Full plate of big issues facing City Council Aug. 15, including OK of Highway 99 plan

An artistic rendering of what Highway 99 could look like at 234th Street Southwest after development.

Get your caffeine of choice ready. While it’s hard to pick just one agenda item to highlight for this Tuesday’s Aug. 15 Edmonds City Council meeting, it’s safe to say councilmembers have a full agenda — and that the meeting is likely to run late.

Topping the list is the approval of the Highway 99 Subarea Plan, an issue that has been the subject of community meetings and council discussion for more than a year. According to Edmonds Economic Development Director Patrick Doherty, the term “subarea” is connected to the city’s comprehensive planning process. In this case, the Highway 99 Subarea Plan refers not just to the two-mile stretch of highway that runs through Edmonds, but to the entire corridor of commercial and multi-family areas located several blocks off the highway.

Among the changes that the plan would include:

· Consolidating most of the zoning categories for the Highway 99 Corridor into one designation: CG (General Commercial) instead of CG and CG2 and multifamily;

· Updating both parking and pedestrian standards for the area to be more consistent with current and future needs, including for mixed use; and

· Adding new design standards to ensure a more pedestrian- and transit-friendly environment, with additional consideration for adjacent single-family zones.

A related item for Tuesday is a council action on what is known as a “planned action” for the Highway 99 area. This would allow the city to streamline environmental review for projects that are already covered under the area’s Environmental Impact Statement.

According to information presented at a previous council meeting, the state’s Growth Management Act and the Environmental Policy Act provide for a planned action process that jurisdictions can use to streamline the environmental review process for projects that have already been covered by an Environmental Impact Statement developed for a subarea. Cities may adopt a “planned action ordinance” or code that specifies the type and amount of development that may be allowed to proceed in the subarea without additional SEPA review. All other applicable laws and regulations would still apply.

Another item connected to the Highway 99 issue, and also on the council’s Tuesday night agenda, is a council plan to designate the Highway 99 Subarea as Residential Targeted Area. Citizens are invited to comment during a public hearing on the designation, which would allow the city to implement the multifamily tax exemption program for developers who include 20 percent affordable housing units in future Highway 99 developments.

The Edmonds City Council approved such a program for Westgate area development in August 2016.

Other key items of note on Tuesday night’s agenda:

– A council discussion and possible action regarding options for a street lighting project requested by Point Edwards residents, on hold since late May following concerns about impacts to a nearby demonstration garden. This has been discussed twice during the council’s Parks, Planning and Public Works Committee and we reported on the issue here. The city council in November 2016 approved the $20,000 lighting project after hearing from residents who said they didn’t feel safe walking in the area of Pine Street and Highway 104 — located at the bottom of the Point Edwards development — after dark, due to lack of street lighting.

– A discussion and possible action regarding next steps for Sunset Avenue parking. This issue was discussed during the council’s Aug. 8 Parks, Planning and Public Works Committee meeting and proposed ideas include some additional parallel parking spaces, improvements for residents’ driveways and better signage.

– A proposed resolution supporting the merger of SNOCOM and SNOPAC 911 emergency call centers. See background in our previous story here.

– Approval of amendments to the city code governing the downtown Edmonds Business Improvement District, otherwise known as the Edmonds Downtown Alliance or ED!. The amendments were OK’d by the alliance board at its July 13 meeting, and include: Modification of boundaries to recognize the potential for BID expansion; recognition of a second, lower-dues-paying “by appointment” business classification to include “and/or office-based” and adds new examples such as professional service firms, assembly or production of goods and corporate offices; and clarification that assessments for members in newly expanded areas of downtown BID will pay their dues after the first full quarter they are included.

– A report by state lobbyist Jennifer Ziegler summarizing the key state legislation passed, legislation attempted but not passed, key budget-related developments, and the status of work yet to be done by the Legislature, especially regarding the capital budget.

– The June quarterly financial report.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Public Safety Complex, 250 5th Ave. N. You can see the complete agenda here.

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