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19800722 City Council Minutes82 July 22, 1980 • The regular meeting of the Edmonds C.ity..Counci.l was. called to order at 8:10 p.m. by Mayor Harve Harrison in the Council Chambers of the Edmonds.Civic Center.. All present joined in the flag salute. PRESENT STAFF PRESENT Harve Harrison., Mayor Charles Dibble, M.A.A. Jo -Anne Jaech Fred Herzberg, Public Works Director Bill Kasper John LaTourelle, Planning Consultant Katherine Allen Mary Lou Block, Planning.Division Manager John Nordquist Duane Bowman, Associate Planner Ray Gould Irene Varney Moran, City Clerk Larry Naughten Jim Adams, City Engineer Mary Goetz Dan Prinz,.Acting Police Chief Gary McComas, Acting Fire Chief Jim Jessel, Parks & Recreation Director Peggy Walton, Arts Coordinator ,Jim Murphy, City Attorney Jackie Parrett, Deputy'City Clerk Council members Kasper and Goetz were not present at the beginning of the.meeting, Councilman Kasper arriving at 8:30 p.m. and Councilwoman Goetz arriving at 10:10 p.m. CONSENT AGENDA 'MOTION: Items (D), (E), and (G) were removed from the Consent Agenda. COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN NORDQUIST, TO APPROVE THE BALANCE OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED. (Council members Kasper and Goetz were not present for the vote.) The approved.items.on the Consent Agenda included the following: (A) Roll call. (B) Approval of Minutes of July 15,1980. (C) Report on results of Sunset Ave. traffic configuration. (F) Setting date of August 5, 1980 for hearing on-5-lot subdivision at 19804 Maplewood Dr.-- Beselin/Phelps - File P-2-80. AUTHORIZATION FOR CALL FOR BIDS ON SALE.OF.VEHICLES [Item (D) on.Consent Agenda] Councilman Nordquist asked where the vehicles would be displayed. Public Works Director Fred Herzberg responded that they -would be at the Public Works Department and the call for bids will be MOTION: published. COUNCILMAN NORDQUIST MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN,, TO.APPROVE ITEM (D) ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED. (Council members Kasper and'Goetz were not present.for the vote.) AUTHORIZATION FOR MAYOR TO SIGN:306•COASTAL.ZONE MANAGEMENT 1980-81.GRANT CONTRACT [Item (E) on Consent Agenda Councilman Gould noted that on page 8.of the contract the Project Coordinator was to be indicated MOTION: but was left blank. Planning Division Manager Mary Lou Block said she would be designated the. Project Coordinator. COUNCILMAN GOULD THEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN NORDQUIST, TO APPROVE ITEM (E) ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED. (Council members Kasper and Goetz were not present for the vote.) 1 PROPOSED RESOLUTION.OF INTENTION, AMENDING RESOLUTION OF INTENTION 255, TO ESTABLISH A NEW HEARING • DATE FOR PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT ROLL ON PROPOSED LID .FOR SPRAGUE.ST..:BETWEEN 7TH AND 8TH [Item (G) on Consent Agenda Mayor Harrison advised that the applicant -had asked that this be withdrawn and postponed indefinitely. MOTION: COUNCILMAN NORDQUIST MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN GOULD, THAT.ITEM_(G).ON THE CONSENT AGENDA BE WITHDRAWN. Councilman Gould noted that if it should come up again there will be another hearing on the matter. Public Works Director Fred Herzberg advised that some costs had been incurred on the proposed LID and some mechanism will have to be devised to pay off.the contractors. THE MOTION CARRIED. (Council members Kasper and Goetz were not present -for the vote.) rniINrTI Councilman Gould noted that the Finance Director had planned to give the mid -year financial report at the end of this evening's meeting if time permitted, but Councilman Gould felt it should be MOTION: scheduled for another date considering the length of this evening's agenda. COUNCILMAN GOULD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN NORDQUIST, THAT THE MID -YEAR FINANCIAL REPORT BE PLACED ON THE AUGUST 1.2, 1980 AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED. ;(Council members Kasper and.Goetz.were.not.present for.the vote,..).. Councilman Gould asked for an Executive Session following next week's meeting to discuss a possible legal matter. AUDIENCE Jim Hoon (no address given)�presented a letter protesting the parking fees at the ferry terminal. He said -the letter.had 133 signatures, -131 of -whom commute daily and park on both the Edmonds and Kingston sides of -the Sound. He felt that..ferry commuters were.being singled out to furnish the 1 C� 86 July 22, 1980 - continued City with money on land donated-by.the Department of Transportation., and that such was unfair. He felt•the.commuters would boycott the lot and park on City streets._ And he said the only alternative for the commuters is to boycott the:Edmonds merchants. He asked that the matter of charging to park in that'lot be reconsidered. He also was concerned that.even though,the commuters may pay a monthly MOTION: parking fee they could not be assured•a parking place in.the lot. COUNCILMAN NORDQUIST MOVED, SECONDED.BY COUNCILMAN GOULD, TO PLACE ON THE AUGUST 12,1980.:AGENDA A HEARING ON THE PARKING FEES AT THE FERRY PARKING LOT. MOTION CARRIED. (Council members -Kasper and Goetz were not present for the vote.) Peg Hardesty; 757 Sprague, said the..concessionaire at the.swimming pool is having a problem with the ventilation system and'the City'Staff had not been able to resolve. it. Parks and Recreation Director Jim Jessel.said he had written a workorder for a ventilation fan.and Public Works Director Fred Herzberg added that there is a structural problem in install:i.ng a fan and at this time he has not been able to find the time to solve it. HEARING ON.CONTRACT REZONE FROM RMH TO.BC AT 522 DAYTON Planning Division Manager Mary Lou.Block requested this item.be.continued to an indefinite date as the applicant had not responded to the notification and the Planning Division had been unable to MOTION: contact him. COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN NORDQUIST, TO CONTINUE THE SUBJECT HEARING TO AN INDEFINITE DATE. MOTION CARRIED. HEARING ON DESIGN REVIEW OF 14-UNIT PRD LOCATED WEST OF 2ND.AVE. S..AND NORTH OF ELM