MLT Council hears report on residential code violations

The Mountlake Terrace City Council at its March 5 regular meeting heard Code Compliance Officer Laura Stevenson summarize several “high-impact” cases regarding residential code violations in 2025.

In one case, Stevenson showed a residence that had a nuisance violation due to multiple pieces of playground equipment and outdoor furniture installed in the front yard. She said the property owners voluntarily brought the property into compliance within two months.

Another case started as a nuisance violation based on the property’s conditions, Stevenson said. After the property was sold, the new owner began to demolish the structure without a permit, which triggered a second case. In 16 months, the new owner completed the remodeling, brought the property into compliance, cleared the nuisance issues and put it on the market.

Stevenson talked about a case that involved  Snohomish County Superior Court, which ruled in the City’s favor. The cleanup took about 18 months. 

“After the court decision, the residents cleaned up the property themselves, which saved the City from having to hire a contractor to do it,” she said.

In the final case, Stevenson showed a residence with multiple vehicles clustered in the front yard and driveway. The City took the property owners to court, and the court ruled in the City’s favor. 

In another photo, 22 months after the case was opened, the front of the house was cleared and had stumps installed to prevent illegal parking. 

“Here’s what we didn’t see,” she said, showing the residence’s backyard, which was piled with scrap metal, vehicle parts and garbage.

She said the vehicles in the first photo have been a “regular fixture” on 54th Avenue West for three years. 

“The tenants were evicted. The owners came in, and very rapidly, their whole family got together and started clearing this up,” Stevenson said. “We wouldn’t have known about this other than them telling us that this is what was going on in their backyard.”

She then shared a photo of the back yard at her last inspection.

Councilmember Sam Doyle asked about the underlying causes of such code violations.

Stevenson said some of the causes include lack of funds to clear the debris, lack of knowledge about City codes and mental health issues. She said that the City has been gradually assembling a list of resources they can connect people with, but there aren’t many resources specifically for nuisance issues, such as junk or extra vehicles. 

“If somebody can’t afford the dumpster, or they physically are having trouble, we offer extensions frequently,” Stevenson said. “If there’s no safety issue, then you’re offered an extension, or you can ask for an extension. If you say nothing, then the process just moves along as it is. But as long as you’re communicating with the City that [you’re] working on this, get extensions.”

Building Official Matthew Gisle said in some cases, neighbors, family members and community groups step in to help property owners resolve violations.

“There’s also other times that we’ve had property owners realize they can’t maintain their house,” he said. “It’s in disrepair, and they probably need to move somewhere safer, and we can have people that can help with that.”

Stevenson showed photos of the former King’s III Chinese restaurant, which has been vacant for several years. She said the building owners were asked to bring the building up to code standards or demolish it.

“They chose demolition, but before they did, they allowed South County Fire to come over and do a training exercise where they were training on roof ventilation, simulating a fire,” Stevenson said. 

Councilmember Laura Sonmore asked if the landlord for the property with the backyard junk knew about the property’s conditions. Stevenson said the landlord  told her that they haven’t been on the property for years and assumed “all was well” because they were getting their rent.

Earlier in the presentation, Stevenson said the City received about $8,500 in assessments, just under $85,000 in settlements and more than $24,000 in investigation fees, bringing the total revenue for code violations to more than $117,700. She said most code cases do not generate revenue.

She said she had worked on 193 cases and closed 174 cases in 2025. About 47% of the cases were nuisance violations and 50% were building code violations.

“Real change takes time, but the City is starting to see tangible improvements in neighborhood conditions and overall community well-being,” Stevenson said.

Street sweeper sharing

Public Works Director Gary Schimek said the Town of Woodway has asked to partner with Mountlake Terrace to share its street sweeper because the Town trusts Mountlake Terrace could do a better job than a private contractor. Woodway adopted a stormwater comprehensive plan recently that includes a permit requirement for street sweeping, Schimek said. 

Woodway requested 240 hours of service a year at $130 per hour, which includes labor, administration costs, maintenance, fuel and parts replacement. Potential impacts to Mountlake Terrace include 20 to 30 fewer days of service per year and additional wear and tear on the sweeper, Schimek said.

If the Council approves the interlocal agreement with Woodway, Schimek said that a second sweeper may be considered for the 2027-28 biennial budget, which would include an additional full-time employee.

