08/20/2007 City CouncilSpecial Meeting
August 20, 2007
The Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Haakenson in the Council
Chambers, 250 51h Avenue North, Edmonds. The meeting was opened with the flag salute.
ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT
Gary Haakenson, Mayor
Peggy Pritchard Olson, Council President
Michael Plunkett, Councilmember
Richard Marin, Councilmember
Mauri Moore, Councilmember
Dave Orvis, Councilmember
Ron Wambolt, Councilmember
ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT
Deanna Dawson, Councilmember
ALSO PRESENT
Shaun Callahan, Student Representative
1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
STAFF PRESENT
Tom Tomberg, Fire Chief
Al. Compaan, Acting Police Chief
Duane Bowman, Development Services Director
Kathleen Junglov, Asst. Admin. Services Dir.
Don Fiene, Assistant City Engineer
Debra Sharp, Accounting Assistant
Sandy Chase, City Clerk
Jana Spellman, Senior Executive Council Asst.
Jeannie Dines, Recorder
COUNCILMEMBER MARIN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER WAMBOLT, TO
APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
2. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS
Councilmember Orvis requested Item F be removed from the Consent Agenda.
COUNCILMEMBER MARIN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER WAMBOLT, FOR
APPROVAL OF THE REMAINDER OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items approved are as follows:
Rott Catl A. ROLL CALL
Approve 8I7I07 B. APPROVAL OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 7, 2007.
Minutes
Approve Claim C. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS #98147 THROUGH #98320 FOR AUGUST 9, 2007 IN
Checks THE AMOUNT OF $549,630.36 AND #98321 THROUGH #98470 FOR AUGUST 1.6, 2007
IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,248,681.37.
Judicial Salary
Increase D. JUDICIAL SALARY INCREASE TO MAINTAIN STATE FUNDING FOR JUDICIAL
POSITION.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
August 20, 2007
Page 1
Ord# 3658
Rezone 125 2n
Ave N.
E. ORDINANCE NO. 3658 — REZONING PROPERTY AT 125 2ND AVE NORTH FROM
Ord# 3660
RM-2.4 TO RM-1.5. (R-2007-15).
2007 Second
Quarter Budget
Amendment
G. ORDINANCE NO.3660 — 2007 SECOND QUARTER BUDGET AMENDMENT.
Ord# 3661 Constitutionally H. ORDINANCE NO 3661 — ESTABLISH A PROCEDURE FOR CONSTITUTIONALLY
Protected PROTECTED EVENTS.
Events
Ord# 3661 I. REPORT ON BIDS OPENED ON AUGUST 14, 2007 FOR THE 95TH PLACE WEST
Constitutionally STORM DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT AND AWARD OF CONTRACT TO
Protected INTERWEST CONSTRUCTION, INC. ($112,790).
Events
IRes111151 J. RESOLUTION NO. 1151 — THANKING STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE SHAUN
Student Rep. CALLAHAN.
Shaun Callahan
Ord# 3659 ITEM F: ORDINANCE NO. 3659 REZONING PROPERTY LOCATED AT 318 - 320 WALNUT
Rezone at 318- STREET FROM RM-2.4 TO RM-1.5 (FILE R-2007-28).
320 Walnut
Councilmember Orvis advised he pulled this item to vote against it.
COUNCILMEMBER PLUNKETT MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER MARIN, FOR
APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEM F. MOTION CARRIED (5-1), COUNCILMEMBER
ORVIS OPPOSED.
Presentation to 3. PRESENTATION OF RESOLUTION AND PLAQUE TO STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE SHAUN
Student Rep.
Shaun Callahan CALLAHAN.
Council President Olson read a Resolution commending Student Representative Callahan for his service
as Student Representative on the City Council during the spring/summer term of 2007 and extending their
best wishes to him in his future endeavors. She presented the Resolution and a plaque to Student
Representative Callahan.
Student Representative Callahan commented his intent was to speak his mind and be honest about his
feelings which he felt he had done as well as represent citizens who were unable to come to meetings. He
thanked the Council for the opportunity to serve as Student Representative. He introduced his father,
mother and brother.
