The Edmonds City Council at its Tuesday, Feb. 4 meeting is scheduled to select members of the pro and con committees for the Regional Fire Authority annexation special election April 22. The council is also set to hold a public hearing on an interim ordinance the council approved in January regarding neighborhood centers and hubs.
The city council approved the April 22 special election by resolution on Jan. 7. Edmonds no longer operates its own fire department and has contracted with South County Fire for fire and emergency medical services since 2010. That agreement is set to expire at the end of 2025, after South County Fire gave notice in December 2023 that the fire authority intended to terminate its current 20-year contract with the city.
If annexation is approved by voters, Edmonds property owners would pay South County Fire directly for these services.
The Edmonds City Council has the legislative responsibility to appoint two committees to write ballot measure argument statements that appear in the election voters’ pamphlet. The pro committee writes the statement supporting the measure; the con committee writes the statement opposing the measure.
Each committee is allowed up to three volunteer members who must be residents of Edmonds.
To appoint the members, the council will follow a process similar to that used when filling a vacant city council seat. The first three people to receive four of seven council votes will be appointed to each respective committee.
You can see the list of applicants who have applied for both committees at this agenda link.
The Edmonds Comprehensive Plan update adopted on Dec. 17 designated neighborhood centers and hubs to accommodate multifamily housing and commercial uses. Now the development code needs to be updated to match. The council in January passed an interim ordinance to update the code, but it may be in effect no more than six months unless the city council adopts an extension. Within 60 days of adopting an interim ordinance, the council must hold a public hearing for comments on it — and that is the purpose of Tuesday’s public hearing.
Other items on the council agenda Tuesday night:
– A vote to officially rename the Edmonds Wildlife Habitat and Native Plant Demonstration Garden as the Susie Schaefer Wildlife and Native Plant Community Garden. Learn more here.
– Confirmation of Richard Gould as the city’s new finance director.
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the council chambers, Public Safety Complex, 250 5th Ave. N. The meeting will also be streamed live on the council meeting webpage (where you can see the complete agenda) and on cable via Comcast channel 21 and Ziply channel 39.
You can also watch and comment via Zoom at this link: https://zoom.us/j/95798484261 or by phone at +1 253 215 8782. The webinar ID is 957 9848 4261.
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