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Kenmore council adopts ordinance keeping current right‑of‑way vegetation language; staff to draft internal exemption policy
Summary
Council voted unanimously to adopt ordinance 25‑0628 updating Titles 12 and 18; staff recommended no code change to retain flexibility and to implement an internal right‑of‑way maintenance guidance policy for exemptions and assistance to adjacent property owners.
The Kenmore City Council unanimously adopted Ordinance 25‑0628 on Monday, retaining current municipal code language that lets the city manager decide when the city will maintain certain right‑of‑way areas and directing staff to create an internal guidance document for exemptions and assistance.
Engineering Director John Vicente presented the item and told the council staff reviewed Title 12 and Title 18 provisions governing vegetation maintenance within the public right of way. Vicente recommended no change to the existing code language because it preserves flexibility: "I'm recommending that we don't make any change to the existing language," he said, adding that embedding more detail in code could hamper staff flexibility and raise gift‑of‑public‑funds concerns.
Background and vote: Vicente said staff reviewed about 10 years of service requests and found roughly 300 right‑of‑way vegetation complaints, with about a third related to trees; he said fewer than three property owners raised inability to comply as a sustained issue. The council debated clarification for property owners about the scope of their maintenance duties; Vicente explained property owners are generally responsible for maintaining the right of way adjacent to their property and that the city already maintains some high‑risk locations.
The council then moved, seconded and adopted Ordinance 25‑0628 updating Titles 12 and 18 of the Kenmore Municipal Code by a unanimous roll‑call vote: Sassen, Marshall, Lutzes, Culver, Shrubnick, Deputy Mayor O'Kane and Mayor Herbig voted yes. Vicente said staff will draft an internal right‑of‑way code compliance manual that outlines how exemptions and maintenance assistance would be handled and that staff will work with the operations director, city manager and city attorney to finalize that policy.
Why this matters: The ordinance keeps the code's current discretionary exemption language, preserves the manager's ability to tailor responses to individual situations, and asks staff to create consistent internal procedures to guide outreach, documentation and assistance for property owners who may need help complying with vegetation rules.
No changes to property‑owner obligations were made by the ordinance; the council's action formalized the recommendation to maintain the existing code and to develop internal guidance for consistent implementation.
