LFP Council Corner – 2022 Accomplishments and Looking Ahead to 2023

Tom French, LFP Deputy Mayor

By Deputy Mayor Tom French

It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is upon us and right around the corner is 2023. I want to start off by saying a huge thank you to my colleagues on the Council and to the Mayor for the amazingly congenial and civil discussions we have enjoyed this year as policy makers. 

Each Council Member brings their own unique professional and personal backgrounds to the mix, and this makes for a very lively group dynamic. Those of us on the Council without PhDs sometimes must stretch ourselves in the discussions to keep up!

This past year has been an incredibly busy and productive one for the City Council. 

A few highlights include passing a responsible, forward-thinking biennial budget; adopting a methodology for setting speed limits; adoption of an Interlocal Agreement and Articles of Incorporation creating the Regional Crisis Response Agency (RCR) by five member cities; adopting code amendments for NPDES Source Control Program Creation and Stormwater Design Manual Updates; as well as many other important updates.

In all, Council Members participated in nearly 60 City of Lake Forest Park meetings as a body or a committee and participated in many, many more meetings representing the City on regional boards.

The months ahead are busy ones for the City Council. Our calendars are going to be filled with the usual business of the City but also other important topics:

• Pedestrian and multi-modal safety and lowering speed limits - The Council will continue to discuss this topic which was first presented at a Committee of the Whole Meeting this past Spring. Lowering speed limits, traffic calming, separated walking routes and a neighborhood Healthy Streets program (similar to Seattle’s) are all under consideration by the Council.

• Consideration of the recommendations from the Climate Action Committee - We are looking forward to considering their recommendations for ways that our community can reduce our collective and individual impacts on our climate.

• Updates to the Sign Code – The Council will be considering recommendations made by the Planning Commission in our continuing effort to improve our sign regulations and preserve the character of our community.

• Required updates to the Shoreline Master Program - In 2023 the Council will be tackling the update to the Shoreline Master Program as prescribed by state law and considering recommendations both by the Planning Commission and the Department of Ecology.

• Adjustment to the Budget - 2023 is an off-year in our biennial budget process, but the Council will be considering recommendations from the Administration for minor changes to the budget to ensure that we continue to remain in a sound financial position as economic conditions change.

Wishing you all a safe and wonderful holiday season and a Happy 2023!