19770111 City Council MinutesJanuary 11, 1977
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MOTION:
The regular. meeting of the Edmonds City Council was called to order at 7:40 p.m. by Mayor Harve
Harrison in the Council Chambers of the Edmonds Civic Center. All present joined in the flag salute.
PRFCFNT
Harve Harrison, Mayor
Ray Gould
Phi l' Cl ement
Max Gellert
John Nordquist
Robert Anderson
Tom Carns
Mike Herb
CONSENT AGENDA
(7:41 p.m.)
STAFF PRESENT
J,. Herb Gilbo, M.A.A.
Leif Larson, City Engineer
Dick Allen, Asst. City Engineer...,
Joe Wallis, City Planner
Noelle Charleson, Asst. City Planner
Rod Garretson, Park Planning & Rec. Dir.
Marlo Foster, Police Chief
Jack Cooper, Fire Chief
Irene Varney Moran, City Clerk
Lila Crosby, Finance Di recto•r-,
Harry Whitcutt, Building Official
Don Burton, Park Maintenance Supt.
Jim Murphy, City Attorney
Wayne Tanaka, City Attorney
Jackie Parrett, Deputy City Clerk
Mayor Harrison said he would like to withdraw Item (C) (4) from the Consent Agenda as the subject
Was addressed previously in a Zoning Code amendment adopted earlier this year. This item was a
proposed amendment to Sec. 12.13.040(a)(4) to include by reference all provisions of Sec. 3.30.040
for privately owned noncommercial stables. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCILMAN GELLERT, SECONDED
BY COUNCILMAN NO RDQUIST, TO APPROVE THE BALANCE OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED. The
Consent Agenda contained the following:
(A) Approval of Minutes of January 4, 1977.
(B) Set January 25 for hearing of preliminary plat "Pleasantvale," File P-12-76.
(C) Set dates for hearings on P.C. Resolutions:
(1) Set January 25 for hearing of P.C. Resolution 542, recommending approval
of amendment to Official.Street Map to add 79th P1. W., south of
218th S.W. File ST-2-77.
(2) Set February 22 for hearing of P.C. Resolution 543, recommending
approval of amendment to Sec. 12.10.150(2), Appeal Procedure of
Subdivision Code. File ZO-23-76.
(3) Set February 1 for hearing of P.C. Resolution 544, recommending approval
of proposed amendment to Official Street Map to add turnaround on
4th Avenue South at north line of SR-104.. File ST-18-76.
(5) Set January 25 for hearing of P.C. Resolution 546, recommending approval
of Comprehensive Policy Plan Map. CP-2-76.
COUNCIL PARTICIPATION (7:42 p.m.)
Councilman Gellert noted that in the listing of committees in the January 4 minutes, Marlo Foster
should be indicated as a member of the SNOCOM committee; also, the Senior Center Building.
Committee was not listed, upon which John Nordquist and he serve.
Councilman Gould reported that he had a- telephone call this evening from Ted Neff who is
working with a group of citizens regarding the final disposition of the Edmonds Elementary
School and site and he wanted to talk to someone on the Council regarding their position and
the various alternatives that might be open. Councilman Gould said he was sure Mr. Neff and
other residents would be at the Planning Commission meeting the following._,ni;gh.t,and that there
apparently is still a strong community interest in the final disposition of those properties.
Mayor Harrison noted that the Driftwood players had made a donation of $516.15 to the Aid Car Fund
in memory of Wade James. He said a letter of appreciation had been sent to the Driftwood
Players. Mayor Harrison also announced that the quarterly meeting of the Association of
'Snohomish County Cities & Towns would be Thursday, January 27, at the Silver King Cafe in
Snohomish, at 6:00 p.m. He asked those planning to attend to notify his_o.ffa-c.e_so reservations
could be made.
DISCUSSION ON PROPOSAL TO INCREASE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEMBERSHIP (7:45 p.m.)
