City Council - Regular Meeting

Welcome back to Pasco City Council In Focus. I'm Communications Coordinator Alyssa Warner and this is a look at what's coming up on the July 13th Pasco City Council Workshop Meeting Agenda. We'll start with a presentation about the Broadmoor Master Plan. This detailed document lays out the long-range vision for more than 1,200 acres of land in West Pasco. The goal is to make sure that development there is structured and benefits the community overall. Speaking of new development, the City Council will be looking at potential changes to some of our residential zoning regulations. This change, if approved, would allow developers to skip building what we call frontage improvements, things like sidewalks, bike lanes, and streetlights, if they're not needed right away. It could lower the initial cost of building new neighborhoods, but it could also mean higher taxes for people in those neighborhoods later on if we need to go back and install sidewalks and streetlights later. As traffic changes, roads have to change too. The Washington State Department of Transportation, or WSDOT, is in charge of state roads. They will build a roundabout at the intersection of Karchner Street and Commercial Avenue, which is the location of WSDOT's US 395 northbound ramp terminal. That's going to require a detour onto Pasco City streets while construction is underway. City Council will be asked to sign off on allowing the detour and allowing vehicles to use city streets around the work zone. Pasco Police Department could be featured in upcoming WSU research. Washington State University has asked for access to Pasco Police Department's body camera video so they can study how police interact with the public. The analysis isn't just academic. It could help Pasco Police better understand how their own policies and procedures are working in a big picture way. The body camera video would be processed to make sure that people involved can't be identified and we'll take steps to make sure that it's only being used for the approved project. City Council will need to give approval before Pasco Police can participate. We can also expect to hear about the laws for e-bikes, both city ordinances and state laws. In Washington State, as of this summer, a two-wheeled electric vehicle that can go 20 miles per hour or faster without pedaling stops being treated as a bike and starts being treated as a motorcycle. That's important for parents to know because it means teenagers riding high-powered e-bikes without the proper license could get a ticket, and guardians could even face criminal charges for failure to supervise a minor. Now, because this is a workshop meeting, you will have the opportunity for public comment on any of the issues listed on the agenda. As always, you can find the full meeting agenda on our website, pasco-wa.gov, and watch the meeting live on Facebook and YouTube Monday evening. We'll see you next week for another Pasco City Council In Focus.