ST. - HARBOR PROPERTIES (PRD-1-.80). • Associate Planner Duane Bowman showed slides of the site and,described the proposal.. Two five -unit c.lusters and one 4-unit cluster were proposed. A stream cuts the property almost in half and all development would be on the east side of the stream, leaving .the balance in natural open space. Visitor parking would be provided on the site in.addition to required parking for each unit. Dennis Mortensen, project architect, of the firm -of Olson Walker Associates, described the project in detail. He noted that the general use of the word "condominium".has been erroneous, as it is meant to be the way.a site is divided and sold, but people use it to define a multiple story, apartment .complex. He noted that shared -wall housing saves 40% in energy. He discussed the City of Edmonds' PRD ordinance and felt this project met all aspects except for the reference to historical structures. Mr. Mortensen stated that a traditional subdivision could potentially get 19 units on the site, with 16 units being more logical, but they felt that kind of development would be detrimental to the property. He described the natural amenities of the site., including the stream and natural plant growth, noting that it is environmentally sensi-tive.and.their design had taken that into consideration. The units would be 1,400-2,000 sq. ft..and would sell for.approximately $150,000. (During this presentation Councilman Kasper arrived.) The water system,for the entire neighborhood would be upgraded by the developer and the water hydrant relocated.for:better service to all.in.the neighborhood. Mr. Mortensen noted that the underlying RS-6.zoning would not be affected as they must adhere to all of the requirements of that zoning, -their only benefit being shared walls and clustered units. He had met with the Fire Department during the design, and the turning radiuses and accessibility were acceptable to them. Off-street parking will be completely buffered by vegetation and every unit will have attached garages plusa piggyback parking stall.:in back. The units step down from the existing grade to create less of an impact on the neighborhood and street views in front. They had submitted.to the City a proposal as to how they.will protect the stream during construction. Bill Talley, landscape architect, explained.the'landscaping plan. New trees, both conifers and deciduous, and broadleafed evergreens.will belincluded to add to.the screening. The majority'of the,natural landscape wi•1.1 not be disturbed. A landscaping drawing overlay was.submitted at this.time which illustrated how the front view of the project will look. -with the landscaping added. Mr. Mortensen. noted that:.three of,the units will be close to the creek.but wi:l.l meet the setback requirements from • the creek... Samples of materials were.shown. Cedar siding wi.11,be used, muted silver grey in color, designed to fit -into the natural aspects of the site. Roofing will be metal, clad -in dark grey enamel, -which Mr. Mortensen described as*not collecting moss or.rotting, and not wearing out. He said it was a successful and artistic approach to this kind.of.situatfon, although it has the connota-; tion by many:people as being industrial and cheap. He said it is not industrial, and by no means cheap. Concrete pavers will be used at the entrances of..the units. Mr. Mortensen felt this project fit the PRD ordinance and he•said..all:of the issues of.concern had been addressed and solved, working with the Staff. Following his presentation, the public portion,of the hearing was opened. Dean Nordquist, 111 El-m St., read..a,letter he had sent.to the Mayor and Council expressing opposition to.the proposal. The letter was signed.by.16 of the neighbors.on 2nd Ave., 3rd Ave., and Elm St. They felt there should be only 8=10.single family homes built on.the site, that the increased traffic would be an impact, that the Policy..Plan_was wrong in saying a.PRD is the best alternative for this kind of a site, and that density,woul.d be increased. Lloyd Ostrom, 711 Puget Lane,.said..this.was an extremely important issue for the entire City. He read a prepared statement from the.Edmonds Council of.Concerned Citizens which opposed.the project on the.basis that to'approve itwould be to allow apar.tment_bui.ldings in single-family residential zones �-L.He stated that the Code"should be changed to 'prohibit common wall units in residential zones. George Kresov.ich, 403 Columbia..St...,.Seattle, attorney.for the applicant, pointed out that Mr. Nordquist had cited sections of the Code dealing with variances which have nothing to do with this project.. He said there clearly was a problem.with>the definition..of "condominium" and that it was a fair statement from the planning standpoint and the architectural standpoint that there are no side yards in this proposal and that was the only'difference from..a standard single-family.str.ucture--that these had -homes., common walls but they are single -family He referred to the Policy Plan section dealing with PRDs which states that sin'gle-family homes (attached.or.detached) should be encouraged in a PRD configuration in certain instances, and he noted .that.the Policy Plan recognizes that there r1 U 8 July 22, 1980 - continued • can be -single-family homes in an attached configuration. He went -on to cite the .section stating. that such units are permitted in RS zones. -He pointed out that the.applicant had tried .to determine the most -sensitive way to develop the property and had worked with the.Staff to develop the plan. He also noted that all of the homeowners in the area were sent 'copies of plans of what they intended doing. Mr. Kresovich read excerpts from the Planning Commission and Architectural Design Board" reviews of this project and commented that he rarely had seen such positive statements from planning bodies. Reba Laue, 1127 2nd Ave. S., across from the.development, said.the additional cars would cause a traffic problem., and the other homes in the neighborhood have nice roofs and these will be "cheap tin roofs." Ken Mattson, 725 Daley, a member of the Edmonds.Concerned Citizens.Counci.l, and also a member of the Architectural