Mayor Haakenson thanked him for speaking his mind and commended his family for raising such a fine
young man.
Councilmember Moore also thanked the Callahans for raising a fine young man, noting he would soon
begin his college education at Edmonds Community College. She recalled his high school class has
elected him as most likely to become president.
Point Edwards 4. ACCEPTANCE OF POINT EDWARDS PUBLIC EASEMENTS.
Public
Easements
Development Services Director Duane Bowman displayed a map of Pt. Edwards. He recalled when this
was previously presented to the Council as a Consent Agenda item several questions were raised
regarding the access road and proposed viewpoints. He explained the Council created the Master Plan
Hillside Zone in 2002 as a result of an application for the redevelopment of the Unocal property.
Ordinance No. 3411 created the Master Plan for the upper yard area. The upper yard was purchased and
is being developed by Pt. Edwards LLC as the Pt. Edwards Condominium project. In response to
questions regarding public and private access from Pine Street, he explained west of SR104 Pine Street
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
August 20, 2007
Page 2
was a public road and connected with the Town of Woodway. He identified private access points into Pt.
Edwards.
He explained as part of the Master Plan, three public viewpoints were created along Pine Street. There is
also a public access along the back of the first building to a public viewpoint and a stormwater detention
pond. There is potential to develop this into a pedestrian access to the Edmonds Crossing in the future
although there are significant slopes in the area. The Master Plan required dedication of easements to the
public viewpoints and to the stormwater pond/viewpoint; those easements are before the Council for
approval tonight.
Councilmember Wambolt asked why the approval was presented to the Council now when not all the
viewpoints had been constructed. Mr. Bowman answered he had been working on the wording of the
easements for approximately four years and it was now acceptable to the developer and the City for
maintenance and operation. Acceptance of the easements is a requirement of the Master Plan and the
final building will soon be submitted for permits.
Councilmember Wambolt stated he walked the area over the weekend and discovered the sign for the
public viewpoint was located off Pine Street. He recommended the sign be relocated to Pine Street so
that it was visible to the public. Mr. Bowman agreed to discuss moving the sign with the developer.
Councilmember Wambolt inquired about the approval process for a private road. Mr. Bowman explained
in this instance, the Master Plan was reviewed by both the Planning Board and the City Council. At that
time there was discussion about creating Pt. Edwards as a gated community which the City opposed and
the developer agreed. However, because the developer did not want to build the roads to City street
standards and the City did not want to maintain them, the developer proposed and the City agreed to
allow the roads to be private and in exchange required the viewpoints to allow public access.
Councilmember Wambolt clarified the private drive was approved by the Council but not while he was a
Councilmember. Mr. Bowman agreed.
Councilmember Wambolt commented many people were unhappy to discover the roads were private and
that there was so little public access to the property. He recalled the effort to build a park on the property
and Mayor Haakenson's unsuccessful efforts to acquire funds from the State to purchase the property.
Mr. Bowman advised the viewpoints that were required are significant.
Councilmember Wambolt expressed concern with the continued closure of Pine Street and use of the
right-of-way by the developer as a staging area with no compensation to the City. He questioned why the
City did not require compensation, particularly when Pine Street would remain closed for up to five years.
He pointed out compensation for use of the right-of-way was required from the developer of Old Mill
Town. Mr. Bowman explained compensation was required where there was on -street parking; there was
no on -street parking on Pine Street.
Councilmember Marin agreed with the request to move the sign so that it was visible from Pine Street.
He asked where visitors would park to access the viewpoints. Mr. Bowman identified areas where
visitors could park on Pine Street and walk to the viewpoints. He anticipated the viewpoints would be
used primarily by pedestrians walking in the area. For Councilmember Marin, Mr. Bowman identified
the location of the viewpoints in relation to the Deer Creek Hatchery.
