A group of more than 20 Five Corners residents and City of Edmonds staff and consultants gathered at Cafe Ladro Wednesday evening for a roundtable discussion on the city’s Reimagining Neighborhoods project.
The project is aimed at finding creative ways to use public areas – like streets and parking lots – to bring the community together in six Edmonds neighborhoods. During the roundtable, Development Services Director Susan McLaughlin explained that the project was partially inspired by the effects of the pandemic.
“When we were forced to be in our house, when we were forced to work at home, people carved these outdoor spaces to connect with people,” McLaughlin said to the group.
There will be six citywide roundtables in total (the second, for the Edmonds Bowl, was Thursday night), to address the specific needs and goals for each neighborhood.
At these roundtables, the city is looking for what kinds of street “activation” the public is interested in– from street fairs, to food trucks, to outdoor concerts. Instead of building something new, the project hopes to “convert” and “reallocate” existing space. Each neighborhood will receive $15,000 in funding for a pilot project of their choosing this summer, modeled after the examples outlined by city officials.
“That infrastructure conversation is critical and we’re having it. But tonight’s conversation is what can we layer on top of our streets right now, so that we don’t have to wait for a 10-year improvement plan to actually get together” said McLaughlin.
After the group was welcomed, the rest of the event was entirely interactive. Attendees were invited to engage in activities spread throughout the coffee shop space or ask questions. The first station featured a map where each person could mark where they live, work and spend most of their time.
Other posters stationed around the room explained the concept of street activation and offered examples of concepts from other neighborhoods in the Seattle area. Attendees were given dots to identify which concepts interested them, with the most popular ideas being streateries and evening markets. Residents also had the opportunity to suggest their own ideas for activation.
In the center of the room was a large map of Edmonds and cutouts of the concepts from the board. The concepts could then be placed on the map to suggest where in the area they would work best. By the end of the event, the map was covered in sticky notes with recommendations. This activity, like most in the room, seemed to engage the majority of participants and get them talking with officials.
In another corner, McLaughlin sat with those attendees who had questions about the project, in an effort to address their concerns. McLaughlin and others working the event continuously emphasized the importance of public input and collaboration.
Mackey Guenther, a development services Intern for the city, noted that the responses at the event seemed positive. According to Guenther, even those with reservations or criticisms of the project felt energized by the opportunities the project presented. City Public Information Officer Kelsey Foster said that Wednesday’s turnout was higher than expected and that she believed future roundtables would bring in even larger crowds.
The next roundtable will take place on July 7 from 6 to 7:30 in Hickman Park. To learn more about the project, visit the City of Edmonds website.
— Story and photos by Bridget Smith
Unable to attend but I am glad to see this. I say Markets would be great. With fresh vegetables in summer as well as selling of the same types of merchandise as in the Bowl Sat market would be great. A few streetaries would be fine but NO food trucks. Parking well if it is close many can walk their from our area. I would like a REAL park not a nature walking trail park here. I suggest we do that in the donated space on Bowdoin I think would be a good spot for it. Keep her fruit trees and maybe volunteers will help tear down the house. I think she would like this I think we should respect her wants. I like the idea of music in 5 corners and a place for people to walk to and talk, as suggested we all need to do here. I agree with that. So good job. Thank you Edmonds and Sarah. I think many will also donate some $ to help. Have a beautiful weekend. Love and Peace to ALL Deb.
A group of residents certainly didn’t gather to discuss their neighborhood. They were gathered to discuss other’s plans for their neighborhood. If it seems like citizens are too quick to oppose area planning, it may be because absolutely none of this is coming from actual residents living their lives and interacting with their neighbors. In speaking with citizens of other countries over the years, it has always been difficult to explain the value Americans have placed on freedom and home ownership. It’s becoming just as difficult to explain to local leaders. We need local government and planning but we can handle the social aspects of our lives just fine on our own, thank you.
Exactly. I skipped this meeting and though I may sound like a curmudgeon I’m glad I did. I don’t need the made-up concept of street “activation” explained to me. I get enough branding- speak on a daily basis. I’d like sidewalk improvements on 80th thanks very much and I’d be much better served by having someone from the city use this time to explain near term infrastructure project execution plans.
