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2024-09-10 Council Special MinutesEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MINUTES September 10, 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 Phil Williams, Acting Public Works Dir. Shane Hope, Acting Planning & Development Dir. Rob English, City Engineer Navyusha Pentakota, Urban Design Planner Bertrand Hauss, Transportation Engineer Beckie Peterson, Council Executive Assistant Scott Passey, City Clerk The special Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 5 pm by Mayor Rosen in the Brackett Room, 121 5th Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. 2. COUNCIL BUSINESS TRANSPORTATION PLAN UPDATE Transportation Engineer Bertrand Hauss introduced the project team: Patrick Lynch and Paul Sharman, Transpo Group, City Engineer Rob English, and Urban Design Planner Navyusha Pentakota. He recalled a presentation made to council in June regarding MMLOS for the Transportation Plan. This presentation is an update of what has been done since then. He reviewed: Project Schedule Overview 2M 2M We are hem soss UPCOMING DATES/TOPICS 9170.. _....City Council - Project List and Pnontization Late Oct Advisory Committee - Draft Transportation Plan Review 9111_. ........Planning Board - Project List and Priontization 8 End 30-day review period of Comprehensive Plan DEIS 9118.. _.... _.Transportation Plan Open House Early Nov Planning Board and City Council - Draft Transportation Plan Late Sept......Submdtal of Comprehensive Plan DEIS Early Oct...... Advisory Committee - Project Cost Estimates and Final Priorities Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 1 • Public Transportation Survey Responses o Completed in May 2024 o Total of 290 responses o Priorities identified (in no priority order) o Pedestrian connects; o Bicycle safety; o Improve active transportation access to mass transit; and o Balance of safety, infrastructure, and public transportation improvements to create a more equitable and functional transportation system in Edmonds (_> Complete Streets Approach) o Traffic Calming/speeding Paul Sharman, Transpo Group, reviewed: • What are the goals of a network? o Goals of the Planned Pedestrian and Bicycle Networks: ■ Maximize / improve accessibility to: - Parks, schools, community destinations, transit - Regional destinations outside the City ■ Supports the land use vision (areas of growth have adequate facilities) ■ Balance connectivity vs. feasibility of network construction (ROW, topographic challenges) ■ Foster active transportation options and reduce reliance on automobiles ■ Address disparities in access to safe and convenient walking and biking facilities • Existing Pedestrian Network o Sidewalk and off-street network LEGEND es..r N M 11 05 0 os � • Previous Comp Plan Projects Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 2 o Proposed sidewalk projects from the 2015 Transportation Plan ■ 1,700 ft of new sidewalk built since 2015 fi1 F - Dayton St =r � — 2nd Ave S J ~_ a - Walnut St - Elm St - Maple St • Pedestrian Network Map o Primary/Secondary Routes LEGEND hUMMN1 N— Tr o Local Streets -^m^ o Not meant to show every street that would _ have sidewalks, but what a connected network EOvm Uy lnO would look like • Pedestrian LOS Map LEGEND ■M lM1M7Mnb �rwrr. Dart LOS Rating Standard Example facllllles• Roadway provides . Sidewalks on both sides of pedestrian facilities in es the roadway, Good accordance with h • Mufti -use path on one side standards and planned of the roadway networks Roadway provides Acceptable pedestrian facilites, but Sidewalk akxy one side of the roadway, or: does not fully nteet City On -street shoulder facility standards I for estrians Poor No facilities exist • No facilities exist A N ■ Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 3 • Existing Bicycle Network o Differentiates facility types o On -street and off-street networks • Previous Comp Plan Bike Network 0 2015 proposed bicycle network 0 11.5 miles of bike lanes built since 2015: ■ 76th Ave W ■ 212t1i Ave SW ■ 9' Ave S ■ Bowdoin Way • Bicycle Network Map LEGEND A E.MYp W lw.. _-c E.N1Mq W TMNA.tn. \ � .__aviR YM. Cq o Defines ultimate vision for each corridor aNycw F.rn.y Typ N ■ Some of these reflect more long-term project vision (i.e Bowdoin has bike lanes but ultimately a MUP is planned) • Bicycle LOS Map Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 4 Roadway provides cycle Bike lanes On both fides of dfafacilities in accordance rce with roadway, or; City standards and planned • Mufti -use path an one fidf neMrorks of the roadway Roadway provides bicycle • Large shoulder or bike IanE Acceptable facilities , but does not linty Aet to standard or meet City standards •On -street shoulder facility for bicyclists Poor No facilities exist . No facilitres exist • Vehicle LOS — Travel Speed Based Metric o 15 corridors for travel speed Example Street LEGEND -Eastbound -Westbound e�'�'•r'^"" 30 ..La MwMaew Q NINW O e..rrrr 25 1 Err LOS A 20 ELOS 8 $ 15 ti LOS L 10 LOS D LOSE 5 0 SR8R8R8R8R8R8R8R8R8R8R8R8R8R8R8R8R8 Time Of Day • Vehicle LOS Exisbng 2024 LOS rr a hwvc• .hmLOS x •r.rsx 50 6)M p-501r < nDM 9 LEDEND cr�r ras Forecast 2044 LOS EA C w , 0 Or O+ . r v...-.. t_ .. O4rO k W :a t Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 5 A • MMLOS Project Map o Projects resulting from existing or forecast LOS de LEGEND ole MMLOS PROJECTS BY TYPE (47)-.:Lryd°., TZrail Bike Lanes 14 /° nr Ro.e«sy Roadway Ed.vtl. Uy L.M. 8% Sidewalk Multi Use 57% Path 19% _ r� • Non-MMLOS Project Map Projects NOT resulting from existing or forecast LOS deficient NON-MMLOS PROJECTS (53) LEGEND Roadway P-JMTV" 9a,. = MAW. v.m Intersection sa.m & - Loin S- 23% — Roadway • Inl.ne — Nr - Ed— Gty Limb Multi Use Path 19% A N cost estimates under development A N in I'll kvi-, ■n m _ ® • .. 'il Sidewalk t 49% Patrick Lynch, Transpo Group, reviewed: • Project Prioritization o Prioritization Components ■ Proximity to (overall weight): - Areas of Safety Concern (High) v Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 6 - Parks (Medium) - Schools (Medium) - Transit Stops (Medium) - Growth Hubs (Low) - Public Buildings (Low) - Hospitals (Low) - Commercial areas (Low) PSRC Opportunity Index - measure of equity (High) - Education - Economic Health - Housing and Neighborhood Quality - Mobility and Transportation - Health and Environment Draft Scoring o Project scoring will help city prioritize capital projects o Ranks will be done per project type (intersection projects not scored against bike lane projects) o Prioritization won't necessarily reflect buildout timeline of capital projects due to cost, grant opportunities, development patterns, etc. Mr. Hauss reviewed: , rcewo •,1 L � O Next Steps o Upcoming planning board meeting on September 11 and public open house September 18 o Project cost estimates o Draft Transportation Document with draft comprehensive plan o Update Impact Fees (to be completed in early 2025) o Aiming to be back to City Council with draft plan in November Councilmember Tibbott referred to the Prioritization Components slide and asked if measures of equity were equally rated. Due to the urgency of mobility and transportation due to the opening the light rail stations, he suggested weighting that higher than the others. Mr. Lynch responded they are weighted equally, however, access to transit is also scored related to proximity, and specifically related to transit stops in Edmonds. Councilmember Nand asked what criteria is used to determine an LOS failure such as was described northbound on Highway 99. Mr. Sharman referred to the Vehicle LOS slide, explaining the way LOS is graded is based on percentage of the existing speed limit (chart on the bottom left of the slide). During the PM Peak hour as speeds go down, LOS goes down. The City's travel demand model and a microsimulation model to forecast growth in trips on these corridors was used to determine the impact on intersection performance and travel time along the corridor. For example, if a corridor is at red/F, it is stop and go. For Highway 99 the red/F LOS is indicative of speeds 10 mph and below during the afternoon commute. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 7 With regard to a multiuse path (MUP), Councilmember Dotsch recalled that was 10+ feet and asked what priority that was given. Mr. Sharman referred to the Bicycle Network Map, explaining the greenway loop concept was included in this map as well as the pedestrian map in that the ultimate vision for a lot of corridors is a shared use path (pink/purple on the map), a 10-12' paved, grade separated surface for pedestrian and bicycle use outside the roadway. There are a number of locations with existing pedestrian and bicycle facilities along the roadway where that project would be a non-MMLOS project and other places where there is a lack of pedestrian and bicycle facilities where that would be a MMLOS project or a higher priority. He referred to the Bicycle LOS Map, pointing out on both Highway 99 and SR-104, the State adopted a Complete Streets Ordinance that requires build out of pedestrian and bicycle facilities along their corridors. Highway 99 will be a little different because the initial design of some of the Highway 99 improvements includes grade separated bike paths and sidewalks, not a shared use path. The vision for at least SR-104 at this time is to have a grade separated shared use path on one side of the roadway. Councilmember Dotsch commented there is a bike path and sidewalk on Bowdoin. One of proposed sidewalks from 84t1i for 2-4 blocks costs $3.741M. If the goal is to maximize safety, she questioned why sidewalks would be redone to create a MUP when some existing broken sidewalks should be a higher priority than something that could cost millions of dollars to complete due to the topography that is not noted on the flat map. Mr. Sharman answered it probably won't, they are identified in the project list. Councilmember Dotsch asked who decided a MUP was part of the projects, relaying she did not recall that coming to council. Mr. Hauss referred to the Bicycle Network Map, advising the purple lines on the Bicycle Network Map are from the greenway loop that was passed last year. The red route on that map needs further study. Councilmember Dotsch responded there was no council action to approve the greenway loop. She recalled the concept was connecting parks and schools, but the council and public were not certain that was the connection they wanted to make. She wondered if the intent was the Cadillac version and eliminating