Showing posts with label city council LFP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label city council LFP. Show all posts

LFP Council COW continues review of Town Center codes Tuesday

Saturday, February 13, 2021

City of Lake Forest Park, Council Committee of the Whole (COW) Special Meeting Tuesday February 16, 2021 at 6:00pm.

Agenda:
Town Center Code and Design Guidelines Update – Proposed Amendments to the Lake Forest Park Municipal Code (LFPMC) and Design Guidelines Pertaining to the Town Center Zone (Ord. 1217) and Related Regulations in the LFPMC for Development Agreements (Ord. 1218), Off-street Parking (Ord. 1219), Screening and Landscaping (Ord. 1220), and Multifamily Tax Exemption (Ord. 1221)

Citizen Comments (Each speaker has three minutes to comment)

Click on the following link for information about how to provide oral Citizen Comments: https://www.cityoflfp.com/615/Virtual-Meetings-during-COVID-19
Because the City has implemented oral comments, written comments are no longer read under Citizen Comments.

Future schedule
  • Thursday, February 18, 2021 City Council Budget & Finance Committee Meeting
  • 6 pm – virtual meeting
  • Monday, February 22, 2021 City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting 6 pm – virtual meeting
  • Thursday, February 25, 2021 City Council Regular Business Meeting 7 pm – virtual meeting
Instructions for participating in this meeting virtually:
  • When: Feb 16, 2021 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
  • Topic: Council Committee of the Whole Special Meeting 2/16/2021 Please click the link to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/99890575813
  • Or iPhone one-tap :
    • US: +12532158782,,99890575813# or +16699006833,,99890575813#
  • Or Telephone:
    • Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
    • US:+12532158782 or+16699006833 or+13462487799 or+14086380968 or+16468769923 or+13017158592 or+13126266799
Webinar ID: 998 9057 5813
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/abbJkXkPi



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LFP Council meetings Thursday

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

LFP City Hall is currently closed. Council meetings are held virtually.
Photo by Steven H. Robinson


At the LFP City Council work session meeting on Thursday, February 11, 2021, 6-7pm city planning staff will present the final draft of the zoning code changes for development of Town Center to the council for review.

Links to virtually attend and make comments are here

Agenda and documents here

At the beginning of the regular council session on Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 7pm, council will hear a presentation on the RADAR program used in Shoreline and other north King county cities. The program pairs a social worker with police to identify and work with people who are mentally ill, or drug addicted and are subject to police responses.

The remainder of the meeting:

Proposed Amendments to the Lake Forest Park Municipal Code (LFPMC) and Design Guidelines Pertaining to the Town Center Zone (Ord. 1217) and Related Regulations in the LFPMC for Development Agreements (Ord. 1218), Off-street Parking (Ord.1219), Screening and Landscaping (Ord. 1220), and Multifamily Tax Exemption (Ord.1221)

Agenda and documents here



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LFP Officials defend proposed Town Center zoning changes

Monday, February 8, 2021

Town Center photo by Steven H. Robinson

By Tracy Furutani

City leaders in Lake Forest Park strongly defended proposed Town Center zoning changes against a strongly-worded letter from the Town Center owner critical of those changes.

“We listen very carefully to what the citizens say,” said LFP Deputy Mayor and councilmember Phillippa Kassover. “I think what [zoning code changes] you’ll see is all based on what we heard from the community.”

“We recognize the extensive effort that has gone into the preparation of these code changes,” said Jamas Gwilliam, vice-president of development at MerloneGeier Partners, the owner of the Town Center property, in the letter dated January 14, 

“but continue to believe that the City has either chosen to ignore our comments calling for a balanced set of development standards for the Town Center, or has knowingly adopted a position that is fundamentally at odds with our ownership interests.”

“The Council's first priority is to protect the interest of Lake Forest Park citizens and the current draft code reflects that,” said Planning Director Stephen Bennett. 

“The current draft also creates many opportunities for MerloneGeier to obtain some flexibility through the negotiation of a development agreement with LFP. MerloneGeier has done that for their project in the Shoreline and they may need to consider taking that approach in Lake Forest Park as well.”

On MerloneGeier’s Town Center blog, they state, “The incorporation of housing (affordable and market rate), open space, enhanced sustainability measures and all of the associated public benefits, will not come to fruition based on the code that has resulted from this process.”