Have any state laws been passed that require the City to reimagine neighborhoods and streets? Has City Council voted that it wants to initiate a policymaking process to reimagine neighborhoods and streets? If the answer to both questions is no, why are taxpayer resources being used on this project at this time?
Who decided this was to be a priority? I’d prefer priority be given elsewhere. For example, City of Edmonds government knows it has operated with a flawed Code for at least 21 years. This includes both the Edmonds City Code (ECC) and the Edmonds Community Development Code (ECDC).
During the October 25, 2005 City Council meeting, former Development Services Director Duane Bowman said he had been describing the need to update the zoning code since he was hired in 2000. The comment was also made that the City’s Code dated to the 1980s and piecemeal amendments made it difficult to use and administer.
Former City Attorney Scott Snyder stated in his November, 2007 City Attorney annual report that the biggest issue at the start of 2007 was the Code Rewrite. Mr. Snyder stated the intent was to begin the Rewrite last year and finish it this year (2007). Mr. Snyder summarized that the Code Rewrite was approximately a year behind schedule as of November, 2007.
I’d prefer we halt the reimagine project and use the resources saved to help with the long overdue Code Rewrite. I think our priorities should lie elsewhere.
I question the very legality of this whole concept. This isn’t coming from any sort of public outcry or demand from OUR representatives on OUR City Council to move in and reimagine all OUR neighborhoods. This is an out of control and overreaching Mayor Nelson and his hand picked hired hand trying to manipulate how our streets and public spaces are used while also trying to benefit certain people in the private sector. This is a total outrage and needs to be called out for what it is. Something has to be done to get some sort of responsible city government in this town. I have no idea what the legalities are, but I think it’s time for our City Council to take some sort of action to try to stop this in it’s tracks. This really looks suspicious, especially when you look at all the needed actions that are being ignored in our town in order to promote stuff like this. And we are being forced to pay for this. It just smells bad!
I originally posted a similar comment to another related thread, but thought it would add to the discussion here, too. This fast-track consultant-led “reimagining” and “street activation” practice is very odd. I attended both of the first two meetings and can see the train wreck coming. Folks need to get out to the next four meetings when they are announced. Ask hard questions of our city staff. Get to the bottom of what these consultants cost, ask where they are from, and understand the whole scope of their work. Encourage your neighbors to pay close attention to what is quietly happening. Hold elected officials accountable. I am not a fan of back door strategies like this. Seems like something very Seattle-esque is being superimposed on Edmonds, rather than Edmonds itself deciding to strike off in a new direction. I for one, would like to “reimagine” a city that functions without a high-priced consultant for nearly everything, and I would like to see “street activation” in the form of sidewalks free of hazards.
I’m confused. Reimagine 5 Corners with streateries or markets? It’s a major intersection. I would prefer that we reimagine 5 Corners with sidewalks as most of our streets don’t have them.
More consultants, more City staff pushing an agenda. OK, I’m leary of this “Re-imaging.” Could it be that if they can re-image hubs of people doing whatever in the street, that they find some justification for high density zoning? Only thing I can come up with and certainly a desire of the Mayor. We need to ask the Council to get involved. It was clear from previous information that this consultant was hired at a money level that did not need Council approval. Why? We are wasting City staff time and resources on fluff. We need to get to the important business of this City.
I attended the last two meetings at Five Corners and Waterfront Center, and have been pleasantly surprised by the chance given to the public to help plan opportunities for our community to mingle and enjoy our city in new ways! I’ve enjoyed going to the Arts Festival and Taste of Edmonds for years, and love idea of having smaller more community driven events. I’m looking forward to the next few meetings and hoping the city can gain valuable feedback and work with citizens to bring some of these ideas into reality later this summer.
When everyday is a party and our streets become just another form of doing ever more business and attracting ever more tourists to spend money, good things like the Arts Festival, Taste of Edmonds, and Summer Market cease to be special. We are slowly but surely becoming an area amusement park instead of just a nice little city to live in. Things we need to do are put on the back burner or totally forgotten so we can chase someone’s idea of the perfect Edmonds or be of benefit to people of wealth and influence in town. I feel like that image of the lone Native American holding a lance about to fall off his horse with a tear in his eye. It’s starting to look pretty pointless around here. ” Can’t we just make Paradise, a little bit better,” is killing us.