opportunities for a broader scope that can provide more opportunities for better connections. She was trying to understand how Edmonds can afford anything in that type of vision. Mr. Hauss explained the intent was to improve the entire active transportation system. These projects were identified so they can be eligible for grants in the future. For projects to be eligible for future federal or state, they have to be identified in the transportation plan. Mr. Lynch commented there are a number of projects where that future opportunity is protected. This is a 20-year plan, but many of these projects will take longer than that to implement. By including them in the plan is an opportunity to protect the right-of-way or the opportunity to implement these projects in the future, especially some of the lower priority projects. Councilmember Paine commented it was good to know the genesis of the idea. There are three state routes in Edmonds, 196t'', SR-104 and Highway 99 that could potentially require the multimodal transportation required by the state. In conversations with Community Transit, Puget Drive is a very difficult road to add multimodal facilities because it is very steep and narrow. There are 49 sidewalk projects, 6 bike lanes and about 20 MUP and protecting those for future grant opportunities will be helpful for the community especially with the vehicle LOS. Bigger roads cannot be built along Highway 99 to improve LOS, vehicle traffic will need to be managed as well as provide for other modes of transportation particularly as Puget Sound becomes more congested. She suggested prioritizing the things that work well in Edmonds as well as building non -vehicle capacity. Councilmember Paine referred to the change in LOS from intersection travel speed to corridor travel speed and asked if that was a state mandate. Mr. Lynch answered it was not a state mandate, it was something the City chose to do. Councilmember Paine observed subject matter experts agree that is a better method, but it is a different methodology than what the community is used to. Mr. Lynch responded a lot of communities are moving away from intersection based LOS. One of the reasons is the projects needed to mitigate intersection often are signalization, intersection widening and adding turn lanes which is often at odds with Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 8 other goals for pedestrian and bicycle safety where shorter crossing distances and tighter intersections are preferred. The corridor based travel time metric is inclusive of a variety of projects that mitigate that particular standard. It can include intersection projects as well as other roadway projects and technology such as improved efficiencies of signals. There are a variety of projects inclusive of the corridor travel time. Mr. Lynch continued, in addition it is more connected to transit speed and reliability and a measure of the quality of transit service in the community. Corridor projects that improve travel time in corridors are also improving the speed and reliability of the transit service in those corridors. The way that the system is laid out encompasses all the transit routes, not only now but routes in Community Transit's long range plan. Mr. Sharman added migrating to a corridor travel speed system is a more indicative of everyone's everyday experience. Everyone is familiar with Google maps which indicates how long it will take to get from A to B, versus the time it takes to get through an intersection. He referred to the Vehicle LOS map, commenting travel speeds with green, yellow and red are more intuitive for people nowadays to understand. Council President Olson said felt exactly the same way and came to it independently and had sent an email to staff about the MUP. Councilmembers are not just stewards of taxes that are generated locally, but also federal taxes. If something is good enough, she did not think the City should get a federal grants to make it ideal. She supported having a MUP where nothing currently exists. Ultimately having the council vote on how to proceed would be beneficial so what the council expects and wants to see happen is incorporate into the plan. She recalled a resident brought up the idea of a crosswalk across 100t' to Firdale Village, but that didn't end up being included in the study. That business center will only get bigger, more thriving and dense over time and there is really no connection to the neighborhood because there is no safe crossing. Having a crosswalk would almost be an economic development driver to help the neighborhood feel safer about reaching that business center. She had hoped to see that in the plan but it was not. Council President Olson referred to the prioritization of the list and asked if that would be the result of this process or something staff does after the transportation plan is completed. Mr. Lynch answered it will be part of the transportation plan; the team is working through the cost estimates and project prioritization. Councilmember Chen commented the transportation plan is a component of the comprehensive plan so it would be wise to align the transportation plan based on prioritization criteria and at the same time looking at centers and hubs to ensure the opportunity to make centers and hubs more connected