Mayor Jeff Johnson was disappointed by the potential loss of public benefit, including environmental mitigation. “It was really a bummer… we had an opportunity to work together on wastewater runoff and stream quality,” he said.

“The city’s finances have never been a driving factor in this,” said Kassover, commenting on the fiscal effect of non-development. 

“It just simply isn’t an issue for us at all. We don’t make decisions about development based on finances, but based on what’s good for our community.”

MerloneGeier did not respond to requests for clarification about their plans for Town Center.

The City Council will have a work session at 6pm Thursday, in which Bennett and the city planning staff will present the final draft of the zoning code changes. This session will be followed by the regular council meeting at 7pm.

There will be a further Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on Tuesday, February 16, followed by another COW meeting on Monday, February 22

The city council plans to hold a final public hearing on Thursday, February 25, before adopting the zoning code changes in time to meet the deadline of the moratorium on Town Center development expiring in March.

Kassover was pleased that the proposed zoning code changes were not just about Town Center. 

“I’m really glad that the council was addressing affordable housing in the plan,” she said. “I’m really excited the multifamily tax exemption chapter will affect other areas other than Town Center,” such as areas along Bothell Way near Southern Gateway, and along Ballinger Way.

She struck a final conciliatory note: “I very much hope that, when we have a final document, MerloneGeier will feel as excited about the future of Town Center and its possibilities and potential for a really forward-looking exquisitely environmentally sensitively designed commercial and residential space.”

Updated 2-9-21 to correct Kassover quote


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LFP Town Center Code Work nearing completion

Thursday, February 4, 2021

Phillippa Kassover
By Phillippa Kassover, Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Council,
City of Lake Forest Park

During January, the Lake Forest Park city council held six meetings, including an all-day meeting on Saturday January 9, 2021 to review the 12/24/20 draft of chapters in the Municipal Code revising the regulations for the potential redevelopment of our Town Center zone, as well as for a planned Sound Transit commuter parking garage.

Council has discussed the draft, including updated rules to include more trees and plantings in parking lots, better protection for Lyon Creek, good setbacks for surrounding neighborhoods, and improved landscaping that is appropriate for our local ecosystem. 

Council has also discussed capping the number of residential units on the site to 275, including incentives and directives for affordable housing, setting limits on building heights, and improving pedestrian walkways through the area.

Council has heard and received public comment from citizens at all our meetings and the recent Public Hearing at a City Council Special Meeting on January 21st. Council has also received written comments from the property owner and Sound Transit. All of council’s discussions, as well as the comments we have received, will inform the next draft of the regulations. 

This draft will be the subject of council’s discussions at upcoming meetings on February 11th, 16th and 22nd. This final draft will be the subject of a Public Hearing, now scheduled for the agenda of council’s Regular Business Meeting on February 25th.

I want to thank all the citizens who have followed along as council has methodically worked through the many pages of code and made thoughtful comments for council to consider. I also want to thank my council colleagues for their diligence and focus as we have tackled this work virtually under the strain of a global pandemic and unrest in our country. 

I look forward to a positive outcome that reflects our community values and positions our city for an environmentally sustainable and equitable future.

Please keep up-to-date by checking the city website and signing up for meeting notices here:
Lake Forest Park, WA - Official Website (cityoflfp.com)



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LFP City Council meets Thursday

Tuesday, January 26, 2021


The LFP city council regular meeting is Thursday, January 28, 2021, 7pm online

Ordinances and Resolutions on the agenda

1. Resolution 1798/Setting Public Hearing Date for Consideration of the Designation of Residential Targeted Areas for a Multifamily Tax Exemption Authorized under Chapter 84.14 RCW

2. Resolution 1799/Authorizing the Mayor to Sign an Interlocal Agreement with Multiple Agencies in King County to Provide Law Enforcement Mutual Aid for the Creation of the Independent Force Investigation Team – King County (IFIT-KC)

3. Resolution 1800/Confirming Mayor’s Emergency Order on COVID-19 Leave

Action or Discussion

1. Confirmation of City Council Committee Appointments

HOW TO SUBMIT ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMENTS 
https://www.cityoflfp.com/615/Virtual-Meetings-during-COVID-19

Written comments for public hearings will be submitted to Council if received by 5:00pm the date of the meeting; otherwise, they will be provided to the City Council the next day. Because the City has implemented oral comments, written comments are no longer being read under Citizen Comments.

