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2024-05-07 Council Special MinutesEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MINUTES May 7, 2024 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Mike Rosen, Mayor Vivian Olson, Council President Neil Tibbott, Councilmember Will Chen, Councilmember Susan Paine, Councilmember Michelle Dotsch, Councilmember Chris Eck, Councilmember Jenna Nand, Councilmember 1. CALL TO ORDER STAFF PRESENT Susan McLaughlin, Planning & Dev. Dir. Scott Passey, City Clerk The special Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 5:34 p.m. by Mayor Rosen in the Brackett Room, 121 5lh Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. 2. COUNCIL BUSINESS 1. OVERVIEW OF EXISTING COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Planning & Development Director Susan McLaughlin explained the intent of this agenda item was a roundtable discussion about the existing comprehensive plan. It was suggested before the council dives into the changes, staff respond to questions regarding the existing comprehensive plan, key issues, etc. Ms. McLaughlin reviewed: What is a comprehensive plan o Outlines a long-term vision and provides direction for future growth and development over the next 20 years o How and where our city will grow, reflecting the needs of residents and businesses o What kinds of housing and jobs will be available o How to invest in parks, transportation, public infrastructure, and social services o How to meaningfully serve a diverse and growing community o How to protect Edmonds natural features o How do we manage sustainable growth o Period updates process (mandatory) — required once every eight years. Set to change to every 10 years after the current cycle COUNTWIDE PLANNING POLICIES LOCAL COMPREHENSIVE PLANS P5RC Vision 2050 Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 7, 2024 Page 1 Comprehensive Plan Elements (Chapters) o The comprehensive plan must comply with: ■ Growth Management Act (GMA) ■ Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) Vision 2050 ■ Snohomish County Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs) ■ Shoreline Management Act o The comprehensive plan will inform: ■ Zoning, subdivision and other development regulations ■ Decision making and future policy development �SUMM _ _EUEEs __ PROS Plan ~ 1 -KS REfREAI'A'19 1 (OMMUNTY B(UITURE URSVI DEW11 CLIMATE S SUSTAKOUTY urnmEs , (APiTAT TAaunts TWISKRTanoN ECONOMY 1 MPREHENS IVE PLAN FUTLAE LAND USE MAP &' + Existing Comprehensive plan (Last major update was 2015) o Purpose statement on page 1: ■ To provide a framework for moving the Edmonds community toward a sustainable future that integrates and responds to environmental, economic, and social needs in a way which "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." ■ To promote the public health, safety and welfare consistent with the values of the community. ■ To serve as the basis for municipal policy on land use and development and to provide guiding principles and objectives for the development of regulations and programs that support sustainable development within the city while seeking to conserve, protect, and enhance the community's assets and natural resources. ■ To anticipate and influence the orderly and coordinated development of land and building use of the city and its environs, and conserve and restore natural beauty and other natural resources ■ To encourage coordinated development and discourage piecemeal, spot, or strip zoning and inharmonious subdividing. ■ To facilitate adequate provisions for public services such as transportation, police and fire protection, water supply, sewage treatment, and parks ■ To facilitate the provision of sustainable public services consistent with the community's values and needs Early planning o Gap analysis ■ Highlights the strengths of previous outreach and identifies opportunities for improvement ■ Equitable Climate Change Adaptation ■ Equitable Climate Change Mitigation ■ Promoting Equity in the Economy ■ Supporting Equitable Engagement o Waterfront Study ■ Identifies strategic updates ■ High-level recommendations Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 7, 2024 Page 2 Update to reflect waterfront uses needs and issues What's new for 2044 o Update will be an opportunity to: ■ Reduce redundancies ■ Format for better legibility ■ Eliminate out-of-date policies ■ Align with recent documents (Equitable Engagement Framework, Climate Action Plan, etc.) ■ Broaden "tent" to ensure the Plan represents Everyone's Edmonds o Key Focus Areas ■ Housing policies to support affordability and housing types to meet varied needs ■ Policies to address displacement risk of small businesses and residential development ■ Policies and actions that advance equity throughout the community ■ Climate Action Planning — greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation ■ Transportation policies to support multimodal networks • What's new for 2044 o Recent GMA amendments requiring local code amendments ■ HB 1220 (2021): Affordable to all income levels and for a variety of housing types ■ HB 1110 (2023): Allow certain minimum densities for middle housing ■ HB 1337 (2023): Allow two accessory dwelling units (ADUs) per lot where applicable ■ HB 1181 (2023): Climate goal and climate change element by 2029 o Vision: "Edmonds is a charming and welcoming city offering outstanding quality of life for all with vibrant and diverse neighborhoods, safe streets, parks, and a thriving arts scene in a way to promote healthy lifestyles, climate resiliency, and access to the natural beauty of our community." EDMONDS *N WE WE X DRAFT VISION STATEMENT J •2w,f.01YaW40Ji.