is not missed. He referred to Council President Olson's example of the Firdale Village crossing and cited others such as in the upper bowl, 76t1i, SR-104, etc. He recommended aligning those to avoid missing opportunities. Councilmember Eck commented due to finite resources, the City needs to continue moving toward a better budget situation and to a smart way to assess the highest priorities today and into the future. She referred to the Prioritization Components slide, commenting that is an objective way to look at how best to invest resources now and in the future. She empathized with less populated areas where sidewalks may be crumbling and may not meet this criteria. Making projects eligible for grants means existing City resources can be used for things like repair. She supported identifying projects to make them eligible for funding while looking at these important criteria to set the City up for success in the future. Councilmember Nand asked if a neighborhood that is passionate about sidewalks finds itself on the lower end of the prioritization, especially if they have homeowners association, could self -advocate for voluntary assessments or seek their own grant funding. Mr. Hauss answered not that he was familiar with. Mr. English pointed out via a local improvement district (LID), a neighborhood could establish a district of assessment for properties that would benefit from the sidewalks. That is something allowed by state law as a tool to fund sidewalks. Councilmember Paine referred to comments about grants and preferred to look at this as 20-year project list. She did not believe the City would be in same situation in 5 or 10 years as economic cycles are a reality. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 9 Grants extend local dollars for projects and Public Works staff are masters at finding grants for infrastructure. She feared not looking at all the financial opportunity that helps support transportation was borrowing trouble, pointing out the area will just get more crowded and traffic will get heavier as people drive to the Mountlake Terrace light rail station. She suggested moving up to 10,000-foot level and look at what will be possible in 10 years. Grants help the City get there by extending local dollars to work better and smarter. Councilmember Tibbott said his comment is related to Councilmembers Eck and Paine's comments about priorities. He was surprised the MUP on SR-104 ranks higher than Highway 99 as it would be extremely expensive to create a MUP on that corridor. The MUP on Bowdoin makes an important east -west connection to the new transportation systems. In looking at the Draft Scoring slide, the Bowdoin MUP isn't even ranked. Mr. Hauss answered it is not included there because it is a non-MMLOS project. He referred to the non-MMLOS project map which includes the Bowdoin MUP. Councilmember Tibbott was surprised the Bowdoin MUP was not ranked higher than SR-104 due to its connectivity to transit. It seemed like the State has put a heavy foot on the prioritization systems and really wants a MUP on SR-104 which sounds like an unfunded mandate. Unless the state is willing to provide 100% of the funding, he did not see that as a priority. He concluded the MUP on SR-104 is something the State wants the City to do when there are other projects that are more important. He agreed with Councilmember Paine about having projects on the list so they are eligible for grants. Councilmember Dotsch pointed out when staff is seeking grants, most requires a local match as well as staff time. She recalled when doorbelling, people on 220' expressed concerned about commercial traffic. She asked about commercial truck routes, noting trucks seem to be using local streets to get around traffic, and suggested the maps identify where commercial truck traffic is allowed. A lot of trucks use 220t' to reach 9t1i even though they are not supposed to. The maps also do not identify emergency escape routes. Edmonds is a highly challenging area, kind of a dead end like Lahaina, Hawaii; she wanted to ensure roads that are supposed to be exit routes are free and clear to facilitate getting people out. Road diets are creating issues for emergency vehicles because there is not enough space for other vehicles to move out of the way. There are only a few ways in and out of the Bowl and she wanted to ensure escape routes were not crowded with an idealized opportunity that creates a safety issue. Councilmember Dotsch pointed out the relationship between land use and transportation. From her understanding as a result of following a lot of planning, once those are more multi -use, there is more ability to upzone land around it or increase density because there are other opportunities to get there. Edmonds has bus routes, but most of the buses she sees are empty. Edmonds doesn't do bike counts; bike counts weren't done for Main Street and the bike counts on 76t'', 84', Bowdoin and 9t' were very minimal. The City doesn't go back to see if bike lanes are being used. She thought bike lanes were more for commuters than for Sunday bicyclists. She wanted the limited roads that exist to get in and out of Edmonds to be realistically usable for the people who live here and not become an idealized flat map planning idea that doesn't match