Design Board, said that average, run-of-the-mill projects slip by, but here comes a blue-ribbon, five-star project and there is the big challenge. . Regarding density, he said RS-6 would allow 19 units, but cut that down to 17 units and consider that the average single-family home is a split level with three bedrooms, and i.f.you figure only one person per bedroom the .single family homes.would double the' -density thai.these units would have. He advised the Council that if they voted against this project then they should eliminate PRDs..fr..om the Code, because they are misleading the developers of the City who have to go through all..of the procedures established only to be turned down at the very end. Mr: Mattson felt that if the City.is to have open space.it has* to have the PRD. Don Kasmar, 725. Driftwood Lane, stated,,that maximization of.profits.is the goal in these PRDs and the "commercial. contamination" should be stopped in RS zones. • Roberta Kasmar, 725 Driftwood Lane, said there was nothing that would convince them that these were single-family homes as long as they have common wall construction.. She noted that the Code will be changed to say PRDs should be "considered" rather than "encouraged.". She.felt the only ones who wanted the PRDs were the Planning Department and the builders. Peter Bilder, 7406 Meadowdale Beach Rd., said what was done here was..going to determine the,fate of the City. He stated that the City has a good professional staff working on the problem of 'developing the City, and'Edmonds is fortunate to have people.like Olson/Wal.ker come here to do a project. He felt the people present were expressing a negative attitude, and he did not believe the 1200 people represented by Mr. Ostrom represented the City of Edmonds, because.they did not represent him. Bill Mathias,'540 Holly, said perhaps they were deficient in definition, but they knew that when they saw.a mass building it was. an apartment.house., regardless of,def.inition, and they did not want this. Roger Hertrich, 1020 Puget Dr., told the ,Council that if they.would..want this across from them then they should vote for it. The public portion of the hearing was then closed. Councilman Naughten stated that the presentation.was.very professional, but he had a problem with' statements made by. Mr. Kresovich as to what is -in the best interests of..Edmonds. He said he had - heard for .years that the.major.ity of the people in this town want to preserve the residential nature, and this -project bad the look of apartments. He felt possibly the.PRD should be eliminated altogether. Councilman Gould said the Council had been wrestling with the PRD concept, and he thought this proposal --although very professional --would not be of benefit.to;the City,.and he could not vote for it. He was:not convinced that the -stream could not be protected with single-family residences, and he said the.open.space was shoved over -on the other side of the:creek.. He had looked at the site • and asked himself, as Mr.. Hertrich-had,suggested,,,if:he would.want it across from him, and he .would not.. He.said-the..deve1opers had not convinced him that this would be a.benefit to the public. City Attorney Jim Murphy at this time advised the Council that if they were to deny this after its having been approved by the Planning Commission and the Architectural Design Board the Council must give reasons for the denial. Councilman Nordquist prefaced his remarks with the comment that Dean Nordquist who had spoken is no relation of his.- He noted that the freeway had isolated this area to begin with, leaving a small residential area. He felt this proposa1 was not in keeping with.the intent of the City as to main- tain ng the single-family characteristics of the area. Councilwoman Allen said she was. in favor of this. PRD, as it is well.designed and energy efficient, and it utilizes the land well. She felt -the Planning -Commission had studied it, as did the Archi- tectural Design Board, and they both approved, it,.and she.was in .favor of it. Councilman Kasper.stated he was in favor of it, primarily because..this site is the ideal land.}, situation for which PRDs were designed--;there.is a fall in the land, the creek runs through it, it is a wooded'a'rea. He noted it would be screened from the neighborhood and would cause the least drainage damage to the area, and the density was -.not -excessive. ..He said he had.been all overthe site and he felt the PRD concept was justified...in this case. Councilwoman Jaech said she would vote against.it. She said the.Council.represents.the people of this town and the people.had.spoken at the hearings on the -Community Development Code with a lot of. concern on the PRD, and.their main concern was not that -they. were -against PRDs, as there are areas where a PRD.can be done if it'is a single-family, unattached configuration, and that is what the people want in this town and what she felt should be done. She noted .that there is a stream going • July 22, 1980 - continued through the site but.the public.would not benefit by the PRD:because the stream backs to Woodway on the other.side. She said that according to what she had.read.in.the minutes Woodway has sectioned the area on the other side into one acre lots. She felt the. -single family -.character of this neighbor- hood should be maintained. Also, she noted that in the Planning Commission minutes Mr..Bowman had indicated thatapproximately ten.units in.a standard development would be enough for that area, as MOTION did Commissioner Hall. THEREFORE,..FOR.THE REASONS SHE STATED, COUNCILWOMAN JAECH MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GOULD, TO DENY-PRD-1-80.. MOTION CARRIED, WI.TH..COUNCIL MEMBERS ALLEN AND KASPER VOTING NO. (Councilwoman Goetz was'not present for the vote.) A short recess was announced, during which Councilwoman Goetz arrived. HEARING.ON PETITION FOR VACATI.ON,,.OF..RIGHT-OF-WAY AND AMENDMENT.TO-OFFICIAL STREET MAP TO REMOVE A PORTION OF 8TH AVE. N., BETWEEN ALOHA AND DALEY STS. -- P.C. RESOLUTION 653 (FILE ST-17-79) and HEARING ON PROPOSED AMENDMENT T0.OFFI.CIAL STREET MAP TO. -ADD A PROPOSED CUL-DE-SAC, VICINITY OF 8TH'.AVE.: N: AND ALOHA ST.—P.C.