The Council will vote on the agreement as part of  the consent agenda next week.

Wastewater treatment plant

Schimek also asked the Council to extend by two years the Edmonds wastewater treatment plant agreement, which includes the City of Edmonds, Olympic View Water District and the City of Shoreline. Edmonds is working to develop a new 30-year agreement. 

Although the contract will be updated, Schimek said he  doesn’t expect major structural changes because the existing framework works well.  The contract will address revisions on how flows are calculated and whether all partners are satisfied with their current capacity shares, he added.

There is also a potential “flow swap” with King County where Mountlake Terrace could abandon the Windermere pump station in the northeast corner of the City and send sewage flows to the Brightwater Treatment Plant through the Woodinville Water District. That would free up capacity at Edmonds while helping relieve King County’s constraints at the West Point Treatment Plant, he said.

“There is a very high likelihood the cost would be much less because we would not have to maintain a pump station,” Schimek said. “Instead of pumping [wastewater] everyday…to the Edmonds plant, we would flow by gravity to the King County plant. So that would potentially be a significant amount of savings.”

As part of the contract extension discussion, Schimek also addressed:

• Lining or replacing leaky sewers across all four partner systems to keep clean groundwater out of the sewer pipes.
• Addressing requirements to remove nitrogen from the wastewater, which could force higher treatment levels and extra on‑site storage and reduce plant capacity, which he warned could become a “significant problem” for the partners.

Schimek said the capital costs in the agreement are allocated based on how much each partner shares: Mountlake Terrace owns about 28%, Edmonds about 50% and the others about 10%. Operations costs are allocated strictly by measured flows, which have stayed relatively stable over time even as populations changed, he said.

The Council will vote on the extension as part of next week’s consent agenda.

Engineering manual update

The Council voted 6-0 to adopt the City’s updated Engineering Development Manual, which serves as a central reference for middle housing requirements and zoning codes. (Councilmember Kyoko Matsumoto Wright was absent from the meeting.)

Civil Engineer II Lucas Kragt said proposed changes would align the manual with recent zoning code updates related to the state’s middle housing requirements. These changes include:

• Defining accessory dwelling units (ADUs) “one half of an equivalent residential unit for stormwater billing and facility charges.
• Projects that are less than 2,000 square feet and 1 cubic yard of material) don’t require a permit.
• Changing minimum driveway width to 12-20 feet depending on the number of parking spaces.

Councilmember William Paige Jr. asked about a proposed change in the  street-width reduction from 36 feet to 32 feet from curb to curb.

Kragt said the design’s intention is to create more walkable areas in the City and reduce speeding. “These aren’t supposed to be the arterials that you’re moving fast and having high traffic flows,” he said. “These are meant to be localized streets for individuals to access to their houses, and by reducing this width, we can still maintain all the utility width we need.”

In other agenda items, the Council recognized Eagle Scouts Isabelle and William Green for their Scout projects in 2025. Isabelle collected and distributed 2,500 books for underserved children, for work totaling 210 hours and valued at more than $25,000. William led a group of Scouts to build an ADA-compliant table near the Hazel Miller Playground at Ballinger Park.

Mountlake Terrace Park Supervisor Celina Williams presented the awards. She noted that Isabelle and Williams’s grandfather was former Mountlake Terrace Mayor Roger Bergh, and the table is dedicated to him.

Sonmore thanked the Greens and said their family has “contributed so much” to the City. “Your grandfather would be so proud of both of you,” she said.

The Council also honored the contributions of Sally Buckingham of Mountlake Terrace, who passed away on Dec. 9. Buckingham was recognized for her dedication to historic preservation, education, and patriotism, including her work with the Boy Scouts and veterans’ cemeteries. She was also a local chapter member of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

Councilmember Erin Murray read a proclamation that celebrates Women’s History Month, highlighting the achievements of Mountlake Terrace’s four current female councilmembers and Girl Scout Troop 50529. Members of the troop were at City Hall selling Girl Scout cookies before the meeting.

Murray praised the Girl Scouts for their mission to build courage, confidence and character. She also invited the public to view the documentary film Girl Rising (2013) on March 29 at the MLT Library, which talks about social barriers facing nine girls from nine different countries.

Images of the presentations are on the City’s website.

The meeting can be watched on the City’s YouTube channel.