Council holds first reads on municipal-code updates for street vacations and code enforcement

The Medical Lake City Council conducted public hearings and first readings on two municipal‑code updates during the meeting.

Ordinance 11 40 would amend Titles 17 and 19 of the municipal code governing approval criteria for comprehensive‑plan, zoning‑map and development‑regulation amendments. Planning staff briefed the council and no public comments were offered during the hearing; council approved the ordinance’s first read and directed that it move forward to the next council meeting for continued consideration.

Ordinance 11 41 proposes revisions to the city’s code‑enforcement sections. The staff briefing described four categories of changes: adding RCW references to civil‑infraction and misdemeanor definitions, clarifying written‑notice language, shifting a mobile‑home‑park planning reference to the building official (to reflect objective standards), and removing an unlawful escalation provision. Council discussed a table of civil‑infraction fines in the draft (including a nominal $25 base fine for certain classes) and whether to hard‑code a dollar value or reference the state/court rule that periodically updates penalty amounts. Legal and staff recommended including both the local table for transparency and a statement that statutory and court‑rule adjustments supersede the listed amounts.

After deliberation, the council voted to direct staff to prepare revised ordinance language and return with a clarified first read at a future meeting. Staff said the revised draft will explicitly note that state statutes and court rules (and additional statutory PSEA charges) apply to the penalty amounts listed.

The council’s actions were procedural first reads and do not constitute final adoption. Additional public hearings and a second reading will follow once staff drafts the updated ordinance language.