HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeather Catuzo I �
May 2,2018
CH Y
The Honorable Sissi Bruch and Port Angeles City Council Members
321 East Fifth Street
Port Angeles, WA 98362
Dear Mayor Bruch and Members of the City Council:.
I am writing to you regarding the proposed legislation to allow recreational vehicles as housing as
proposed by Councilman 5hromen-Warwin. I spoke to you at the May 1, 2018 to voice my opposition to
this,legislation and felt that I should follow up with a letter to further detail my concerns.
I heard many people speak regarding our homelessness crisis and lack of affordable housing options.
What I did not hear is any concern for taxpayers and homeowners who are not being served by this
measure. Leading a community requires a balanced consideration for both sides of an issue; in this case,
balancing the needs of the homeless and those of property owners. I,for one,am extremely tired of
hearing how selfish it is for homeowners to consider themselves when people are sleeping in cars and
tents. I work very hard for my money, and I work very hard to maintain my home. I pay for the services
being used by our less fortunate community members and while I have no problem providing
reasonable accommodations, it is never enough money, never enough food, never enough. At some
point,we have to acknowledge there is no more to give. For me,this legislation is absolutely my line in
the sand.
For several years, we have failed to meet the basic code enforcement needs of this city.This is no fault
of Nathan West and his dedicated staff. Bather, it is due to a lack of staffing for this problem. Port
Angeles is not alone.The county also has significant challenges with code enforcement due to lack of
funding for staff members.This had led to homeowners who refuse to mow their lawns, homes that are
falling down and rotting(leading to squatters and structure fires).We have active marijuana grow
operations in residential neighborhoods as growers purchase homes and turn them into commercial
operations. Neither police or code enforcement have the ability to address these issues, so they
continue.Although we have codes written prohibiting AirBnB type lodging,this is also pervasive. Illegal
ADUs, like the one next door to me, are rented out and we all fight for street parking leading to bad
feelings, resentment, and a general feeling of discomfort instead of peace in our homes and
neighborhoods.
Now we are proposing to move recreational vehicles onto properties for use as homes. Property owners
would be allowed to rent space to people with stickers on their vehicles, and they can hook into
residential electrical via extension cords, run hoses to them,and we aren't really sure what they will do
with the sewage (but I can give you some ideas). Neighbors would, of course, have no say in this.
Homeowners would not have the mechanism to run background checks on their tenants as so these
wild cards will be given an open door.On one hand, l hear that this legislation would allow people who
want to move here and work an opportunity and on the other,the discussion is about the homeless
population and how wonderful this proposal would be for them. I hear about barriers to getting rentals:
criminal history, drug use,and mental health issues. It is disingenuous to say that the people using this
proposed system are,for the most part working class people. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't
move to an area without a home and a job. So really, this is about housing the homeless.An unregulated
program of recreational vehicle housing would solve their problems,apparently. Maybe for the criminal,
the addicted,the mentally ill, but not for the homeowners living next to this crisis. For us,there is no
recourse.
Let us break this down:
Zoning: allows X dwelling units per designated area.This legislation tromps all over that. In order to get
an ADU on a property, setbacks must be met, parking accounted for,due public process to allow
neighbors to weigh in, the property is addressed,and has separate utilities and mail service.
Separate utilities: Property owners are not allowed to sell utilities, so a separate meter is required. Has
something changed to allow property owners to sell electricity now?Additionally, we pay for our Medic
11 service and base utility rates this way. How will these recreational vehicles be paying for the fire and
EMS services? Have you considered with the increased density, how this may affect the pressure on the
hospital?
Address:Sex offenders need to register and have a physical address. Recreational vehicles will not have
an address, so these people will be listed as homeless or"general delivery" but will, in fact, not be
homeless.They will be in our neighborhood, but not registered.Addresses are also used for emergency
services. How will our first responders find these people during an emergency?
Parking: Many of us in the city park on the street. It makes for a lot of unpleasantness between
neighbors when a person cannot park in front of their own home. Sound petty? It might be, but ask
around. Ifs a big frustration between neighbors.
Setbacks:There are areas of the property that are intended to be enjoyed without having the uneasy
feeling of tenants looking into your yard or windows. Have you thought about what will happen if an RV
is rented out but 50 people use it?They will have rights as tenants but neighbors will have none.
Property taxes:These tenants would pay none. Pressure on our services would increase(fire, police,
EMS, schools, street repair, use of common facilities like the pool and library) but these tenants would
contribute nothing to those increased costs.Who will pay for the need for more police,firefighters,
teachers? Homeowners.The same ones that will have no recourse if this legislation is passed.
No short-term rentals: This proposal is intended for long term rentals, not weekend or nightly renting.
Who is going to enforce that? In my experience, no one.Which puts neighbors in the unfavorable
position of filing complaints against neighbors, but without code enforcement nothing will be done.
All of this skirts around the fact that in three years our problems will not be solved.There are more
people in need than money to solve their problems. This happens in many communities.At the end of
three years, we all know that this will be a permanent situation.Without code enforcement and police
response, property owners will be left to deal with these messes on their own. If the city is interested in
attracting high end employers and employees to this area (physicians),this will certainly give a person
moving here pause. I know that for me,this will hasten my exit from Port Angeles. I will take my skillset
and my husband's (a critical care and emergency nurse)to another community that supports its
homeowners.
Opening this door will bring many people to Port Angeles, Our unemployment rate is already double the
state average. In three years,we will have people who have become reliant on the rent they receive
from this venture,and no alternative sites for the recreational vehicles to go,Three years will not solve
this problem. In three years,the problem will be worse.
I am asking you to consider how to do this the right way. I am really tired of the point,shoot, aim
mentality. I don't want to be Hiring in an active social experiment. Sorne cities are building RV and park
model home facilities. I've always told my staff that if they have a problem bring the problem to me with
two solutions. Living by my own word I offer you the following:
A park run by the city, rather like a marina,would be one way to manage this in a healthy way for all
involved.The facility(ies)could have showers, like state parks, laundry facilities, mail services,and allow
people to have outreach and social services available on site. If this turns into another Seattle homeless
camp filled with urine bottles, needles, hepatitis,and crime,you can sell the property and turn it into a
good RV park for a private business. Make sure the facility is centrally located and on a bus line. Require
rent or work in kind. Plan,for an increase in the need for first responders and build that into the cost.
In the meantime,hire two full time code enforcement officers. Require property owners to start
maintaining, to a basic level,their homes.Start enforcement activities on the abandoned properties and
the illegal commercial businesses being run out of residences(grow operations, AirBnBs).Annex land
and begin zoning for appropriate multifamily housing.Work with developers to encourage development
of both high-end quality multifamily units and affordable units. Provide infrastructure and services for
those sites.Acknowledge that there will always be more demand than need here and everywhere in
Washington.We cannot meet all needs. Learn to say no.Sometimes no is the answer.
The proposed ordinance is unenforceable and puts additional, negative pressure on services and
neighborhoods and will decrease property values, increase crime, and raise costs without a means to
pay for them. Reconsider this ill-conceived idea.Your working class neighborhoods will bear the brunt of
this plan.
Heather Catuzo
John Barrett
229 W 13 1h Street
Port Angeles, WA 98362