Kennewick staff propose moving regulatory provisions from Administrative Code into Municipal Code; fire, police present specific updates

At a Jan. 28 Kennewick City Council workshop, Deputy City Manager Lisa Beaton and public-safety leaders described a multi-department effort to clean up the Kennewick Administrative Code and move regulatory provisions into the Kennewick Municipal Code.

Beaton told the council the city formed a cross-department policy-development committee in mid-2024 to review KAC material that has become redundant, obsolete, or applied to the public even though it was intended as internal policy. "Over time, our administrative code has become outdated, in some instances not even utilized by departments, and in some instances actually utilized as if it was in our municipal code as a regulation and imposed on the public," she said.

Deputy Fire Chief Rob Ball, who oversees prevention and safety-support services, said the fire-related KAC material the department reviewed is largely regulatory in nature and should be in the KMC. Ball said staff found KAC provisions duplicated in the municipal code — for example, ambulance program text — and also discovered that the only city document that previously authorized the fire-chief position was in the administrative code. "We found that the only place in the Kennewick documents that authorizes the position of the fire chief was in the administrative code," Ball said, adding the position will be placed in chapter 2.12 of the KMC alongside other city officers.

Ball said proposed future ordinances will amend KMC chapter 9.36 (ambulance program) and make extensive changes to chapter 15.30 to align local numbering and interpretations with the state-adopted International Fire Code. He told council the changes are housekeeping and clarifying actions, not wholesale changes to technical fire-protection standards.

Commander Joe Santoy of the Kennewick Police Department summarized KAC-to-KMC transfers the police reviewed. He said tobacco-sale provisions in KAC 11-12 will be added to KMC 10.16.085 (possession or use of tobacco by minors) to detail merchant regulations. Santoy also described aligning seizure-and-forfeiture language so KMC 10.01.270 (which adopts RCW 69.50.505) and KMC 9.32.030 are consistent; portions of KAC 11-20 (controlled substance forfeiture procedure) will move to department policy or KMC where appropriate. Finally, Santoy said content from KAC 11-24 on removal of unauthorized cabinets will be added to KMC 9.54 (regulating public camping) to clarify the process for storage and recovery of property by the police department.

Police Chief Guerrero told the council the City Attorney's Office (Lourencio) reviewed the materials Commander Santoy forwarded.

No ordinances were introduced at the workshop. Beaton and the presenters said staff will return with formal ordinance language for council consideration and that the code cleanup will be phased: items that must remain internal will be converted to a different internal-policy format, obsolete items will be repealed, and regulatory provisions will be recommended for adoption in the municipal code.

Council members asked whether the project changes technical standards; Ball and others said standards themselves are not changing, only where the rules are codified and how they are referenced. "Standards are not changing. It's just where you find the standards," Ball said.

Background: The state adopts the International Fire Code and allows local jurisdictions to adopt implementing regulations and interpretations; staff said aligning KMC numbering with the fire code should make it easier for developers and design professionals to locate local applications of state-adopted code.

Next steps: Staff will draft ordinances amending the cited KMC chapters and bring them to a future council meeting for formal introduction and vote.