View the meeting:

When: Jan 28, 2021 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Topic: City Council Regular Meeting 1/28/2021

Link to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/94045448670

Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +12532158782,,94045448670# or +13462487799,,94045448670#

Or Telephone:
  • Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US:+12532158782 or+13462487799 or+14086380968 or+16699006833
  • or+13017158592 or+13126266799 or+16468769923 Webinar ID: 940 4544 8670
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/axIOVg3bK 

Access to full agenda, background documents, and special reports here



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LFP Committee of the Whole continues review of Town Center code and design guidelines updates

Sunday, January 24, 2021

City of Lake Forest Park, Council Committee of the Whole meeting Monday, January 25, 2021 continues discussion of code and design standards for redevelopment of Town Center and opportunity for citizen comments.


Monday, January 25, 2021 at 6:00pm

Town Center Code and Design Guidelines Update – Continued Review of Draft Regulations and Design Guidelines Pertaining to All Redevelopment and Consideration of Verbal and Written Comments Received in Response to January 21, 2021 Public Hearing Notice
Oral comments at 7:50pm


Click on the following link for information about how to provide oral Citizen Comments: https://www.cityoflfp.com/615/Virtual-Meetings-during-COVID-19

Because the City has implemented oral comments, written comments are no longer read under Citizen Comments.

Instructions for participating in this meeting virtually:

When: Jan 25, 2021 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Topic: City Council Committee of the Whole 1/25/2021

Join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/92737914283

Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +12532158782,,92737914283# or +16699006833,,92737914283#

Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US:+12532158782 or+16699006833 or+13462487799 or+14086380968 or+16468769923 or+13017158592 or+13126266799

Webinar ID: 927 3791 4283
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/aC5qn9C9W



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LFP Council continues opportunities for comments on Town Center at special meeting Monday

Monday, January 11, 2021


LFP City Hall 
Photo by Steven H. Robinson
City of Lake Forest Park Council Committee of the Whole will hold a special (virtual) meeting on Monday, January 11, 2021 at 6pm to review 

Town Center Design Guidelines Update – Review of Draft Design Guidelines Pertaining to All Redevelopment

Citizens will be given three minutes each to comment

Click on the following link for information about how to provide oral Citizen Comments: https://www.cityoflfp.com/615/Virtual-Meetings-during-COVID-19

Because the City has implemented oral comments, written comments are no longer read under Citizen Comments.

Instructions for participating in this meeting virtually:

When: Jan 11, 2021 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Committee of the Whole Special Meeting 1/11/2021 

Click the link  to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/95099515155

Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +12532158782,,95099515155# or +13462487799,,95099515155#

Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US: +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 408 638 0968 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 876 9923

Webinar ID: 950 9951 5155
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/abRIYYLicr



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Lake Forest Park council schedules all day CoW meeting Saturday for residents to comment on Town Center Code and Design Guidelines Update

Friday, January 8, 2021

Lake Forest Park City Hall (closed)
Photo by Steven H. Robinson
City of Lake Forest Park

COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE SPECIAL MEETING
Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 9:00am

Meeting to be Held Virtually

Citizen Comments (Each speaker has three minutes to comment)
Click on the following link for information about how to provide oral Citizen Comments:
https://www.cityoflfp.com/615/Virtual-Meetings-during-COVID-19
Because the City has implemented oral comments, written comments are no longer read under Citizen Comments.

Town Center Code and Design Guidelines Update – Review of Draft Regulations and Design Guidelines Pertaining to All Redevelopment

Documents are available on the meeting agenda here 

Instructions for participating in this meeting virtually:

When: Jan 9, 2021 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Topic: Special Committee of the Whole - 1/9/2021

Link to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/96849890958

Or iPhone one-tap :US: +12532158782,,96849890958# or +13462487799,,96849890958# Or Telephone:

Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US:+12532158782 or+13462487799 or+14086380968 or+16699006833
or+13017158592 or+13126266799 or+16468769923 Webinar ID: 968 4989 0958

International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/acLPwVJIpR



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Affordable Housing to be discussed at LFP Council CoW meeting Thursday, Jan 7

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

1 Bedroom 1 Bathroom $1,375 - 2,165 720 Sq Ft

By Donna Hawkey

Housing as a right continues to weaken in Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, and across the Nation. 


The price of rent has become what a mortgage payment used to be and more. 

The pandemic now increases our burgeoning regional housing crisis and is not just Seattle’s crisis. It is the crisis of today’s youth, seniors, and our children’s generation and beyond. 

