ORD NO. 2020-41 TERMINATING THE MORATORIUM RELATED TO SELF-SERVICE STORAGE FACILITIESPage 1 of 4
ORDINANCE NO. 2020-41
AN ORDINANCE of the City of Bainbridge Island, Washington,
terminating the moratorium related to self-service storage facilities,
as relates to Ordinance Nos. 2019-40, 2020-12, and 2020-36.
WHEREAS, within the express terms of the Growth Management Act, the Washington
State Legislature has specifically conferred upon the governing bodies of Washington cities the
right to establish and adopt moratoria related to land uses; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Bainbridge Island (“City”) updated the
City’s Comprehensive Plan in February of 2017; and
WHEREAS, self-service storage facilities are currently a permitted use in the
Business/Industrial (B/I) and Neighborhood Center (NC) districts within the City; and
WHEREAS, only 109.23 acres of land on Bainbridge Island are within the B/I district,
which constitutes 0.63% of the total acreage of land on Bainbridge Island; and
WHEREAS, Policy 1.5 of the Economic Element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan
states that “[i]n order to provide opportunities for business enterprise, adequate space must be
provided for efficient use of existing developed areas near public transportation (e.g., ferry, bus
service) and for growth that recognizes and protects the Island’s valued natural amenities, its
limits of land and water and the quality of its residential neighborhoods”; and
WHEREAS, given the limited amount of land within the B/I district, the City Council
has a significant interest in ensuring that the use of such land provides the best opportunities for
business enterprise within the City; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has significant concerns regarding further development of
self-service storage facilities within the B/I district under current regulations in the context of the
vision and goals of the City’s Comprehensive Plan; and
WHEREAS, Policy 15.2 of the Economic Element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan is
to “[p]romote manufacturing and business/industrial employment as an important source of
family wage jobs on Bainbridge Island”; and
WHEREAS, self-service storage facilities on Bainbridge Island have been found to
employ an average of one to two employees; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has significant concerns regarding whether self-service
storage facilities create family wage jobs as compared to other possible permitted uses within the
B/I district; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has similar concerns regarding self-service storage
facilities located in the NC district as it does with such facilities located in the B/I district; and
Page 2 of 4
WHEREAS, on November 26, 2019 the City Council approved Ordinance No. 2019-40,
imposing a temporary six-month moratorium on the acceptance of building permit or land use
permit applications for new self-service storage facilities in the Business/Industrial (B/I) and
Neighborhood Service Center (NSC) zoning districts; and
WHEREAS, due to the COVID-19 public health emergency and pandemic, over one-
hundred and sixty thousand people in Washington State have contracted the virus and almost
three-thousand persons have died due to the virus thus far and during the time period that this
moratorium has been in effect, and the public health emergency is ongoing and is expected to
continue for many months, and likely much longer; and
WHEREAS, due to the COVID-19 public health emergency and pandemic, the City has
been engaged in essential work on a highest-priority basis related to the public health emergency,
and as a result City staff and the City Council have had to significantly adjust work priorities
accordingly to address the public health crisis, including related to work that the Council has
been able to consider at modified Council meetings during this time period; and
WHEREAS, as a result of the public health emergency, work by City staff and the City
Council has been impacted and delayed related to review of the regulations and policies at issue
pertaining to this moratorium to ensure that the vision and goals of the City’s Comprehensive
Plan are being met to the Council’s satisfaction; and
WHEREAS, based on these and related concerns, the City Council required additional
time to review the regulations and policies at issue to ensure that the vision and goals of the
City’s Comprehensive Plan are being met to the Council’s satisfaction; and
WHEREAS, at its April 28, 2020 meeting, the City Council considered options related to
the moratorium and set a public hearing for May 12, 2020 to receive public comment and
consider whether to extend the moratorium for another six months via Ordinance No. 2020-12;
and
WHEREAS, at that April 28, 2020 meeting, the City Council, based on public comment
and Council discussion, directed the City Manager to amend the moratorium to exempt projects
that are partially constructed and/or at some point built, and the moratorium was amended via
Ordinance No. 2020-12 to include an exemption to meet the Council’s intent in that regard; and
WHEREAS, on May 12, 2020, the City Council conducted a public hearing on
Ordinance No. 2020-12 and the Council received and considered public comment related to that
ordinance, and after considering such public comment, the City Council adopted Ordinance No.
2020-12, including a work program, to extend the moratorium for six months, to November 26,
2020, and to otherwise amend the moratorium as stated in Ordinance No. 2020-12; and
WHEREAS, on September 8, 2020, City staff presented research on the City’s existing
self-service storage facilities and related to how this use is regulated in other west Puget Sound
jurisdictions, and after discussing and considering the information, the City Council directed
Page 3 of 4
staff to begin work on an ordinance to prohibit new self-service storage facilities and allow for
expansion of existing self-service storage facilities; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission discussed the topic of self-service storage
facilities on September 24 and October 8, 2020, including consideration of draft Ordinance No.
2020-34, which would prohibit new self-service storage facilities, and the Planning Commission
set a public hearing on that ordinance for October 29, 2020; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission conducted that public hearing on Ordinance No.
2020-34 on October 29, 2020, and after closing the public hearing, recommended approval of the
ordinance to the City Council; and
WHEREAS, in that the existing moratorium related to self-service storage facilities was
set to expire on November 26, 2020, and the City Council needed additional time to consider
draft Ordinance No. 2020-34 related to a prohibition on new self-service storage facilities, it was
necessary to extend the existing moratorium to allow for the completion of such additional
consideration; and
WHEREAS, on November 10, 2020, the City Council conducted a public hearing on
Ordinance No. 2020-36 to extend the moratorium for another six months and the Council
received and considered public comment related to the ordinance, and after closing the public
hearing, approved Ordinance No. 2020-36; and
WHEREAS, on December 8, 2020, the City Council considered and approved Ordinance
No. 2020-34, related to prohibiting new self-service storage facilities and allowing for expansion
of existing self-service storage facilities; and
WHEREAS, as a result of the adoption of Ordinance No. 2020-34, the existing
moratorium on self-service storage facilities is no longer necessary and the City Council is
hereby terminating that moratorium via this ordinance.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAINBRIDGE
ISLAND, WASHINGTON, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Moratorium Terminated. The moratorium imposed originally by Ordinance
No. 2019-40, and subsequently amended and extended by Ordinance Nos. 2020-12 and 2020-36,
is hereby terminated.
Section 2. Severability. Should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, be declared unconstitutional or
otherwise invalid for any reason, or should any portion of this ordinance be preempted by state
or federal law or regulation, such decision or preemption shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to other persons or circumstances.
Page 4 of 4
Section 3. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force on the next business day
following the effective date of Ordinance No. 2020-34, which ordinance, as above
described, is directly related to the basis for terminating this moratorium.
PASSED by the City Council this 8th day of December, 2020.
APPROVED by the Mayor this 8th day of December, 2020.
Leslie Schneider, Mayor
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATE:
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: December 4, 2020
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: December 8, 2020
PUBLISHED: December 11, 2020
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 17, 2020
ORDINANCE NUMBER: 2020-41