CITY
OF
SHORELINE
CITY COUNCIL
PRESENT: Mayor Ransom, Deputy Mayor Fimia, Councilmembers Gustafson,
Hansen, McGlashan, Ryu, and Way
ABSENT: None
1.
CALL TO ORDER
The
meeting was called to order at
2. FLAG SALUTE/ROLL CALL
Mayor
Ransom led the flag salute. Upon roll
call by the City Clerk, all Councilmembers were present.
3. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
Bob Olander, Interim City
Manager, reported that City officers would be close on Monday, January 16, in
observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The next
Mayor Ransom read an announcement
commemorating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. He then reported on the Council appointments
to various regional boards. Councilmember
Hansen was reappointed to the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) Executive
Board and the Suburban Cities Association (SCA) Board of Directors. Councilmember Ryu was appointed to the
SeaShore Transportation Forum, and is recommended for the PSRC Economic
District Development Board.
Deputy Mayor Fimia read a
statement outlining her intent not to make a motion to implement performance
audits of City departments. She announced
that George Mauer has also withdrawn as an applicant to lead that effort. She commented on Mr. Mauer’s background and
experience, noting that while he is very well qualified to perform such a task,
perhaps her initial proposal should be given more time and consideration. She thanked staff and Council for the time
and effort invested in drafting the initial scope of work, and said she looks
forward to discussing and implementing performance measures in the City in the
near future.
Mayor Ransom summarized that
the Council as a whole will meet with staff to discuss performance measurements
in a future retreat.
Responding to Councilmember Gustafson,
Deputy Mayor Fimia said it was a mutual decision to withdraw the proposal. Councilmember Gustafson wished to reserve the
right to respond at the next Council meeting.
4. REPORTS OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: none
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
(a) Myron
Phillips, Shoreline, urged the Council to do what it can to retain the state
liquor store in
(b) Bob
Mascott, Shoreline, asked for clarification of agenda item 9 – Executive
Session. He then urged the Council to
consider reinstating Council commissions in an effort to enhance citizen
participation and refine issues before they are presented to the entire
Council.
(c) Wendy
DiPeso, Shoreline, commented on the need to follow Deputy Mayor Fimia’s counsel
on the review process and two-way communication. She urged the Council to establish citizen
committees, emphasizing the need for healing and an exchange of ideas. She noted that citizens can voluntarily form
their own committees to discuss relevant issues, so they do not necessarily
require Council approval.
(d) Bronston
Kenney, Shoreline, said Mayor Hansen’s administration was an example of a lack
of open process. He said citizens’
concerns regarding cottage housing were ignored and the public was frequently
excluded from the process. He said
former City Manager Burkett was unfair and did not accommodate Councilmember
Chang’s disability. He commented that
the cottage housing issue is still unresolved in Shoreline.
(e) Stan
Terry, Shoreline, said he enjoys gambling at times, but he is concerned about
the potential appearance of fairness issue because of the close ties between
the gaming industry and some Councilmembers.
He said he supported the gambling tax reduction at the time, but he is
reconsidering his position because the objectivity of some Councilmembers is
now in question.
(f) Dennis
Lee, Shoreline, concurred with Deputy Mayor Fimia’s statement and expressed
support for citizen advisory committees that include people from both
sides. He would like to see creation of
a forum to discuss process and issues of common interest. He hoped that this proposal could be
implemented sooner rather than later.
(g) Eva
Sledziewski, Shoreline, expressed concern that the proposed salary for a
performance auditor is more than the State Auditor and nearly as much as the
Governor. She said
(h) Fran
Lilliness, Shoreline, displayed artist renderings of the Aurora Corridor
project and expressed her preference to have the project completed as
proposed. She expressed shock at the
“outrageous” acts of the Council majority, noting that Shoreline incorporated
to fulfill the dream articulated by Vision Shoreline. She said that dream was put to an end at the
December 12 Council meeting.
(i) Vicki
Westberg, Shoreline, expressed support for the new Council majority but
emphasized the need for citizen input and consensus on the issues.
(j) Henk
Kunnen, Shoreline, commented on traffic safety problems on
(k) Clark
Elster, Shoreline, commented on various traffic control problems related to the
Aurora Corridor project. He said there
is inadequate supervision of traffic at the intersection of
(l) Bob
Phelps, Shoreline, president of the Shoreline Museum Board of trustees, thanked
the Council for approving the contracts the previous week. He then commented on the problems caused by
off-leash dogs in City parks, including Boeing Creek Park. He said uncontrolled dogs are depleting the
wildlife and he urged the Council to address this issue.
(m)
(n) LaNita
Wacker, Shoreline, summarized that Shoreline voted for balance last November. She said voters supported Councilmembers
McGlashan and Ryu for economic reasons and their positions on Fircrest and the
developmentally disabled. She concluded
that their mandate was for economic growth and compassion. She said since the vote was so close in
(o) Rick
Stephens, Shoreline property owner, said the former City Manager limited the
flow of information between the Council and staff, did not follow recommendations
and City priorities. He clarified that
sidewalks and street lighting are higher priorities than City Hall. He felt Mr. Mauer would have done a good job
in helping the City move forward. He
noted that the design provides for no access to the
(p) Nora
Kristjansson, Shoreline, noted that Dan Mann was allowed to address the Council
at the past meeting as a School Board member, but all his did was speak about
his own agenda. She commented that
Shoreline was forced to adopt
(q) Denise
Kellet, Shoreline, expressed support for the Animal Control contract and urged
the City to conduct off-leash enforcement.
She commented on the adverse effects of not enforcing a leash law in
City parks, including loss of wildlife, habitat, and pollution.
(r) R. Carl
Jacobs, Shoreline, read a poem he composed entitled “Blowin’ in Shoreline’s
Wind” to illustrate cronyism and the violation of rights in Shoreline.
(s) Pat
Crawford, Shoreline, noted that she used historical material from the
(t) Dennis
Heller, Shoreline, said Deputy Mayor Fimia’s statement does not change
anything, and that the past Council helped create one of the best cities in the
state. He said bad government began when
the new Council majority was voted in, and firing Mr. Burkett is “bad
governance.” He commented on the
potential recall of Councilmembers and concluded that hiring Mr. Mauer would be
“strike two” against the Council.
(u) Mark
Deutsch, Shoreline, said the Council has received a lot of information on
public process, and there is no need for a performance audit. He said productivity is not an issue, as
Shoreline has had excellent financial statements. He was pleased to see that more people are
involved in City business lately.
(v) Walt
Hagen, Shoreline, said he has probably attended more meetings than most other
residents, and that the former Mayor and Deputy Mayor limited public
comment. He asked that the City’s laptop
computer be made available for public use for Powerpoint
presentations at future Council meetings.
He said citizens must be “kept in the loop,” noting that past City
newsletters censored information. He
suggested that future Council agendas include “Neighborhood Reports.”
(w) Pat
Murray, Shoreline, said he has seen many public meetings and the past Council
majority did not pay attention to the citizens.
He said Monarch Appliance was poorly served by the City, and this is the
fault of the former City Manager. He
hoped the site for the future City Hall would be on existing public land. He recommended working with the state to
build City Hall at the park-n-ride lot on
Mr. Olander noted that there
would be a public hearing on the tree moratorium on
6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Deputy Mayor Fimia moved to
approve the agenda.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR
Deputy Mayor Fimia moved approval of the
Consent Calendar. Councilmember Gustafson
seconded the motion, which carried 7-0, and the following consent items were
approved:
Minutes
of Special Meeting of
Minutes
of Regular Meeting of
Minutes
of Workshop of
Minutes
of Dinner Meeting of
Minutes
of Cottage Housing Community Forum of
Minutes
of Special Meeting of
Approval
of expenses and payroll as of
Interlocal Agreement
between the City of Shoreline and Shoreline Fire Department relating to
Development Review Process and Enforcement
of the International Fire Code within the City of Shoreline
Approval
of Contract with the Snohomish Publishing Company for the 2006 Recreation Guide
Authorizing the City
Manager to execute the 2006-07 Department of Ecology Coordinated Prevention
Grant Agreement in the amount of
$48,141
Authorizing the
City Manager to execute the 2006-07 King County Waste Reduction and Recycling Interlocal Agreement in the amount of $85,082
8. ACTION
ITEMS: OTHER ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS
(a)
Interlocal Agreement between the City of Shoreline and
Deputy
Mayor Fimia moved to approve the Interlocal Agreement between the City of
Shoreline and
Mr. Deal responded to Council questions. He noted that an exact dog population is not known, and that an off-leash park would require special fencing and other facilities. He felt an adequate dog park could be composed of one large site or several smaller sites.
