CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
The purpose of these minutes is to capture a high-level summary of Council’s discussion and action. This is not a verbatim transcript. Meeting video and audio is available on the City’s website.
Monday, October 3, 2022 Council Chambers - Shoreline City Hall
7:00 p.m. 17500 Midvale Avenue North
PRESENT: Mayor Scully, Deputy Mayor Robertson, Councilmembers McConnell, Mork, Pobee, and Ramsdell
ABSENT: Councilmember Roberts
1. CALL TO ORDER
At 7:00 p.m., the meeting was called to order by Mayor Scully who presided.
2. FLAG SALUTE/ROLL CALL
Upon roll call by the City Clerk, all Councilmembers were present except for Councilmember Roberts.
Councilmember McConnell moved to excuse Councilmember Roberts for personal reasons. The motion was seconded and passed by unanimous consent.
Mayor Scully announced that he recently proclaimed the Mayor’s Day of Concern for the Hungry and Safe Shoreline Month in the City of Shoreline.
3. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
The agenda was approved by unanimous consent.
4. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER
Debbie Tarry, City Manager, reported on various City meetings, projects, and events.
5. COUNCIL REPORTS
Mayor Scully stated that he is appointing Wastewater Engineer, Sam Supowit, as the primary member of the regional Metropolitan Water Pollution Abatement Advisory Committee. Utility and Operations Manager, Lance Newkirk will serve as the alternate member.
6. PUBLIC COMMENT
The Council heard comments from the public from approximately 7:05 p.m. to 7:09 p.m. Written comments were also submitted to Council prior to the meeting and are available on the City’s website.
Tom McCormick, Shoreline resident, suggested that housing is growing too quickly in the City. He said more focus should be placed on livability, the natural environment, and parks.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR
Upon motion by Deputy Mayor Robertson, seconded, and unanimously carried 6-0, the following Consent Calendar items were approved:
(a) Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of September 19, 2022
(b) Adoption of the 2023 Community Development Block Grant Funding (CDBG) and Contingency Plan and the 2023-2024 Human Services Funding Plan, and Authorizing the City Manager to Execute Contracts to Implement Approved Programs and Projects
(c) Authorize the City Manager to Execute Contract Amendment 2 with DOWL, LLC in the Amount of $14,181 for a Total Contract Amount of $363,608 to Support the Design of 20th Avenue NW Sidewalk Project and the Preparation of Grant Application Materials
(d) Authorize the City Manager to Execute an Interlocal Agreement with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) for the Design of SPU Water and Wastewater systems in the 145th Corridor Project
(e) Authorize the City Manager to Execute Supplement No. 3 to Contract 8463 with H.W. Lochner, Inc. in the Amount of $592,312 for Design and Environmental Services for the SR-523 (N/NE 145th Street) & Interstate-5 Interchange Project
8. STUDY ITEMS
(a) Discussion of Scope for the 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update
Planning Manager, Andrew Bauer, explained the Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan) as a document where the Shoreline community documents its goals and policies to inform regulations and decisions. The Comp Plan shows how the City is going to develop over a 20-year horizon. It is an overarching document that encompasses several functional plans and development regulations. The Growth Management Act (GMA) requires that local plans are routinely updated to adapt to the changing needs of the community. This next update will make necessary provisions to align with changes with the GMA, Vision 2050, county-wide planning policies, and State law. The Comprehensive Plan’s last major update was in 2012.
This fall, staff are working on establishing the scope of the work plan and assessing new requirements. A key element of the update will be the development of an engagement strategy to start in the beginning of next year. This will be to ensure the priorities of the community are reflected in the plan. The engagement strategy will have a focus on equity in order to reach historically underrepresented communities. Staff are working with a consultant to develop the strategy and will conduct outreach outside of the update process.
Mr. Bauer shared the key themes of the update will be climate, equity and social justice, and housing. He recalled that at Council’s 2022 Annual Goal Setting Workshop, Council confirmed the current Vision statement is still a valid expression of the community but there is opportunity during the update for refinement. One of the 2022 docketed amendments to the Comp Plan involves the “the missing middle” housing issue. Middle housing is the range of housing choices between mid-rise apartment buildings and detached single family homes. An amendment would allow these types of housing in low density residential areas. Mr. Bauer noted that this amendment is separate from the work being done for cottage housing which has existing policy support, and would cause implications to land use, housing, community design, and transportation. Some other amendments involve policies guided by county-wide planning. Shoreline is commissioned with providing 10,000 new jobs by 2044 per county planning targets and staff are conducting an analysis to determine where there is capacity to accommodate new jobs and how to adjust to encourage job growth.
Mr. Bauer noted the county has also established a framework for regional centers across the county. Four sites were identified as candidate centers in collaboration with King County. The candidates identified are the 148th and 185th Street Station Areas, Shoreline Place, and Town Center. Establishing these sites as centers is proposed to be integrated into the Comprehensive Plan update. There will be a formal county-wide center designation process in 2025. Other Comp Plan updates include components for utility planning, livability, and development regulations. Utility planning is being expanded to enhance coordination with partner utility agencies. Aspects of livability are quantified by quality-of-life topics such as age-friendly policies, connectivity, placemaking, and urban design. Development regulations will also be analyzed to ensure consistency with policies, goals, and regulation mandates.
It was asked if land trust home ownership was considered as an option to address the missing middle housing issue. Mr. Bauer stated that staff has not considered that as an option. There was a question about whether middle housing could be addressed without tree removal and Mr. Bauer said that it would be a challenge. He added that a key purpose of planning is to ensure all aspects of the City are growing concurrently and in support of parks and open space.
Regarding targets for future jobs and housing, it was asked where the City stands to reach those goals. Mr. Bauer stated that the City is not far off the trajectory to achieve the housing target and more information is needed to determine the City's position on jobs. A Councilmember questioned how remote work is being considered with the City's job growth. Mr. Bauer answered that staff are working to understand how to unpack that information with assistance from the Chamber of Commerce and Puget Sound Regional Council (PRSC). Staff will be looking at trends to plan for future projections. Issues around station areas and fire flow challenges were identified as important issues to stay on top of during growth. Even so, staff are not considering nor expecting the opening of station areas to be delayed.
Questions were asked regarding Shoreline’s role in county-wide planning and Mr. Bauer explained that the growth targets were set in collaboration with PSRC and King County. The targets were recently adopted and will not change until the next Comprehensive Plan update in 10 years. Deputy Mayor Robertson pointed out that community process is going to be critical to understand how much density the community is comfortable with and where it should be concentrated.
Mayor Scully stated that housing growth should be watched and is addressed based on growth projections. If the City were to hit growth targets even a decade early, he said it is not a sign to make radical change. He brought up the lack of affordable housing options for larger families and expressed interest in increasing the ability for people to buy a place in Shoreline. He hopes the focus for the Comprehensive Plan is placed on the affordable component of housing.
9. ADJOURNMENT
At 7:43 p.m., Mayor Scully declared the meeting adjourned.
/s/ Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk