19.08.200 Homeless shelter and housing.
A. Applicability.
1. This section applies to the following uses:
b. Indoor emergency shelter.
c. Outdoor emergency shelter.
2. This section shall not apply to:
a. Emergency or disaster situations as defined by RCW 38.52.010(9); provided, however, that the inability of a sponsor or managing agency to locate a site shall not be deemed to constitute an emergency or disaster.
b. Placement of a tiny house or a tiny house with wheels used as a primary residence in a manufactured/mobile home community; provided, that each tiny house contains at least one internal toilet and at least one internal shower or the manufactured/mobile home community provides for the toilets and showers.
B. General Provisions.
1. Applications for facilities which provide shelter for survivors of domestic violence do not require notice to adjacent property owners.
2. A religious organization may host individuals or families experiencing homelessness pursuant to RCW 35.21.915, including extreme weather shelters, on property owned or controlled by the religious organization whether within buildings located on the property or elsewhere on the property outside of buildings, subject to the conditions set forth in this section.
3. The city may require an organization to enter into a memorandum of understanding for fire safety that includes inspections, an outline for appropriate emergency procedures, a determination of the most viable means to evacuate occupants from inside a site with appropriate illuminated exit signage, panic bar exit doors, and a completed fire water agreement indicating: (a) posted safe means of egress; (b) operable smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors as necessary, and fire extinguishers; and (c) a plan for monitors who spend the night awake and are familiar with emergency protocols, who have suitable communication devices, and who know how to contact the fire department.
4. Management Responsibility Plan. Prior to or upon filing a land use application, the managing agency and sponsor shall prepare an emergency shelter management responsibility plan, which shall be included with their permit application. The management responsibility plan shall, at a minimum, address the details of the facility operations and responsibilities identified in subsections (B)(5) though (7) of this section. If children under eighteen are allowed in the facility, such as for family shelters, specific provisions must be identified in the management responsibility plan to ensure safety, security, and well-being of minors.
5. Managing Agency Responsibilities.
a. The managing agency and residents of the facility shall ensure compliance with state law and the Everett Municipal Code concerning, but not limited to, drinking water connections, solid waste disposal, human waste, electrical systems, and fire-resistant materials.
b. The managing agency shall identify a person or persons as a point of contact for the Everett police department that is available at all times.
c. The managing agency shall maintain an admission process that adequately provides for the safety and welfare of residents of the facility and the community, with particular attention to the safety of children and other vulnerable residents, and may include consideration of the applicant’s sex offender status; the number and nature of the applicant’s criminal convictions; the number and nature of the applicant’s pending criminal cases; or active warrants issued for the applicant’s arrest.
d. The managing agency shall immediately contact the Everett police department if, in the opinion of staff or security, a person is a potential threat to the safety of residents of the facility or the community.
e. The managing agency shall permit inspections of the facility by the city’s code compliance officers, building inspector, permit services manager, fire marshal or their designee without prior notice. The managing agency shall implement all directives resulting from such inspections within the given compliance schedule.
f. The managing agency shall submit an updated management plan to the appropriate city department within thirty days of any changes in operations that are covered in the plan.
6. Transportation Plan.
a. A transportation plan is required.
b. The facility shall be located within one-half mile of transit service.
7. Code of Conduct. The managing agency shall develop a shelter resident code of conduct agreement that addresses expected acceptable conduct during the resident’s stay and shall submit the code in the management plan. The code of conduct shall, at a minimum, contain rules that limit adverse impacts within the shelter and the surrounding neighborhood. All residents of an emergency shelter are required to sign the code of conduct agreement, which shall be enforced by the managing agency.
8. Additional Requirements for Applications Requesting Modification of Standards. The applicant may request in their application for standards that differ from those in this section only where the applicant submits a description of the standard to be modified and demonstrates how the modification would result in a safe facility under the specific circumstances of the application in accordance with EMC 15.02.140(D).
9. Social services provided as part of an indoor emergency shelter, outdoor emergency shelter, or emergency housing facility are assumed to be provided only for residents of the facility. If social services will be provided on site to nonresidents, the use must be reviewed and separately permitted under the appropriate approval process defined in Chapter 19.05 EMC.
C. Standards for Outdoor Emergency Shelters.
1. Duration. Outdoor emergency shelters may be approved for a period not to exceed one year. The permit shall specify a date by which the use shall be terminated, and the site returned to pre-shelter conditions. The planning director may grant extensions for up to one year each; provided, that all conditions have been complied with and circumstances associated with the use have not changed. A request for an extension should be submitted in writing no less than sixty days prior to the end of the expiration date of the permit to ensure continued operations.
2. Maximum Size.
a. Outdoor emergency shelters are limited to forty units per site.
b. The maximum number of residents within an outdoor emergency shelter is one hundred.
3. Setbacks.
a. Outdoor emergency shelters shall be located a minimum of forty feet from the property line of abutting properties. A lesser setback may be approved if the planning director determines there is sufficient vegetation, topographic variation, or other site conditions that obscure the site from abutting properties.
b. Outdoor emergency shelter units shall meet all setbacks required by the International Fire Code.
4. Fencing. Sight-obscuring fencing is required around the perimeter of the outdoor emergency shelter unless the planning director determines that there is sufficient vegetation, topographic variation, or other site conditions such that fencing would not be effective.
5. Lighting. Exterior lighting must be directed downward and contained within the outdoor emergency shelter.
6. Inspections.
a. The managing agency shall permit inspections of the outdoor emergency shelter by the Snohomish health district without prior notice and implement all directives of the health district within the time period specified by the health district.
b. The managing agency shall permit access by the Everett police department and Snohomish County sheriff, without prior notice, to the outdoor emergency shelter site at all times.
7. Other.
a. Units are limited to one hundred twenty square feet and must be spaced at least six feet apart;
b. Electricity and heat, if provided, must be inspected and approved by the city’s building official;
c. Space heaters, if provided, must be approved by the city fire marshal;
d. Each unit must have a fire extinguisher;
e. Adequate restrooms must be provided, including restrooms solely for families if present, along with hand-washing and potable running water to be available if not provided within the individual units, including accommodating black water. (Ord. 3895-22 § 15, 2022; Ord. 3774-20 § 5(G) (Exh. 3), 2020.)