Council authorizes conditional asbestos abatement agreement for vacant Fourth Avenue property

The Federal Way City Council authorized staff on May 6 to execute a goods-and-services agreement to abate asbestos at 31531 Fourth Avenue South if the property owner did not complete required abatement and demolition by May 13.

Code compliance officer Curtis Richards told the council the property has been vacant since a 2019 tree collapse damaged the structure and that an asbestos survey completed in March found friable and non-friable asbestos in roofing paint and other materials. Richards said the city issued an emergency summary abatement notice March 10, secured the site with fencing, and received four bids for abatement; the low responsive bid for complete abatement and environmental remediation was $31,186 from Dixon Demolition and Abatement.

Council members pressed staff on timing and whether the property owner intended to proceed. Richards said city staff had received a voicemail that the owner's contractor planned to start work on May 12 but noted the city could not rely on that pledge given the property's noncompliance history. Councilmember Adobe asked why the issue was before the council if the owner planned to proceed; staff said the authorization was a contingency to ensure abatement would happen and allow the city to act quickly if the owner failed to follow through.

Councilmember Trenton (mover) brought a motion to approve the agreement conditioned on giving the owner until May 13 to proceed; the motion was amended to explicitly require staff not to execute the contract if the owner obtained permits and started lawful work before that date. The motion passed unanimously.

Curtis Richards said if the city performs the abatement it may recover costs through assessment liens or other collection remedies; he noted the city attorney may pursue legal remedies and that the mayor or hearing examiner may waive costs in cases of demonstrated financial hardship.