I guess a lot of it is just comes down to the details. If shutting down the core of the city so the mayor and those who want to turn Main Street into some kind of Euro Disney Bavarian weekly beer fest even if it means endangering small retail businesses oh, it makes it generally just harder to get around especially for the elderly, and jams up the side streets, then in that case Reimagining is kind of dumb. Adding an International Festival for the New Year celebration on the other hand seems like a better edition especially if it’s celebrated in what is traditionally not a party zone. Fixing the streets and adding sidewalks seems to be a better reimagining value in any case.
Great points Brian. Folks like Will Chen and AFM have all ready rightly cried out for more attention and money to be spent on enhancements for Hwy 99 and trying to make that a go to spot for entertainment and relaxation for residents and tourists. They have already demanded to be “reimagined ” and don’t need this consulting Roundtable nonsense either. It’s a scam.
The existing 5 Corners restaurants don’t need more competition … help design some outdoor seating at these eateries. Artistically freshen this area … paint some murals with Edmonds flower: DAHLIA
HAWK signals on 80th at 212th AND 220th.
I attended the downtown meeting to hear first hand what staff and consultants are proposing. I didn’t hear enthusiasm from my neighbors, and it definitely isn’t neighborhood driven. People were there out of concern. This is coming from the Mayor, staff and Seattle consultants to change our neighborhoods, take over our public spaces and perhaps private, and possibly lead to upzoning our single family neighborhoods. The neighborhoods targeted are areas that have been considered for redevelopment and rezoning. After the presentation, we were left to wander around independently. We were not provided an opportunity to share our concerns in a group setting. I made a point to talk to people I don’t know and discovered most are wary, but the survey doesn’t give options or leave space to express this. Instead it is slanted to answer in a positive manner, i.e. Which activation strategy is most valuable? Where do you imagine this being located? Also why are we being asked our race/ethnicity and age? Will some surveys be given priority over others depending on these? The people I talked to want improved infrastructure, not more events and food trucks. What we noticed during the pandemic when we were outdoors more is what bad condition our sidewalks are in. They need to be repaired and completed. Edmonds already has most of the events and activities being proposed and any new ones should be held in our parks, NOT in our streets, alleys and parking lots/spaces. These workshops should be widely publicized. Something this pervasive, affecting six neighborhoods including our downtown, should be addressed in direct mailings to all residents. Everyone should be made aware and have a say in this. Attend meetings to get more information and give input, even if not in your neighborhood, and write Councilmembers.
Kathy, great comment and thanks for attending. Personally, I hesitate to attend any of these meetings because I don’t want to give the whole thing any sort of legitimacy, but I think yours is actually the better approach to combat the nonsense being peddled by this Mayor. Our Mayor and his staff are trying to take over the policy and legislative functions that are supposed to belong only to the Council and the people they represent – all of us. Council needs to push back hard on this in any way they can. The Mayor and Staff’s job is to enforce the policies and manage the work, not try to make the policies and manipulate the will of the people to their political and social goals. The Mayor and at least one Council member should be recalled in my opinion. They are not doing their jobs and misrepresenting some of the people they are supposed to be working for. Promoting the needs and desires of the food and entertainment business’s over the needs and desires of the hard goods merchandisers is grounds for recall of the Mayor. Laura Johnson referring to non Edmond’s citizens ( with no town address) as “residents” is grounds for the recall of a Council Person. They simply do not have their priorities straight for the jobs they are (not) doing.
I was very impressed by the citizen-centered Roundtable I attended at The Waterfront Center last week. I engaged in the thoughtfully designed activities and felt quite confident that my questions and my views were received with respect and attention by the folks facilitating the discussions. As a homeowner and taxpayer who believes in Edmonds’ potential to be a place where all our neighbors feel safe and welcomed, I am THRILLED to see my city using funds to invite neighborhood comment on some already tested methods of engaging community gathering. I am a little puzzled by the vitriol these meetings have generated – perhaps naively, I have always believed that local government has a duty to listen to its citizens, and these neighborhood-specific meetings seem an ideal venue for civic expression. I speak for many in my own Edmonds neighborhood who are excited to be a part of reimagining our public spaces. Thanks for the work you have already done on behalf of so many members of our Edmonds community!