City,.PIanner,Joe Wallis said the Chairman of the Board of'Adjustment..had proposed that the
Board be increased to assist in getting a quorum for the"meeting and to assure that if a
member must disqualify himself from a discussion there will still be enough members.to discuss
the matter. Mr. Wallis had prepared an analysis of the attendance of Planning Commission members
(9) as compared to the attendance.of Board of Adjustment members (7) and he said it did appear
that the added membership had some bearing on the larger. attendance. He said it appeared that
the increase in membership probably would decrease the number of meetings without a quorum and,
in addition, that the added membership would add participants to the discussions. Ed Robinson,
Chairman of the Board of Adjustment, was present and he said that although the Board is a policy -
setting board it is a bit different from others in that it is quasi-judicial and the relief from
decisions of the Board is directly to the Superior Court. He said the members always have to be
especially careful to present an appearance of fairness and if there is any suspected conflict of
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January 11, 1977 (Continued) ,
interest the member must not participate. He noted that often the audiences are sizable and.volatile.
He said that in addition to increasing the probability of having a quorum, a larger board would more
fully insure a balance of representation so there is a good cross section of views. Discussion
followed with questions about the length of the meetings, reasons for absences of the members, and
the possibility of auxiliary members to serve as.substitutes. Mr. Robinson noted that the meeting
lengths had been shortened in recent monthsdue to the Planning Staff taking over the hearings.on home
occupations. He said the Board.had considered the attendance problem and could not find an underlying
reason for it, that it seemed to be a historical problem. Mayor Harrison said he would recommend that
the Board be increased to 9'members, and Mr. Robinson suggested that the quorum be increased to 5.
MOTION: A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCILMAN .GELLERT, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN CLEMENT, THAT THE CITY ATTORNEY BE
INSTRUCTED TO DRAFT AN ORDINANCE EXPANDING THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEMBERSHIP FROM 7 TO 9, WITH A
QUORUM BEING 5-MEMBERS. MOTION CARRIED. It was suggested this would be a good opportunity to add
some women to the Board and that recommended names be submitted to the Mayor.
REPORT ON FISHING PIER STATUS FROM RAY BUCKLEY (8:02 p.m.)
Park Planning and Recreation.Director Rod Garretson introduced Ray Buckley who.is the Director of
Sports Fisheries for the State Fisheries Department. Mr. Buckley reported that although construction
had not begun on the fishing pier, the artificial reef work had been accomplished and a good number of
fish are being attracted to it. He said the proposed Operation and Maintenance Agreement was in the
hands of -the City's counsel. He also noted that another project had been initiated in the underwater
park area, with the hope of enhancing that area for divers inasmuch as they would be precluded from
using the fishing pier area. He said.problems had been encountered with the Department of Natural
Resources on acquisition of a bottomland lease as the question had arisen as to whether it would be
constitutional to construct the fishing pier, the Department of Natural Resources' stand being that
ail harbor areas are reserved for commerce and navigation. He said he would like to generate some
support in the form of correspondence with the Department of Natural Resources', hoping that local
support would get some action. He felt strongly that the location is definitely a recreational
• MOTION: location and not a commercial one.. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCILMAN CARNS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN
NORDQUIST, THAT THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. WRITE LETTERS TO THE STATE SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE
21ST AND 1ST LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS, TO GOVERNOR -ELECT RAY, AND TO BERT COLE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
NATURAL RESOURCES, ASKING'THEIR SUPPORT OF THE FISHING PIER. MOTION CARRIED. The status of the
parking for the pier was questioned and City Attorney Jim Murphy said the Port will not sign the
agreement until the parking is resolved. Mr. Garretson reported that the Railroad has determined that
the vacant land at the northwest corner of Dayton and Railroad'Avenue is for sale at an asking price
of $3.25 per square foot, and they are interested in knowing whether the City wants to purchase it.
He said that at the Port's meeting the evening before there was an indication the Port would be
interested in a joint venture to purchase this land, but they did not commit themselves. He added that
IAC is not a good source of funds for this as IAC does not like to fund parking lots. Mayor Harrison
said he would like to see the City participate with the Port and the Department of Fisheries in this
and make an offer to Burlington Northern for $81,000, with $27,000 each from the City, the Port and the
Department of Fisheries. Mr. Garretson had said that the Department of Fisheries indicated there was
MOTION: $27,000 available that could be used for the parking. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCILMAN CLEMENT, SECONDED
BY COUNCILMAN GO ULD, THAT THE MAYOR'S OFFICE RESPOND,IMMEDIATELY TO THE RAILROAD THAT THE CITY IS
INTERESTED IN BUYING THE PROPERTY AND WOULD LIKE THE 60 DAYS THEY HAVE OFFERED TO FIND A WAY TO BUY IT,'
'AND THAT THE MAYOR CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE.PORT TO SEE IF THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO JOIN IN A JOINT,
THREE -PART -OFFER (1/3 FROM EACH PARTY) WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES, TO ACQUIRE THE PIECE OF
PROPERTY, AND TO REPORT BACK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT THE COUNCIL CAN AUTHORIZE A BID TO BE MADE TO
THE RAILROAD. MOTION CARRIED.
