Notes from Shoreline council meeting April 18, 2022

Pam Cross, reporter

Shoreline City Council Meeting

April 18, 2022

Notes by Pam Cross

The remote meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by Mayor Scully.

All Councilmembers were present.

Proclamations

I, Keith Scully, Mayor of the City of Shoreline, on behalf of the Shoreline City Council, do hereby proclaim the week of April 17 through April 23, 2022 as VOLUNTEER WEEK in the City of Shoreline and encourage all residents to continue their good work supporting the community, and express appreciation to those who have helped others during the challenges of the last two years.

And I proclaim April 25, 2022 as EARTH DAY in the City of Shoreline. There are several events happening around Shoreline that provide a great opportunity to give back to the planet this Earth Day.

Approval of the Agenda
The agenda was approved by unanimous consent.

Report of the City Manager, Debbie Tarry

Space is limited so sign up soon. All volunteers must be vaccinated.

Council Reports

DM Robertson attended a meeting of the North King County Coalition on Homelessness about the enhanced shelter at The Oaks. There will be a presentation next week so she didn’t go into any detail other than they are still in the final stages of transition for a new executive director. They have had 8 people move to stable housing in the last month and 2 more are scheduled in the next month.

Public Comment (topic, name, city)
Each speaker allowed 3 minutes.
There were no written comments at the time this report was prepared.

Triplexes and Duplexes in single family zoned neighborhoods
Con: Corinne Mossman, Shoreline
Con: Barbara Twaddell, Shoreline
Con: Janet Way, Shoreline, Shoreline Preservation Society
Con: Courtney Ewing, Shoreline

The Oaks Enhanced Shelter
Jackie Kurle, Shoreline

Saving trees in Shoreline
Nancy Morris, Shoreline

Proposed 7-story apartment on Linden Ave N
Con: Derek Blackwell, Shoreline

Link to public comment received

Approval of the Consent Calendar
The Consent Calendar was approved unanimously.

8(a) Discussing Ordinance No. 943 – Amending certain sections of Shoreline Municipal Code Chapter 13.10 Surface Water Utility for a New Source Control Program

Presented by John Featherstone, Surface Water Utility Manager
He was joined by Christie Lovelace, Surface Water Program Specialist

There is a difference between surface water and stormwater. Surface water is any water on the surface of land. Stormwater is a type of surface water. This slide shows the runoff from a developed area picking up pollutants as opposed to a forested area where rain water gets soaked into the ground. All of this flows from our wastewater system directly into lakes, streams, and Puget Sound.

The Western Washington Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit (Permit), authorizes the discharge of stormwater from the City’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) into Puget Sound. The City is required to comply with Permit requirements. The City’s Surface Water Utility is primarily responsible for ensuring the City’s compliance with the Permit.

The permit requirements cover multiple things from education, planning, public involvement and mapping to illicit discharge, detection and elimination (IDDE). This is about eliminating sources of water pollution after they happen. We have added code language so that we can enforce it.
The Source Control Program is for finding and eliminating potential pollution before it happens or becomes water pollution. The permit-required City inspection program is intended to minimize the risk of stormwater pollution originating in areas of existing development by inspecting businesses and institutional sites prioritized as having higher risk for pollution-generating activities.

Here you see hazmat barrels, leaking dumpsters, kitchen grease, car washes, and leaky vehicles.

These sources of pollution can be addressed by cleaning up existing spills, and adding secondary containment pallets so if a spill occurs it will go into the secondary container, thereby preventing a spill into the nearby creek or pond.

And since we don’t want this stuff getting into our sewers either, we also have inspection by the Shoreline Wastewater System.
 
What are the targeted industries in Shoreline? It will be those that are deemed at a higher risk of having on-site pollution activities: gas stations, repair shops, restaurants, bars, mobile restaurants, grocery stores, nurseries, or any operation that has a maintenance yard. These can be either public or privately owned entities.

