The Edmonds City Council will address several important matters during its Tuesday night meeting, including possible approval of the Shoreline Master Program update, which involves a controversial decision regarding the size of buffers to be established between the Port of Edmonds-owned Harbor Square Business Complex and the Edmonds Marsh.

City staff is preparing to submit the state-required Shoreline Master Program update to the Department of Ecology, and one of the questions that has been raised in previous discussions is how much of a buffer is sufficient to protect the marsh. City of Edmonds planning staff and the Department of Ecology have stated that the existing 25-foot buffer is adequate but some councilmembers have stated they prefer a much greater 150-foot setback.

Port of Edmonds officials say that the larger buffer “is not justified by any available science” (read a recent interview with Port officials here) and would also prevent the port from any future redevelopment at Harbor Square — development that the port said could generate funds to assist with marsh redevelopment.

The council will also:

— Hear a report from Sean Ardussi, a senior planner with the Puget Sound Regional Council, regarding a study regarding train traffic and the impact of coal trains: “Economic Evaluation of the Regional Impacts for the Proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point.”

— Hold a public hearing and receive staff overviews of their 2015 budget requests. Tentative department budget presentations are scheduled as follows:
Oct. 21:
1. City Clerk; 2. Mayor’s Office; 3. Human Resources; 4. Economic Development; 5. Finance & Information Services; 6. Nondepartmental (Presented by Finance); 7. Development Services; and 8, Parks, and 9. Municipal Court.
Oct. 28:
1. Police; 2. Public Works Utilities; 3. Public Works Roads; and 4. Public Works Administration, Facilities Maintenance, ER&R & Engineering.
The council will hold a second public hearing on the proposed 2015 budget at its Nov. 3 meeting, followed by a budget study session on Nov. 10. The budget is scheduled to be adopted Nov. 18.

— Hear from the Edmonds Senior Center on a request for the city to consider an option for a long-term land lease before beginning a capital campaign to raise funds for a new building.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with an executive session on a real estate matter, followed by interviews with candidates for the city’s planning board and architectural design board. The regular meeting is set to start at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Public Safety Complex, 250 5th Ave. N.

You can see the complete agenda here.