Councilmember Moore asked for clarification that the reason the City did not charge for the use of the
street was because there was no on -street parking. Mr. Bowman explained the fee for use of the right-of-
way and disruption of parking was not established when the Pt. Edwards development began.
Councilmember Moore recommended staff pursue compensation for use of the Pine Street right-of-way.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
August 20, 2007
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COUNCILMEMBER MARIN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER WAMBOLT, TO
AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE EASEMENTS TO ALLOW THEM TO BE
RECORDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Reports e: on 5. REPORT ON STAFF'S ACTIONS REGARDING THE JULY 26 2007 SPECIAL MEETING OF
7/26/07 Cs/Ds THE COMMUNITY/DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE.
Committee
Meeting Development Services Director Duane Bowman advised the Development Services Department
management staff reviewed the minutes of the July 26 special meeting of the Community
Services/Development Services (CS/DS) Committee and identified a number of items they planned to
report on to the Committee at their September 11 meeting.
In an effort to address the overdue permit backlog, an experiment was conducted last Wednesday where
the permit counter and telephones to permit reviewers were closed to allow a concentrated effort on the
overdue permit backlog. Telephones were answered by other staff members who took messages and/or
transferred calls to management staff. Building inspections continued but engineering inspections did not
and one scheduled pre -application conference was held. He advised a report run on Tuesday afternoon.
showed 79 overdue permit reviews; after the closure, there were 43 remaining, a 54% reduction. Based
on the success of that experience, he proposed doing it again this Wednesday in an effort to address the
remainder of the backlog. He noted before the experimental closure, engineers worked overtime the
weekend before and were able to complete several of the overdue permit reviews.
He noted most of the items identified in the minutes were administrative rather than legislative although.
there were a few potential legislative items that would be presented to the Council. He acknowledged
there were several good ideas from the meeting including issuing the 28-day completeness letter sooner
than 28 days for an application that met all the requirements. He advised staff was in the process of
preparing a report to the CS/DS Committee and Council that addressed several of the suggestions
reflected in the minutes.
Councilmember Marie► thanked Mr. Bowman for moving forward on several of the issues that were
identified. He acknowledged it was a potentially contentious issue that turned out to be a very amicable
meeting. He viewed the meeting as a partnership, the public reaching out to staff and staff responding.
Mr. Bowman stated he clarified with staff members that those in attendance at the meeting felt it was not
a contentious meeting but as an opportunity to share ideas. He acknowledged it was criticism of the
department but was constructive criticism. He commented there were some comments in the minutes that
he did not agree with and would not support but there were many that staff would pursue. Mr. Bowman
commented to most of their customers, time was money; anything staff did to delay them was
problematic.
Councilmember Plunkett asked Mr. Bowman to respond to the suggestion regarding "subject to field
inspection permits." Mr. Bowman advised he had discussed with the developer of the City's PermitTrack
software a process whereby people could apply online for "over-the-counter permits" although a process
for payments will need to be determined. This could be available for more routine permits such as roof,
mechanical or plumbing permits. He advised once the person applied on-line, the review would be done
within 1-2 days and a permit emailed to the person. He did not favor "subject to field inspection permits"
particularly for building inspections as once the permit was issued, it represented a contract with the
developer. If the permit was subject to field inspection, he questioned how disputes would be mediated.
He advised that subject would be addressed further in the report to the CS/DS committee.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
August 20, 2007
Page 4
Councilmember Plunkett asked Mr. Bowman to speak to the comment "take applications in fair order."
Mr. Bowman advised he was uncertain what that meant and was listening to the audio tape. He suspected
it addressed the difference in review time for a small permit versus a large permit. He explained permits
are often triaged and smaller permits completed more quickly; longer, more complex permits have a
longer review time.
Councilmember Plunkett commented Snohomish County did online permitting. Mr. Bowman advised
Snohomish County participated in MyPermits.com via a consortium with several eastside cities. Bothell
also participates in that consortium. He explained it was not truly an online permit, a person could apply
online and a permit was issued by the individual city.