�0 it Ai4 � A.4 f� �7 {r[r•A ii�RiA.1MM� 40 P�IIf IIRA7�OOl{. wa w: ravrslTl YOl'IRIwY�R�RM04'w' WPD tNM✓•RM1JI ixit MJ�! /�wM 11 Am ftpvA RV, =^ram RECORRI iNEME Councilmember Dotsch asked for a copy of the slides. Councilmember Tibbott said lot has changed with regard to Edmonds' projections in 2035 such as population, housing, etc.; the existing comprehensive plan is almost unrecognizable compared to the 2035 projections. He asked how the planning department brings through two thoughts together. Ms. McLauglin agreed things have changed since last projection. For example in the housing element in the existing comprehensive plan, the rents are out of line with current rents; for example, a 5-bedroom house rented for $2200/month. Housing demand has changed, housing supply has not changed as much. The comprehensive plan update reflects not only the growth projections but also HB 1220 and HB 1110 which require the City to think differently about affordability, housing choices, and housing typologies. While the City is in a period of anticipated growth, it is unknown whether that growth will be realized, there have been years with a lot of growth in the past. All cities have surges and quite periods of population. Councilmember Tibbott commented incomes have also changed and he wondered if the City had had a similar increase in revenues. He asked how the difference in incomes and revenues were incorporated into the comprehensive plan. Ms. McLaughlin asked if Councilmember Tibbott was referring to individual Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 7, 2024 Page 3 income or revenue to city. Councilmember Tibbott said he was interested in the connection between those. Ms. McLaughlin said property tax revenue increases have been very modest. Councilmember Paine commented the City's revenue does not change unless something drastic is done with comprehensive plan particularly with regard to the economic element. The existing goals and targets in the economic element haven't changed that much compared to this update. Ms. McLaughlin said there is an opportunity to connect dots in a different way than before. Via this update there is a way to leverage individual elements for the best outcomes. The hubs and centers concept, which the Economic Development Commission (EDC) is excited about, and integrating that element into the overall growth strategy that can perhaps address some additional revenue. Councilmember Paine suggested outreach also include engaging with businesses. Edmonds does not have big format businesses other than giant car dealerships and everything else is locally owned, small businesses. Councilmember Eck commented on the need to diversify so the City is not relying on the car dealerships, although she recognized the importance of the revenue they provide especially during the recent lull in house sales. Council President Olson referred to page 8 where it address the economy in terms of the overall strategy in the region, "livable arts oriented community." She suggested that wasn't enough and what is written likely does not reflect what will be in the economic development element. She has heard more than one person bring up the idea of biotech. With the significant healthcare corridor in Edmonds, that is an opportunity that could be realized if it were aggressively pursued. Councilmember Paine commented auto sales could have a smaller footprint. For example Sandberg Volvo has a relatively small footprint, but they will bring in any car a person wants. Car lots don't have to occupy acres of land. Councilmember Dotsch agreed with the comments about diversifying Highway 99 and referred to a conversation she had about downtown and bus times and what was done to revitalize it. There are opportunities on Highway 99 that have not been uncovered as far as the ability to create diverse revenues and provide goods and services for citizens in the area. She agreed there were opportunities to revitalize the area near the hospital to bring jobs and revenue to the area. As the economics are revitalized, other businesses are attracted to the area. Councilmember Nand commented the existing comprehensive plan is a very comprehensive document, a total of 341 pages. She referred to land use and page 62 where it addresses the Highway 99 goals and policies and suggested the update include more emphasis on the types of industries and small businesses. The Edmonds bowl is well represented by the Creative District and throughout Edmonds, Highway 99, the various neighborhood districts, and the historic downtown are well known for its restaurants. The viability of small businesses have been strained by issues from globalization to public safety. She wondered what the City could do to foster a successful business environment. When she talks to small business owners in the downtown business district, she often hears they relocated to Edmonds due to the strong perception of public safety versus locations in Seattle where their customers and employees did not feel safe. That perception of public safety does not extend to the Highway 99 community where she often talks to small business owners, employees, and customers whose negative interactions