—RESOLUTION 654 (FILE ST-5-80) Councilman Kasper left the rostrum as he is one of the petitioners in these proposals. Associate Planner Duane Bowman reviewed the items. The cul-de-sac is proposed to serve -the area east of 8th Ave. to provide access if the street vacation is granted. It would be approximately.1.60' south of Aloha St. -and east of 8th Ave. N. The portion of 8th Ave. to be'vacated begins where the cul-de-sac meets 8th Ave. N. A 15' utility easement would be retained.by the City centered over the existing sewer line. Details of the proposal were provided in the Planning Commission minutes. A declara- tion of nonsignificant environmental impact had been issued, and the Planning Divison and Planning Commissi.on.recommended approval. Mr.. Bowman recommended that -the Fire Department be ,included in • naming and addressing the cul-de-sac street. He read a letter filed with the City Cl.erk this date from the Holy Rosary Parish, signed by the Reverend Thomas C. McEnnis for the Corporation of the Catho.lic-Archbishop of Seattle, stating that such corporation, being the owner of 50% of the property abutting 8th Ave. N., the street proposed to be vacated, objected to the proposed vacation. Mr. Bowman stated that the property proposed to be vacated originally had been dedicated to the City by the property owners to the east. The public portion of the hearing was opened. .Jim Shields, 709 6th Ave. N., a member of the Holy Rosary.Parish, said he had been sent to represent .the parish this evening. He said the position of the church was.that their property would be adversely impacted by this proposal because i-t would be deprived of future.access to 8th Ave.,.and no one knows what the future will hold for the church property,.which.is not fully developed as yet. Their position further was that there would appear to be no urgency to vacate, so they requested that the action be delayed. They also felt there were some questions regarding notification of the hearings. Don Schroeder, 528 8th Ave. N., one -of the petitioners, said the vacation will make the'best of a bad situation. He commented on the educational and sports complex. which the church is -building in their residential area which already had adversely impacted his property., and he said it was very unlikely that 8th Ave. ever would go through from Daley to Aloha as most people do not want it to go through because of the traffic generated by the church and gymnasium. He said he had raised the issue of whether access would be needed on 8th and Aloha several times during hear-ings on the church develop- ment, being dissatisfied with the traffic reports presented, and he could not understand why, after all this time (having filed their original request in -January of 1979), having ha-d al.l this time to consider the aspects of what they wanted.to do, that they now wanted to hold up the street vacation with no specific reasons. He noted that when their -Conditional Use Permit was granted for their development it was decided that.7th-Ave. was adequate to provide safe travel to the site. He stated that unless the church could come up with some hard facts as to.why they -want this delayed -he felt It was an undue hardship on the -owners -of -the properties to the east of 8th Ave. to. delay it. He added that this application had been filed in November 1979 which he said was -prior to the Council's • taking action to require payment for vacated property. Also,' he noted -that they will be putting in storm sewers and that will incur additional costs. The vacation would not add anything to. -his property from.the standpoint of additional lots, but he -said it,would be an aid to making the develop- ment more attractive, and his other reason was to prevent traffic.from going down the, street. Douglas Hartwick, attorney representing William Kasper, the other petitioner, said he was representing Mr. Kasper because of his being a Councilman and therefore unable to represent himself, and also Mr. Kasper had discussed with him for a number.of years the plans for his property. Mr. Hartwick stated that the basic reason for the request was because Mr. Kasper was seeking to develop his property into.a well planned subdivi.sion.of approximately eight lots. Originally the lots had been planned to be -oriented towards a Sound view, which.view was obliterated by the church construction.. H'e realigned his subdivision to face the views to the north, with the church construction to the west, and this was a trade-off for the cul-de-sac to open up the area. He said all of the eight lots will be accessed -.by the new proposed cul-de-sac or by a portion of 8th Ave. to the south that will not be vacated. He noted that Mr. Schroeder wi-11 be developing his property and the access will,be adequate and actually will be divided which will be a distinct advantage to the neighborhood, avoiding undue impact to Daley. Mr. Hartwick stated that when the church applied -for its.Conditional Use.Permit, as a condition the Catholic Archbishop of Seattle --the technical owner of the property --agreed not to oppose.an L-I-D if initiated by somebody else. Further,..he said the configuration of the church and their buildings will in no way be impacted by the vacation.of this portion of 8th Ave., and in the future they still have access to the north ,and to the south abutting their property, as well as the access off Aloha and off 7-th. Fie said.the partial vacation of this street, all of which was dedicated.by.the owners on the east side, will not change any of the presently used or proposed access routes -that were understood at the time the church _created this large development in the area, and it Will -allow the subdividing of these properties in an orderly fashion and distribute. traffic in-a.more orderly fashion, and preclude the impact of traffic that would result if. 8th Ave. were opened.. He noted that there had been some-vehicles-attempting'to go the --t secti ohrough the undevoped n of7'8th and i t was' hi s understanding that Cithad y ap.l aced a mound of el sot l there el deter them. July 22, 1980 - continued • Ned Adams, 750 Daley, said this is a street of single-family dwellings and of families and