This Thursday, January 7, 2021, the City of Lake Forest Park City Council will meet to discuss the new proposed affordable housing code and design guidelines for the Town Center. 

Affordable housing is needed in every neighborhood and county within three critical levels of affordability dependent on the Area Median Income (AMI). AMI is the middle point of a region’s income distribution for different household sizes as determined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

The Town Center redevelopment includes a Sound Transit Parking Garage, Bus Rapid Transit, and potentially the entire Town Center may be rebuilt with housing and retail stores.

The Housing Development Consortium (HDC), founded in 1988 and one of the first of its kind in the County, helps to fulfill the need for affordable housing by banding together to form strategic partners with other organizations, including government entities. 

HDC is known for understanding the communities it serves. They are both “pro-environment, pro-density.” LFP has a city snapshot in this link, but don’t forget to click on the Snapshot link for more LFP City-specific data . https://www.housingconsortium.org/lakeforestpark/

Previous generations had the ability to buy a home but this is becoming increasingly difficult for todays’ young adults. Our region’s housing needs are outpacing availability. Lack of supply creates demand that increases the cost of all rental, home ownership, and property taxes.

For example, a Shoreline School District teaching assistant with a salary range of $24,000-$41,230 may not be able to live in the area and afford other living essentials such as food, clothing, and medical needs because too much of their salary will be needed for the high cost of housing.

There seems to be an agreement surrounding these complex issues. No government and not one organization can solve this problem, but by working together, solutions are found that are realistic and work for the good of all.

Here is the agenda link for Thursday, January 7th, from 7:00pm to 8:00pm, City of Lake Forest Park discussion of “Town Center Code and Design Guidelines Update – Proposed New Affordable Housing Code Regulations.”

https://www.cityoflfp.com/.../ViewFile/Agenda/_01072021-528 

You can attend the meeting via Zoom or send a letter voicing your opinion to the City Council and Mayor: mayor@cityoflfp.com or citycouncil@cityoflfp.com

Click on the following link for information about how to provide oral Citizen Comments: https://www.cityoflfp.com/615/Virtual-Meetings-during-COVID-19




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Revised: LFP Council calendar focused on code changes for Town Center development

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Deputy Mayor Phillippa M. Kassover
From Deputy Mayor Phillippa M. Kassover

Following recent council meetings and consultation with City staff, we have revised the upcoming council calendar.

This will allow more time for both council and the public to review the proposed revisions to the municipal code regulating development of new buildings, or redevelopment of existing buildings, at the LFP Town Center site.

In 2019, the Lake Forest Park City Council voted to institute a moratorium on accepting permit applications for any new buildings, or redevelopment of existing buildings, at the LFP Town Center site. The moratorium will expire on March 10, 2021.

The revised meeting schedule meets both the State-mandated deadlines for holding a Public Hearing on the proposed revisions, and allows council and the public significant time to review the draft code.
  • Thursday 1/7 6:00 p.m. Special Committee of the Whole – Proposed new code chapter re: Affordable Housing
  • Saturday 1/9 9:00 a.m. Special Committee of the Whole – Line-by-Line review of the draft code and Design Guidelines for the Town Center (potential all-day session – public comment at beginning and end of session)
  • Thursday 1/14 6:00 p.m. Council Work Session -continued discussion of TC code if needed
  • Thursday 1/14 7:00 p.m. City Council Regular Business Meeting
  • Thursday 1/21 7:00 p.m. PUBLIC HEARING on the proposed Town Center code revisions
  • Monday 1/25 6:00 p.m. Committee of the Whole – review public comments re: TC code
  • Thursday 1/28 7:00 p.m. City Council Regular Business Meeting (potential Town Center discussion)
  • Thursday 2/11 6:00 p.m. Council Work Session – Staff presentation re: final code revisions
  • Thursday 2/11 7:00 p.m. City Council Regular Business Meeting (potential Town Center discussion)
  • Monday 2/22 6:00 p.m. Committee of the Whole – Final TC code discussions
  • Thursday 2/25 7:00 p.m. Council Business Meeting – Adopt Town Center Code and Design Guideline revisions
  • (Thursday 3/4 7:00 p.m. Potential Special Council Meeting – if required to adopt TC Code and Design Guidelines)
  • 3/10 Moratorium expires

Members of the community are invited and welcome to attend every meeting to learn more about the proposed changes to the code. Community members can submit written comments at any time, or make live comments during the time reserved for Public Comment at all these virtual meetings, except the Work Sessions.

