Edmonds City Councilmembers once again immersed themselves in the technical details of the city’s draft critical areas ordinance, voting 4-3 Tuesday night to hold a March 15 public hearing on the proposal, which is being revised following Mayor Dave Earling’s veto last month.

Guided by Senior City Planner Kernen Lien, the council discussed numerous amendments to the draft ordinance, which governs the city’s wetlands, streams and geologically hazardous and frequently flooded areas.

The ordinance went through extensive Planning Board and City Council review over the past few years and included a public hearing before council made several amendments at its Dec. 15 meeting. Earling made it known in late December that he would veto the ordinance if the amendments passed as drafted, noting that several of them ran counter to the work performed by city staff and the planning board.

One proposal that generated significant discussion was a council amendment that the city “undertake regular status reports of current critical area permits to assist with monitoring our objective of protecting and enhancing our critical areas,” and present those results to the council.

Requested tracking included the following: “how much mitigation was required and the type of mitigation granted, how many buffer reductions were granted, how many projects included buffer increases, how many required off-site mitigation, how well have the mitigation succeeded in replacing wetland acreage and function, how many buffer averaging with buffer enhancements were granted, how many buffer reduction with buffer enhancements were granted, the types of enhancements, how have the enhancements increased buffer functioning in terms of stream and fish habitat protection where appropriate, number of developments within footprint of existing development, number of in-Lieu Fee programs that were granted, number of credits used, number of variances issued, number of any exemptions granted, number of violations that have occurred, and how much non-compensatory restoration is being done.”

Both Lien and Development Director Shane Hope expressed worries that staff may not be able to furnish the level of detail that was requested in the proposed amendment. However, Hope promised that if expectations are clear, staff could provide necessary data “without huge expense or burden.”

Another issue of concern related to development within city’s coastal flood hazard zone and how projected future changes in sea level rise could affect existing waterfront buildings. One of the amendments vetoed by the mayor would have allowed developers to  measure waterfront buildings from two feet above base flood elevation, while not changing the allowed zoning height — effectively reducing the building height by 2 feet.

An amendment now before the council appears to skirt the waterfront development issue entirely, stating that frequently flooded areas “are not technically part of the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) and therefore, are not necessary for the City to consider at this time. Additionally, it was noted the proposed changes are in anticipation of Federal Emergency Management Administration flood hazard maps which have not been issued by the Federal government.

But Lien responded that the frequently flooded areas “actually are a critical area by definition,” and that deferring a decision on the issue will only make it more difficult to address in the future.

Both Councilmembers Dave Teitzel and Tom Mesaros (the latter calling in from Arizona via speakerphone) said they were hopeful the council could move quickly on the issue Tuesday without a second public hearing, but in the end the majority of councilmembers (Buckshnis, Kristiana Johnson, Adrienne Fraley-Monilla and Mike Nelson) agreed that citizens should have another chance to weigh in on the newly-proposed amendments. The final vote was 4-3 (with Councilmember Neil Tibbott joining Teitzel and Mesaros in voting no).

The council also had a lengthy, complex presentation from Fitch & Associates regarding the City of Edmonds contract with Fire District 1. We will have a separate story on that report, which  analyzed the city’s fire and emergency medical services, later this week.

The council also received a report from John Owen of MAKERS Architecture and Urban Design regarding the progress being made on updating the city’s code. The focus so far has been on subdivisions and sign regulations, and the public will be asked to comment on draft code language for those two areas in spring 2016.

In addition, the council:

• Confirmed Alicia Crank to the Planning Board Alternate position.
• Received report on final construction costs for the $3 million Five Corners Roundabout intersection improvement project.
• Agreed to place on the following on next week’s consent agenda: an interlocal agreement with Alderwood Water and Wastewater District for wastewater solids disposal; a professional services agreement with Tetra Tech for the Seaview Park Infiltration Facility; PUD utility easements from Edmonds-Woodway High School for the 76th Avenue at 212th Street Intersection Improvements project; the Growth Management Act Compliance Resolution.