 about being a good neighbor and what
30:53 that means and so
30:55 um just so that everybody's on the same
30:57 page so I think overall I am happy to
31:01 support this and I think it's a step in
31:03 the right direction I think we'll also
31:05 learn as we use it a little bit we'll
31:08 find out if people are using the QR
31:10 codes if they like that if they're using
31:12 the email if they prefer that or you
31:15 know if we do also use mail if people
31:19 I have seen the mail or if that's not
31:22 the most efficient way anymore of
31:24 letting people know so I think if we if
31:27 we go forward then we'll get some more
31:29 information
31:30 um actually having used this code which
31:34 will be useful
31:35 I appreciate that it went through a
31:38 public process and a community meeting
31:40 and we got that feedback I think that
31:42 was very helpful
31:43 um and overall I'm very pleased with how
31:46 this turned out I think it's a big step
31:47 in the right direction and we've been
31:48 talking about this for a really long
31:49 time councilmember Ray who
31:52 was not able to be here tonight he had
31:55 has been interested in this um
31:58 for a long time as well and so
32:00 um I I think we've talked about this for
32:02 a long time I'm really happy with how it
32:04 turned out and I think it'll be a step
32:05 in the right direction overall
32:07 yeah just real quickly I did find that
32:10 there was a section not in Title 18 but
32:12 entitled 16. that requires property
32:15 posting it says the applicant shall post
32:18 a notification of construction signed
32:20 for development provided minor
32:22 construction as defined in a different
32:24 section as exempt uh and that minor is
32:30 residential units up to four ten
32:33 thousand square feet of Agriculture
32:36 structures four thousand square feet so
32:38 these are the flexible thresholds under
32:41 sepa is where it's sending in sending us
32:43 to which the reference will change in
32:46 the new title 18 but if it's exempt from
32:48 cepa then there is no notification on
32:51 the construction site but if it's not
32:53 then it is so that's sort of the
32:56 existing code for posting the sign not
32:58 mailing there's no requirement to mail
33:01 during construction okay thank you for
33:03 that I think aligning with our existing
33:05 thresholds which is why I was asking
33:07 about that that's great we don't want to
33:09 I I don't think we would want to have a
33:10 different threshold for every
33:12 a different part of the code
33:14 um just makes it easier to use if we
33:16 have thresholds that apply to multiple
33:18 things so that that's good to know I um
33:21 I think the tiers make sense especially
33:23 since they're used for other parts of
33:25 the code and I
33:27 um on the question of mailing
33:30 I think the sign
33:34 I think it'd be good to see what the
33:35 neighboring jurisdictions do I think
33:38 probably the sign is
33:41 the sign is a good step in the right
33:43 direction it's more than we have
33:45 currently and then people who are going
33:48 by the site and wondering what's going
33:50 on we'll see it which I think is
33:52 probably
33:53 probably adequate if we see that
33:56 neighboring jurisdictions send out
33:58 mailers as well then might reconsider
33:59 that but I think with the information we
34:01 have
34:02 definitely a step in the right direction
34:03 just with what we have presently without
34:06 the mailing
34:11 so I think I had talked to one of you
34:14 that there aren't many places nearby
34:16 that have a contractor code of conduct
34:19 so can you speak to that a little bit
34:21 and a sense of you know did this come
34:24 from anywhere or is it just based on our
34:27 own experiences
34:29 well I think there's the generic idea
34:33 that contractors should conduct
34:36 themselves uh in a neighborly fashion
34:38 and I think that many of our community
34:40 neighbor communities have that concept
34:43 uh they do not have a quote-unquote
34:46 Capital C capital
34:49 C Capital C I guess it is that they
34:53 don't have that
34:55 um I think as we did some initial
34:56 research we found that there were
34:59 pockets of communities outside of the
35:01 Pacific Northwest that had the formal
35:04 code and so I think we embraced that
35:07 because I think what we heard from again
35:09 councilmember Ray was the first to
35:11 really bring this forward to the council
35:12 but certainly we've heard from others in