small children, and he was concerned about the traffic problem. He did.not see why the church would object unless it was planning a potential -future access there,.and he asked that the street vacation be granted. The public portion of the hearing was then closed. City Attorney Jim Murphy advised the Council at this time that the Revised Code of Washington stipulates that if there is a 50% protest the Council cannot.proceed..with the vacation. However, if the property was, in fact, all dedicated by the property owners.to.the east, then he questioned how much sense the statute made. He asked for the opportunity to see what the courts have done with MOTION: such incidents i c is n the past.. COUNCILMAN GOULD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN NAUGHTEN, TO CONTINUE THE .TWO SUBJECT HEARINGS TO AUGUST 5, 1.980. MOTION CARRIED. CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATION FOR LIQUOR LICENSE FROM GO 'N JOY FOODS AT 212TH/72ND No one in the audience wished to comment on this. Councilman Gould stated he had visited the Go 'n Joy store at..143rd and Greenwood and the.store is much like the 7-El-even stores, only nicer. It sells general food items, magazines, beverages, etc., and it appeared to be neat and clean and the literature was all in order. He felt•it did not seem to present..the kinds of problems the citizens living near the 76th Ave. 7-Eleven (in the Lake Ballinger area) had experienced. He said at this point he would favor approving the application, but he wished to.advise Mr. Chung (who was in the. audience) that on August 19 the City Council will be discussing closing hours for convenience stores, and they are talking about the possibility of having 11:00 p.m. closing hours. COUNCILMAN GOULD MOTION: MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN, TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE LIQUOR LICENSE AS PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED BY GO 'N JOY FOODS AT 212TH AND 72ND. MOTION CARRIED. DISCUSSION OF:PROPOSED REVISION OF ORDINANCE 1765 REGARDING. MUNICIPAL ARTS FUND • Arts Coordinator- Peggy Walton said the Arts Commission would like to use.revenue from Commission sponsored events to help fund Commission programs other than public artwork, and therefore requested that the ordinance be revised to include that provision. Wording:was suggested for the creation of a Municipal Arts Fund. Councilwoman Goetz read aloud a letter she had addressed to the Council, having expected.to be on vacation this week, in which she stated that the community has had an increasing awareness for cultura T programs and in her opinion, -the Council should continue to support the Arts Commission's attempts to meet the Ci.ty's aesthetic commitment for the citizens of Edmonds MOTION: and surrounding areas. COUNCILWOMAN GOETZ THEREFORE MOVED; SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN, TO INSTRUCT THE CITY ATTORNEY.TO PREPARE AN ORDINANCE•AMENDING ORDINANCE 1765 TO MAKE PROVISION FOR A MUNICIPAL ARTS FUND. Councilwoman Allen noted that this would not affect.the 1% for Arts ordinance, but the City does not have in its budget a -Municipal Arts Fund number and one is needed, and this would accomplish that. THE MOTION CARRIED. CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED RESOLUTION --FOR PLACING COUNCIL/MANAGEMENT FORM:OF GOVERNMENT ON BALLOT IN SEPTEMBER COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN.MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN GOETZ,.THAT THE DISCUSSION BE LIMITED TO THE RESOLUTION'S GOING ON THE.BALLOT AT A GIVEN DATE., RATHER THAN A.CONSIDERATION OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL CHANGE INVOLVED. There was a short discussion, including opposition expressed from a member of the audience.' Councilman Kasper returned to the rostrum during the discussion and the motion was read for his benefit. .Councilman Gould said he did not see how the..two..issues could be separated, and he would not object'if people say they favor or do not favor.it for certain reasons, but Councilwoman Allen said she felt it should be kept.primarily as to whether -it should go on the ballot. THE MOTION: MOTION THEN FAILED, .WITH COUNCILWOMAN'.ALLEN CASTING THE ONLY-YES,VOTE. The discussion was opened to the public. Bob Hallowell, 860 14th S.W., supported the action to place this issue on the ballot in September, • and he pledged.his support with::his time,.intellect,.and enthusiasm.. He said he had been a member of the Blue Ribbon Committee six years ago and he felt at that time..it.was time to go to the Council/Manager form of government,.and he.felt.the citizens would vote for a change if the benefits can be communicated to them. He added that this will be the third time for the issue to go on the ballot -and he thought the citizens could be convinced by the proponents of the need for a change. Jim Mueller, 209 Caspers, urged.the.Council to take positive action in giving the citizens the - opportunity again to look at the types of government available and.to make that choice. He did -not believe another committee was necessary, having'reviewed the report.of the Blue Ribbon Committee, saying that things are about.the same. He questioned.whether it would.have to be done at a general election. City Attorney Jim Murphy responded.that it would not, and he explained -the election date criteria. Mr. Mueller stated the decision should be based on the value to the City --not on the effect on those.who will have to run for office .in the future. Glenn Bogart,'21529 90th W., felt this was a very negative time to be doing this. He did not believe the necessary press coverage would be provided -in view of the presidential election, and he did not believe the populace would get the necessary input in order to have a good vote. He said the popula- tion had changed by 30% in the last six years and these new people must have time to consider what is going on. He urged it be postponed until a general municipal.election. Peg Hardesty, 757 Sprague, said the first step in solving a•problem is to realize there is a problem, and she thought there is a problem but she didn'.t know what it.is. She said in contacts with the City she never