Instructions for submitting written comments, or making live comments, can be found on the city website and in the agendas for each meeting. Please know that the Council considers public input vitally important as it helps the Council adopt policies that reflect our community values.

You can sign up for meeting notices here.



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Public comment welcome at LFP Council CoW on Monday

Monday, December 14, 2020

City Hall Lake Forest Park
Photo by Steven H. Robinson


City of Lake Forest Park
COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE SPECIAL MEETING
MONDAY, December 14, 2020 5:30pm

Meeting to be Held Virtually

Click the link to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/97778375513
Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +12532158782

Agenda

Town Center Code and Design Guidelines Update – Review and Discussion of issues and questions related to Height, Setbacks, Architectural Design, Creek Protections, Landscaping, Pedestrian Infrastructure, Site Planning, Land Coverage, and Commercial Building Size

Attachment 1 – Outline of issues and questions for Council related to Height, Setbacks, Architectural pp 3-7 https://www.cityoflfp.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12142020-526

Design, Creek Protections, Landscaping, Pedestrian Infrastructure, Site Planning, Land Coverage, and Commercial Building Size

7:50pm Citizen Comments (Each speaker has three minutes to comment)

Click on the following link for information about how to provide oral Citizen Comments:

https://www.cityoflfp.com/615/Virtual-Meetings-during-COVID-19
Because the City has implemented oral comments, written comments are no longer read under Citizen Comments.

8:00pm Adjourn



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LFP Town Center Redevelopment Regulations - Council meeting schedule and opportunities for citizen feedback

Thursday, December 10, 2020

UPDATE: The council schedule has been updated. See revised schedule HERE

Original article:

In 2019, the Lake Forest Park City Council voted to institute a moratorium on accepting permit applications for any new buildings, or redevelopment of existing buildings, at the LFP Town Center site.
 
This has given the Planning Commission and Council more time to review the existing municipal code and develop revisions. 

The moratorium will expire on March 10, 2021.

To meet the State-mandated deadlines for holding a Public Hearing on the proposed revisions, the City Council proposes the following timeline.

These regular and special (additional) virtual meetings will give the Council time to complete our work on the revisions recommended to Council by the Planning Commission. 

We are deeply grateful to our Planning Commissioners, who are community volunteers, for all their hard work on the Town Center code.

Schedule:
  • 12/10 5:30pm Council Work Session
  • 12/14 5:30pm Special Committee of the Whole
  • 1/7 6:00pm Special Committee of the Whole
  • 1/14 6:00pm Council Work Session
  • 1/14 7:00pm PUBLIC HEARING on the proposed Town Center code revisions
  • 1/25 6:00pm Committee of the Whole
  • 1/28 7:00pm Council Business Meeting (potential Town Center discussion)
  • 2/11 6:00pm Council Work Session
  • 2/22 6:00pm Committee of the Whole
  • 2/25 7:00pm Council Business Meeting – Adopt Town Center Code revisions
  • 3/10 Moratorium expires

Members of the community are invited and welcome to attend every meeting to learn more about the proposed changes to the code.

Community members can submit written comments at any time, or make live comments during the time reserved for Public Comment at all these virtual meetings, except the Work Sessions.

Instructions for submitting written comments, or making live comments, can be found on the City website and in the agendas for each meeting.

Please know that the Council considers public input vitally important as it helps the Council adopt policies that reflect our community values.

You can sign up for meeting notices and the City e-newsletter here: https://www.cityoflfp.com/list.aspx 

--Deputy Mayor Phillippa M. Kassover



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Lake Forest Park Police report December 10, 2020

Heatmap for the month of November 2020: Each blue dot is a call for police service generated by dispatch or an officer. This map represents 599 calls for service incidents in November.

During an attempted burglary of a residence, the homeowner fired one round from his handgun towards the burglar. The suspect screamed and ran away. A K9 track was unsuccessful; however, Detectives are following some hopeful leads.

There have been a few nighttime burglaries, including one at the Honorary Austrian Consulate at NE 160th / 36th NE where they entered an unlocked vehicle and used a garage door remote to enter the attached garage.

Another burglary was done in an occupied residence in the same area (165th/35th). The homeowner confronted the burglar and they fled. 