are deterring them from coming to that business community. Councilmember Nand continued, it is the government's job to create a positive businesses environment. She suggested more emphasis on the types of businesses, especially small businesses, that are successfully fostered in Edmonds. In addition to public safety, walkability is an issue on Highway 99; it is not a great strolling environment, but there are things that could be done such as landscaping, etc. to create a safer and more attractive pedestrian experience with public art, trash cans, benches, etc. While doing interviews and public outreach to the various stakeholders, she suggested having a dedicated session with small business Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 7, 2024 Page 4 owners, customers, etc. of each neighborhood commercial area, especially the Highway 99 subarea, about what the City could do to increase the viability of their business environment. That will benefit the tax base, residents and increase the vibrancy of main streets. Council President Olson said the council was asked to look through the lens of what resonated and what did not. She referred to Purpose #5 on page 1, inharmonious subdividing, commenting that resonated with her due to her concern with DADUs becoming condominiums which would be more likely to have fences. She asked what could be done to uphold this purpose, avoiding inharmonious subdividing in light of the zoning changes being incorporated into the comprehensive plan update. There is also a lot of multifamily being added because that is an allowed category to meet the state's mandate related to different income levels. With the creation of hubs around business districts that were previously more single family and adding more density, consideration needs to be given to how that density and multifamily is developed in a way that will integrate. She recalled one of the requested multifamily design standards was to have more green space such as garden apartments like are seen in the mid -west. Council President Olson referred to GMA page 3, where it mentions Gem of the Puget Sound, recalling when the vision statement was developed some people thought that language was outdated or passe, but she believed it was something that set Edmonds apart from other cities in the area and something that should be embraced and upheld. She referred to A.2, develop and maintain sufficient resources to ensure established levels of community services and wondered if that still applies. Edmonds has been spoiled with a high level of service, but in looking at the budget situation, there will need to be a lot more revenue identified. The City cannot just rely on taxes, there needs to be consideration related to economic drivers to bring in more revenue. She concluded that statement may not be realistic without some real changes. Council President Olson commented on the challenge of meeting Goal A.4 on page 3, develop properties in accordance with protections of light, privacy, public views, freedom from air, water and noise pollution. This needs to be prioritized as the City's quality of life depends on it, but it will be challenging to achieve the mandatory density. She did not want to omit that goal, but recognized it may require being creative to deliver on it. Councilmember Eck wonder if it was worth calling out climate action planning. She has been thinking about the amount of concrete on Highway 99, temperatures 10 degrees hotter than at the waterfront, and the risk of flooding in the bowl. She wondered it was worth highlight things for which it was important to make provisions for. Taking climate action is important but some areas are more at risk than others. Ms. McLaughlin responded the gap analysis focused on climate and equity so this came up a lot, environmental injustice. Some of the areas of the City with the highest density are areas with the least amount of tree canopy, the most noise, the most air pollution impacts, etc. In talking with affordable housing developers, it is becoming a challenge with older buildings not having air conditioning. Affordable housing providers get subsidized energy so there is not a lot of incentive to provide AC. Climate adaptation as it relates to inequity is very important. Councilmember Eck commented the only other short term solution is cooling centers. Ms. McLaughlin answered that could be a capital project and/or a shared responsibility. Councilmember Paine commented it is in the climate action plan implementation matrix. Councilmember Chen expressed appreciation for the important issues raised for the next comprehensive plan update. Something that has been mentioned before, but was not incorporated into the planning update is plans to relocate city hall including police and public safety to a more centralized location perhaps Highway 99 for the police department. The perceptions of safety in the Highway 99 area is not the same as the rest of the city. He suggested formally incorporating that planning into the comprehensive plan update instead of just talking about it. Councilmember Nand commented it was great to emphasizing hubs in correlation with neighborhood commercial because that builds in a great constituency to support small businesses. One of the reasons young families are interested in relocating to Edmonds is the quality of the school district. As young families Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 