Deputy Mayor Fimia wondered if there might be any private sites available for this use.
Mr. Deal concluded the discussion by
commenting on the funding included in the Parks bond for trail
repair/relocation.
(b) Ordinance No. 406, adopting the 2004
Docketed Development Code Amendments
Mayor Ransom called for public comment.
(a) Pat Crawford, Shoreline, provided
Councilmembers with a handout and commented that Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife did not respond to the City’s first request for input on the
Critical Areas ordinance because they didn’t receive the request.
Deputy Mayor Fimia clarified that the update to the
Critical Areas ordinance will be discussed at next week’s Council meeting.
Councilmember
Gustafson moved to pass Ordinance No. 406, adopting the 2004 Docketed
Development Code Amendments.
Councilmember Hansen seconded the motion.
Councilmember Gustafson commented on the extensive
public process and the fact that there have been no citizen comments on the
proposed changes. He supported the
Ordinance as written.
Deputy Mayor Fimia commented on Amendment #21 (page
112 of the Council packet) and asked staff to clarify if Councilmembers are
allowed to attend pre-application neighborhood meetings. She noted that a common criticism is that
City staff is not present at pre-application neighborhood meetings.
Mr. Tovar said the code does not preclude staff from
attending, but the purpose of the meeting is to initiate an informal process
before the formal process begins. He
felt if staff attends neighborhood meetings, it gives the impression that it is
a City-sponsored meeting. Another purpose
of the meeting is to obligate the developer to have a dialogue with the neighbors. He noted it would be an increased commitment
of staff time if they are required to attend these meetings.
Deputy Mayor Fimia said the only recommendation she
would make is to require staff attendance, since there are concerns that
citizen comments have not been accurately reported.
Mr. Tovar said the topic of outreach is an important
subject that he would like more time to study at greater length. He recommended that the Council approve the
proposed amendments tonight and allow the Council and staff to look at the other
related issues. He said there are other
ways to address the notification issue besides mailed notice.
Councilmember Ryu asked about the timing of posting
signage at a site proposed for action.
Kim Lehmberg, Planner, responded that signage is
posted once the City receives a complete application. Following a decision on the application,
residents have 14 days in which to appeal.
Councilmember Ryu wished to ensure that the notice of
application is very prominent.
Councilmember McGlashan commented on the added expense
to businesses of having to notify residents within a 1,000-foot radius.
Mayor Ransom expressed concern about Amendment #21 as
well, noting that neighborhood meetings have been conducted at inconvenient
times, have not followed neighborhood meeting rules, and developers have been
criticized for ignoring legitimate complaints.
He suggested possibly adopting the
Ms. Lehmberg noted that staff has required developers
to hold neighborhood meetings a second time due to complaints.
Mr. Tovar added that there is plenty of room in the
code to regulate neighborhood meetings.
He said staff was correct in requiring the developer to comply with the
code by holding the meeting again.
Mayor Ransom asked for the definition of Landmark tree
as stated in Amendment #2. Mr. Tovar
responded that certain trees can be nominated as a Landmark tree, which makes
them difficult to cut down. The tree is
nominated, it is evaluated by a certified arborist, and a recommendation is
then made to the
Deputy Mayor Fimia noted that several changes have
been made and suggested that Council see if the proposed changes reduce the
number of complaints.
Mr. Olander expressed interest in working with Mr.
Tovar in refining the code and coming up with a recommendation in the future.
Councilmember Hansen pointed out that a neighborhood
meeting is only a preliminary action, and a developer cannot submit an
application until he has met the code requirements. He felt staff should not be required to
attend neighborhood meetings.
A vote was
taken on the motion, which carried 7-0, and Ordinance No. 406 was passed.
Councilmember Gustafson thanked Councilmembers Ryu and
Way for putting their questions in writing.
He also thanked the Mayor and Deputy Mayor for withdrawing the
performance audit proposal and consideration of Mr. Mauer’s application.
MEETING EXTENSION
At
9. EXECUTIVE
SESSION
At
10. ADJOURNMENT
At
/S/