Clyde Hill News: City to update local laws to protect minors and vulnerable adults
Incidents at local schools continue; driver cited for 57mph in a 25mph zone
Residents can expect new laws on the books to help local police protect the vulnerable. On Tuesday night, the city council will consider ordinances related to anti-harassment protection orders and the duty to report abuse of a minor child.
Also below, some good news about crime prevention from Clyde Hill PD, along with what else to expect at Tuesday’s meeting. And, on a positive note, Clyde Hill Park has a new sign:
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Disclaimer: while I am a councilmember on the Clyde Hill City Council, I write this newsletter in my capacity as an individual resident. Any opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily the position of the City. City information and references here are from public sources. I welcome email responses — and if the topic is about City business I will respond from my City email account.
New laws to protect the vulnerable
According to a city document (link), Clyde Hill Police requested an update to the city’s municipal code related to reporting known abuse of a minor. The proposed ordinance
adopts the substantive and procedural state laws that allow the city’s police department to address a person’s failure to report known abuse of a minor child
This proposed ordinance is likely related to ongoing police responses to school incidents occurring in Clyde Hill:
Another proposed ordinance (link) enables Clyde Hill’s police to enforce orders regarding
a wider range of interpersonal relationship protection issues, such as stalking, anti-harassment, extreme risk, and vulnerable adult protection orders.
For context, Clyde Hill PD’s activity report has included an uptick in protection order violations. You can see this month’s report here (link); on page 4, you can see the report of a citation for speed and reckless driving to someone traveling 57mph in a 25mph zone.
Crime Prevention with Environmental Design
Chief of Police Kyle Kolling’s update this month described “Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED)” training that one of Clyde Hill’s police officers completed. The program can help “reduce victimization, deter criminal acts and build a sense of community.”
Officer Jennings can now recommend ways for homeowners and the community to better protect their properties from being victimized. Examples include trimming hedges and shrubbery, additional lighting around properties, cameras/security system placements, and other options to help deter criminals.
Other business at the city meeting
Budget
Residents can expect discussion of progress on plans to address the long-running budget deficit. For context, the City of Clyde Hill operated with a budget deficit in 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020.
The council is likely to re-authorize the resident Budget Advisory Committee with one key change: a more participatory process that enables increased feedback from residents (link), particularly on city priorities and goals.
Updating problematic land use code
A memo in the meeting packet (link) describes a recommendation “that the council consider… updates to some problematic land use code chapters.”
The context here is the goal of “clear code, consistently enforced” that the city council’s Land Use Committee set out last year. The memo refers to examples of ambiguities and contradictions in the city code to illustrate the problems that residents face.
The memo also notes that the administration is not enforcing some parts of the city code as written. The council took action earlier this year to address some instances where “Administration practice differs from public written policy.” The memo indicates that there is more work to do here.
Comprehensive Plan
At last month’s meeting, several councilmembers expressed concern about the lack of clarity and expectations regarding how the city’s comprehensive plan is coming together. From the meeting packet, it’s not clear what the administration has done with the feedback.
For context, the comprehensive plan is the city’s “big picture” statement of goals and policy framework.
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Dean Hachamovitch