7, 2024 Page 5 are trying to figure out how they can afford to move to Edmonds and raise their children in Edmonds, they are also looking at hubs and walkability to school campuses which helps foster healthy habits for children. Elementary schools have playgrounds; residents in multifamily developments who do not have green space could walk to a school. She suggested emphasizing proximity to school campuses, especially elementary schools. Ms. McLaughlin answered in a recent meeting with the transportation element consulting team, she mentioned the importance of incorporating the PROS Plan recommended connection to parks and schools. Sometimes it's hard to prioritize capital investments on smaller streets, but it is important to make connections.. Councilmember Paine referred to new requirements in the transportation element to address multimodal planning, pointing out Highway 99 has multimodal transportation. The City does not have a comprehensive ADA transition plan; the City's plan expired so the City is unable to obtain federal funds for those improvements. When doing transportation planning, she wanted to ensure there was attention given to connections to schools and parks, sidewalks for people of all abilities and people using wheels which includes strollers, wheelchairs, bikes, etc. She wanted to ensure the comprehensive plan included as much ADA detail so the City's ADA plan could be updated at some point and gain access to those federal funds. Councilmember Paine continued, there are no Edmonds School District schools on the east side of Highway 99; the closest school to Highway 99 is Edmonds-Woodway High School. All the schools are nestled into neighborhood so Safe Routes to Schools grants, federal funds typically applied for by Public Works, will not be enough to "spread the peanut butter all the way around." If there was a grant program for safe routes to parks, that would be a better way. To Councilmember Chen's comment, she agreed the council needs to talk about the location of City's facility infrastructure. There has been a lot of feedback from the community about the Landmark property, but the City should have a bigger, broader visioning process for all its municipal facilities, maybe not this year, maybe in two years. For example, it's not a great idea to have the waste water treatment plant in the submersion zone. Councilmember Dotsch asked how the portion of the VIA contract regarding the Highway 99 Subarea is being incorporated. Ms. McLaughlin answered Highway 99 will have neighborhood meetings and with the repeal of Ordinance 4079 which repealed the planned action, Highway 99 is treated as other neighborhood and it will get the same level of attention. Councilmember Dotsch recalled the VIA contract included several extra things for Highway 99 and asked if that was no longer happening. Ms. McLaughlin agreed that was included. With regard to public facilities and services on page 6, Council President Olson reminded wherever growth is sited, there is a responsibility to respond with public facilities and amenities. As the City is in the process of determining where growth will go, that is a good thing to keep in mind during the comprehensive plan process. She reiterated her support for the bookends the council ended up adopting; she noticed on pages 7-8 there is a lot of content to support the bookends and the approach that was chosen. Councilmember Chen referred to the housing commission's work. Although he likes the hubs and center concept, the housing commission's recommendation, based on about 1'/2 years of work, included 15 recommendations and a lot of the current housing policy was captured in those recommendations. He noted the housing commission's work is no longer on the City's website. Ms. McLaughlin said the City paid for a separate webpage for the housing commission's work which is expiring so the content needs to be transferred onto the City's website. The housing element, which will be presented to the planning board at their meeting tomorrow, includes discussion of the housing commission's recommendations and many of the relevant recommendations were captured. The concept of housing centers aligns with the housing commission's recommendation. Councilmember Chen recalled recommendation #1 was missing middle housing in single family and recommendation #6 was related to DADUs, issues state legislation is addressing. Recommendation #13 Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 7, 2024 Page 6 was multifamily design standards. As Council President Olson mentioned, standards will be important to ensure hubs and centers develop in a way that they merge into the surrounding area. Councilmember Nand commented the administration does a good job in preparing documents with aspirational language citing an identified goal or standard and projects the administration is pursuing. She hoped in 2025, once the comprehensive plan is done, that there is an effort to look at what the community said they want and use that to plan the 2025 and beyond legislative calendar such as pursuing certain federal grant funds, partnerships with regional partners to address housing affordability, etc. She noted the importance of converting the aspirational language to action to show the community the council was listening to their input. Councilmember Tibbott observed the median income in the current comprehensive plan was $67,000/year and in 2023, the median