Yakima City Council Study Session - February 11, 2025: Land Use, Impact Fees, and Special Events
Yakima City Council Study Session - February 11, 2025
The Yakima City Council held a study session on February 11, 2025, from 5:00 PM to 7:06 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers, with Assistant Mayor Matt Brown presiding. Councilmembers Berg, Deccio, Glenn, Herrera, and Roy were present; Mayor Byers was absent. The session covered land use basics, middle housing legislation, the Comprehensive Plan process, impact fees, and special event permits on Yakima Avenue.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Joe Daniels, city resident, read a religious passage and named 27 U.S. states that had slavery, asking whether the council believes the city owes something to Black Americans who built the country, referencing a biblical passage.
- Tony Courcy, city resident, spoke about his property issues, a water right claim, and criticized the city's handling of his complaints. He alleged a former city official bulldozed a pump house and called the city a criminal enterprise.
- Jeanna Hernandez, city resident, thanked council for not responding to repeated, unsubstantiated comments and expressed hope for good information during the meeting.
Discussion Items
- Land Use Basics, Middle Housing, and Comprehensive Plan Process – Planning Manager Trevor Martin presented an overview of planning and zoning history, current use-based zoning, and the roles of staff, the Planning Commission, and Hearing Examiner. He explained House Bills 1110 (middle housing) and 1337 (ADUs), noting that by 2026 Yakima must allow fourplexes on all residential parcels and two ADUs per lot. He also discussed unit lot subdivisions and the Comprehensive Plan periodic update required by June 30, 2026, including elements like land use, housing, and climate resilience.
- Resolution Opening Comprehensive Plan Amendment Process – Council adopted Resolution R-2025-032 to open the 2025–2026 amendment process, allowing property owners to request changes to future land use designations. The motion by Deccio, seconded by Berg, passed 6-0 (Byers absent).
- Comprehensive Plan and Study of Impact Fees – Community Development Director Bill Preston and Planning Manager Trevor Martin presented on impact fees, explaining that under the Growth Management Act they can fund transportation, parks, schools, and fire facilities. They noted the complexity of establishing rates and requested council direction to develop a scope of work (RFQ) for a consultant to determine the cost of a full impact fee study. Council reached consensus to proceed with the RFQ and also requested staff bring back information on impact fee revenues collected by other comparable jurisdictions before the RFQ process.
- Special Event Permits and Street Closures on Yakima Avenue – Associate Planner Connor Kennedy and Police Sergeant Scott Grant reviewed the special event permit process (46 permits in 2024, $50 fee, often waived for nonprofits) and the current cruising code (eight scheduled cruise nights per summer). The city incurred an estimated $106,897.13 in overtime for 21 events in 2024, including $52,000 for cruise nights. Assistant Mayor Brown noted difficulty recouping costs for parades codified as no-cost events and suggested exploring 50% cost recovery for future years. Council discussed the need for flexibility in cruise night scheduling.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution R-2025-032 – Adopted (6-0) to open the 2025–2026 Comprehensive Plan amendment process.
- Impact Fees – Council gave majority consensus to direct staff to work with a consultant on an RFQ to scope an impact fee study, and to return with information on other cities’ impact fee revenues before issuing the RFQ.
- Cruising Regulations – A motion by Brown, seconded by Deccio, to direct staff to prepare legislation amending Yakima Municipal Code 9.25 to establish cruising event dates and times by resolution annually passed unanimously. This allows greater flexibility for the number and timing of cruise nights.
- Adjournment – The study session adjourned at 7:06 PM; the next regular meeting is set for February 18, 2025, at 5:30 PM.
Note: Mayor Byers was absent for all votes.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, let's go. All right. I call this uh regular city council study session to order. Uh roll call, please. Berg. Here. Brown. Here. DCO? Here. Glenn. Here. Herrera? Here. Roy. Here. My ears is absent. All right. Next up is public comment. Uh, if you would like to make public comment to the council, there are forms in the back that you can bring up to our clerk up here. Uh, as of right now, we only have one. Each person has uh two and a half minutes and a total of fifteen minutes that will allow for public comment. So uh first up is uh Joe Daniels. Make your way up and introduce yourself. Thank you. My name is Joe Daniels, and I'm a resident of Jack and Mark Washington. The revelation is given. God gave it to him to show those who serve God what would happen soon. God made it known by sending her servant John to send her servant John. John is a witness to everything he saw. What he saw is God's word, and what Yazoo has said. Blessed is the one who reads out loud the words of this prophecy. That's the those who hear it. I think everything it says is important. The time when these things will come true is near. Great and praise to God. I joined and writing this letter. I'm sending it to the seven churches in Asia, minor. May grace and peace come to you from God. She is the one who is and who wills and who will come. May grace and peace come from you, Yazoo. He's the faithful witness of what he has shown can be trusted. He was the first to rise from the dead. He rules over the kings of the earth. Glory and power belong to Yazoo, who loves us. He has set us free from our sins by pouring out his blood. He has made us members of his royal family. He has made us priests who served his God and mother. Glory and power belong to Yazoo. For you ever never, amen.
openpublica.com