Coupeville council adopts town business license, approves new fee schedule; cabaret license granted

Coupeville — The Town Council voted April 22 to adopt Ordinance 802, establishing a town business license program effective May 1, and approved Resolution 25-03, an amended municipal fee schedule. Council also granted Cabaret License CL-25003 to a local restaurant for live music.

The business license ordinance passed 4-1. Councilmember Pat cast the lone dissenting vote; four other councilmembers voted in favor. Council later adopted the amended fee schedule unanimously. The council separately approved a cabaret license for the Thai e restaurant, a routine annual approval, by unanimous vote.

Mayor Jackie explained the motivation behind the new $25 annual business license and the related fee schedule changes: "we are not implementing this to make revenue... we're implementing it to have contact information for our businesses," she said, noting the town’s need for an accurate business registry for emergency notifications and outreach. The council recorded that the license fee is intended to be low and administrative in purpose; the ordinance includes an exemption for businesses with gross receipts under $5,000.

Building official Scott Austin, who led the fee-schedule review, told the council staff compared Coupeville’s fees with neighboring jurisdictions and Island County and adjusted permit fees to better align with local practice and the cost of the town’s new permitting software. He described the new online permitting portal’s workflow — application, reviewer requests for additional information, online payment and electronic issuance of permits — as a customer service and efficiency improvement.

Council members discussed implementation mechanics. Council asked that state Department of Revenue (DOR) interactions be monitored because the town will rely on the state link for annual renewals. Staff confirmed that the state will notify businesses about renewals and that the town will maintain an internal review and administrative approval step for license records.

Votes at a glance

- Ordinance 802 (Town business license) — Outcome: approved; vote: 4 yes, 1 no (Pat voted no); effective date: May 1. Motion to adopt recorded during the meeting; mover/second not clearly stated on the record. - Resolution 25-03 (amended fee schedule) — Outcome: approved unanimously. Moved by Mayor Jackie; seconded by Councilmember Jenny. - Cabaret license CL-25003 (Thai e restaurant) — Outcome: approved unanimously; routine annual approval; Marshall Boatmiller reviewed the application and recommended approval.

Implementation and next steps

Staff will publish the new business-license instructions and the updated online workflow; the town will continue to refine the fee schedule and technical implementation for the permitting portal. Council asked staff to draft an administrative policy for occasional fee-waiver or deferral requests tied to qualifying affordable housing projects rather than handling waivers ad hoc.

The meeting packet contained the draft ordinance text, the fee-schedule spreadsheet (changes marked in red), and a staff memo summarizing jurisdictional comparisons prepared by Scott Austin and Deputy Clerk Chris Jolly. The council put both the ordinance and the resolution on the consent/regular agenda and recorded roll-call outcomes in the meeting minutes.

Ending

The town clerk will publish the adopted ordinance and resolution and update the town website with instructions for business owners. The council noted staff will return with any needed administrative procedures to operationalize waivers and to finalize publishing details for the May 1 effective date.