Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Code Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sequim council directs staff to draft junk-vehicle ordinance with 90-day repair limit after debate
Summary
Following debate about enforcement and owners' repair timelines, council voted 5-1 to direct staff to draft and present an ordinance that limits documented repair periods for junk vehicles to 90 days and to include that ordinance on a future consent agenda.
Councilors instructed staff to prepare an ordinance to update SMC Chapter 8.05 on junk vehicles on private property, specifying that repair invoices reflecting a repair period must not exceed 90 days before the city begins enforcement steps.
Chief (presenting staff) described the rewrite as primarily a housecleaning to conform to updated RCWs and to clarify the penalty process and appeals route. Staff offered enforcement options including: a progress-based rule (evidence of ongoing repairs), and fixed maximum periods (90 days, six months, one year) before enforcement action. The chief noted the code distinguishes vehicles worked on inside a garage (no time limit) from junk vehicles stored openly on private property.
Council debate focused on balancing property-owner fairness and neighborhood impacts. Several councilors supported a 90-day maximum repair period to respond to neighbor complaints; one councilor favored a longer period (six months to a year) citing potential personal emergencies. After an initial defective motion, the council adopted a corrected motion 5-1 directing staff to place an ordinance on the next available consent agenda that uses repair invoices to document repairs and caps the repair period at 90 days.
Vote: the final motion passed 5-1; minutes record the mayor voting no on the final motion. Implementation: staff will draft the ordinance language, including exhibit A modifications to SMC 8.05.030(B) (invoices reflecting a total repair period not to exceed 90 days) and bring the draft to the next available consent agenda for adoption.
Enforcement notes: staff said enforcement emphasizes voluntary compliance, written warnings, escalating fines for repeat offenses, and that abandoned vehicles on public streets are handled under separate procedures.
