2023-06-14 Planning Board MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS PLANNING BOARD
Minutes of Hybrid Meeting
June 14, 2023
Chair Gladstone called the hybrid meeting of the Edmonds Planning Board to order at 7:07 p.m. at Edmonds
City Hall and on Zoom.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The Land Acknowledgement was read by Board Member Mitchell.
Board Members Present
Judi Gladstone, Chair
Lauren Golembiewski
Jeremy Mitchell
Nick Maxwell
Lily Distelhorst (student rep)
Board Members Absent
Richard Kuehn (excused)
Susanna Martini (excused)
Beth Tragus-Campbell, Vice Chair (excused)
READING/APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Staff Present
Susan McLaughlin, Planning and Development Director
David Levitan, Planning Manager
MOTION MADE BY BOARD MEMBER GOLEMBIEWSKI, SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER
MAXWELL, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MAY 24 AS PRESENTED. MOTION PASSED.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF AGENDA
THERE WAS UNANIMOUS CONSENT TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED.
AUDIENCE COMMENTS
Jacob Stegman referred to Aurora and SR 104 and commented that it is a horrible route for bicyclists and
pedestrians. He recommended keeping this in mind as they discuss the Highway 99 Community Renewal Plan.
He noted that the information in the packet looks great.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A. Highway 99 Community Renewal Plan
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Development Services Director McLaughlin noted that the draft Plan has been completed and was included in
the Board's packets along with staff s recommendation. She discussed previous planning efforts and
infrastructure challenges. Under a Community Renewal Plan (CRP), special tools would be available to start
getting development opportunities with the intention of catalyzing investment for both public and private
investment in the corridor. The analysis confirms that Edmonds is eligible to apply for a CRP based on physical
dilapidation of buildings, unsafe conditions, insufficient access to parks/open space, inadequate street layout,
inadequate lot layout, and excessive surface parking coverage. Additionally, there is a big gap in tree canopy
coverage along Highway 99. Assets of the area include proximity to the coming Sound Transit light rail station,
Ballinger Park, culturally relevant businesses and non-profit service providers, community gardens, City Hall
neighborhood office, full -service grocery, lively shopping plaza, Swift BRT stations, Mathay-Ballinger Park,
bus transit hub at Aurora Transit Center in Shoreline, and businesses generating tax revenue for public services.
Director McLaughlin discussed structural issues in the area. Highway 99 cuts through existing neighborhoods,
creating a barrier between the Lake Ballinger neighborhood and the rest of Edmonds. Several irregularly shaped
lots were created that have been difficult to develop because of their odd shape. The medians also present access
challenges. Construction of the interchange at Highway 99/SR 104 made access to the Burlington Coat Factory
site difficult. Access remains an impediment to redevelopment of the site. Site Design Safety Challenges exist
because physical barriers and poor sight lines create "dead zones", especially between and behind buildings
enabling crime along the corridor. Many buildings in the area are more than 50 years old and/or in "below
normal condition".
She discussed potential implementation strategies: adopt a community renewal area, explore tax increment
financing as an option to address infrastructure needs, foster public -private partnerships, pursue Reconnecting
Communities Grant, and continue to invest in parks and transportation per the Highway 99 subarea plan EIS.
She explained that Reconnecting Communities is a federal grant created for the purpose of reconnecting
neighborhoods that have been inequitably bisected. It is not yet known whether Edmonds would be eligible but
it is an exciting possibility. Recommended projects include public -private redevelopment, access improvements
near the interchange, through block connections, neighborhood park, Green Streets, business revitalization, and
interchange replacement. General clarification questions and answers followed.
Board Member Golembiewski asked about the boundary of the Community Renewal Area versus the subarea.
Director McLaughlin explained that per the RCW definition they focus directly on the corridor itself and the
results of Highway 99 bisecting the neighborhoods. Board Member Golembiewski asked what happens with
the tax increment financing if it doesn't get built. Director McLaughlin explained this is a risk. She spoke to the
value of using the powers under a Community Renewal Plan to foster that and ensure that you get a return.
Board Member Golembiewski asked what happens to the property values of people who own property in a
Community Renewal area. Director McLaughlin was not sure but indicated they could look into that further.
Chair Gladstone also wondered if this would change over time. She stated she went to community meetings on
this and instead of focusing on being eligible for a Community Renewal Plan, the focus was on designating it
as a blight area. There was a lot of bristling at the idea of calling this a blighted area. Director McLaughlin
acknowledged that there is great sensitivity to the word blight. She explained that this tool is something that is
used for conditions that are undesirable or unsafe as a result of infrastructure. Chair Gladstone said she
appreciates the emphasis on being eligible for being a Community Renewal area rather than talking about blight.
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Director McLaughlin concurred and expressed hope that these tools could provide the feasibility of tackling
larger scale issues.
Board Member Mitchell asked how the Community Renewal Plan would keep people consistently engaged.
Director McLaughlin spoked to the value of an implementation strategy associated with a master plan to create
a cohesive development. She commented that community engagement is key.
Board Member Maxwell commented that the area has been very stable (unchanged) for at least 30 years and,
without some sort of intervention, he believes it will not improve or change. He thinks it is a great idea to explore
this.
