Emergency ordinance holds east Monroe zoning

The Monroe City Council passed an emergency ordinance recently to reaffirm the east Monroe property's Limited Open Space (LOS) zoning classification during the duration of the Washington State Growth Management Hearings Board's (GMHB) mandated compliance period.

The council passed the ordinance unanimously on May 3, after an 80-minute executive session and subsequent 15-minute recess. It is not known whether east Monroe was the topic during the entire session, as the agenda only stated, "Agency Litigation,GÇ¥ however, the interim zoning ordinance was presented immediately after. Council waived its regular rules and procedures for two readings of ordinances before passage, to ensure the emergency legislation's immediate effectiveness.-á -á

Monroe city attorney Zach Lell presented the ordinance, which formally designates the 42.8-acre parcel of property known as the east Monroe rezone area as remaining LOS until the city makes a determination as to how it will comply with the GMHB's order.

"This is a document that simply reaffirms, on an interim basis, the continued designation of the east Monroe property in its traditional Limited Open Space classification,GÇ¥ Lell said. "It does not tie you to a particular compliance result.GÇ¥

In its April 1 decision, the GMHB remanded the east Monroe rezone ordinances back to the city with a determination of invalidity, giving the city until Sept. 28 to come into compliance. No clear mechanism for compliance has been identified or discussed. It could potentially be met through additional environmental study or by repealing the ordinances and allowing the property to remain LOS.

The board does not dictate how the city should come into compliance.

Property owner Heritage Baptist Church-áis seeking judicial review of the matter in Snohomish County Superior Court. The church filed a Motion for Stay with the GMHB on April 8, which would have postponed the compliance schedule during the legal process, but the GMHB denied the motion on April 18. According to state law, one of the criteria considered during a Motion for Stay is "delay in application of the board's order will not substantially harm the interest of other parties to the proceedings.GÇ¥

In the city's objection to the Motion for Stay, it states it is currently ineligible for certain grants due to noncompliance with the GMHB. In April, the council had to rescind an opportunity for a grant that would have provided up to $50,000 toward the purchase of specialized sweeper equipment for use on the city's new downtown sidewalks.

The Monroe City Council held its first reading of the first 2016 budget amendment on Tuesday, May 10, allocating $75,000 to land use attorney fees. According to documents prepared by the city finance department, the budgeted land use attorney allocation of $15,000 was exceeded in January. Through the end of March, more than $51,000 had been spent, nearly all of which was related to east Monroe.

The May 3 motion to pass emergency ordinance 003/2016 was made by Councilmember Patsy Cudaback and was seconded by Councilmember Kevin Hanford. It was amended once to waive council rules and procedures, passing unanimously on all fronts.

The purpose of the ordinance is to ensure that there are no issues in relation to the current zoning of the property, clarified Lell after the meeting.

"It doesn't mean it's going to be that way forever; we're not waiving the council's legislative discretion to do something,GÇ¥ Lell said. "We're not saying this is how we're going to achieve compliance; all we're saying is, for the record, this property, right now, because of the growth board's order, is Limited Open Space unless and until something else happens.GÇ¥

The passage of an emergency ordinance necessitates a public hearing within 60 days of its passage.

For more information on the interim zoning ordinance, visit http://monroewa.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/1298.