2024 - COFW Legislative PrioritiesPAGE 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF PRIORITIES
PUBLIC SAFETY
• Reinstate Police pursuits for car theft
and other property crimes.
• We will compile and present city, county, regional,
state, and national data on frequency and impacts of
car theft and the number of crimes committed using
car theft.
• Washington is #4 in car thefts in the nation, in raw
numbers behind New York, Texas and California.
Per capita Washington is 1st in the nation.
• Since implementing the no pursuit law, which went
into effect July 1, 2021, Washington state has seen a
significant increase in auto thefts, including Federal
Way. Vehicle theft was up to 47,448 from 35,385
in 2021, a 34.1 % increase. In the past two years,
vehicle theft in WA has almost doubled, used to
average about 26,000 yearly. An increase of roughly
90% statewide since the prohibition of police
pursuits for all property crimes. In Federal Way, we
saw a 58% increase in auto theft from 2021 to 2022
(946 vs. 1,492).
• Also, the current crime trend is that stealing a car
is a precursor for committing other crimes, such as
organized retail crimes, smash-and-grab burglaries,
robberies, purse snatching, carjacking, shooting,
etc. Stealing a vehicle gives criminals anonymity
and a better chance of avoiding being detected
for committing other crimes. They know that even
if police find them in a stolen car, the police can't
pursue them under the current law. The current
law needs to be amended to reverse this trend —
no police pursuits for any property crimes are too
restrictive, and it has created chaos and lawlessness
in our state. Criminals should not have more
protection than the victims.
• Public safety in Federal Way and throughout the
state is increasingly being impacted by a shortage
of mental health and addiction resources available
to serve the chronically transient population. When
such individuals are involved with retail theft, drug
sales or possession, violent crime or are a danger
to themselves, courts and social service agencies
should have such programs as tools to provide an
opportunity to change lives. Funding for treatment
beds is needed.
• Amend the law to allow a parent or guardian to
provide consent for a juvenile to be interviewed
by law enforcement to include consent to search
property and/or allow (cost.)
the juvenile to consent after consulting with an
attorney. Many of our communities have seen a
surge of juvenile crimes. The current law requires
law enforcement to provide a juvenile with an
attorney before questioning or obtaining consent
to search personal property. The attorney can usurp
parental direction and approval. It requires police to
make arrest decisions without being able to get the
juvenile's side of the story.
King County "Guardian One" Helicopter
Replacement. Advocate for funding a new helicopter
for the King County Sheriff's Office Air Support Unit.
It is more important than ever to provide resources
such as the King County Air Support Unit. A law
enforcement helicopter is often referred to as a
"force multiplier." It is an indispensable part of the
Sheriff's Office. Beyond law enforcement functions,
the helicopter's excellent visibility and the ability
to hover make it a very effective Search & Rescue
vehicle.
TRANSPORTATION BUDGET REQUESTS (RANKED)
• 1st: The 373rd Traffic Circle Project ($1 million)
• 2nd: The City Center Access Project ($50 million)
• 3rd: Improvements to SW 336th-SW 340th corridor
($20 million)
• 4th: The Triangle Project. We request WSDOT to
reprioritize the project for completion.
CAPITAL BUDGET REQUEST
Capital budget requests including turf ball fields at
Celebration Park ($1.5 million)
LOCAL CONTROL
• Maintain ability of cities to retain autonomy as they
plan for growth.
OTHER INITIATIVES
• Condominium liability and housing affordability.
• Behavioral, mental health, and addiction resources.
• Environmental Funding for EV Chargers, electric
vehicles, city facility upgrades and for Net Zero
programs.
• Advocate for Net Zero building incentives for
residential, commercial and government buildings.
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PUBLIC SAFETY
• Reinstate Police pursuits for car
theft and other property crimes.
• We will compile and present city, county, regional,
state, and national data on frequency and impacts
of car theft, the number of crimes committed
utilizing car theft and those committing them.
• Washington is #4 in car thefts in the nation, in raw
numbers behind New York, Texas and California.
Per capita Washington is 1st in the nation.
• Amend the law to allow a parent or guardian to
provide consent for a juvenile to be interviewed
by law enforcement to include consent to search
property and/or allow the juvenile to consent after
consulting with an attorney.
• Behavioral, mental health, and addiction resources.
• King County "Guardian One" Helicopter
Replacement. Advocate for funding a new
helicopter for the King County Sheriff's
Office Air Support Unit.
Capital budget request is for turf ballfields
at Celebration Park.
The City of Federal Way has received
$822,000 from the Department of
Commerce.
The request is for up to $1.5 million to complete the
resurfacing of two ball fields.
OTHER INIIIATIV
• Environmental Funding for EV Chargers,
electric vehicles, city facility upgrades.
• Advocate for Net Zero/green incentive IL
programs for residential, commercial, and
government buildings.
HOUSING &CONDOMINIUM LIABILITY
TRANSPORTATION BUDGET REQUESTS [RANKED
1st - The 373rd Traffic Circle Project. $1 Million. This project is
also actively in design and while partial grant funding has been
received, the City is requesting $1 million towards the completion
of the project. This is a project on a State route and while we
appreciate receipt of a TIB grant, the State Legislature hasn't
contributed to the project to increase safety on a State road. Based
on the most recent collision report, since 2015, there have been 7
deaths, 11 accidents resulting in a disabling injury, and 24 accidents
with evident injuries. The City took action and modified the
intersection to discourage further accidents; however, a traffic circle
is the essential solution.
2nd - City Center Access Project. $50 Million. While this project
is actively in design and partial grant funding has been received,
the City is requesting $50 million towards the completion of
the project. The City Center Access project is designed to reduce
backups onto the mainline of 1-5 at the 320th interchange and
improve access from Federal Way's City Center to and across 1-5.
Additionally, it improves intermodal and multi -modal access by
modifying the existing over -utilized S 320th Street interchange
in order to better accommodate concentrated urban growth and
provide multi -modal connections with transit agencies.
3rd - Improvements to SW 336th-SW 340th corridor. $20 Million.
Construction of the SW 336th St to SW 340th St corridor, including
a roundabout at SW 340th Street and Hoyt Road SW. With traffic
from the City of Tacoma's Brown's Point area and the City of
Federal Way, this area has seen an increased level of congestion.
This is projected to continue to increase with the anticipated Sound
Transit South Federal Way station, and improved connections
between Tacoma and Federal Way are needed.
4th - The Triangle Project. Reprioritization.
This includes construction of the O
southbound off ramp to 161, the
replacement of the northbound to
eastbound, and the City supports funding
the project to allow full construction. This
was initially funded, but the Legislature
removed the funding to shore up multiple
other regional WSDOT projects and moved
this project to the future. We request for v
reprioritization for completion.
Supports condominium liability reform aimed at
lowering regulatory barriers associated with building D D
affordable condos while improving the climate for
construction statewide. Developers and insurers Q .O 0
need more certainty and removing disincentives
to building affordable condo projects while
maintaining consumer protections.
The City of Federal Way would also welcome other proactive
approaches to create new tools/incentives/revenues for cities to
use to support increasing housing supply and addressing housing
affordability.
The City of Federal Way has not sought to
limit growth or the construction of new
and affordable housing, but has invested
considerable time and effort through
deliberate processes that involve extensive
public participation to plan for smart growth.
Instead of proposing to mandate zoning standards
from Olympia, the state should look to provide
incentives to cities which would promote higher
densities and leave local zoning decisions with city
elected officials.