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2023-01-03 Special Meeting Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes January 3, 2023 Page 1 EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING APPROVED MINUTES January 3, 2023 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Mike Nelson, Mayor Neil Tibbott, Council President Vivian Olson, Councilmember Will Chen, Councilmember Susan Paine, Councilmember Dave Teitzel, Councilmember Jenna Nand, Councilmember ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember STAFF PRESENT Scott Passey, City Clerk Jerrie Bevington, Camera Operator 1. CALL TO ORDER The Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 6:01 p.m. by Mayor Nelson in the Council Chambers, 250 5th Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. 2. INTERVIEWS FOR APPOINTMENT TO A CITY BOARD OR COMMITTEE Council President Tibbott explained these are informal interviews, each candidate will have 15 minutes to respond to council questions so answers should be short and succinct. Confirmation of the appointments will be made at a future meeting; candidates will be notified once the council enters into a confirmation process. The council is interested in looking at all the applications that were submitted for the open positions as well as looking into how the openings were advertised. 1. INTERVIEW CANDIDATE FOR APPOINTMENT TO BOARD/COMMISSION Councilmembers interviewed Susanna Law Martini for appointment to planning board position #1 (responses in italics): Ms. Martini provided an opening statement. I’ve lived in Edmonds for 14 years, I have a master’s degree from Gonzaga University and an undergraduate degree in communications from UW. Councilmember Teitzel commented the planning board does a lot of work for the City and the council relies on them a great deal. The planning board is involved in a lot of difficult and complex issues and does a lot of vetting and assessing before issues come to council. In your opinion, what are the two most important issues the planning board might be dealing with in the coming year? Trees and the marsh. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes January 3, 2023 Page 2 Councilmember Chen said he felt like he knew her already, recalling she applied for the council vacancy. He commented the prior planning board, even though they were short-handed, did a great job helping the City decide on important issues. What changes would you like to see in the new planning board going forward? Nothing specific, but I want to give a voice that hasn’t been heard previously on the planning board. I want to share my experience and perspective as a person with a disability with the planning board. Have there been people with disabilities on the planning board in the past? Councilmember Chen responded not that he knew of. I feel I can offer a unique perspective. Councilmember Olson asked her to share something from her past work experience that would be valuable to the City with the type of issues the planning board weighs in on. I have been previously involved in Washington State Fish & Wildlife Advisory Board. The board did a good job of making sure the pros and cons of each issue was fleshed out. I’m really good at making lists of things. Being on that board and understanding the issues and working with people with different thoughts and feelings, we built a good team and also did a good job working with WSDOT ferries division. I look forward to working together with people to reach a common ground. Councilmember Paine explained the planning board has two roles, 1) reviewing and evaluating projects presented by the planning & development department, and 2) evaluating codes. Can you comment on any experience you have with drafting or commenting on the development of code or other similar rulemaking or do you uses regulatory tools in your day to day or volunteer work? Regulations are vital to a well oiled machine, especially a city because without them, clearly nothing would get done. I think of regulations as steps to get to a goal. For example, if there is a regulation to plant more trees in Edmonds, consideration will need to be given to how and to whom the regulation would be beneficial. Edmonds will be a better city if we work together as a team. Councilmember Nand commented the reason the City of Edmonds is so well run is the passion and dedication of volunteers and countless hours they devote to volunteer positions like the planning board. It is important to be a voice for the citizens; councilmembers receive the most fiery comments on zoning, something the planning board deals with often. How would you provide a voice for Edmonds citizens and do you have any ideas for improving equity and geographic justice in Edmonds’ zoning code? Equity is a newish word and as a person with disability, it is extremely important. The problem with zoning is keeping single family residences the way they are does not consider how to increase density. There needs to be a conversation about what’s appropriate for Edmonds if we want to help seniors who cannot pay their property taxes and an option would be to be build an ADU or DADU in their backyard. If the city genuinely wants to increase the population, we have to figure out a way to facilitate that. You’re not going to please everybody. 