35:14 the community that there should be
35:16 something like so the other reality is
35:19 that many of these things are required
35:21 in other parts of our processes either
35:24 through
35:25 pre-construction forms that may or may
35:27 not be in Municipal codes I think in
35:30 some communities we've learned that the
35:32 the form the the points in the form are
35:34 in the code and others communities they
35:36 merely reference a form that is
35:38 maintained by staff so the Practical
35:41 reality of this is that many communities
35:43 do this already I think technology with
35:47 the QR code now becoming a much easier
35:49 more accessible way I think that's
35:51 something new that communities are
35:54 adopting absent code amendments or
35:57 procedure amendments just because it's
35:59 functional and I think the private
36:00 sector probably has taken the lead with
36:02 this more than the public sector has so
36:05 all that taken together while I would
36:07 like to say this is going to be
36:08 Innovative it really is just collecting
36:11 some processes and procedures together
36:13 putting a banner that many Pacific
36:15 Northwest communities just have chosen
36:16 for whatever reason not to use
36:19 but I think it's still important and
36:21 still makes sense to do
36:23 you know I think the seems like the
36:26 sticking point really is just this
36:27 notification piece and you know how much
36:31 is that flyer postcard worth in the mail
36:34 versus a appropriate sign that's clear
36:37 and easy to read and has a clear QR code
36:40 I mean I think that's it sounds to me
36:42 that that's the the issue that you're if
36:44 not grappling with certainly at least
36:46 considering with all this and there's
36:48 probably no right answer other than you
36:51 know certainly from the city's
36:52 perspective we mail things very
36:54 infrequently because we hear back from
36:57 our residents that it gets thrown away
36:59 that mail doesn't get checked I don't
37:02 know about your families but my family
37:03 it's a couple times a week and if that's
37:06 that and so it's if it's something
37:08 pressing we might otherwise miss it
37:11 because there's nothing but sales papers
37:14 okay
37:16 um I've got a few other thoughts kind of
37:19 on this
37:20 um when this comes back to council can
37:23 you also show what the like we have
37:28 other signage that's required to be
37:31 posted on a construction site and so
37:35 thinking as a resident the things that
37:38 are going to be important to me are
37:40 knowing when the Project's going to
37:42 start and stop
37:44 who I can contact at the city if there
37:46 are problems with you know obviously we
37:48 want them to contract contact the
37:51 contractor
37:52 um first but if they're not getting a
37:55 response there who should they contact
37:57 at the city
37:59 um what are the working hours you know
38:01 are they allowed to work on Saturdays or
38:03 Sundays are they allowed to work before
38:05 7 A.M you know all of those things
38:08 whether that needs to be on the
38:10 contractor code of conduct or the other
38:12 sign is fuzzy from my perspective
38:15 because ultimately it's just about
38:18 notifying the community so being able to
38:21 show Council you know these are all of
38:24 the information that would be required
38:25 with this would be useful for me
38:28 um and then I think the other kind of
38:32 big elephant in the room is what are the
38:34 consequences what what is the proposal
38:37 if a Builder breaks one of these and
38:44 you know are they supposed to get the
38:47 contact from the resident and handle it
38:50 if they get a contact are they supposed
38:52 to notify the city so that are we
38:54 keeping track of number of you know
38:57 conflicts
38:58 how how do we address that other than
39:01 just say see these are the rules you
39:03 agreed to
39:05 and that's a good question you know
39:08 obviously our attempt is that there
39:10 isn't a problem so getting ahead of the
39:12 problem and and having those clear lines
39:13 of communication and and everyone
39:15 knowing what the rules are will
39:17 hopefully keep those situations to a
39:20 bare minimum but things could arise
39:22 things happen in in the real world and
39:25 in construction fields and sites
39:29 you know there are multiple tools I mean
39:32 there's of course the code enforcement
39:33 Avenue of uh going after them but the
39:36 building official has a lot of power in