income is $110,000. He wondered if the City's revenues had doubled in that time. He brought that up because many of the changes that are being incorporated are the result of higher incomes in the region and particularly in Edmonds. There is reference to downtown/waterfront, and suggested separating those in the next comprehensive plan as there is a lot of planning on the horizon related to the Port and the waterfront and it is likely there will be exciting things happening on the waterfront in next 10- 20 years. Council President Olson referred to goal A.4 on page 4 related to light, privacy, public views, etc., suggesting that be thought about in the context of specific codes and projects, and not just a concept on a shelf. DADUs, changing setbacks and green incentives will definitely impact those things. With regard to multifamily design standards, she asked if the Architectural Design Board (ADB) was working on those. Ms. McLaughlin answered the ADB is looking at another house bill that requires clear and objective design standards. The notion of incorporating new housing typologies into the comprehensive plan, understanding what those typologies are and adapting the existing code to have clear and objective design standards, it didn't make sense to start working on multifamily design standards amidst all of that. Staff is waiting to complete the comprehensive plan, housing typologies, and the requirement for clear and objective design standards before developing multifamily design standards that will have to be clear and objective. With regard to sidewalks and infrastructure, Council President Olson commented that will never be realized if the City waits until they can afford it. She suggested a public -private partnership where the City makes it easy for homeowners to have sidewalks projects constructed a street at a time. Councilmember Paine referred to local improvement districts. Ms. McLaughlin explained there are different funding mechanisms to expand the City's sidewalk network. It is the City's responsibility to provide a sidewalks network, it is the property owners' responsibility to maintain the sidewalk on their frontage. Council President Olson said she was unsure that was correct according to City Attorney Jeff Taraday. Ms. McLaughlin said it is the City's responsibility to provide a sidewalk network, maintenance is not the City's responsibility. It isn't possible to provide sidewalks on every street, which is why the investment network and sidewalk map in the transportation element will be prioritized. Councilmember Paine recalled Chris Collier, Housing Authority of Snohomish County, did a lot of research regarding income levels in the community and what it takes to buy a house. That data would provide some specificity about housing affordability which has changed a lot in recent years. She recalled in 2008 the City pushed hard for shop local, purchasing items locally instead of ordering online. Councilmember Dotsch referred to the sidewalk map, pointing out many sidewalks are not contiguous, passable or ADA accessible. She sited some areas where the sidewalks are in poor condition. Ms. McLaughlin answered walking every segment of the sidewalk would take a huge amount of resources. When she worked for the City of Seattle, an army of interns covered the entire network of sidewalks in the city one summer to develop a sidewalk inventory to inform their maintenance program. Edmonds doesn't have a sidewalk maintenance program. Mayor Rosen advised the City has 130 miles of road to maintain and 1,700 ADA ramps that need to be constructed. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 7, 2024 Page 7 Councilmember Nand commented there are projects for 700 feet of sidewalk that cost $1 million, but a traffic table can cost $50,000. There are streets off the Highway 99 corridor with no sidewalks but multiple traffic tables that slow traffic and make drivers more cognizant of pedestrians, particularly along the Interurban Trail. When talking about ADA accessibility, dips for driveways are difficult to navigate. There are other ways to improve traffic safety and promote walkability such as bollards, turtles, posts, etc. She referred to the update regarding Landmark at today's regular meeting, recognizing the City could not purchase every available parcel, but master planning can design new roads and commercial opportunities while minimizing displacement and negative impacts to the surrounding neighborhoods. Ms. McLaughlin advised staff will present the housing element to the planning board at their meeting tomorrow night. Citywide forums focused on six comprehensive plan elements will be held on Tuesday, May 28 and Thursday, May 30 from 4:30 to 7:30 pm at Edmonds-Woodway High School. Councilmember Dotsch asked whether public input will be gathered at those meetings. Ms. McLaughlin answered in an effort to get more quantifiable information, attendees will be asked to participate in exercises. Recognizing one of the dates was a Tuesday, Council President Olson suggested councilmembers could attend prior to the council meeting. Ms. McLaughlin advised the press release includes the time each element will be presented; one hour will be spent on each element over the two meetings. 6. ADJOURNMENT With no further business, the special council meeting was adjourned at 6:28 p.m. SCOTT PASSE , CLERK Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 7, 2024 Page 8