knows with whom she is dealing and something needs.to be changed. Maybelle-Chapman, 20915 Hillcrest Pl., requested that the measure. be.placed on the ballot so the citizens of -Edmonds can determine what is wrong and can try to:find.a.solution. She had.served on the Blue Ribbon Committee and was strongly of the opinion then,., as. now, that a city of this size and caliber needs professional leadership. She said it is very important that a person who is trained r-I LJ 87. • J.uly 22, 1980 - continued in governmental management be the executive, and'she thought it.was as unreasonable to expect -citizens to be able to administer city affai.rs"as it,would be to expect.a.person who was not trained professionally to manage -the school district and, having served on the school:-board'for a number of years she felt very confident in saying professional leadership is absolutely necessary there, and she felt the same way about the City. She urged that the citizens be -given the opportunity to vote and she promised to do what she could to help make people realize the importance of the matter. Bob Anderson., 7370 N. Meadowdale_Rd., felt the Council/Manager form of government would provide the opportunity to deal with several issues. The proponents.felt there is a morale problem within the City Staff, and he felt the morale issue stemmed from the.lack..of..professional line management adminiatrati:on.�.and-�:that-"full-:t,ime=profess,i,onalr.admi,histrata.oniTs,,�requ red. They believed also that there is,a potential problem in the recruitment of well.trained, excellent staff, and enhancement of this process would be far better in a professional atmosphere. 'They believed citizens' problems would be better clarified with a line management system. Orland Christensen, 701 12th Ave. N., also was on the B1ue.Ribbon Committee and served.61/2..years on the Council. He said he supported the statements made already, and in comparing other cities operating under,the Council/Manager government with the Mayor/Council form, his enthusiasm is increased towards the Council/Manager form. He said.he is not personally in a position to make any changes, but he hears rumbles of discontent and possibly they will all. come to rest and can be resolved. He asked that this.be put on the ballot and the people given a chance to consider it again. He felt there had been a.respectable interval since the last time it was -considered. He added that enough time should be:allowed.for public relations. Bill.Whiteside, 747 Sprague, said he enjoys the character.and concept of the City of Edmonds and having the Mayor as the head of it. He remembered voting against the Council/Manager form of govern- ment, and he felt it would be defeated again. He said the thing that disturbed him was the urgency of this, and he would hate to see this presented to the citizens and be -clouded by�an election for the presidency and State offices. He thought it should be postponed until such time as -the citizens have an opportunity to judge this -on the merits as the proponents and opponents present it to them'. He did.not like the impersonality of the City Manager who might -be using this as a steppingstone to another job. He also suggested the alternative of a full-time Mayor. Anne.Wermus, 752 Dayton, felt.there was no doubt that this was the time to put this on the ballot. From her contacts with City government she said she was impressed.with the complexity of problems. She noted that more and more people in Edmonds are, coming forth to.express their concerns. She said a government is needed that is efficient and works together, and she urged passage: of the resolution. Bud Niemi,.945 Edmonds St., objected to this being placed on the 'September ballot. He felt 90% of the citizens do not know about it and that someone was trying to "railroad" this through. He said he likes Edmonds the way it is. Max Gellert,8525 Talbot Rd., said he was on the City Council when the Blue Ribbon Committee was making.:deliberations. tie noted that the election proposed is not a presidential election, but a State primary election, and the issues will be no more 'than in a municipal -election. As to delaying this, he said he did not know if there are morale problems, but if there are, to delay.the action tends to make the situation worse, and they.should be'dealt with as quickly as possible. He said that between.*now.and September,16 there is considerable time to bring alot of. information to the citizens.of.Edmonds, and -he already.had.two newspaper.clippings,.which indicated the newspapers are taking an active hand in presenting'this to the citizens. He added that there will be proponents..and opponents and they.wi-ll.see.that the citizens are informed. . Chet Bennett, 843 Bell, said he was shocked that the Council.would consider putting this on the • ballot without the people considering it. He said the last.,two..elections were overwhelmingly against it, -and there appeared -to be some sort of pervasive undercurrent. He felt the City has an excellent staff, and he did not think there is a morale problem, so he said that by following logic the Mayor must be the problem, -and evidently one of the miraculous things will be that the City will get good leadership with the other form of government. He noted that city managers, generally are there for a short.period of time and then they leave, and there are no checks and balances with the Council/Manager form. He said the people elect.a mayor --a president --a governor --and they also have'the legislative people, and the people -on the Council are the legislati.ve.body, and if the citizens don't like what is happening.they can run against the incumbents. He said he was having trouble finding out what -the problem is supposed to be' in the City of Edmonds. If there is a morale problem, he asked that it be defined. -As to recruitment and retention, he said the City has a good staff and therefore.something is being done right in that area. As to clarification of citizens' problems by adopting.a line management system, he said "that blows my mind." He.stated that size and complexity are not the definition of problems and when you have a corporate government you