Councilmember Plunkett referred to the suggestion that certain planners work on smaller permits and
more experienced planners work on bigger permits. Mr. Bowman answered the city's current planners
did not have the level of experience that some former planners had. As a result Planning Manager Rob
Chave and he often assisted the planners with permit reviews. He clarified that suggestion would be
appropriate if the city had more experienced planners.
Councilmember Moore thanked Mr. Bowman for reacting quickly to the results of the public hearing.
She referred to Mr. Bowman's comment that most of the issues were administrative rather than
legislative, questioning why the complaints were not addressed before she asked for a public hearing. Mr.
Bowman answered staff had been working on these issues since he came to the City including holding
stakeholder meetings. He noted many of the problems arose when the City began to lose staff members.
Councilmember Moore disagreed, remarking she had heard these complaints for the past 3'/z years and
that was the reason she scheduled a public hearing. She questioned why the Council had not held a public
hearing sooner. Mr. Bowman commented most of the issues raised at the meeting were being addressed
by staff. For example the City now had a system that could track permits.
Councilmember Moore asked if there was a policy when a customer at the counter got upset, the staff
member walked away. She noted a Councilmember had had that experience at the counter. Mr. Bowman
answered his staff was told if a customer was being abusive, they were to leave the counter and find a
supervisor.
Councilmember Moore asked about a checklist as part of the policy manual. Mr. Bowman answered that
was a concept he would not support as a review checklist would need to virtually contain the entire code.
He advised staff used internal checklists but they were not in a form available to the public. He was not
aware of any agency that had a review checklist available to the public.
With regard to administrative issues versus legislative issues, Councilmember Moore pointed out the
Council's policies dictate how the City operates. She recalled the Council's mission, vision and value
statement refers to a customer -friendly city and some of the issues identified at the July 26 CSIDS
meeting violated that policy. Mr. Bowman responded the Development Services Department staff are
very customer friendly, dedicated, courteous and professional. Customers do not always agree with the
answers they receive at the counter and he acknowledged staff did occasionally make mistakes.
Councilmember Moore responded her impression was it was not the employees but the process and she
was glad staff was taking steps to address the concerns that were voiced. Mr. Bowman commented staff
enforced the code that was adopted by the Council; many of the issues staff encountered were code -
related.
Councilmember Moore inquired about the status of the code rewrite. Mr. Bowman answered the review
had been completed for Chapter 15 and 17; City Attorney Scott Snyder was working on Chapter 16 and
Chapters 18-21 and the critical area regulations in Chapter 23 remained. He noted there was still a great
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
August 20, 2007
Page 5
deal of opportunity for citizens/developers to participate in the code rewrite. He expected the review of
all the chapters would be complete by next spring and ready for presentation to the Council a chapter at a
time. Councilmember Moore referred to a suggestion to form a committee to assist with the rewrite. Mr.
Bowman advised he could facilitate that effort.
Councilmember Marin clarified the July 26 CS/DS meeting was a special meeting to solicit suggestions
from the public not a public hearing where the Council was soliciting public comment on a particular
document. He noted members of the public who attended were anxious to talk but were also cognizant
that they needed to work with staff on a daily basis and wanted their comments seen as suggestions rather
than criticism. He thanked the public for their suggestions and staff's response to their suggestions.
Councilmember Wambolt asked whether there had been any criticism from customers regarding the
department's closure last Wednesday. Mr. Bowman answered there were only two complaints, both from
code violators. He planned to propose another creative idea regarding office hours at the September 11
CS/DS committee meeting.
Councilmember Plunkett recalled staff's indication that some of the code rewrite would be available this
fall. Mr. Bowman answered Chapter 17 and the non -conforming regulations would be presented to the
Council this fall. He explained the nuisance regulations were contained in Chapter 17; staff planned to
schedule separate hearings for the nuisance provisions and for the non -conforming regulations. He
anticipated a series of code rewrite presentations to the Council.
