(The Center Square) – Spokane City Councilor Zack Zappone has accused Mayor Nadine Woodward of being hypocritical about when neighbors should and shouldn’t report unlawful activities to authorities.
He was referring to Woodward’s recent veto of an ordinance that sets limits on outdoor watering from June 1 to Oct 1.
The mayor said she could not support a system that encouraged “snitching” to trigger enforcement when people watered outside of mandated times and limits.
“That’s not the community I want to live in,” she said after rejecting the new code that was approved by the council in a 5-2 vote.
Zappone pointed out at Monday’s meeting that Woodward had conversely tweeted support for people contacting police about “nefarious” activities in their neighborhoods.
He said encouraging accountability for people such as the homeless, a vulnerable population, but not for water users set a “double-standard.”
“Sure, you can argue that homelessness and nefarious activities like the drug trade are different than water use,” said Zappone. “However, we have to consider the impact on our community and our costs.”
He said protecting the Spokane River and the city’s water supply, the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, not only had environmental importance, but also affected the culture and economics of the region.
“The direct tie of the river to our community and history is incredibly important,” he said.
The council overrode Woodward’s veto June 6 by a 5-1 vote. Councilor Michael Cathcart cast the dissenting vote. Councilor Jonathan Bingle was not present but had voted against the new watering rules at a prior meeting.
The veto was overridden by Zappone, Council President Breean Beggs and Councilors Betsy Wilkerson, Karen Stratton and Lori Kinnear.
Cathcart rebutted Zappone’s analysis.
“The idea that we can compare a drug house or a crime house where they’ve got a bike chop shop going on, and a lot of criminal activity, with a little old lady who forgets to turn off her sprinklers is kind of absurd,” he said.
He said there needs to be 100% accountability for people who committed true criminal acts, which someone who watered at the wrong time of day was not doing.
“We don’t need a heavy-handed approach to educate people,” he said.
Cathcart also responded to a criticism by Zappone about the ineffectiveness of his proposal that residents be offered financial benefits for reduced water usage instead of potentially subject to penalties.
For example, he wanted to see a household that lowered its water use by 25% have that same percentage shaved off the bill.
Zappone said that program would have shaved about $2 off the average household bill, which was not enough of an incentive to get people to change their watering habits.
“It’s simply setting a normal of what we expect from each other in Spokane around water usage. It’s common sense,” he said of the new rules. “When there’s a drought, we don’t water on the hottest part of the day. We don’t water every day. We water every other day. It’s simply just don’t be wasteful.”
Cathcart said the ordinance only set restrictions on people watering within the city limits. His proposal would have applied to all water users, including commercial enterprises and customers outside city boundaries, so there would have been significant benefits.
“The fact is there’s a lot more people we can affect with incentives than with mandates. In fact, there’s thousands and thousands of users who these mandates will have zero effect on because they’re outside the city,” Cathcart said. “They won’t reduce their water usage and the rest of the city is subsidizing that, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
He also disagreed with Beggs’ assertion that the new ordinance did not contain penalties for violators.
“We deferred any type of action to try to discourage people from trying to water outside these new norms and standards until two water seasons from now, at the end of 2023,” said Beggs.
Cathcart said the ordinance set the stage for penalties at the end of 18 months. Following the grace period, the new code allows the council and Public Works and Utilities Department to explore potential enforcement measures, such as surcharges.
“There’s a better way to go about this and that’s education,” reiterated Cathcart.
Zappone said Woodward had stated support for incentives but had yet to come up with a workable program.
Beggs also encouraged the mayor to get a program in place. “At the end of 2023, when we’re doing water rates and looking at all that, we can see what worked and what doesn’t,” he said.
The ordinance requires the city’s Water Department to educate all rate payers about the benefits of water conservation and how the new rules will work.
Beggs said if Woodward’s administration needs more money for staff to accomplish that task, the council is ready to act.
The new ordinance went into effect immediately with the veto override.
Outdoor watering in the city from June 1 to Oct. 1 will now only be permitted four days per week, with no watering allowed on those days from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Kinnear pointed out Monday that there are exemptions to the water rules for people watering vegetable gardens and trees, mitigating fire risk and preserving newly planted landscaping.
The ordinance provides as-needed exemptions for Spokane Parks and Recreation for reasons including the maintenance of recreational facilities and mitigating wildfire risk.
Additional measures under the ordinance measures kick in next year to allow the mayor and council to implement emergency watering restrictions when river flows are predicted to fall below 1,000 cubic feet per second.