39:38 the state I mean under the state law
39:39 there's only one building official and
39:42 in this city it's James he could post
39:44 the site on inhabitable he could you
39:47 know post a stop work order he could so
39:50 there are already these uh built-in
39:53 um you know things in the building code
39:56 that give the city ways to handle it and
39:59 stop work order is a big issue for
40:02 contractors because you know time is
40:04 money and their construction halts it it
40:07 it's a huge
40:09 um concern so if there truly is a life
40:12 safety issue or anything you know those
40:13 are things we take really seriously and
40:16 and those are handled through that
40:18 Avenue of stop work order that the
40:21 inspectors post you know are approved by
40:24 James
40:26 um if it is not so much of a life safety
40:28 issue but it's something that has been
40:30 ongoing and they're not responsive to it
40:32 we could go to the stop work order that
40:35 or we could
40:37 um you know pursue the code enforcement
40:38 path for them so I mean accountability
40:41 is going to be important it's not that
40:43 we just did it and nobody you know they
40:45 signed a piece of paper and nobody obeys
40:47 the code of conduct then then what is
40:50 sort of uh what you're asking so I think
40:53 we'll just have to
40:55 go with the the idea that people will
40:58 obey it and will communicate initially
41:00 but if things happen we're prepared to
41:02 enforce it through those Avenues
41:07 excuse me for not being a part of this
41:10 system and everything but that sounds a
41:13 little bit
41:15 wishy-washy isn't the word but like a
41:17 little bit undefined
41:19 um is that common that a builder is
41:24 if they're doing something on site and
41:27 the city is notified about it and kind
41:30 comes back and says hey you clear this
41:33 upper we're going to do a stop work
41:35 order
41:36 is that common or is there a situation
41:39 where they're going to try and
41:42 Sue or you know something like that
41:44 because it's not clearly defined let me
41:47 let me save James the embarrassment of
41:50 having to talk about the authority that
41:52 he wields as the building official
41:56 all construction projects are are depend
42:00 on cooperation they depend on
42:01 cooperation with the contractor with the
42:03 subcontractors with the city and so the
42:06 building inspectors that work with James
42:08 they are that representative and they
42:11 have the ability to do lots of different
42:13 things and in most communities in most
42:17 construction projects there's a Respect
42:19 by the Builder there's Respect by the
42:22 inspector that if reasonable requests
42:25 are made then the contractors expected
42:27 to follow them and a reasonable request
42:29 would be you've signed this contractor
42:31 code of conduct you are not doing
42:33 something you need to do that there are
42:35 many many things that a building
42:36 inspector requires and they have those
42:39 kind of conversations James pretty much
42:41 on a daily basis in an active
42:43 construction site and that site Foreman
42:46 the general contractor may be the issues
42:49 with a subcontractor maybe it's with the
42:51 delivery issue uh it's up to that person
42:53 working with the building of uh
42:55 inspector to manage through this so this
42:58 is really just another layer of
43:00 requirements that we're going to be
43:01 asking both the contractors and the
43:04 building inspectors to work together on
43:06 if there's conflict they generally work
43:09 it out if they don't work it out our
43:11 building inspectors under James's
43:13 guidance are not shy about saying okay
43:16 well then we're going to Red Tag this
43:18 and you know again it's something that
43:21 that they don't wave around every day
43:23 but it's something that is there and in
43:26 my experience and the seat that I sit in
43:29 um you know eight times out of ten that
43:31 generally takes care of things if
43:33 there's a conflict it's usually some
43:36 third party some subcontractor an
43:39 employee so some contractor but it gets
43:41 resolved so I think what James is saying
43:43 is this is just another layer that will
43:45 be put on this yes it's I wouldn't want
43:48 to use the words wishy-washy either but
43:50 it's just the nature of of the process
43:54 um the contractor wants to get their job
43:56 done the city's building inspector wants
43:58 it done safely pursuant to all rules
