Operating under its new committee structure, the Edmonds City Council made quick work of several items during two remote meetings on Tuesday.

At the 3 p.m. meeting of Committee B, including Councilmembers Jenna Nand, Chris Eck and Vivian Olson, the council quickly reviewed four public safety-related items and then forwarded them to next week’s business meeeting consent agenda for approval. During the Committee of the Whole, which included all seven councilmembers, the council heard a progress report on city code updates from Interim Planning and Development Director Shane Hope. And there was also a discussion about a proposed 2025 work plan for the council’s legal assessment committee.

The council voted last month to change its committee structure from three, two-member committees to two committees (named Committee A and Committee B) that have three members each. Each committee is scheduled to start at 3 p.m., with Committee A meeting on the first Tuesday of the month, and Committee B meeting on the third Tuesday of the month. The Committee of the Whole meets at 6 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month.

The four items considered during the meeting of Committee B and sent to next week’s council consent agenda included:

— Renewal of an existing agreement between the Edmonds School District and Edmonds Police Department that allows police to access school district cameras located on district properties and facilities in case of criminal activities. “We have put controls on the access and how we use and what we use it for,” Interim Police Chief Rod Sniffen said.

— Two items related to the City of Edmonds’ social worker embedded with the police department. The first was a staff services agreement with the City of Everett to supervise social worker Erin Nathan. Such supervision is required under the grant that currently funds the city’s social worker, and this arrangement replaces one the city previously had with another supervisor, who declined to renew her contract. The second item was an amendment to a current Association of Washington Cities grant that adds $49,000 to an original $51,000 grant to fund the city’s social worker through June 30, 2025. Sniffen said he was confident that the combination of the AWC grant and money the council previously approved for this purpose would keep the program operational through 2025. The police department will continue to look for grant money for 2026, he added.

— A pedestrian/bicycle safety agreement with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission that provides reimbursement funds for overtime enforcement patrols focused on safety for pedestrians, bicycles, scooters and similar forms of transportation.

During the Committee of the Whole meeting, the council got a refresher course on the various changes in state legislation and their impact on the Edmonds Comprehensive Plan update, completed in 2024, as well as on the city’s development regulations.

The council’s adoption of the 2024 Comprehensive Plan update came after two years of work on a draft plan that includes the concept of developing neighborhood centers and hubs aimed at accommodating the city’s allocated growth targets. The growth scenarios are designed to account for and comply with the state’s housing bills and the mandatory Comprehensive Plan elements, and to align with multicounty and countywide planning policies.

The council in January approved an interim ordinance for the city’s neighborhood centers and hubs, and now staff is seeking public input as it prepares a permanent ordinance.

Interim Planning Director Hope explained that staff will be focused on developing code updates throughout 2025 aimed at ensuring that the city complies with the state requirements.

“We do have limited staff resources [to complete] these code updates, some of which are complex, and also we want to get as much public participation as as feasible in this time period,” Hope said. This will include “communicating with a wide variety of people in multiple ways,” she added.

“We expect to do some walking tours, particularly with the…neighborhood centers and hubs where you’ve got individual variation that may occur in those particular neighborhoods,” Hope said, along with “one or more online open houses, and one or more in-person open houses.”

Councilmember Will Chen suggested holding a walking tour in the North Bowl hub — noting recent concerns expressed by residents there.

“I think the walking tours will be really informative,” added Councilmember Michelle Dotsch.

With new state requirements allowing at least two residential units on each residential lot, Councilmember Susan Paine said it was important to ensure “that our subdivision code is up to date, to make sure that we have that as an option, that it’s not in conflict.”

“I totally agree and accept that challenge,” Hope replied, “because it’s impossible to adopt the state law, really, without changing our subdivision code.”

More on the city’s work related to development code updates can also be found in this Tuesday city news release. 

In the second half of 2025, city staff will look at any required updates to the city’s critical areas under the state’s Growth Management Act, which include wetlands, fish and wildlife conservation, critical aquifer recharging areas, frequently flooded areas and geologically hazardous areas.

Another update that the city will review later in 2025 is related to co-living housing, which only applies to lots that allow a least six housing units per lot. Co-housing is defined as residential development with sleeping units, Hope said. “They’re independently rented and lockable and provide living and sleeping spaces. In those cases, the residents may share kitchens with other units in the building. So for example, they may have some common areas and then some private bedroom sitting areas while they share some space. But all of those separate units have to be lockable and rentable separately.”

The final item of the Committee of the Whole was the proposed 2025 work plan for the council’s Legal Assessment Committee. The commitee was authorized by council ordinance in 2023 for the purpose of conducting an annual performance review of the city attorney and city prosecutor. Councilmembers Nand and Dotsch served on the first committee, in 2024, and Council President Neil Tibbott and Councilmember Susan Paine have taken over the work for 2025.

Paine outlined the work plan as follows:

City attorneys’ assessment

The committee will send an email with specific feedback-focused questions to the following members of Edmonds city government from February to July 2025:
• Elected officials including the mayor and councilmembers
• Administration and staff who regularly interact with the city attorneys, including directors, senior management and district court and police staff.

In August 2025, the committee will have a follow-up meeting with a representative of the city attorney firm to discuss results of the feedback.

City prosecutor assessment

The committee will receive and review monthly reports from human resources staff regarding the city prosecutor contract obligations as specified in the contract amendment — aimed at addressing the prosecutor’s current case backlog. In May and August, the committee proposes to participate in a quarterly meeting, as referenced in the contract amendment, for the purpose of a more detailed performance report.

From March to July, the commitee will invite the following members of Edmonds city government to participate in private interviews:
• Elected officials including the mayor and councilmembers
• Administration/staff/public defenders who regularly interact with the city prosecutor: court administrator, police staff, domestic violence specialist)

The committee will have follow-up meetings with human resources, sharing their review comments. The committee will also have a meeting with the city prosecutor to discuss results of the interviews.

The committee in September will draft a memo to be presented to the council and the public summarizing results of the review process for both the city attorney and prosecuting attorney, with the committee’s recommendation (if any).