Site inspections will use education and outreach to help site owners adopt appropriate pollution prevention practices.

We estimate 550 sites for source control out of 7,400 businesses licensed in Shoreline. This would result in about 110 permit-required inspections per year, and 1 enforcement case per year.

We already have robust code, so we are proposing some pretty minor changes: allowing the Utility to conduct inspections and require the site’s owners to implement Best Management Practices (BMPs).

The total cost is estimated to be under $100,000 which is primarily staffing.

DISCUSSION

This was a very technical staff report so thank you for this clear presentation.

How do you plan to prioritize 110 inspections out of 7,400 businesses?

• Reply Christie Lovelace: We have a prioritization process in place. We look at two main factors:
• The type of pollution generating activities going on at the site. Some are more serious than others. Although they are all considered high risk as part of this program, some are more concerning.
• The history of compliance. There are some sites that had issues in the past with preventing pollution onsite. And once these inspections get underway, we will also be tracking if there are issues with onsite pollution. We will also conduct re-inspections which be included in the 110 inspections/year.

How are you defining “site”? For instance, is Shoreline CC considered one or multiple sites?

• Reply Christie Lovelace: One site. But if we find we need to deal with multiple entities we could possibly break it up into multiple sites. This will a learning curve as we deal with large organizations.

If people call to report oil or soap in the water, does this program help at all? Or is this program just working with the source control?

• Reply Christie Lovelace: When we get a call, we look at cleaning it up and figure out the source. If we find the site, that site will then be included in the Source Control Program. We try to be proactive, but we are also reactive.

Do you consider large parking lots an area of concern?

• Reply: Parking lots are not considered of high risk of pollution generation unless they are especially large lots, or had a history of spills. There also could be a car parts store where some work on vehicles is done in the parking lot.

Are you relying on public reports or do you use other means to identify possible violations in area such as Boeing Creek?

• Reply: We rely on any source, but often we get the call from members of the public who notice something is amiss. But we do have City field operative staff who are trained to identify spills or other sources of pollution. There are eyes and ears all over the City.

This will return on the Consent Calendar.

8(b) Discussion of the Transportation Master Plan Update: Draft Bicycle Plan

Nora Daley-Pang made the presentation

This is the 6th in the series of discussions of the Transportation Master Plan (TIP).

OUTREACH 3 will launch tomorrow

From the City of Shoreline: The Transportation Master Plan (TMP) team is kicking off Outreach Series 3 with three short informational videos and a survey. Many of you have participated in earlier surveys about your travel habits and needs. The City would now like your feedback on draft plans created for various travel modes (auto, transit, shared-use mobility, pedestrian, and bicycle) and the criteria for identifying and prioritizing future transportation projects.

The survey will be available from Tuesday, April 19 through Sunday, May 8, 2022.

Please access the informational videos and survey on the project webpage at shorelinewa.gov/tmp

Identifying and working to achieve a complete network of streets that supports safe, comfortable, and convenient travel by bicycle in Shoreline is an important piece of the overall transportation network. Over the past decade, how we plan for bicycling has evolved. We have shifted our focus from accommodating the types of cyclists in context to the traffic speeds and the volume of streets.

Levels 1 and 2 tend to be trails that are fully separated from vehicle traffic, or low volume low speed neighborhood streets. Level 3 can be bike lanes along collector or minor arterials. Level 4 will include arterials where no bike facilities exist so cyclists must navigate cars.

In developing the bicycle network, the project team identified a draft Bicycle LTS (Level of Stress) Vision with a network of LTS 1, 2, and 3 routes in Shoreline. In general, it is recommended that the City work towards providing a connected network where a “low stress” route (LTS 1 or 2) is available within a short distance of one’s origin and destination.

