Notes from Shoreline City Council meeting August 5, 2019

Moms Demand Action Against Gun Violence
at Shoreline City Council meeting

Shoreline City Council Meeting
August 5, 2019

Notes by Pam Cross

Mayor Hall called the meeting to order at 7pm
Councilmember Robertson was excused for personal reasons.

The Mayor proclaimed Tuesday, August 6, 2019 as National Night Out in Shoreline. Police Chief Shawn Ledford accepted the Proclamation.

Report of the City Manager Debbie Tarry.

• August 6th the Lunchtime Concert Series continues. Visit the Shoreline website for the full summer schedule.
• August 8th - 24th on Thursdays through Saturdays - The King’s Players Theatre is bringing nine free performances of William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play to the City Hall Plaza. Rated PG-13. More information available online
• August 10-11 Park Volunteer Work Parties will be working to restore and improve Shoreline Parks. Details available online.

Council Reports

Councilmember McGlashan and Deputy Mayor McConnell attended the Seashore Transportation Meeting. Metro North Lake Mobility Project and Metro Service Restructuring was discussed. This is a 2-year project where they will be reaching out for public feedback on the planned restructuring of bus routes to feed the light rail stations. Right now the focus is on businesses, organizations and hospitals. Later in the process they will be asking for personal feedback.

Councilmember Chang added that people should not be passive but fight for their preferred bus route. Not all busses will be going to Seattle because the idea is to bring riders to the light rail. The Metro website lists the affected bus routes.

Deputy Mayor McConnell reported there are 10,000 hours of bus services to organize and lost in this volume were the seniors. The Deputy Mayor provided the email address of Sound Generations to the staff person so they will be added to the list of organizations.

Mayor Hall stated that next week Council is scheduled to consider Resolution 444 which will express the City’s opposition to Initiative 976 (Bring Back Our $30 Car Tabs). Council rule 5.10 requires providing 10 days notice which was done. However two numbers were transposed (all other information was correct) so a revised notice is required. However that would provide only 5 days notice. He suggested Council Rule 5.10 be waived. There was no opposition and it was waived by unanimous consent.

Public Comment

Robert Doran, Director of Construction and Development, ROIC, San Diego, CA (Retail Opportunity Investments Corp). With regard to the Shoreline Place, we have been working over the past several weeks to resolve outstanding issues and hope to have it resolved by the September meeting.

Juliet Scarpa, local group lead for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America asks Council to support Resolution 444. They do not want to outlaw guns, but to see prudent rules in place.

Approval of the Agenda

Councilmember Roberts moved to add Resolution 444 to the agenda as Action item 8a. “Discussion and Potential Adoption of Resolution No 444 Regarding Gun Violence and Gun Control Legislation.” In line with tomorrow’s National Night Out Against Crime, and in view of the recent shootings in Gilroy, CA, El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH, we should take advantage of the local and national momentum to go beyond just proclaiming National Night Out, and take some action. 

Council Rule 6.1.B requires notice in order to allow public comment. Council discussed adding 444 now or waiting until next week to provide a week’s notice, which is the usual process so that everyone’s voice can be heard. The City Attorney Margaret King confirmed this Resolution is in order and can be added tonight.

The Motion to add Resolution 444 to tonight’s agenda passed by a vote of 4 to 2, with Mayor Hall and Councilmember McGlashan dissenting.

The Consent Calendar was adopted, without discussion, unanimously.

Action Items

Action Item 8a: Discussion and Potential Adoption of Resolution No 444 Regarding Gun Violence and Gun Control Legislation.
There was no staff report.

Public Comment
Nara Kim, Shorewood HS student and co-director of March for Our Lives - Washington State, spoke of the difficulty growing up under the shadow of school mass shootings.

Discussion

It is sad and disappointing that this has to be put on the agenda. We need the Federal Government to take action because often firearms are purchased in one state and used in another (making it a federal crime). The majority in our community should be proud we are taking such a step. Safety is important for everyone, but especially our children.

On the other hand, this could set a dangerous precedent if someone someday in the future brings a resolution forward that people in the community disagree with and have no opportunity to speak their opinion on it. Due to the nature of 444, little if any opposition is expected from the public. It resolves “to support policies and programs aimed at reducing gun violence and add support for comprehensive federal legislation to ensure the safety and security of all…” It is not supporting banning guns.

Resolution 444 is adopted unanimously.


Action Item 8b - Appointment of Pro and Con Committee Members for City of Shoreline Proposition 1: General Obligation Bonds for Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Improvements

Staff Report by Eric Bratton, Communications Program Manager,
The City Council is responsible for appointing committees to prepare statements in favor of and in opposition to a ballot measure. These statements will be published in the voters’ pamphlet. Council must select Pro Committee members from persons known to advocate for voters’ approval of Proposition 1. They must select Con Committee members from persons known to advocate voters’ rejection of Proposition 1. There is a limit of three members per committee, but the members can ask advice of anyone they want.