Several vehicles and a boat were prowled overnight. An UberEATS type of delivery driver left his vehicle running while he went up to a house to make a delivery. The vehicle was promptly stolen.

We have had several reports of mail theft, including from locking mailboxes that had been pried open. This is usually the case during this holiday period. Over the last year, we have had 14 deaths in the city (not covid related) and unfortunately a community member walking his dog, discovered a resident had committed suicide using a firearm in his driveway.

--From the City Administrator's Police Department report at the LFP council meeting 12/10/2020



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LFP council work session and regular meeting on Thursday

Wednesday, December 9, 2020



The LFP council will hold a work session at 5:30pm Thursday, December 10, 2020 to continue work on the Town Center code draft amendments.

Zoom Meeting link: https://zoom.us/j/91484421090 (works for both meetings)

The draft amendments can be found from a link on the agenda page

The regular council meeting will begin at 7pm with a presentation on the proposed merger of Northshore and Woodinville fire departments, and recommendations from the Tree Board for updates to tree regulations.

Zoom Meeting link: https://zoom.us/j/91484421090

Instructions for making oral comments at the meeting are on the agenda as are links to all staff documents. 

The agenda includes interlocal agreements for jail services, as well as budget amendments, property taxes, and the legislative agenda.




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LFP City Council takes cautious approach to parking garage zoning code changes

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

A large one-story building with a railing along the roof line. The entire facade of the building is covered with greenery.
The facade of the Bellevue Public Library parking structure displays a "green wall" similar to that which might become a requirement of the Lake Forest Park city zoning code for the Town Center parking structure. Photo courtesy Johnston Architects


By Tracy Furutani

The Lake Forest Park City Council signaled that they would not be offering major incentives for the proposed Town Center parking structure to provide community benefits beyond parking, in a Committee-of-the-Whole meeting of the Council Monday, November 23, 2020 attended by a dozen community members.

The meeting discussion topic was the proposed changes to the city zoning code to accommodate the parking structure that is slated to be built just to the west of City Hall on the Town Center property.

“We have to assume that Sound Transit is paying for it, [so] they have committed to a 300-stall parking structure and they’re intent on delivering that as cheaply as possible,” said Councilmember John Wright. 
“I don’t know that this is some place that we want to try and work on incentives; I think we want to work more on ‘these are requirements for a parking structure.’ Sound Transit is delivering on a political commitment and very little else, so I don’t think they’re going to provide [any extra amenities] unless they have to.”

Councilmember John Resha agreed. “If it’s not in the base [code], Sound Transit is not likely to do it, that’s the simple math.”


Garage plan of the view looking down onto the structure, with north (and Ballinger Way) at the top. Drawing courtesy Sound Transit

The incentives, also known as bonuses, are provisions in the code that allow variances seen as benefiting the developer, in exchange for community benefits.

Deputy Mayor and Councilmember Phillippa Kassover reflected the ambivalence of the Council on the incentive provisions, stating she was “struggling a bit with now figuring out whether or not there is any real reason to expect that Sound Transit would ever want a bonus height and whether it makes any sense for us to even work through what the public benefits that we would ask for in response to their need for a bonus height.”

City Planning Director Stephen Bennett emphasized that the proposed changes, without the incentives, would have to be precisely what the Council wanted. 

“If you don’t have the bonus provision then you really have to decide you’re going to try and get everything right, in terms of what you’re going to require,” he said, adding later that the Planning Commission’s approach was to make the zoning code changes “to make sure that there was some discussion of a development agreement,” which is a development-specific agreement between the property developer and the city that may vary from code requirements.

Councilmember Lorri Bodi agreed, cautioning the Council to not try and anticipate a developer’s goals, “I don’t want us to negotiate against ourselves here by assuming Sound Transit is going to say X,Y and Z,” and, as a result, scale back with the city wants.

In the end, the Council asked the Planning Department and the City Attorney’s office to leave in the height incentive provision, which allows greater height in the parking structure in return for “public benefits,” such as a community meeting space or the use of “green (living) walls,” and to require a set square footage of the structure be for “commercial, public or other active use,” with the exact distribution of that space to be determined.

“[I] also believe most of this is going to end up in a development agreement, and I think we’re going to have another opportunity to have this kind of discussion,” said Councilmember Semra Riddle. “Putting more [requirements] into the base code … will encourage that development agreement which will help us get what we want in a way that might actually happen.”