INFORMAL DISCUSSION WITH MEMBERS OF PLANNING COMMISSION (8:30p.m.)
Mayor Harrison invited the members of the Planning Commission to join the Council at.the meeting
table. City Planner Joe Wallis explained that recently several matters had been referred back.to the
Planning Commission by the Council and he perceived that there was some misunderstanding as to why they
were going back. He thought it might be appropriate to have a joint meeting to discuss this. Several
• Councilmen indicated that their feelings in remanding such'items as the recently proposed Sign Code
were that the Planning Commission should not be bypassed, with people going.dir.ectly to the'Council,
and this had been indicated by the Planning Commission minutes. Their feelings were that the proper
forum was the Planning Commission and when the people do not use.it the only way to make them do it is
to, send the matter back. Members of the Planning Commission responded that the;.Council should have
acted because the Planning Commission had studied and examined the issues thoroughly and had.done their
best in making recommendations. One of the Councilmen noted that. this particular issue was somewhat
isolated in that, normally, items are sent back because of some introduced factors that do not appear
to have been considered at the Planning Commission. Discussion followed regarding the proposed Sign
Code which had been remanded and the unusual circumstances which had caused it to be remanded. It was
noted that the Council had felt that remanding something was being supportive of the Planning
Commission, but the Planning Commission did not think that was the way to handle it. It was suggested
that one way to support the Planning.Commission was, when the Planning Commission minutes indicated
there had been no testimony, to ask the people appearing before the Council why they had not been at
the Planning Commission and tell them they should have been. Discussion then went to potential issues
the Council wants the Planning Commission to address the zoning of the Edmonds Elementary School being
a primary one. Chet Bennet of 843 Bell Street asked to speak and he expressed the feeling.that the
best use of that area is for a school. He pointed out the lack of schools in'the downtown area and
the impact the School District,can make on a community by,a negative act --that of closing a school.
Councilman Gould said that'if it could.not be a school, perhaps it.could be something like -a school.
He visualized it as being a complete recreational complex, with the Ciij,controlling the property by
_lease or ownership. In any event, he felt there were alternatives other than building apartments there.
In summarizing the feelings of what the Planning Commission would like to see, Commissioner Keith
LaBelle said that.when a matter is remanded by the Council the: reasons for remanding should be indicated;
that proper'advertisling and'postirig should be accomplished by 'the Planning Department; and that special
interests groups should be notified.
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REPORT FROM POLICE CHIEF AND ENGINEER ON SPEED LIMITS ON 196TH STREET (9:40 p.m.)
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Police Chief Foster and City Engineer Leif Larson had prepared reports on the speeds on 196th St.
Chief Foster reviewed his report and said the top speeds have been lowered and he believed the speeds
were reasonably under control. He said he favored reiterating the request to the Highway Department
to lower the speed limit to 30 m.p.h. and his reasons were stated in his report. Mr. Larson said
the accident data had been reviewed and indicated that most accidents were attributable to driver
error, rather than to the posted speed limit. He also recommended that the speed limit reduction
request be reiterated, with emphasis on roadside hazards, lack of wide shoulders, and proximity
of ditches. He recommended that this section of SR 524 be improved to standards which would
increase safety and capacity. Jim Cleary, District Traffic Engineer for the Highway Department,
said they have found that the upper range of the speeding had diminished quite severely, but
their total studies still indicated that 40 m.p.h. is a reasonable speed for that location, and
they were prepared to recommend 35 m.p.h. He said if the Council did not agree with this and
MOTION: wanted to make its own presentation he would coordinate in arranging that. A MOTION WAS THEN
MADE BY COUNCILMAN ANDERSON, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN CLEMENT, THAT THE CITY REITERATE ITS REQUEST
FOR A 30 M.P.H. SPEED LIMIT IN THE AREA ON SR 524 THAT IS NOW 35 M.P.H., PRESENTING SUCH DATA
AS HAS RECENTLY BEEN COLLECTED TO SUPPORT THAT POSITION AND TO INCLUDE A PRESENTATION BY THE
STAFF AT THE HEARING. MOTION CARRIED, WITH COUNCILMAN CARNS VOTING NO. Councilman Gould noted
that the safety for the Olympic School area should be remembered in the presentation and that
there had been a lot of input from residents of that area in that regard.