Edmonds' topography, road widths, etc. Council President Olson clarified with regard to grants, she was 120% in favor of getting grants, but did not want the City to obtain grants for projects that are nice to have versus something the City needs because they fund something the City doesn't need or takes away funds that another city needs. For example, when there is something on Bowdoin that works well and accommodates all modes, that is not something she wanted the City to get a grant for it. In areas that do not have anything, she would love to get a grant for a MUP. With regard to obtain grants, Councilmember Chen referred to the potential for a bicycle overpass linking King and Snohomish Counties. It depends on who you ask, maybe that's a nice to have or it's necessary. Mr. Hauss said that project is included on the project spreadsheet. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 10 Councilmember Eck added to Councilmember Tibbott's comments about a MUP on SR-104, commenting it seems like strategic work. She has heard community members' interest in direct access to the new light rail station in Mountlake Terrace. She also assumed bicyclists would also prefer a direct route and safe way to get to the Mountlake Terrace transit center. It seems the State is looking for the best ways to move multimodal transportation to encourage and facilitate the flow to that station. Mr. Hauss agreed a MUP on SR-104 would provide an improved connection. Currently 220t1i is the direct route to light rail; a MUP there would create a connection from both directions including to the Edmonds station. 3. INTERVIEW CANDIDATES FOR APPOINTMENT TO CITY BOARD OR COMMISSION 1. INTERVIEW CANDIDATE FOR APPOINTMENT TO THE PLANNING BOARD Councilmembers interviewed George Bennett for appointment as the planning board alternate (responses in italics): I've lived in Edmonds 12-13 years, spent a week in every state, moved 27 times, Edmonds is the place I've lived the longest. I used to live on 212'h in the subdivision that was new 10 years ago and now live in Seaview. I own a small consulting firm that works with middle market and lower middle market private equity acquired firms or family owned firms as they move to larger companies. I love Edmonds and what it stands for and that's why I'm here. Councilmember Tibbott asked about his interest in planning and in particular transportation projects, zoning, and parks. For me, you weigh everything with the cost. I heard about direct access to the parking garages, my wife uses the Sounder when she goes downtown to work on the Sound Transit project. She has no idea how to get into the Lynnwood parking garage because it's not clearly marked, but Mountlake Terrace is very easy. Sound Transit is broke; do we want to follow their model of being broke or follow the model ofproviding direct access wisely? Planning is about doingfiscally responsible things for the majority of the population and doing it in a way that's transparent and open. Frankly, I wish I could take my community and put a golf course behind it, but you can't have all those amenities, we're not Mill Creek. For me zoning needs to be equitable. In a way zoning is tax legislation. You get rid of some to create an environment and you create some to create an environment. Recently we've been getting rid of legislation to create the ability to upzone and build higher and more density. I don't think Edmonds has the capacity for that density, but if it's done wisely such as in the hubs, perhaps it can be done. Planning is economic development. I was on the Economic Development Commission and we talked about parking; that's not economic development, that just fits more people into the area. For me planning is how to put businesses in a responsible way, not another car lot where we get most of our revenue, but how are we going to include mixed use in a responsible way and how to attract more revenue so the City can complete more projects. Councilmember Chen expressed appreciation for his equity lens when mentioning land use and upzoning. He asked about his view of the equity in the 2017 Highway 99 Subarea Plan. It's hard to describe what's equitable in the plan. The planters on Highway 99, there's a cost to maintaining those. Shoreline's planters are weed beds. It looks like someone pulled some weeds in the City's planters recently. Is that equitable to create weed beds in the middle of that community? No, it's not equitable. It was a great idea but in practice can we afford to maintain it, no. The money could have been better spent on sidewalks in the Lake Ballinger area or better traffic control. That is equitable access. Planters are beautiful but there's nothing equitable about them particularly if you can't afford to maintain them. The project at the Burlington Coat Factory, public/private partnerships are awesome, but I don't think the public part should be the majority of the money and the one left on the hook if it goes south. If developers wanted to develop that property, they would have developed it a long time ago. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 11 Councilmember Nand asked what he has done to familiarize himself with the planning board's work. I've paid close attention to what's happening in the City, particularly from a fiscal perspective. I want to preserve Edmonds in a smart way, I want to preserve what Edmonds offers, I like the single family aspect of Edmonds. I also like the convenience of the grocery stores, I like the Bowl and coming to a cute little seaside community. I pay attention to what council does and I'm relatively active in local politics, maybe from behind the scenes. I read what the council and the planners do and sometimes I say something about it, but most times I don't. Councilmember Eck commented he will bring a great perspective to the planning board. As he thinks about those who are not in the majority and what the City is obligated to do for them, she asked his thoughts about prioritizing investments. Things should be data driven, what's been successful in the past usually leads to success in the future. Back to the planters example, it wouldn't have taken long for the City's planners to look at the planters in Shoreline to say maybe we should come up with some other novel concept other than a weed bed. There are underserved communities in Edmonds. When I lived in Five Corners, we were the crazies who lived close to Highway 99, we were actually called that in My Edmonds News during the roundabout fiasco. I thought it was a beautiful idea to create a gateway to the Bowl that brought some of the artsy stuff out of the Bowl and into other neighborhoods. If you drive towards Highway 99, the street right before Highway 99, why aren't we spending money there or in Lake Ballinger on sidewalks? I haven't heard anything about the pocket parks that were part of the Highway 99 plan. I haven't heard about any changes in zoning for the car lots or any enforcement for them picking up their trash. We can spend money to make things more beautiful but I think if we enforced the policies, Highway 99 might be a much better place. I look at it from fiscally responsible standpoint and you spend money where you need to spend money. Councilmember Paine commented the planning board is a mixture of looking at land use and zoning as well as reviewing code before it comes to council. She asked his experience in land use and code review. Code review, limited at best. I am a self-taught code reviewer. I worked for HDR Engineering for 12 years, I was a regional controller for them and the interim CFO for HDR Canada for a year. I started in Jacksonville, part of my job was to work with project teams to review not only the earned value of the projects but where they were in the planning phase, budget and cost control, project control, deliverables and also openminded discussions about alternatives to be presented to a jurisdiction. In doing that l was introduced to the concept of planning. Being a homeowner in Edmonds, if you're not pay attention to zoning, you never know what they'll build next door so you have to pay attention. Council President Olson commented this will be a very busy year on the planning board. She highlighted skills listed on his resume including public projects, design processes, planning requirement, costs, and transportation, concluding he sounded like a really good fit. She thanked him for bringing his background and experience to City service. Mayor Rosen advised in the next part of the process, the council will have an opportunity to endorse his appointment. 2. INTERVIEW CANDIDATE FOR APPOINTMENT TO THE PLANNING BOARD Councilmembers interviewed Jon Milkey for appointment to the planning board (responses in italics): I had a 22 year Coast Guard career as a civil engineer. Most pertinent to what's here, I ran the planning branch for the west coast pacific area. Planning is a little different obviously for federal installations. When we get a new ship homeported, we know our requirements for ships. Obviously master planning in a city is a little more extensive. Although diversity of customers, ship drivers, marine safety and pilots are a pretty diverse group and like oil and water. I'm sure you see more diversity in a city, but it is a pretty diverse group in the Coast Guard. Most of my career was support in an advisory capacity. I was coaching and doing random construction work and I missed my role in service. I signed on with Falkin Associates who Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 12 works with affordable housing. This morninglwas at a LIHIsite in Olympia andFm working on theproject behind Safeway with Housing Hope and I also worked on projects for Mercy Housing. Since 2016 until now, I've done extensive workfor affordable housing, more from the construction side, not the development side. I wanted to continue my role in service; I work part-time in construction. My whole career has been in service. I try to keep up with the issues and follow the planning board and council so I think I can get up to speedpretty quick. As an engineer with construction and affordable housing experience, I think I can be an asset to the planning board and respectfully request your confirmation. Council President Olson said she has had the opportunity to engage with him via email and meeting face- to-face once and his input and insights were always super helpful to her as a councilmember. He brought a lot of expertise to this role and she was glad he wanted to serve, noting it would be a very busy role. Councilmember Paine expressed