Student Representative Distelhorst commented that the narrative on Highway 99 is that it is unsafe and because
of that we shouldn't have development. However, what people don't realize is that redeveloping it can really
change it and benefit the city more.
Board Member Mitchell noted that when you put improvements in place or a plan for improvements in place,
it shows that you care about a neighborhood. Usually when you care about a neighborhood, crime starts to go
down.
Director McLaughlin added that through the Community Renewal Plan they would have more powers to help
people who have been displaced as a result of anything they would do along the corridor.
Board Member Golembiewski wondered about the impacts of living in an area/building designated as a
Community Renewal Area and whether it made sense to include certain apartment buildings. Director
McLaughlin indicated she would go back to some case studies and talk to people in cities that have been through
this process.
Chair Gladstone said she thinks having a Community Renewal Plan for this area makes a lot of sense; however,
it seems to be lacking a sense of where the dollars will be targeted. She is hesitant to call it a plan. She also
asked how much of the plan is going to be community -driven versus other kinds of drivers. She referred to
community engagement and stressed that part of this is having results that the community cares about. She
thinks this plan identifies good strategies but doesn't give a sense of how they are going to decide what to do.
What is the community's role in determining that? When the Council approves it, what is their expectation for
the implementation of this? Director McLaughlin said her recommendation is to get the area designated as a
Community Renewal Area and then launch into comprehensive plan conversations. That scope will allow staff
the opportunity to work with the Highway 99 community, dust off the subarea plan, and reidentify the issues
and areas of focus to help inform the strategic plan moving forward.
Chair Gladstone referred to Green Streets and noted that in her opinion this would need more substantiation on
the stormwater side to make it worth spending the dollars that might otherwise be spent on other projects.
Director McLaughlin explained that Green Streets in Edmonds would be much different than Seattle. It is a full
cost continuum between adding additional street trees to the full blown engineered bioretention cell. The
feedback in this area has been that there is an absolute void of tree canopy, landscaping, and walkable streets.
Chair Gladstone stressed that Green Streets could provide some tree canopy which is valuable, but they are
absolutely not a substitute for parks.
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Board Member Golembiewski asked how they would know when the Community Renewal Plan is done.
Director McLaughlin replied that it is never really done. It's more of a designation. Removing the designation
would also remove the tools they have access to. Board Member Golembiewski asked if a city can have more
than one Community Renewal Area. Director McLaughlin was not sure.
Board Member Maxwell recommended that the word blight be taken out of any of their conversations unless
they need to use it for application purposes. Director McLaughlin concurred. Board Member Maxwell said he
grew up in an area that was redeveloped and renewed and those are dirty words to him. In Philadelphia renewal
and redevelopment always meant the places you love were destroyed and replaced with huge concrete messes
that no one loved and no one wanted to be around. To avoid that he recommended maintaining the tax base.
This would help to guide away from things that the community would not actually want. Regarding business
revitalization, he suggested finding a way to support businesses. He discussed a program where businesses pay
little to no rent for a certain period of time to see if they would be successful. A big part of what makes Highway
99 currently unattractive is that it is not continuous. There are big areas where there are no businesses and you
lose the community sense. Finally, he stated he was amused that the study was enthusiastic about cut throughs.
There was some discussion about the difference between cut throughs and through -block connections. Director
McLaughlin explained how Washington State Complete Streets mandate and Reconnecting Communities fit
into this. Chair Gladstone referred to the map on page 27 which is trying to portray the potential through -block
connections. It looks like those are crossing Highway 99 as well as breaking up the long blocks in the residential
areas.
Board Member Golembiewski asked if the intent is to reduce the attractiveness of Highway 99 as a commuter
highway and make it more focused on local access. Director McLaughlin explained that it is.
There was discussion about potential next steps and the process going forward. Board Member Maxwell stated
he was generally comfortable with this. Chair Gladstone commented that it appears that the Board agrees
conceptually that it makes sense to have a Community Renewal Plan (or some sort of plan) for this area as a
tool for the City to provide best services to the community; however, there are differences in opinion about the
details of the projects. Board Member Golembiewski recommended getting answers to some of their questions
before sending this on to Council.
Director McLaughlin indicated she would try to bring this back in July with more information. She noted that
the nomenclature for Green Streets could be changed to be more generalized.
Chair Gladstone also recommended having a community -driven prioritized list so the community can see the
results they want and continue to be engaged. She also wondered if this would even qualify for the Reconnecting
Communities grant because the real divide occurred between Shoreline and Edmonds with SR 104.
Board Member Mitchell asked if there is a specific way to highlight crime reduction as a goal for some of the
recommended projects. Director McLaughlin noted that public -private redevelopment would afford a police
substation and community wraparound facilities. She indicated they could clarify this.
PLANNING BOARD EXTENDED AGENDA
Planning Manager Levitan reviewed the extended agenda.
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PLANNING BOARD CHAIR COMMENTS
None
PLANNING BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
Board Member Mitchell thanked staff for putting together the special meeting.
Student Representative Distelhorst thanked staff for the presentation.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting was adjourned at 8:44 p.m.
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