STAFF'REPORT ON FACTS AND FIGURES RE HUD BLOCK GRANT SELECTION (10:00 p.m.)
Assistant C.ity Planner Noelle Charleson said the staff had prepared preliminary estimates of costs
involved with the Brookacres and Haines properties. She said Mrs. Landberg had indicated to
John Wallace that she was not interested in selling the south one-half of the Brookacres property,
and that Jim Haines had indicated they were not ready to give any official commitment to the.'.Ci.ty
as yet. She said it appeared the only alternatives were to either buy all of the Brookacres
property, go for eminent domain, or acquire only the Haines property and not Brookacres. She
said the June 1976 appraisal of the Haines property estimated the value at $160,000 and the
December 1973 appraisal of the entire Brookacres site was $325,000. The December 1976 appraisal
of the south 3.75 acres was $85,000. The appraiser had recommended that the City offer $94,100
for that south portion, which would include damages to the remainder of the property from the
division. Miss Charleson said IAC application does not have to be for 75% of the cost of a project,
that the more that can be obtained through HUD monies, the less that would be requested from IAC.
She:said the chances of obtaining IAC funds increase as the percentage of the City's match increases.
With regard to the Haines property she said it is difficult at present to determine the future
usage of this park but 20 parking stalls were being recommended until the exact demand can be
determined. The development cost was estimated at $16,704 and the yearly maintenance at $7,207.
Miss Charleson also noted, with regard to the Junior High School playfields, that the estimates
were made in 1976 and will not reflect accurate costs at the time the money probably would be
received. Miss Charleson showed slides of the Brookacres property and called attention to the
danger in crossing the railroad tracks to reach the water, a problem that would have to be
addressed if the property were acquired. This was discussed and it was generally agreed that
some kind�of overpass would have to be constructed. Councilman Carns said if they were going to
try for the Brookacres/Haines properties they should apply for enough funds to accomplish it.
MOTION: A MOTION WAS THEN MADE BY COUNCILMAN CARNS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN HERB, TO CHANGE THE
$80,000 REQUEST FOR ACQUISITION OF THE BROOKACRES AND HAINES PROPERTIES TO $130,000. MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION:
REPORT FROM MAYOR ON DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS POSITION (10:54 p.m.)
Mayor Harrison said the vacancy resulting from the recent resignation of the Public Works Director
'had motivated him to present a reorganization proposal with respect to the Public Works and
Engineering Departments. He had prepared a detailed proposal which was distributed to the
Council. The proposal was to consolidate the Public Works and Engineering Departments, and to
consolidate the present Planning, Building, and Park Planning and Recreation Departments into
a single Community Development Department. The Finance Department would be reinforced by
combin"ing,the Accounting and Treasurer's Divisions and by adding outside personnel consulting
assistance. He reviewed the advantages he felt these changes would accomplish. Councilman
Carns felt the philosophy was sound but questioned combining three understaffed departments.
Mayor Harrison said he felt the consolidation would have the potential for saving. He said no
grade changes would'be made for six months, at which time evaluations would be made by a
classification board. The general feeling of the Council was that this appeared to be a good
management proposal. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCILMAN GELLERT, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN CARNS,
THAT THE CITY ATTORNEY BE INSTRUCTED TO DRAFT AN ORDINANCE BASICALLY IN CONFORMANCE WITH THE
PROPOSAL OF ADMINISTRATION RESTRUCTURING MADE BY THE MAYOR ON JANUARY 11. MOTION CARRIED.
There was no further business to come before the Council, and the meeting adjourned
at 11:15 p.m.
IRENE VARNEY MORAN, C' Clerk
H. H: HaRRISON, Mayor
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