The Council is required to send proposed zoning code changes for the Town Center area to the state Department of Commerce sixty days before a Council vote on the adoption of the code changes.

Since the Council’s moratorium on changes to the Town Center expires on March 10 of next year, the proposed changes need to be sent to the state by January 10, 2021. The proposed changes sent to the state will include different options, not all of which will be approved by the Council in its final vote on the zoning code changes in late February or early March.

The next discussion on the proposed Town Center zoning code changes will be a Council Work Session this Thursday at 5:30pm on the Zoom platform. 

This session will be followed by the regular business meeting of the City Council at 7pm.

There will not be a public comment period in the City Council Work Session on Thursday at 5:30pm. However, there will be the usual Citizens Comment period near the beginning of the regular City Council Business Meeting at 7pm.

A public hearing of the proposed zoning code changes to the Town Center area not related to the parking garage is scheduled for January 25, 2021. 

Jamas Gwilliam, Vice-President of Development for the Town Center owner Merlone Geier Partners, sent a letter to the Planning Department and the City Council dated November 12, 2020 in which he states the company’s position: 

“…it appears that there is still considerable work that needs to be done on this document [the proposed zoning code changes]…we have provided many comments in the past urging the Planning Commission and City Council to avoid placing overly restrictive provisions in the code as it relates to our property.”

Both public comment speakers at the November 23 meeting emphasized the urgency of giving the community a 21-day notice of the January public hearing.


CORRECTION: There will not be a public comment period in the City Council Work Session on Thursday at 5:30pm.



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LFP City Council COW will continue discussion of draft code and design amendments for parking garage

Saturday, November 21, 2020

The Lake Forest Park City Council Committee of the Whole will meet virtually on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 6pm

They will continue review of draft code and design guideline amendments to Planning Commission recommendations regarding the Free-standing Parking Structures and the Administrative Process, and review of Commission's new recommendations.

See the agenda for links to staff documents, and instructions on making comments.

Link to the meeting: https://zoom.us/j/94593763552




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Lake Forest Park council meetings Thursday

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Lake Forest Park City Hall
Photo by Steven H. Robinson
The Lake Forest Park City Council Committee of the Whole (CoW) will meet virtually at 6pm Thursday, November 12, 2020 to continue discussing the Town Center code update.

At 7pm the full council will meet, also virtually.

On the agenda are a legislative update, two proclamations, a public hearing, confirmation of new Tree Board members, and approval of the biennial budget.

The council will proclaim November the:
  • Month of “Movember”
  • National Native American Heritage Month

The public hearing is to present and hear citizen comments on the code updates for Town Center.

HOW TO SUBMIT ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMENTS
https://www.cityoflfp.com/615/Virtual-Meetings-during-COVID-19

Written comments for public hearings will be submitted to Council if received by 5:00pm the date of the meeting; otherwise, they will be provided to the City Council the next day.

Because the City has implemented oral comments, written comments are no longer accepted under Citizen Comments.

Join either council session with this link: https://zoom.us/j/91650638630



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Lake Forest Park Town Center process gears up for final push

Friday, November 6, 2020

A conceptual map shows potential open space distribution
in a Town Center redevelopment, taken from a draft Town
Center Framework Design Guidelines Update, dated May 5


By Tracy Furutani

After passing two moratoriums to allow thorough consideration by city staff and the Planning Commission and to accommodate pandemic-related delays, the Lake Forest Park City Council is poised to take action in November on beginning the process of implementing changes to city zoning code to allow applications for work on the Sound Transit parking garage and the redevelopment of the Town Center.

Though City Council votes on finalizing these code changes will not take place until next February, the city is required to submit proposed code changes to the state Department of Commerce 60 days in advance of adopting any of the changes, according to city Planning Director Stephen Bennett, which means in order to beat the latest moratorium expiration date, they must be forwarded to the state by January 10, 2021. 

However, the proposal may include different options of those code changes, though the final code revisions must be drawn from those options.

According to city’s schedule, at a special Committee of the Whole city council meeting at 6pm on Monday, November 9, a Sound Transit representative is making a presentation about the parking garage and Sound Transit’s sustainability policy, such as green building practices. 

“I would like them to come talk about how deep these policies go,” said Deputy Mayor and Councilmember Phillippa Kassover, “so we can match city code with their policies,” adding that she would like to hold Sound Transit accountable to their own sustainability policy.