have an entity you cannot get hold of --and that is what you'have with a Council/Manager government, the City Manager would be responsible to the Council, but not to the community. He said he respected the people proposing this but he felt it was,unnecessary, and he would feel.very bad if this were coming on -from some concept of a power conflict between the executive and legislative bodies.. If that were the case, he said they should put their personal conflicts aside to learn to deal with one another in the positions they hold. Joy Whitcutt, 100 B Ave., said she was appalled by what was happening this evening by "small groups." The first she had heard about this was from a neighbor who lives in Mountlake Terrace.. She then went out with a petition in her own block.and gathered 23 signatures in favor of no change. She also had several other.sheets of signatures which her family had gathered, and she presented the petitions to the Clerk. She said there are a lot of people in Edmonds -happy with the way things are going, and -she was unhappy to see a few people causing big stirs. She said she wants a Mayor --she did not care it is., who but she wants .to -be able to elect him. - Lou Ostinosti, 710 Melody Lane-, asked who on the Council wanted this and why. He was told he would • hear that during the Council deliberation. V July 22, 1980 - continued • Yoshiaki Sako, 620 bth Ave. S., said.he was born in Hawaii but had lived here 22 years, having one foot in Japan and -one in Edmonds, and.he has been involved with exchange students and tour groups from Japan, and nobody wants to go to Mountlake Terrace, they want to come to Edmonds which is an old traditional city, and he said he wants it kept that way. Mayor Harrison then read a press release which he.had distributed..in which he listed the following five reasons why the Mayor/Council form of government is the better.form .for Edmonds: "l. An elected chief executive is a.dimension of democracy just as much as an elected legis- lative body. An elected -chief executive runs on a platform.which proposes a program of city services, a style for administering the-.c.ity services, and a tone for the enforcement of ordinances: The public should have the opportunity -to choose the type of person they want. Under the Manager form of government, the Council makes the decision for the public. It should be noted that our County Freeholders felt it was important that our new County Executive:be elected. "2. An elected chief executive,.who is employed by a vote of allthe people, is bound to be ..more attentive and responsive to .the wishes of the people than a.City Manager. 3. An elected chief executive is always one of the staunch local.citizens who understands the needs and desires of the people while.an appointed manager is likely to be someone from out of the city whose main interest is to advance himself and move on to:a larger city. "4. An elected chief executive has the power to sign or veto all ordinances passed by the City Council. This is part of the "checks and balance" between the executive and legislative branches of local government which would-be lost under. a Manager form of government. "5. Very often the dismissal of a city manager becomes the major issue in council elections • while other issues dealing with community, development go unnoticed.. Such battles leave lasting scars and a divided community." Laura Hall, 1140 Edmonds St., asked if a.change of government was being considered for the.wrong reason. She*felt there may be a personal vendetta going on, and if so the taxpayers should be. apprised. If the change was intended for the good of the City,.she said the citizens should be offered further alternatives, such as the choice of a full-time Mayor. She said she had resided in a city which changed to the Manager/Council form of governmant and it.had gone "down the tube." She wanted the feeling that she'had some controlover electing or hiring the chief executive. She was aware of how hard it is to rid a city of a bad city manager. In her experience with the City`she ...had felt the citizens could go to,the City Hall to talk to City officials. She was concerned about the speed with which action was being taken on this item,, and she mentioned the Community Development Code which has been under consideration for a long time, with an upcoming change to a hearing examiner system for the City, and she said she gets the -feeling that the Council is still trying to grasp how all that will go together. She felt to add this now was too much to ask at this time, and if it was felt that there was a need for -reorganization that it should.be.delayed until the other systems were well es.tablished,.but when they did do it, she asked that they offer more than one alternative on the ballot.. Bert Stole, 8704.182nd P1. S.W., stated.that if.the City has a.bad..Mayor the people have the chance to vote him out. He did not think it was.the Mayor's job to agree.w.ith.the Council all the time, and it was probably better that he.does not, because then the checks and balances take place. The morale question interested him.. He noted,that the City operates.basically with the Mayor, Council; staff, and boards. He felt the'staff is excellent and that the boards do a tremendous job. He felt that a lot of work they'had done, especially with the new Community Development Code which entailed long and informed hearings, had been "shot down" by the Council --not the Mayor. He said he had heard of some of the morale problems.with the.boards, and he could.understand them, but he did not think it rested with°the-Mayor: • Mayor Harrison commented that the entire staff had been interviewed and hired by him, with the exception of the City Clerk who hadbeen.w.ith_.the.City longer than he. An unidentified gentleman stated that.the_general consensus appeared to be that everybody who lives in Edmonds loves it, and he asked if this.is such a good place to l.ive.why there was such a rush to change it at this time. Orland Christensen commented that he and his wife had run into .some people from Edmonds when they recently were visiting in Montana who:.said.they were moving away from Edmonds because they just don't care