44:00 regulations codes you know there are
44:02 State codes all of that that have to be
44:04 be done so our proposals the
44:07 administration is that this gets layered
44:08 on to that rather than saying there's
44:11 specific other kinds of fines because
44:13 that would then be different largely
44:15 than anything else we do so James now
44:17 that I've explained what you do for a
44:19 living is there anything you want to add
44:20 or correct
44:22 Nintendo wall you gotta you got it right
44:24 uh there there are there are some
44:26 defined things in code though like for
44:28 instance working outside of ours
44:31 um but you you get your you get your
44:33 first warning and then you get your
44:35 second warning with a fine with a one
44:37 day stop and you get your third warning
44:40 with a much bigger fine with a I don't
44:42 know two week stop it it escalates and
44:46 those are those are are hard coded in
44:49 the code some of the things that are
44:51 Life Safety are are a little bit our
44:53 little wish wishy-washy but we rely on
44:56 the experience of the building
44:57 inspectors and and and I think Wally's
44:59 exactly right the majority of the time
45:01 if I get a complaint from someone I will
45:04 get it track it which is our permitting
45:06 system find out who the the site contact
45:08 is get on the horn and call them and say
45:10 hey somebody said you there were
45:13 drywallers working on Saturday what's
45:15 going on and they'll they hang up and
45:17 call me back and they're like yeah they
45:18 were you're right I will make sure it
45:20 never happens again and
45:22 most of the time that's where it ends
45:25 but when it doesn't sometimes we have to
45:28 go a little further
45:31 okay I definitely regret using the word
45:33 wishy-washy now that everybody else has
45:35 too but I really appreciate explaining
45:38 that um my only concern there is just
45:40 making sure that adding uncertainty
45:44 doesn't doesn't cause a problem but it
45:46 sounds like that's what the relationship
45:49 typically is and that it's a close
45:51 working relationship so I also
45:54 appreciate you mentioning that there are
45:56 specific
45:57 penalties and fines for certain things
46:00 like working outside of working hours
46:05 that is one of the things included in
46:07 the contractor's code of conduct do we
46:10 feel like any or do we have a sense from
46:12 the community like any of these other
46:14 things are problems that require
46:17 specific
46:22 responses
46:24 um I know City administrator Bob Quest
46:27 just said we think we can handle it
46:29 through the
46:31 typical relationship but I wasn't sure
46:33 whether anything else jumped out I I
46:37 think it's the communication issue
46:39 James described when a complaint comes
46:43 to him that's how it's handled so are
46:45 there residents suffering in silence
46:47 because they don't know where to go and
46:50 so people are upset saying this project
46:52 is a bad actor because somebody came in
46:55 and worked on a Saturday well if we
46:57 don't ever find out it could have been
46:58 some subcontractor whatever the details
47:01 or circumstances if we don't know then
47:04 we can't take care of it and that the
47:06 people responsible for the project quite
47:07 honestly might not have known either so
47:10 I think the communication piece is
47:11 what's so important and as councilmember
47:14 hunt said the administration agrees that
47:17 we probably just need to live with this
47:18 for a little while too uh just to see if
47:21 there are other issues that come up
47:22 we're not really proposing anything new
47:24 here again we're just kind of putting it
47:26 all under an umbrella and putting a nice
47:28 title on it
47:30 all these things are things that that
47:32 happen now or potentially could happen
47:34 now
47:35 um so I think we're comfortable layering
47:38 it on to the other requirements we can
47:40 live with it we'd be happy to come back
47:42 in six months or a year and report and
47:45 then there are members of the community
47:46 some of which who are very active
47:49 recipients in these processes and I
47:52 think that if there's a feeling that
47:54 it's not working my senses we will hear
47:56 from them as well
47:59 um on that note I think one of the
48:00 things I've asked is you know what the
48:03 other signage is I assume somewhere on
48:05 that other signage is a City contact
48:08 as well because I notice on this it only