The next evening at 7pm, the Planning Commission will decide on its final recommendations about “Phase 2,” the part of the Town Center zoning code revisions not related to the parking garage, including issues of housing density (the number of residential units on the property) and open space requirements. 

Those recommendations will be presented by the City Planning Department at a city council work session at 6pm on Thursday, November 12, just before the regularly scheduled City Council meeting.

Though a public comment period is part of every city meeting, there will be two specific City Council regular business meetings dedicated to public comment: the first, at 7pm on Thursday, November 12, will be for the proposed parking garage code revisions, and the second, scheduled for Thursday, January 14, for the proposed “Phase 2” changes.

The Planning Commission’s parking garage code revision recommendations were presented to the City Council in June. The city council is tentatively scheduled to meet as the Committee of the Whole on Monday, November 23 to review the Parking Garage code revision recommendations.

When asked what she thought were the most significant changes in the proposed code revision, Kassover said, “Just the fact that there’s a garage, the inclusion of a park and ride at Town Center.” 

She added that she had posed questions to the Planning Commission, such as how much housing density in the Town Center was desirable and what provisions for open space were possible. “Open space is a climate change issue,” she said, emphasizing the zoning code connection to other city priorities.

“I think the most significant change we are recommending to the council… is the addition of language that defines and guides development of a parking structure in Town Center,” said Maddy Larson, the chair of the Planning Commission. 
“We have also made recommendations for the administration of any development application; however, I feel those recommendations depend on the council's thorough vetting of them since we did not resolve a few concerns a few commissioners had about the recommendations.” 
She hopes “the community is invested in any proposed changes to our Town Center code. Doing so ensures we end up with code that reflects our values.”

City council vice-chair Tom French, who is the council liaison to the Planning Commission, said that the Council was transitioning from deliberating over parking garage code revisions to considering the rest of the Town Center zoning code revisions. 

“I do not believe there will be wholesale changes to the code,” he said, because “the community has said that there don’t need to be such changes.” 
Beyond that, though, he hoped that what modifications made to the code would bring “benefits and considerations to the community is a whole,” such as having better standards than state and federal rules on pollution, thinking about a community gathering space beyond Third Place Commons, and providing more opportunities for green space.

Due to the state’s “Safer at Home” pandemic policies, all of these meetings will be held on the Zoom platform. 

To provide a comment on any of these topics to the city council, go to the city events calendar at https://www.cityoflfp.com/calendar.aspx?CID=14 and select the meeting for which you’d like to provide a comment, then click on the agenda pdf for the meeting, and there will be specific instructions about submitting a comment, and attending the meeting.

The code revisions are located under the Planning Commission Meeting documents, located at https://www.cityoflfp.com/593/Town-Center-Process (scroll down and find documents with the phrases “code updates” or “design guidelines”).




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LFP Council COW to discuss parking structure design concepts and draft revisions to code update at Monday meeting

Sunday, October 18, 2020

City of Lake Forest Park 
Council Committee of the Whole
MONDAY, October 19, 2020
6:00pm - 8pm

Meeting to be Held Virtually
Join the meeting at this link: https://zoom.us/j/91296969501

Discussion Topics
  • Presentation and Discussion of Parking Structure Design Concepts for Town Center
  • Review of Draft Revisions to Planning Commission 4/14/2020 recommended Town Center Code Update in response to Council discussion at recent Work Sessions and Committee of the Whole meetings 

Citizen Comments (Each speaker has three minutes to comment)

Click on the following link for information about how to provide oral Citizen Comments: https://www.cityoflfp.com/615/Virtual-Meetings-during-COVID-19

Because the City has implemented oral comments, written comments are no longer accepted under Citizen Comments.



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LFP Council work session and general meeting on Thursday

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

LFP City Hall
Photo by Steven H. Robinson


City of Lake Forest Park City Council meetings
Thursday, October 8, 2020

6:00pm Work session will continue review of Town Center code amendments.

7:00pm General council meeting

Council will vote on resolution to accept CARES funds. Following is a closed session. Regular reports will follow closed session.

Instructions for participating in these virtual meetings
  • This link works for both the Work Session and Regular Meeting.
  • Click the link to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/96301384615
  • Or iPhone one-tap : US: +12532158782,,96301384615# or +16699006833,,96301384615# 
  • Or Telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location) US: +1 253 215 8782 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 408 638 0968 or +1 646  876 9923 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 

Webinar ID: 963 0138 4615
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/arqjFi9fo



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