17.75.080 Special provisions for Secure Community Transition Facilities (SCTFs).
A. The purpose and intent of this section is to establish standards for Secure Community Transition Facilities (SCTFs) in compliance with Chapter 71.09 RCW, and to maintain compatibility with other land uses and services permitted within the city. The standards in this section apply to all SCTFs in addition to the process set forth under Chapter 17.10.100 AMC, the standards of this Section AMC 17.75.080 are not subject to a variance.
B. SCTFs conforming with the standards set forth below (in addition to approval under standards set forth pursuant to AMC 17.75.060 criteria for EPFs) may be approved by conditional use permit. The following additional siting criteria applies to SCTFs:
1. SCTFs should be located near transit facilities, as appropriate.
2. No SCTF shall be permitted within one mile from any existing SCTF, work release, prerelease, or similar facilities, as defined in RCW 71.09.250(8) and (9).
3. On-Site Facilities Required. Each SCTF shall have the capability to provide on-site dining, on-site laundry or laundry service, and on-site recreation facilities to serve the residents.
4. SCTFs shall not be permitted adjacent to, immediately across a street or parking lot, from, or within the line of sight of a risk potential activity or facility in existence at the time a conditional use is applied for consideration. “Risk potential activity” or “risk potential facility” means an activity or facility that provides a higher incidence of risk to the public from persons conditionally released from the special commitment center. Risk potential activities and facilities include: Public and private schools, school bus stops, licensed day care and licensed preschool facilities, public parks, publicly dedicated trails, sports fields, playgrounds, recreational and community centers, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, public libraries, public and private youth camps, and others identified by the department following the hearings on a potential site required in RCW 71.09.315. “Within the line of sight” means that it is possible to reasonably visually distinguish and recognize individuals.
5. Siting of SCTFs shall be in accordance with the siting criteria of Chapter 71.09 RCW, and regulations adopted pursuant thereto. In addition, no SCTFs shall be sited closer than three hundred thirty feet from any residentially zoned property.
6. SCTFs shall provide the following staffing and security measures:
a. The owner and operator of the SCTF shall submit and maintain a plan for staffing, security measures, procedures for immediate public notification of escapes, and escapee search procedures (“the plan”), all in a form and content satisfactory to the planning director, after consultation with the police chief. The security measures shall indicate the types of security measures/facilities proposed for the SCTF including, but not limited to, constant electronic monitoring of residents, site security measures/equipment, and site access and control consistent with Chapter 71.09 RCW, unless otherwise ordered by a court. The plan, along with documentation of the planning director’s concurrence in or rejection of the plan, shall be included in materials submitted to and reviewed by the city council, provided that the security plan made part of the public record shall not be in such detail that security of the facility would be compromised.
b. The owner and operator of the SCTF shall enter into a contract with the city, in a form and content satisfactory to the city attorney, committing the owner and operator to comply with and maintain the plan for the life of the facility.
c. The applicant shall install an eight-foot high fence, in character with the surrounding area, between the facility and all property boundaries. The city council may waive or lessen this requirement upon finding that due to existing site features or the type or character of adjoining uses, the privacy and security of the occupants of adjoining properties can be maintained in the absence of a fence or with a lower fence.
d. The facility shall have a backup power source.
C. Application Materials. In addition to the regular application materials required for a land use review pursuant to AMC 17.10.100, an application for an SCTF shall also include:
1. The siting process used for the SCTF, including alternative locations considered.
2. An analysis showing that consideration was given to potential sites such that siting of the facility will not result in a concentration of similar facilities in a particular neighborhood, community, jurisdiction, or region.
3. Proposed mitigation measures, including the use of buffering from adjoining uses.
4. A general overview of planned security for the facility.
5. A schedule and analysis of all public input solicited or to be solicited during the siting process.
6. Notice of the application to all property owners and occupants of record within two thousand five hundred feet of the proposed site. (Ord. 2794 § 1 (Att. A), 2008)