EYE ON JEFFERSON: Port Townsend council to set public hearing on short-term rentals

The Port Townsend City Council will consider setting a May 1 public hearing to consider an ordinance related to short-term rentals and changes to the municipal code when it meets Monday.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at historic City Hall, 540 Water St.

Council members have talked at length about making potential changes to the city code to promote more affordable long-term rentals for local residents. The council has spent months working with the city planning commission on a revised code.

On March 20, the council passed a 180-day moratorium on the processing of permits for tourism homes. Per council rules, the council is required to have a public hearing on the moratorium within 60 days of passing it.

Also on the consent agenda:

• A resolution accepting a donation of up to $75,000 from the Port Townsend Public Library Foundation for Carnegie Library capital improvement projects.

• A resolution related to the 2017 annual update of the city’s Comprehensive Plan and development regulations, setting the final docket.

• An ordinance related to city administration and personnel and revising parts of the municipal code.

• A resolution adopting a classified schedule for represented employees.

The council also will consider a proclamation proclaiming National Service Recognition Day as April 4.

Other city committee meetings, which are in conference rooms at City Hall, 250 Madison St., unless otherwise noted, are:

 Port Townsend Arts Commission — 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, first-floor conference room.

 Historic Preservation Committee — 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, third-floor conference room.

 Non-Motorized Transportation Advisory Board — 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, first-floor conference room.

• HUD Loan Committee — 10:30 a.m. to noon Thursday, Port Townsend Main Street office, 211 Taylor St., No. 3.

Jefferson County ­commission

The three Jefferson County commissioners will consider approving an authorization and concurrence document for the Nesset property on the Dosewallips River when they meet Monday.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in commissioners’ chambers at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend.

The property is one of several that have been identified as necessary for Jefferson County and its partners to acquire in order to ensure adequate riparian habitat for salmon and to prevent or ameliorate the impacts of flooding.

Items on the consent agenda include:

• A resolution for a public hearing notice on 2017 first-quarter budget changes.

• Approval for a call for bids for a Teal Lake Road overlay between mileposts 0.01 and 0.54.

• Awarding a contract to low bidder Affordable Asphalt Co. of Tumwater for $191,755.50 for pavement marking on Jefferson County roads this calendar year.

• Designating the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader as the official county newspaper of public record for legal notices fom July 1 through June 30, 2018.

• Approval of 2017 board and committee assignments.

• Accepting the resignation of Leesa Monroe from the Jefferson County Developmental Disability Advisory Board.

During the county administrator briefing session at 1:30 p.m., the board will hear a briefing on the YMCA’s partnership with the city of Port Townsend, Port Townsend School District and hospital district to create a Mountain View Commons Community Recovery Center.

Jefferson PUD

Jefferson County Public Utility District commissioners will conduct a workshop on the PUD’s operations and management of telecommunications in East Jefferson County when they meet Monday.

The meeting will begin at 11 a.m. at 230 Chimacum Road, Port Hadlock.

The workshop will deal with the PUD’s process to take over operational control from Northwest Open Access Network-operated facilities in Jefferson County.

Jefferson County ­Marine Resources Committee

The Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee will hear about current efforts to bring back native populations of pinto abalone at its general meeting Tuesday.

The meeting will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Port of Port Townsend building, 333 Benedict St., Port Townsend.

Continued declines in Washington pinto abalone populations prompted the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, University of Washington, Puget Sound Restoration Fund and other partners to develop a captive breeding program and experiment with juvenile out-planting.

Jefferson Healthcare

The regular session for the Jefferson Healthcare board, originally scheduled for Wednesday, has been canceled.

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