The draft bicycle plan includes existing and future pedestrian bicycle bridges, existing trails like the Interurban Trail and future trails like the Trail along the Rail. Existing and future trail connections include the existing Interurban-Burke-Gilman Trails North and South Connectors and the planned 145th Street Off Corridor Bike Network, which will help users navigate from trails to their final destinations. While these routes have various bicycle facility types, they tend to be on low-speed, low volume local streets.

Finally, the draft plan shows existing and future bicycle facilities. These are bicycle facilities along arterial streets that require specific treatments to meet the desired level (Level of Stress.)

DISCUSSION

Some of these routes seem circuitous. How clear will the directions and signage be?

• Reply: We are looking at how easy is it for users to actually navigate and get to their destination. These routes are still being reviewed. We are trying to address these things by design.

Local streets have a wide variety of traffic volumes and I believe local streets should be categorized by volume especially regarding bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

Do striped bike lanes really work? We need a buffer, not just paint on the ground. Not just here but in other states, you might not recognize a painted bike lane. You might think of it as just a shoulder or something like that. We need to put in protected bike lanes as our standard.

I agree with that protected lanes are really essential for people that aren’t hardcore bicyclists to feel comfortable. But people sometimes take shortcuts so they find a way to get around the hold up with their car and go on roads that perhaps weren’t thought of as a regular path. We need to be cognizant of that.

• Reply: In terms of neighborhood streets and keeping them low volume and low stress, we have looked at future traffic and volume. But another piece of it is the design aspect. We are talking about a biking network. If we are seeing during the time of design that volumes are creeping up on those other streets, there are some things that we can do to discourage more auto trips in terms of traffic diversion.

8(c) Discussion of Resolution No. 487 - Approving the Relocation Plan and City Manager Property Acquisition Authority, and Ordinance No. 956 - Authorizing the Use of Eminent Domain for Acquisition of Certain Real Properties, to Construct the N 175th Street, Stone Avenue N to I-5 Project

Presentation by Randy Witt, Public Works Director

Proposed Resolution No. 487 increases the City Manager’s signing authority to $1,000,000 for property acquisition in the early acquisitions ROW (right of way) phase for the N 175th Street Project. Additionally, it approves the Relocation Plan that authorizes the City Manager to approve documented relocation claims up to the limits prescribed by federal or state law regardless of amount.

Council has talked about this a couple of times since the beginning of the year on the 145th Street Project. So I will review quickly.

The project is approved by Council and acquisitions are fully funded. The project follows the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policy and the proposed Resolution includes only the full acquisition of parcels at this time.

We want to move quickly because real estate prices are rapidly increasing. Also, a quicker approval process is beneficial to property owners because they get what they are deserving of, and it also allows them to get replacement property before prices rise again. The amount requested allows 100% of the 4 properties to be authorized by the City Manager.

DISCUSSION

Thank you for pointing out that there is precedent for increasing the City Manager’s authority. Plus I thinks it’s important to keep the projects moving along. Eminent domain, which we have discussed many times, is not ideal or preferable, but trying to negotiate first is appropriate and I wish you luck in that endeavor. I am comfortable using eminent domain if we have to.

I agree. And I do believe the market is on an upward climb so the earlier the better to reach an agreement with the property owners is beneficial for both sides. Eminent domain is not threatening - it’s actually favorable to both parties to avoid extra costs.

I don’t think I caught this: Is the issue with these 4 properties because the houses are so close to the road and the ROW that’s needed? Why these particular properties?

• Reply: Broadly speaking, some houses are close. Sometimes with grade changes we can’t keep the access. Those are probably the two main levers.

So if we need a part of the driveway, that becomes a problem for the use of the entire parcel?

• Reply: Yes, if the driveway is very steep. Think of it as taking away the use of the property because it is too steep to access.

What do we do with the remaining property once we’ve completed the project and we don’t need to meet our requirements?

• Reply: we’re not that far yet. But in other locations we are trying to look at open space or places to locate vaults.

This will return on the Consent Calendar on May 2nd.

Meeting adjourned