appreciation for his thoughtful emails. The planning board looks at zoning and land use and reviews codes before they come to council. She asked about his experience looking at zoning and land use and doing code review. I'm definitely a little weak in code review. I purchased a house in Edmonds and submitted all the permitting for renovation, including critical area checklist and zoning. Since following the city council and planning board, I have reviewed the code pretty extensively, looking at lot coverage, building heights, setback, and things like that so I'm more familiar now than I was. As a project manager at St Luke for a $3 million renovation, I worked extensive with the City of Shoreline. Councilmember Chen referenced diversity in Edmonds, and asked his understanding of the 2017 Highway 99 subarea plan and how it fits into the hub and center proposal in the comprehensive plan. I do not have detailed familiarization with the 2017 plan. I looked at the zoning recently to see what was within the realm of possibility, especially after taking the light rail to Mountlake Terrace and recognizing Edmonds is a city of the future now. I lived in San Francisco for 10 years and used light rail and mass transit. Highway 99 is the gateway to the Puget Sound via a transportation hub. Why can't we have the best Highway 99 corridor in King and Snohomish County? Shoreline looks really nice, but it's not incorporated as part of a city; I lived in Shoreline, it's a bedroom community. Edmonds has an International District and a Medical District. Why can't it be incorporated into a larger concept? We have a blank slate with the comprehensive plan, it just takes some effort. Councilmember Chen responded the current plan is to leave Highway 99 alone and he welcomed Mr. Milkey's input. Councilmember Nand asked what he had done to familiarize himself with the work of the planning board. I've attended two planning board meetings virtually, reviewed the planning board notes, and watched planning board videos. I printed the most recent copy of the aggressive agenda for the remainder of the year. I don't know how the council will address the comprehensive plan, the EIS, and all the other issues. I realize it's a very aggressive agenda. I reviewed the transportation issue, I've been following the comprehensive plan, I've read the land use and housing elements and the previous comprehensive plan and I've been emailing with Chair Mitchell on a number of issues. I'm doing everything I can to get up to speed. On my own I have a number of ideas and have done a lot of research, but collaborating with seven other members provides a tenfold education. Councilmember Dotsch asked if there was anything else from his current work or education that would help him be engaged right away with everything coming up with the planning board. My master's degree is in environmental engineering. When I was in the Coast Guard, we inherited a few Navy bases. The past practice from the WWII vintage bases was if you can dump it on the back 40, that's what you did. So I managed one of the biggest Coast Guard cleanups with the EPA Region 10. I have a pretty detailed environmental engineering background. With that, the bigger picture is how environmentally conscious Edmonds is. Between the aquifers, the creeks, steep slopes, Puget Sound, and the Unocal cleanup, tying in that experience and building on that to add to the comprehensive plan. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 13 Councilmember Eck said as someone experienced in nonprofits, she was particularly pleased about the work he was doing with affordable and working class housing and liked his remarks about whole Edmonds. She asked how his affordable housing project experience will show up in the planning board's work. As you know, Edmonds is a tough city for affordable housing. The Edmonds Lutheran project is nearly complete, getting a start in Edmonds, the land costs are a big issue. They built on Magnuson Park; property values were lower due to transition from the Navy departing. I've read through the comprehensive plan, I'm not sure how many more incentives you can offer to spur affordable housing in Edmonds. Between reducing impact fees, permit review timelines, incentivizing building sizes and heights, incentives like that will attract developers if they can make affordable housing pencil out. I'm doing building and capital needs assessments for affordable housing under the WCRA program and the Department of Commerce. A majority of these are in Marysville, Stanwood, Monroe, Bellingham, Burlington, Mt. Vernon, Kingston, there is very little housing south due to the cost of land. Incentivizing and partnering such as partnering with Housing Hope. Mercy Housing has built some beautiful housing; I'm working with them on an apartment building at Angle Lake. I worked with LIHI in north Seattle. It's money and partnerships and I don't know what more incentives we can offer to spur affordable housing development. Mayor Rosen advised in the next part of the process, the council will have an opportunity to endorse his appointment. ADJOURNMENT With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 6:31 pm. CSZ31"o- SCOTT PASSEY, CLERK Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes September 10, 2024 Page 14