for Edmonds anymore.. They felt it was not..the. City they used.to know. Mr. Christensen said he feels that, and a lot of his.friends do.. He asked how they.could expect a part-time Mayor to be a good Mayor and a good administrator... ...He said it is hard...to educate the public as to what is a good administrator, and a city the size.of this one needs an.administrator. He felt it is not a question of checks and balances--the-Council is responsible to the public. He felt a more streamlined administrative manager system was needed. Scott Whitcutt, 1011 B Ave., said he cou.ld�not.help but.wonder.,what the mysterious problem was in the City, other than that the Council members 'tend to get.involved,in staff problems. He said right now there is the problem of who the M.A.A. works for.. He suggested another alternative not mentioned, that possibly the Council members.shou.ld..be changed, and he said.that will be part of what the people decide' if this should take place.. Max Gellert added that if the people vote for the Council/Manager form of government the present Council members will be putting their jobs on the line as the people.wil.l.have to re-elect a Council. He then quoted a recent statement made.by the Mayor that.he thought it was a healthy thing to give the citizens a -choice of government: Glenn Bogart stated that the checks and.balances,.system would be thrown out if the City went to a Council/Manager fdrm'of government. He felt an elected executiv wa needed and he saw no reason to put this on the ballot. The public portion of the hearing was ce(osesd. 61 July 22, 1980 - continued Councilwoman Goetz said there had.been.testimony about the...checks and balances, but,she had not heard of very many recalls, whereas''J f'you have an administrator that you have hired you can fire him. She felt -the people in -the City should have the opportunity for the third time to see if they want a change of government. Councilman.Gould said he had lived.in Edmonds 20 years and this was. -his second term as a Councilman. He said for.five years he had.been trying,pretty hard to make this system work and it frustrates him. He commented that when you have problems you don't bring them out in public, you try to make the -system work, -but he thought it was. -time to change this.form of government, and he will support that. *He said he will support it by putting it on the September ballot, and he was willing to put his own posi-tion•on the line as otherwise he would not.have..to run for another three years. He felt there were many things that could be improved --enforcement of ordinances, improvement of morale, be more cost effective, and remove a layer of bureaucracy. Councilwoman. Allen said she agreed entirely with Councilman Gould. She said there is talk about an elected Mayor being more responsive to the voters, but she had not seen that to be the case in her 20 years here. She felt the Council/Manager form of government is more streamlined, and that the City now is very complex. She noted that it has a large budget and a lot of costs, and that there are a number of cities to look at as models which have been.ve.ry successful. She noted that some people had said they want to elect their Mayor, but they do.not propose to elect their school district superintendent, yet nobody feels he cannot talk to the.school district superintendent. She felt professional management was needed as soon as possible, and she favored putting it on the ballot immediately, feeling there is lots of time to discuss .it between now.and September. COUNCILMAN..GOULD MOVED THAT THE;.000NCIL ADOPT RESOLUTION 473, PLACING ON THE SEPTEMBER 16, 1980 BALLOT THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THECITY EDMONDS SHOULD..ADOP,T_THE COUNCIL/MANAGER PLAN OF GOVERNMENT • PURSUANT TO RCW 35A.13, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. COUNCILMAN.NORDQUIST SECONDED THE MOTION FOR DISCUSSION. Councilman Nordquist said the Council had felt some frustrations but they had reorganized themselves since the first of the year, and it has been a hard working Council. He said he had been critical of the administrative office but there had been some,inroads in settling differences, and he did not'particularly "jump up and -down" about the City Manager form of ,government. -A ROLL CALL VOTE WAS TAKEN ON THE MOTION, WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS JAECH,_ALLEN, GOULD, AND GOETZ VOTING YES, AND. WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS KASPER, NORDQUIST, AND NAUGHTEN VOTING NO. THE MOTION CARRIED. DISCUSSI.ON.ON.FISHING PIER PARKING LOT This item wi-11 be the subject of an Executive Session because.of a possible legal.problem and then will be placed ona future agenda. There was no further business to come before the Council, and.the meeting.was adjourned at 11.:55 p.m. • a IRE NE VARNEY MORAN, ity Clerk HARVE H. HARRISON, Mayor July 29-, 1980 --Work Meeting The regular meeting of the Edmonds.City Council was called to.order at 8:00 p.m. by Mayor Harve Harrison in .the Council Chambers of .the Edmonds Civic Center.. .All present joined in the flag salute. PRESENT ABSENT STAFF PRESENT Harve Harrison, Mayor John Nordquist Charles Dibble, M.A.A. Jo -Anne Jaech Fred Herzberg, Public Works Director Bill Kasper Mary Lou Block,.Planning Division Manager Katherine Allen Irene Varney Moran, City Clerk Ray Gould Marlo Foster, Police Chief Larry Naughten Einer Johnson., Fire. Dept. Training Officer Mary Goetz. Jim Adams, City Engineer Jim Jessel, Parks.'& Recreation Director Hank Lewis, Planning Technician Felix deMello, Buildings & Grounds Supt. Jim Murphy, City Attorney Jackie Parrett, Deputy City Clerk CONSENT -AGENDA Item (D) wasremoved from the Consent -Agenda. COUNCILMAN.NAUGHTEN�MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN GOETZ, TO APPROVE THE BALANCE OF'THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED. The approved items on the Consent Agenda included the following: (A) .Roll call. (B) Approval of Minutes of.July.22; 1980. (C)- Acceptance of Quit Claim Deed in conjunction.with short'subdivision--(Tachell.and Davis - File S-9-80). (E) ,Approval of appraisa1•regarding vacation of port ion of 4th Ave. S.