2. INTERVIEW CANDIDATE FOR APPOINTMENT TO BOARD/COMMISSION Councilmembers interviewed Jeremy Mitchell for appointment to planning board position #3 (responses in italics): Councilmember Nand commented the reason the City of Edmonds is so well run is the passion and dedication of its volunteers and the countless hours they devote to boards and commissions. It is important to be a voice for the citizens. Do you have any ideas for how to improve equity and geographic justice in the Edmonds zoning code? That is a very thoughtful question and one that gets a rise out of a lot of people, especially in Edmonds where we are very emotionally driven by the qualities in the city. If you look at any city, whether Seattle, Portland or Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, or Spokane, they all have similar equity challenges. Instead of inclusionary zoning, we need to provide inclusionary zoning. For disadvantaged neighborhoods or neighborhoods that do not have the services they need, we need to seek out the needs of the neighborhood and ensure we provide an effective, quality means of establishing zoning policies. For example, mixed use Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes January 3, 2023 Page 3 housing tends to get pushed to the disadvantaged zones because they are the easiest to target. Green and/or sustainable strategies need to be distributed effectively to all neighborhoods. Councilmember Paine explained the planning board has two roles, 1) applying the City’s regulations to projects that come before the board, and 2) reviewing new or revised code and make recommendations to the city council. What is your experience in your work or volunteer life in working with code or drafting, developing, or commenting on codes or general rulemaking? I’m an architect by profession so I deal with codes daily, both federal and municipal. I am very familiar with the process of implementing code in specific jurisdictions or zoning types and how to effectively change them. Councilmember Paine asked if he had any experience in rulemaking, review or commenting on rulemaking. No. Councilmember Olson thanked him for volunteering on the Historic Preservation Commission. Can you share something from your work experiences that would be valuable to the City regarding zoning and code issues the planning board deals with? There are a lot of examples, the most recent is a development in Anacortes which is similar to Edmonds, a port city going through similar constraints. Anacortes did a corridor upzone on the commercial avenue to promote affordable housing and multi-use development. My project was one of the first mixed use buildings and happened to be a 5/1 75-foot tall building across the street and 45 feet away from a single family home that had been there since the dawn of time. There was huge community outrage over that. We had to dive into the community concerns and educate them on the benefits of the project and provide the city’s vision. We didn’t receive a good reception from many of the people in the neighborhood, but we had general consensus on the city’s goal which helped the project move along. A lot of first time projects in a smaller city where there is upzoning or increased density, there is a lot of resistance because nobody like change. It requires explaining the project is not just for the present, but planning for the stakeholders who have yet to move here or are yet to be born. That project was a highlight of Anacortes’ move to more dense housing and also get gainful community feedback to implement one of these project. That is happening in Edmond with the Highway 99 corridor plan. Councilmember Chen commented the prior planning board, although shorthanded at times because some vacancies were not filled, did a good job helping the city council and the City with important projects and decisions. What improvements or changes would you like to see in the makeup of the new planning board as four vacancies are filled? A collaboration impact for sure. People I’ve talked to in the community have consistently complained there is a collaboration disconnect between the boards, the community and the local government. I would work with planning board members, other commissions and the city council to have better collaboration in the planning process. Even with the best plan, without public engagement or buy-in, it won’t go anywhere. We need to increase engagement and have constant communication between boards/commissions, the community and the local elected officials to ensure things move in the right direction. Councilmember Teitzel commented the planning board fulfills an important function for the City and for the city council in particular in looking at complex issues and making recommendations to the city council. What are the two most important or complex issues the planning board may be facing in 2023? Zoning and equity. Cities are governed under GMA and have growth and community planning goals. I get the sense from talking to people that they are concerned about the scale of the community increasing to where the desirability or quality of life may be diminished. I can see that happening because on a national scale, we’re trying to combat the missing middle gap and the affordable housing gap. Comparing Edmonds to Lynnwood and Shoreline who have actively upzoned areas to accommodate those gaps, Edmonds is in the middle of those cities and the next city to consider