Councilmember Moore referred to a question at the meeting about the restroom on the second floor being
closed. Mr. Bowman stated a security committee recommended access on the second floor be controlled;
the restrooms allowed access to the entire second floor. He commented another issue was staff being
asked questions by customers while in the restroom. He noted there were public restrooms available on
the first and third floors. Mayor Haakenson suggested if the Council allocated the funds from the Council
Contingency Fund, doors and walls could be constructed to separate the restroom from the department.
Councilmember Moore requested Mayor Haakenson obtain an estimate.
Mayor Haakenson commented the code rewrite would not solve the issue of people applying for permits
who do not like the answer they receive. Staff will continue to enforce the code when it is rewritten and
there will continue to be those who disagree with the City's regulations. With regard to why the code
rewrite is taking longer than expected, he reminded the Council that they delegated the City Attorney a
number of issues earlier this year which has slowed the code review process. He suggested as staff and
the City Attorney completed their review of a code section, a group comprised of developers,
homeowners and a Councilmember conduct a review. He suggested Councilmember Moore may be
interested in participating in that process. He invited Councilmembers and developers to spend four hours
one day on the second floor watching what transpires, anticipating that exercise would allow them to see
what occurs on the second floor each day.
Planning soard Council President Olson asked for a progress report on the Planning Board's review of the OR Zone on.
xevieW orox Sunset. Mr. Bowman advised it was docketed by the Council in October for the 2007 amendments. The
Zone on Sunset
Planninii Board would be discussing it this fall and forwarding a recommendation to the Council. The
earliest the Council could take action would be in December when the Council considered the ordinance
with all the 2007 Comprehensive Plan amendments.
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There were no members of the public present who wished to provide comment.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
August 20, 2007
Page 6
7. REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Finance Finance Committee
Committee Councilmember Wambolt reported staff provided the Committee an overview of the Second Quarter
Budget Report. Staff also provided information on BEET receipts, advising revenues were expected to be
above projections for the year but by a lesser amount each subsequent month. Next, staff reviewed the
second quarter budget amendment; seven of the thirteen items have been previously approved by the
Council. The budget amendment was approved as Consent Agenda Item 2G. The final item the
Committee discussed was a constitutionally protected events ordinance; this item was approved as
Consent Agenda Item 2H.
8. MAYOR'S COMMENTS
Free Document Mayor Haakenson advised approximately one year ago staff attempted to organize a combined document
Shredding
Event shredding, hazardous waste drop-off and Citywide clean-up and found the cost prohibitive particularly for
the Citywide cleanup and hazardous waste drop-off due to disposal fees. City Clerk Sandy Chase pursued
the document shredding portion and with the assistance of a sponsorship by the Enterprise Newspapers, a
free document shredding event will be held Saturday, August 25 at the Top Foods parking lot. He
described materials that could be shredded and the amount of material each resident could present for
shredding. DataSite NW (Seattle Shred) is donating the shredding service and certificates of destruction
will be available. In addition, the Edmonds Police Department, Crime Prevention, will provide
information related to identity theft to participants, recycling information will be provided by the City's
Recycling Coordinator and all participants will be entered into a drawing for a free home shredder
donated by Office Max.
9. COUNCIL COMMENTS
Council President Olson wished Councilmember Wambolt a belated Happy Birthday on August 15.
Councilmember Marin advised he would be participating in a debate with Snohomish County
Councilmember Gary Nelson this Friday regarding the Sound Transit/RTID ballot measure at the
Lynnwood Council Chambers at 7:00 p.m.
Councilmember Marin announced his son Rex was accepted into a prosthetic and orthotics program at
Northwest University.
Councilmember Plunkett reported a good friend of the Council and the community, Don Nicholson,
passed away a few weeks ago. Mr. Nicholson and his family owned and operated Sound Disposal for the
past 30 years and his family plans to continue operating the business. He concluded Don was a
gentleman and would be missed.
Student Representative Callahan expressed his thanks to the audience members who provide comment to
the Council, recognizing them for their community activism.
Mayor Haakenson agreed Mr. Nicholson was a good man who would be missed.
10. ADJOURN
With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 7:58 p.m.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
August 20, 2007
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