Submitted by the Edmonds Planning Board

On June 5, the Edmonds Planning Board conducted its first bimonthly briefing of the Edmonds City Council, aimed at updating the city (mayor, council and staff) and the citizens of Edmonds on the board’s current and upcoming activities.

We believe that ongoing and more frequent communication between the planning board and the council will help us coordinate our efforts and thus enhance our effectiveness. Public input helps us make better decisions. Perhaps most importantly, we have undertaken — or will soon be undertaking — several significant matters that will be of major interest to our city, residents, taxpayers and visiting public. We want the public and council to be aware of them and hopefully participate in the process at the planning board level.

The board advises the city in local and regional planning, and assists in the development and updating of the city’s several comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances. The board also serves as the citizen advisory group for the Parks and Recreation Department. Areas and matters undertaken by the board commonly involve consideration and discussion of background and research material prepared by staff during our regular meetings. Following deliberations and a public hearing, the board then votes to either forward a given matter to council for further consideration with an action recommendation or continue our deliberative process to a point where we can do so.

Most of the items undertaken by the board for consideration come to us in one of the following three ways:

– Referral or recommendation by the city council

– Submittals from our city planning department and city staff who have identified areas within our codes and regulations that, for a variety of reasons including public input and requests, need to be evaluated and possibly revised.

– Regular periodic updating of the city’s land use plans and codes required by local, regional and or state regulations.

We have just completed reviews of code revisions/updates regarding expanded public notice requirements regarding retained easements for street vacations, allowing motorized mobile vendors within the city and better defining rules and regulations for the operation of bed and breakfast accommodations.

Some of the significant matters that we expect to be considering in the near future are:

– Finalization of the city’s shoreline management program, including establishing new regulations for properties adjacent to the south, west and north boundaries of the marsh that have been designated by the State of Washington as “shoreline.”

– Review of the Port of Edmonds’ Master Plan for Harbor Square as part of its request to have the plan incorporated into the City’s Comprehensive Plan

– Potential re-development of the downtown waterfront area section of the city north of Dayton Street.

– Zoning provisions within the downtown Business District sections (the ‘BD” zones) of the city.

– Evaluating concepts for the Westgate and Five Corners Community Business Districts, and consideration of zoning revisions for those districts, including the possible use of form-based code. (The board will host a presentation on form-based codes Wednesday night.)

– Possible review and recommendations on items forwarded to us by council or staff related to the city’s current Strategic Plan process.

The Edmonds Planning Board consists of seven members and one alternate, all of whom are unpaid volunteers: Phil Lovell (chair), Val Stewart (vice chair), John Reed, Kevin Clarke, Todd Cloutier, Neil Tibbott and Bill Ellis. Our eighth member, Kristiana Johnson, was just appointed to Edmonds City Council. Board members serve four-year terms and are appointed by the mayor with council confirmation.

We encourage the public — along with city staff and elected officials — to attend and participate in the board’s discussions, public forums and hearings. Our regular meetings are held on the second and fourth Wednesdays each month at 7 p.m. in the city council chambers, 250 5th Ave. N. You can also keep up with our activities on the City of Edmonds website.