that. It is important for the community to understand the benefits of changing the zoning code to provide equity across all neighborhoods. It is a challenge because the current zoning code does not do that. 3. INTERVIEW CANDIDATE FOR APPOINTMENT TO BOARD/COMMISSION Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes January 3, 2023 Page 4 Councilmembers interviewed Nick Maxwell for appointment to planning board alternate position (responses in italics): I am a psychologist and statistician and work as a data scientist. I worked for King County and Seattle for seven years doing healthcare statistics in their finance departments. Most recently I have been working in finance departments as a data scientist, mostly working with data and doing a lot of forecasting. Councilmember Teitzel commented the planning board fulfills an important function for the City in looking at complex issues and making recommendations to the city council. In your opinion, what are two most important issues the planning board may deal with in 2023? I am not certain and I assume I will learn a lot. I assume development along Highway 99 will be very important especially with the convenience of light in that area. Another important issue is making sure we’re ready for how nature will change. For example, the flooding by the ferry holding lanes and the prior week when many streets were covered in snow and ice. The climate is changing fast and more changes are on the way and we need to make sure we’re ready for that. Councilmember Chen commented last year’s planning board had some vacancies, many important issues were discussed and in general the planning board did a great job assisting the City and the city council make decisions. In your opinion, what changes or improvements would you like to see happen in the new makeup? I don’t feel like I’m as knowledgeable about the planning board as I’d like to be. I attended one planning board meeting where the presentation was not as clear as I would have liked it to be. I taught at the University of Washington for 8 years and am kind of a stickler for teaching the audience. It has also been a big part of my work such as talking to vice presidents who often have the least understanding. A full understanding is very important. I am also in favor of collaboration as Mr. Mitchell mentioned, but I am not aware of how that has been going. Councilmember Olson asked what prompted his application. There was an article in My Edmonds News where someone added a comment, you want to apply for this because it will be a really great experience and you’ll get to learn a lot about what’s going on in the city. If I hadn’t see that, I wouldn’t have applied. I am very interested in how cities are set up and organized and how they function, especially around health given that that has been a big part of my work. The punchline of seven years of working for King County and Seattle is you want people to walk more; walking is the low hanging fruit for health. Councilmember Olson asked if there was something in his past work experience that would serve the city on the issues the planning board weighs in on. I assume I will provide a much deeper understanding of statistics, research methods and data. I probably have the most experience consuming consultant work, digesting it and presenting it to others in an understandable way. Councilmember Paine explained the planning board has two roles, 1) applying rules and regulations to projects, and 2) reviewing changes to codes and zoning and make recommendations to city council. What work or volunteer experience do you have with using codes and regulations or with reviewing codes or other general rulemaking? Not a lot. When I was the healthcare statistician for King County, the county self-insures and runs their own insurance program which is regulated by state insurance commissioner. I was the actuary who ran the program for the county. I had to read everything about how the actuaries did their work. Not super complex, but it required reading a lot of regulations to ensure the county was in compliance. We do the best we can with regulations and sometimes they are not ideal. Councilmember Nand commented the work and passion of volunteers is what makes Edmonds so wonderful to live in and the assistance they provide to council in doing its work. Do you have any ideas for how we can improve equity and geographic justice in the Edmonds zoning code? My background is in research methodology; my dissertation in grad school was on survey methodology. I imagine we have the Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes January 3, 2023 Page 5 resources to ensure we have a geographically comprehensive survey regarding how well the City is serving the residents of Edmonds. I’m a big fan of a methodology where you survey people and contact them again in two weeks to ask if they thought of anything else. There are methodologies for establishing a survey and ensuring there is representation from everyone. Council President Tibbott asked how his experience in healthcare would help understand the long range planning needs of the City. We’re coming from time in America where people move less and less and the result is an increase in obesity and other health related problems. A fair amount of the reduction in movement is related to the cities that have been created. If you live in a place with a very low walk score, it’s hard to walk places. I once sat with a group OF county employees in their 50s-60s and talked about when they were last healthy; all of them said when they were in college or shortly thereafter when they did not have a car. The combination of suburbs and a car and driving everywhere results in less healthy people and physical health affects your mental health. We don’t want to become a suburb that requires driving everywhere, but one that allows people to walk to their regular daily activities. 