During a special meeting Tuesday night, members of the Edmonds City Council and Planning Board took yet another look at the draft goals and policies that will guide the city’s housing and land use development over the next 20 years.

The review is part of the Edmonds’ 2024 Comprehensive Plan update. Washington State’s Growth Management Act (GMA) requires that cities and counties update their Comprehensive Plans on a periodic schedule. The purpose of the 2024 update is to ensure the city is planning for the next 20 years of population and employment growth. 

The Edmonds update now underway must be completed by the end of 2024. The next step is a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) — being prepared by consultants — that is scheduled to be released for public comment at the end of August. The DEIS, which focuses on environmental impacts and mitigation measures, is an informational document that will help the city in developing the final Comprehensive Plan. 

The public will have a chance to learn more about the DEIS during an public webinar and offer comments in September.

As part of the Comprehensive Plan effort, the City of Edmonds must comply with three House Bills – HB 1110, HB 1220, and HB 1337.

HB 1110: Increase middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing.

HB 1220: Accommodate affordable housing to all economic segments of the population of Washington state. Cities must also promote a variety of housing types and differentiate these housing types to affordability levels.

HB 1337: Permit up to two accessory-dwelling units in all single-family zones.

To address these requirements, Edmonds’ draft Comprehensive Plan housing and land use elements includes the concepts of neighborhood centers and hubs, with the idea of spreading growth equitably across the city. The concepts were shared with the public during meetings at Edmonds-Woodway High School in late May, and have been under review by the Edmonds Planning Board this summer.

During Tuesday night’s special meeting, Councilmember Michelle Dotsch asked whether the draft plan’s language had been changed to reflect community feedback expressed during those May meetings, stating the current wording seemed “fairly much the same” as what was presented earlier.

“A lot of changes have been made in the last couple of weeks with discussions by the planning board,” replied Edmonds Urban Design Planner Navyusha Pentakota. She also added that the community had additional time beyond those May meetings to express their opinions, “and we have taken all those comments and tried to address the key concerns.”

According to Pentakota, some of the public feedback will be included in draft land-use maps, which haven’t yet been created.

“I feel like a lot of this language now, how it’s written, could be interpreted in a much more aggressive way…to allow for heavier development in these neighborhoods when the community is not desiring that,” Dotsch said. “I’d like to make sure we’re thinking about how we’re shaping our single-family neighborhoods here in context, in all areas of Edmonds.”

Pentakota responded that state regulations now require other housing types (for example, duplexes, four-plexes and cottage-style housing) in what have been traditional single-family neighborhoods. “We can relook at the language to make things more clear but there are certain regulations and mandatory requirements that we need to follow, especially when we talk about the single-family residential zones,” she said.

Meeting attendees asked several detailed questions about what should be included in the Comprehensive Plan document — ranging from whether parking spots should be part of an apartment lease to if the city could implement a Zip car-type program for those who might want to give up their cars. Acting Planning and Development Director Shane Hope advised officials to keep the policies high level “without talking about exact numbers or formulas.”

Councilmember Will Chen said that the Comprehensive Plan provides “a golden opportunity” to encourage equitable development citywide. While Highway 99 has often been singled out as a place for more density, there are other models that could be considered, including the Mill Creek Town Center, Chen said. “This can happen on Highway 99 as well,” he added.

Councilmember Dotsch cautioned the council to not focus on creating so much housing that Edmonds loses its vital business. The City of Shoreline did just that when it redeveloped Aurora Avenue North and “didn’t include places to go along with housing,” she said.

“There are economic needs for this community beyond bedrooms,” Dotsch added.

Councilmember Chris Eck commended the planning board and the planning department staff for its work to balance both current needs and considering what’s ahead. “We have a duty to take care of the now but we also have a duty to plan for the future,” Eck said.

Prior to the special meeting, councilmembers held their monthly committee meetings. Among the items of note:

– During the finance committee meeting, the Washington State Auditor’s Office held its entrance conference, which marks the beginning of the City of Edmonds audit for fiscal year 2023. Representatives discussed the pending audit, which will include a financial audit and a federal grant compliance audit. The city usually also undergoes an accountability audit, but that won’t occur this year. Instead, the city will receive a two-year accountability audit next year.

– During the parks and public works committee meeting, Parks Director Angie Feser shared information about a grant application the city is submitting to the Snohomish County Conservation Futures Program to acquire a .38-acre piece of property located inside Sierra Park. The land is owned by the Alderwood Water and Wastewater District, which has no use for it as it’s outside the district’s service area. The city will learn by the end of 2024 whether the grant application is successful.

– During the public safety-planning-human services-personnel committee meeting, Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen joined councilmembers for a discussion about possible uses for the $200,000 in the Edmonds Homelessness Response Fund. Ideas included the following:

1) Focus on preventing people “on the edge” from becoming homeless.

2) Invest it in an organization for which this work is a core competency, so “dollars could be stretched further.”

3) Keep the Highway 99 Neighborhood Office open for a year. The office costs the city $175,000 annually to operate.

4) Use $65,000 of the fund to pay for the city’s social worker, who is embedded in the police department and works with vulnerable community members. That position is currently funded through a six-month grant, but there will be a gap until more grant money is available.

5) Fund a safe place for those living in their cars to park, take a shower and do laundry.

6) Focus on a specific demographic, such as victims of domestic violence and women with children.

7) Focus on seniors.

No recommendations were made on fund uses during the committee meeting but the discussion will continue.

Also during the committee meeting, councilmembers learned that the police department had received a donation of a solar-powered speed awareness trailer, valued at $13,000. It will replace one of the city’s two current trailers, which is more than 20 years old and not working properly.

— By Teresa Wippel