48:11 has the contractor's name and phone
48:12 number yeah we'll we'll come back with
48:14 like the the maybe a template of the
48:16 sign you know some sample template so
48:18 you can kind of see what it'll look like
48:21 sounds great well I think I'm ready to
48:25 sign off on it I've got picked through
48:27 all of the areas that I thought were
48:29 important so I appreciate that
48:32 okay so we had a few specific questions
48:34 so I am comfortable with and I think
48:36 there's good reasons for the current
48:37 tiers do you agree with that okay
48:40 nodding and
48:42 um and then
48:44 uh the other I think we generally are
48:47 supportive of the contents and the
48:49 approach the only other thing that we
48:52 um talked a little bit more about back
48:54 and forth was the mailing notification
48:58 um I will say I went back and looked
49:00 through our staff memo there's from
49:03 several different perspectives there's
49:05 comments about not everyone receives
49:08 mailed notification consider other
49:09 avenues and then I saw in the signage
49:12 communication community members want a
49:15 clear pathway for communication but they
49:16 said consider balance of notifications
49:18 so people aren't over notified which
49:20 will create confusion
49:22 I think given that and then given also
49:25 that from the developer side they were
49:27 also concerned about additional
49:29 notification need
49:31 and given that we have this QR code that
49:34 hopefully is easy for people to to use
49:37 plus the contact information right there
49:40 on a sign I think I think that's the way
49:44 I'm leaning is to not do the mailing
49:46 notification and see see if the QR code
49:49 is working if people are comfortable
49:51 using that if it increases awareness
49:53 about the rules or the
49:58 um the code and so I think that's where
50:02 I ultimately have landed do you agree
50:04 with that yeah I think that meets the
50:08 needs and what I would think about if I
50:11 was a resident near a construction area
50:14 I understand there are signs and that's
50:15 where I should go for the information so
50:18 okay great
50:20 so then I think I I think it would be
50:23 helpful to have when the information
50:24 comes back the request was to have the
50:28 other the information about what other
50:30 information is on signs and at
50:34 construction sites that was that was
50:36 your request and then my request would
50:39 to be to have a little bit of
50:40 information about if other cities are
50:42 doing mailers for construction just so
50:45 we know what our peer cities are doing
50:46 but again I think after reading through
50:49 all the comments that you collected uh
50:52 which are very helpful I think we should
50:55 for now go with
50:57 no mailer and see if the QR code and the
50:59 sign is increasing awareness and meeting
51:01 our goals
51:03 and I'll just add to that um I think it
51:07 says under tier two that signage with
51:11 contractor name and contact information
51:13 would be required to post at this site
51:15 but no detailed website so if you could
51:17 maybe show what signage would look like
51:21 for a tier two versus a tier three that
51:24 would
51:25 I'm a very visual person so that would
51:27 be very helpful for me thanks
51:31 okay
51:35 we also so there was a mention of a
51:39 potential other topic related but not
51:43 the same thing which would be
51:45 communication around public projects my
51:48 feeling is that that can be separated
51:50 from this and so because I I do think
51:54 they're different I think there are more
51:58 points of connection with the city for
52:00 example with a contractor that is
52:02 working on a public project and so I
52:06 think this code of conduct
52:08 uh should be as it's designed for
52:11 private development so I'm fine with
52:13 putting that on a separate track that
52:14 conversation about public
52:18 public uh contract contractors or
52:21 contractors on public projects rather
52:24 um are you okay with that and then we'll
52:26 we'll proceed with this going back to
52:28 council and then the committee can have
52:30 an update on the public
52:32 contractors on public projects
52:34 separately from this yeah I think
52:36 there's certainly been an interest in
52:38 the community to make sure there is an
52:41 effective point of contact for public
52:44 projects and so I think that's just an
52:47 internal point of communication for us I
52:50 I don't know that I need the contractor