The City received six applications from the following residents for the Pro Committee:
Pamela Cross, Carolyn Hope, Jonathan Malo, Robin McClelland, Susie McDowell, and Dustin McIntyre. Robin McClelland later withdrew her name in favor of her commitment to support the Committee selected.

The City did not receive any applications for the Con Committee.

The statements must be submitted to King County Elections by August 13, and rebuttals by August 15th.

The selected committee members are:

• Susie McDowell, swim coach and teacher, and a strong supporter of the pool
• Pam Cross, committed and active in the community and reports on the council
• Carolyn Hope, longtime resident with a good command of the written language which is essential.

The Pro committee as described was approved unanimously

All volunteers were well qualified and it is hoped they will continue to be involved in this as well as other City and community activities.

There is no way to appoint a CON committee because there were no volunteers.

Study Items

Study Item 9a - Discussing Resolution No. 441: Approving the Shoreline Place Development Agreement Between the City of Shoreline and Merlone Geier Partners

This is the only study session for this resolution so it was be longer than usual.

It is noted for the record that the applicant is present. Although this is presented as a legislative decision, Washington State Court Decisions have recognized Development Agreements as a quasi-judicial land use decision, requiring adherence to the Appearance of Fairness Doctrine (The Appearance of Fairness Doctrine is a rule of law requiring government decision-makers to conduct non-court hearings and proceedings in a way that is fair and unbiased in both appearance and fact./pac)

The Councilmembers were given a fairness checklist covering ex parte communications, any interest in any property involved in the project or nearby, and the ability to be fair and objective.

Council discussed the fairness checklist and ex parte communications. All stated they are capable of being objective. Margaret King, City Attorney, asked for any objections from guests. There were none.

Staff Report

Rachael Markle, AICP, Director of Planning and Community was accompanied by representatives from a number of the firms involved in this project.

Merlone Geier Partners (MGP) proposes to enter into a Development Agreement to create a 17.3-acre mixed use center roughly in the middle of the entire 70-acre Aurora Square site, an area now referred to as Shoreline Place, that creates a pedestrian-centered experience that includes residential units with new mixed-use and integrated retail, under-building parking, private and public space, and easier connections between the variety of uses and users.

While a Development Agreement is not required to develop the property within the CRA (Community Renewal Area ), MGP (Merlone Geier Partners) desires to proceed under that process of the City's code in order to better meet the goals of the CRA (Community Renewal Area) and the SEPA Planned Action (environmental review).

The staff report is 396 pages and included in the meeting agenda / packet starting on page 327.

Discussion

Additional purchased properties would be automatically included in the Development Agreement without Council approval. It is possible it could be a large land purchase and should come back to Council. The amenities are often listed as optional.

Answer: This is a large project and there is no financing possible for the entire development. So this is their concept to move through a phased development, recognizing they are not committed to doing everything. They will have to respond to the demands of the market as the project moves forward.

What about what’s happening at Northgate? We’re losing that retail leaving only Alderwood Mall and U-Village.

Answer: Retail is changing. Northgate is building office space. That location is ideal due to light rail, visibility and proximity to I-5. The market analysis says there is no demand for that much office space in Shoreline.

Can you apply for parking reduction? The Development Agreement is silent on this.

Answer: Section 17c provides the flexibility to apply for reduction since we don’t know what transportation will look like in 10 or 15 years. If the City changes the code, the Agreement provides the discretion whether to opt in for the code changes.

An earlier concern about agreement among the multiple owners appears to have been addressed.

The increase in density will adversely affect the nearby parks due to more use. Park Impact Fee credits will be determined at the time of permitting but set at a maximum of 40% in the Agreement to make sure that most of the fee is actually paid. This wording needs to be worked on.

Fire Impact Fee is determined by the Fire District and calculated at permitting. There will be credits available.

Other issues brought up and briefly discussed included number of possible condos instead of apartments, rules and regulations listed in the agreement, parking and bike interaction, retail, interaction with the Interurban Trail, size of units, size of parking stalls, Central Market’s importance to the City and the project, trees, sunshine, neighborhood association access to ongoing operations, building height, possibility of overbuilding retail so it remains vacant.

In the end, because this is long range multi-phased development, it may not turn out to be exactly what we see in the concept design. Because over time, there will be changes in technology, in shopping practices, and even the work environment resulting in different needs for office space. The concept design is what they would build if they could build it today.

Meeting adjourned at 9:40pm.