Notes from Shoreline City Council meeting April 15, 2019

Shoreline City Hall
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

City Council 4/15/2019 Meeting 

Notes by Pam Cross

Mayor Hall called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.

April 2019 was proclaimed Sexual Assault Awareness Month in recognition of the serious and widespread problem of sexual assault and the importance of support and advocacy in the aftermath of trauma.

Debbie Tarry presented the City Manager’s Report

Shoreline Rotary along with a lot of the other 5030 Rotary Clubs cleaned up all 20+ miles of the Interurban Trail last Saturday.

April 17th from 6:00 to 8:00pm is the 145th Street Corridor Open House for the section from Aurora to I-5 at Shoreline City Hall. Come to see preliminary design work focused on safety and operational use. There will be a brief presentation at 6:30pm.

Volunteer Park Work Parties meet Saturdays and Sundays in April. Check online for times and locations.

April 20th will be Middle School Night for 7th and 8th graders from 7:00 to 11:30pm at Richmond Highlands Rec with a lot of activities and food. No charge.

Public Reminder

The April 18th Planning Commission meeting has been cancelled.

There were no Council Reports

Public Comment

John McCoy, Justin Sakounthong, Allison Sakounthong, Kristi Rettmann, Yuna McCoy, Mark Rettmann, and John Cole spoke against including Amendment No. 1 (1517 and 1510 NE 170th Street Land Use and Zoning) on the Comprehensive Plan Docket

Duana Kolouskova, Dejah Léger, Melissa Irons, Joshua Tubbs, Jennifer Underwood, Ray Underwood, Joseph Irons, spoke in favor of including Amendment No. 1 (1517 and 1510 NE 170th Street Land Use and Zoning) on the Comprehensive Plan Docket

Carter Case, Annette Ademasu, Lee Keim, Ginger Hayra Gunn spoke in favor of including Amendment No. 2 (Update Natural Environment Goal V) on the Comprehensive Plan Docket

Kaye Pethe, Theresa LaCroix. the new Senior Center Director for Shoreline/LFP Senior Center and Board Member Ginny Scantlebury spoke in favor of including a dedicated space for the Senior Center in the new Pool/Rec Center

The Agenda was approved unanimously.

The Consent Calendar was approved unanimously.

Action Item 8(a) Adopting the 2019 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Docket

Before beginning the staff report, Councilmember McGlashan asked the City Attorney about the request by two speakers that he recuse himself because he received a political donation from Irons Brothers during his campaign. Margaret King, the City Attorney, said there is no legal reason for Councilmember McGlashan to recuse himself because receipt of a political contribution does not create a legal conflict of interest. 

Councilmember Chang recused herself, as she has in the past, due to a prior working relationship with the father of Melissa Irons.

The Staff report was presented by Steven Szafran, Senior Planner and Paul Cohen, Planning manager

Council is scheduled to adopt the Final 2019 Comprehensive Plan Docket that includes the following proposed amendments:

• Amendment No. 1 (1517 and 1510 NE 170th Street Land Use and Zoning)
• Amendment No. 2 (Update Natural Environment Goal V)
• New Requested Amendment No. 3 (Fircrest Campus Underutilized Property Land Use and Zoning)
• New Requested Amendment No. 4 (Amend Policy LU2 to Allow for Professional Offices in the R-8 and R-12 Zones)

Discussion

There was a Motion to exclude Amendment No. 1 from the Docket. When rezoning, Council must consider the existing code, the need for a rezone, and the criteria in the Comprehensive Plan policy instead of the number of speakers or letters written. That is not to say such letters and speakers are ignored or without impact, but the Council is limited to considering the law in making the final decision. Council cannot consider the current people involved because a future owner of the property may have a different occupancy. Shoreline is heavily dependent on property tax and we need to diversify our funding base. Unfortunately, we have a small base of commercial land in our city. We also have a low vacancy rate on our commercial property compared to other cities. We need to add commercial land but people don’t want it changed from residential.

Motion to exclude #1 from docket failed by a vote of two to four, with Councilmember Chang recused.

Motion to include Amendment No. 4 in final docket

Conditional use is allowed in R18, R24, R48 and maybe we need to include R8 and R12. R8 and R12 are located off of major arterials where a small non-retail business may want to relocate. Council discussed the rezones done in a wedding cake approach allowing a step up from residential to light commercial (professional office) to heavier commercial. 15th NE is already changing from residential to commercial, and you have R6 and R8 against full commercial. It is better with small businesses making the transition. Shoreline is changing now due to light rail so we are going to see more changes sooner rather than later. 15th NE was zoned commercial and those areas are now filing in. There is really a need to look at this area again. There appear to be second homes on some lots, day cares, and there are 4 story townhomes on 12th. This also fits into Amendment No. 2 because less driving from a residential neighborhood to a commercial area will help reduce our carbon footprint. Mixed commercial and residential blended in a wedding cake tier approach deserves study to see its potential impact throughout the City.

Motion to include Amendment No.4 passes five to one, with Councilmember Chang recused.

Motion to include Amendment No. 3 in final docket

This will allow Shoreline to be involved throughout the process. This is the first move from the State to do something with this property and we want to have some control or influence over this. Shouldn’t we know what part of the property we’re going to get first? Why spend $100k without knowing what we might be getting? The City Manager stated the City would not begin until the State subdivides the land.

Motion to include Amendment No. 3 passes six to one.

Council agrees unanimously to adopt the Final 2019 Comprehensive Plan Docket that includes the four proposed amendments.


Meeting adjourned at 8:19pm.