52:54 code of conduct to apply but I do need
52:58 effective signage and communication and
53:01 all of those things which I think are
53:03 standards and our goals anyway
53:07 and if I could just add it you know our
53:09 initial discussions internally
53:12 um we find that sometimes people are
53:14 reluctant to call the police department
53:17 um and people shouldn't be reluctant
53:18 that those are our systems are in place
53:21 um especially for public projects
53:23 um that if there's something in the
53:24 right of way something's gone wrong uh
53:27 people should call the police department
53:28 uh the police department has on call
53:30 Public Works contact information they
53:34 can contact Community Planning and
53:35 Development if need to be uh and so as
53:37 we as I've talked to especially our
53:39 Public Works staff
53:41 um that's what they're feeling is that
53:43 maybe we just need to publicize that
53:44 more so that if there is a safety issue
53:47 of the on-call person can be contacted
53:49 does it work perfectly every time no
53:51 unfortunately it doesn't but those
53:53 systems are in place and and they they
53:55 work more often than they don't and I
53:58 think we'll look at signage issues
53:59 anyway because I think it just makes
54:01 sense
54:02 um so we're happy to do whatever the
54:05 committee thinks is appropriate
54:08 okay thank you for that I I think that
54:10 this my
54:12 my thought is that we could send this to
54:15 the council I think it can be on consent
54:18 because
54:19 um I think it's uh in my opinion
54:22 non-controversial and um I think
54:25 if we agree then it could be on consent
54:28 with the additional information in the
54:30 agenda bill that comes back to council
54:31 and then
54:33 um to our committee if we could have
54:35 that other piece of the related
54:37 conversation on the contractors for
54:39 public projects at a later time maybe in
54:42 the spring then that could kind of close
54:44 out that
54:46 complementary topic
54:50 um does that sound reasonable
54:53 yeah I think that sounds good okay all
54:55 right so we will do that do you have
54:57 what you yes just a question
55:00 um to community planning involvement
55:01 staff I would think that
55:03 um making the 17th January with the
55:06 mock-ups of the signs might be a little
55:07 difficult so if the committee's
55:09 comfortable we could maybe wait at one
55:11 additional council meeting and bring it
55:12 back on February 6th just to give staff
55:15 a little bit more time to because I
55:17 think you'll have to rely on other
55:19 colleagues to perhaps help mock-ups yeah
55:21 we want to think it through and have a
55:23 good you know maybe we'll reach out to
55:26 the sign manufacturers so we yeah I
55:28 think a little bit more time would be
55:30 good to come to finalize the template
55:32 just one meeting so we would put this on
55:34 consent then for February 6 and then
55:37 come back with a public project
55:38 discussion and sometime this spring
55:41 I think that sounds good to me so yep
55:44 sounds good to us so that will be
55:46 that'll be great
55:48 all right you have what you need from us
55:50 on this very much great okay then uh we
55:53 have no other regular business items I
55:56 do have one announcement which is that
55:58 we have another committee meeting of
56:01 this committee which is uh not typical
56:05 but will occur this later this month and
56:08 that is on the 24th of January and we
56:11 have two items on the planning calendar
56:12 they are Title 18 executive summary and
56:15 overview which is id1307 and id1327
56:19 amending IMC 3.74 impact fee study
56:23 update frequency
56:25 um so I wanted to make sure to announce
56:27 that upcoming meeting of this committee
56:30 for later this month
56:33 and Madam chair we're not sure at this
56:36 point about the pack fee item but we do
56:38 believe that the title 18 discussion
56:40 there may also be uh and I don't see the
56:43 City attorney she had perhaps was going
56:45 to join us this evening uh a need for an
56:47 executive session with the committee
56:49 something we haven't done
56:52 since we've brought committees back
56:54 um so that's also and we'll keep you
56:56 apprised if that would be required as
56:59 well
57:01 okay please let us know
57:04 um other than other than that do we have
57:06 any uh other announcements
57:10 okay then with that we are adjourned at
57:13 7 27 pm thank you all