4. INTERVIEW CANDIDATE FOR APPOINTMENT TO BOARD/COMMISSION Councilmembers interviewed Lauren Golembiewski for appointment to planning board position #2 (responses in italics): Councilmember Nand commented the reason the City is so well run is the passion of volunteers on boards, commissions and committees. Can you share any ideas you have for how we can increase equity and geographic justice in Edmonds’ zoning code? I mentioned this idea to Councilmember Olson previously, consider keeping park and transportation fees more district oriented. For example, if we collect park fees for a major development in south Edmonds, that money is earmarked for parks in that area to increase equity based on the development around them. The benefit of having those developments in your neighborhood is getting that money funneled into your neighborhood. Councilmember Paine asked what work or volunteer experience do you have applying code or regulations and do you have any experience in drafting, developing or commenting on code or similar rulemaking? The planning board has two roles, 1) applying the code to projects that come to them, and 2) reviewing code that is being developed. I offer a different perspective; I am a contractor by trade, I own a small construction business. We do public works as well as private work. Reading city code and specifications, I can see how a contractor or developer would interpret the and look for inconsistencies or conflicting statements. I have never written code, but I definitely have experience reviewing and understanding code. I am currently developing property on 212th for my own business’ use so I have recent experience with the tree code. Councilmember Olson appreciated Ms. Golembiewski’s perspective and the idea of keeping fees where development is happening. Can you share anything from your work that you think will be valuable to the City with regard to the zoning code issues the planning board weighs in on? I am also a lifelong resident; it is an exciting time in the City with the comprehensive plan and PROS Plan starting a new era. The planning board has some important work in front of it and with my personal and professional experience, it would be an exciting time to be on planning board. Councilmember Chen asked what changes or improvements would you like to see on the new planning board? I bring a unique perspective. I am excited to see improvements to Yost Park. I’m excited about the Highway 99 revitalization; there are a lot of opportunities in that areas for thoughtful development. I learned after buying my property and starting the process that I fell into that area so I got a quick education. There are exciting areas for improvement. My company does environmental remediation and rehabilitation and do a lot of stream restorations, estuary improvements, we’re building an estuary right now; it would Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes January 3, 2023 Page 6 be helpful to lend my expertise and insight to the environmental side of things. I am not an engineer, just from constructability, just having someone say this is what that really looks like in terms of implementation. Councilmember Teitzel explained the planning board provides a very important service to the citizens and city council in breaking down important issues. What are the most important issues you see facing the City that the planning board will be involved in? Addressing growth, sustainable growth and allowing for more multifamily units. My property is in a neighborhood business zone which is an archaic zoning because strip malls really are not being built anymore. In looking at my property, it could have been townhouses. There are areas where duplexes or triplexes could be built. As the planning board looks at the comprehensive plan and zoning, it is important to consider growth. The idea that Yost Park and the pool could be revitalized to increase utilization of the park is exciting. Watersheds, streams, creeks, stormwater, the rain and snow in the past couple weeks is eye opening to how huge an issue that is; the sheer volume of water going into the systems and being thoughtful regarding how those systems are constructed and maintained. I’ve done projects where we’re hired to replace a carbon in a filter in a system installed 10 years ago when no one considered how it would be maintained. Having the forethought about what it means for maintenance or for a future property owner. That forward thinking is important, especially in this period where there will be a lot of growth. A lot of money was funneled into small businesses during the pandemic which has provided a lot of opportunity for businesses to expand and develop so I think we’re at the precipice of seeing some big growth. 3. ADJOURN With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 6:56 p.m. ____ SCOTT PASSEY, CITY CLERK