Letter to Tuininga
City of Yelm
Community Development Department
105 Yelm Avenue West
P.O. Box 479
Yelm, WA 98597
January 21, 2005
Patricia Tuininga
9244 Mountain View Road SE
Yelm, WA 98597
Dear Ms. Tuininga:
This letter is in response to your questions raised during the January 12, 2005, City Council meeting related to the proposed latecomers agreement for the Buckhorn Estates subdivision
on Mountain View Road.
As noted during the hearing, it appeared that many of the questions you had regarding public notice requirements and process were based on the State Laws governing the formation of a
Local Improvement District, which is distinctly different from a latecomers agreement. After reading the letter you provided at the Council meeting, I see that, in fact, you were relying
on the incorrect RCW.
Chapter 13.12 Yelm Municipal Code (copy attached) provides guidance for the approval of a latecomers agreement. The process requires the Council hold a public hearing on an ordinance
authorizing the mayor to enter into the latecomers contract. Section 13.12.020 indicates that the notice of public hearing on the ordinance should be published according to the City’s
public hearing requirements. The Municipal Code does not contain any specific requirements for public notice for this type of hearing, nor does Chapter 35.91 RCW, which is the enabling
legislation for the City to adopt it’s own latecomers code. Regardless, the notice was published in the Nisqually Valley News on January 7, 2005, and the notice was mailed to all property
owners affected by the proposed latecomers contract on January 5, 2005. As you can see, the City exceeded the legal requirements for public hearing notice.
I hope that the latecomers process was explained adequately at the Council meeting, but to recap, a latecomers agreement is different than an assessment district in that the assessment
is paid in full at the time of connection to City services. The assessment is based on the actual construction costs and is allocated through a formula that takes into consideration
both the property frontage and acreage.
A latecomers agreement typically benefits the properties that are assessed their portion as:
The cost per lineal foot is split by the properties on each side of the street.
The cost is in today’s dollars.
The total cost is typically lower than individual frontage improvements because of mobilization costs and economies of scale.
Keep in mind that, if the utility lines ended at your property line, upon connection you would be required to extend them across your entire property frontage at your sole expense.
The latecomers assessment can only be collected for 15 years from the date of the contract [Section 13.12.010 (D) YMC] and is assessed only at the time of connection to City services.
Currently, connection is required when a property is subdivided or otherwise develops with a use that requires urban infrastructure or when the on-site sewage disposal system fails.
The construction costs listed in the latecomer’s contract only includes off-site improvements installed by the developer past other properties and does not include their frontage or
internal infrastructure.
Finally, we in the Community Development Department are available during normal business hours to answer any question related to development or comprehensive planning. The City website
is a good resource for keeping track of development applications, even if you don’t subscribe to the Nisqually Valley News. The Community Development Department publishes a list of
new permit applications weekly at www.ci.yelm.wa.us.
Sincerely,
Grant Beck, Director
Department of Community Development