Housing, Arts and Civil Rights Committee 9/09/26

Okay, good afternoon and the September 9th, 2026 meeting of the Housing Arts and Civil Rights Committee will come to order.

I'm Dion, it is 2.04 p.m.

I'm Dion Foster, chair of the Housing Arts and Civil Rights Committee.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council member Rink?

Present.

Vice Chair Lin?

Here.

Chair Foster?

Here.

Chair, there are three members present.

Great, and please let the record reflect that Council President Hollingsworth and Council Member Juarez are excused.

If there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

We will now open the hybrid public comment period.

Public comments should relate to items on today's agenda or within the purview of this committee.

Clerk, how many speakers are signed up today?

There are nine in-person speakers and four remote speakers.

Fantastic.

Each speaker will have two minutes and we will start with the in-person speakers first.

Clerk, can you please read the public comment instructions?

The public comment period is up to 60 minutes.

Speakers will be called in the order in which they are registered.

We will begin with in-person speakers and then move to remote speakers.

Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left.

Speakers' mics will be muted if they do not and their comments within the allotted time to allow us to call on the next speaker.

The public comment period is now open and we will begin with the first speaker on the list.

The first speaker is Richard Gilmore followed by Tyson Holman and then Marceline Morrow.

and you can come forward.

Thank you for listening to us today.

My name is Richard Gilmore.

I'm a 73-year-old man.

I am the youngest member of a polyamorous quad of two men and two women.

And next month, we will be celebrating our 26th anniversary.

and that's a little less than half of my experience as a polyamorous man.

And what I've experienced throughout my life while I was working was having to be very careful about who I spoke to about my personal life.

When you get together and people are saying, hey, what did you do this weekend?

Or where'd you go?

People are talking about things and I had to be very circumspect.

with how I answered those kinds of questions.

So I'm asking the council today to pass this legislation.

This is especially important for Seattle because it punches way above its weight in Seattle's effect on the finances of this country and on the culture of this country.

So please be the leaders I know you are and pass this legislation.

Thank you.

All right, next is Tyson Holman, held by Marceline Morrow and then Jacob Yent.

Great.

Hi.

I'm Tyson.

I'm the chair of the Seattle Coalition for Family and Relationship Equity.

And I'm really thankful to be here today, and I'm thankful that you are all considering passing this bill to protect diverse families.

I'm a polyamorous man myself, and I've been a part of the community for quite a long time.

And during that time, I've witnessed a lot of pain around being out and inability to be out.

A lot of people in my life, including myself, have had to pretend to not love the person that they love because being out risks discrimination.

And I've held people in my arms crying when they have to be reduced to just a friend when really they're a partner.

And this is something I see all the time.

I truly believe that by far this is one of the most painful things about being a polyamorous person.

And I think that's why these protections are so important.

We don't have to worry about losing our homes or our jobs or families.

I think it's a step in the right direction.

And I want to thank you all for considering this today.

I also want to take a second to thank Jessa Davis, the founder of Seafree.

She's been working really hard on this for a very long time.

She's an inspiration.

She's an incredible human.

And I would not be here without her.

All right, thanks.

All right, next speaker is Marceline Morrow followed by Jacob Yent and then Joel Ng.

Hello, friends.

We're gonna restart your time.

Just speak directly into the mic.

It's closer than you would think and you can always adjust it.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, friends.

I grew up in a big family, tons of aunts, uncles, many aunts I wasn't actually related to.

I was forced to act like my aunts weren't my aunts in public because we weren't legally related.

Even if I spent more time with them than the woman who gave birth to me, it didn't matter.

Now growing up, I didn't understand that.

I was a kid.

I didn't understand who I shared blood with, how much skin tone we shared, how much blood was related.

To her, to me, she was just my aunt.

I was a kid and to kids those lines just don't matter.

Some people, your aunt, some people are your aunt and some people aren't.

If a scary stranger walked by who I didn't know, I held her hand for safety because I knew her and I was safe with her.

Eventually my aunt Donna died and the amount of people who would correct me or question me on the legitimacy of this lady and her importance in my life would always hurt.

They felt as though they needed to teach me how family worked and how blood worked.

And so when voting on this, remember you're not just voting for polyamory, you're also voting for family friends, trusted neighbors, and the maternal connection between me and the woman who taught me everything I know and hold dear.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jacob Yent followed by Joel Ng and then Jared Johnson.

Hi.

Hi.

For the past few years, I've been an organizer in Seattle's Polyamory community.

Most of what I do is just listen to people's stories.

And by now, I have heard hundreds.

What we have assembled today is a beautiful snapshot of our community, but there are so many more out there, including people too afraid to speak even now in their own defense.

And I would argue that's enough reason to pass protections.

For my own sake, I know I would sleep a lot better at night knowing my people were safer.

There's a lot of fear out there, and people are worried.

And I just want to add that our community already shines so bright.

There's so much love and joy and community out there, and I know with these protections, we'd shine just that much brighter.

So thank you.

Next speaker is Joel Ng, a vote by Jared Johnson, and then Cassandra Swarait.

Good afternoon, Chairperson Foster and fellow City Council members.

My name is Joel Ng.

I'm principal at Edge Developers.

We are developers of affordable housing and community development projects here in Seattle and in the region, and I'm here in support of Kelly Larson as the incoming Office of Housing Director.

The affordable housing field is very thrilled with the selection.

Kelly brings I think most of you know, years of experience both at Office of Housing and at other nonprofits.

Over the years, she has been involved in many different areas within the department, including overseeing the housing levy, which is our main engine of housing production here in the city.

She really delved in and helped chair and lead the Housing Levy Oversight Committee, really and recently has instituted new public information forums, like a dashboard, to let the city know where we are in the process, rather than being more of a black box.

And I think this is instrumental and worth mentioning.

In addition, with her approachable demeanor, her thoughtfulness, and her support within the City's Office of Housing, she is the right choice.

And again, as mentioned, we're really thrilled.

We believe that the City here is making the correct decision, and we know she will be successful.

So we look forward to your support.

Thank you.

Next is Jared Johnson, followed by Cassandra Schwartz and then Raul Rouse.

Hi, good afternoon, council members.

My name is Jared Johnson.

I am the co-executive director of the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority.

My co-executive director, Jamie Lee, is in the audience.

She's here with me today.

We are here to offer our support and urge that Kelly Larson be confirmed as our city's next director of the Office of Housing.

Like most affordable housing developers and operators, we rely on the city as our key funding partner and support for the nearly 2,000 residents of the CID that reside in Skipta's buildings.

Over the next decade, we are attempting to try and double that number of residents that we will serve in new production, and OH will be a key partner in that work.

We have worked with Kelly over the past several years in her former role at OH, where Kelly led the work to help many affordable housing providers like Skipta navigate the post-COVID world.

The industry continues to face many unprecedented challenges, and we are pleased that someone who understands these challenges and also has a deep understanding of the importance of community-led development, as her predecessor did, will take on this role.

So we urge that the council confirms Kelly as swiftly as possible.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Cassandra Schwartz followed by Raul Ramos and then Alicia Ruiz.

Thank you.

I am a divorced parent.

I share a son with my ex, and we've worked really hard to build a family that shows up for each other.

When my son's stepmom was in the hospital, I took care of her son along with mine for a few days.

And most people don't find that particularly difficult to understand.

We're divorced, we are co-parents, and our families are connected.

When someone needs help, we help.

But my family extends further than that.

When my girlfriend had a hysterectomy, her husband and I took turns taking care of her.

When I broke my ankle and all of my partners happened to be out of town, it was my nesting partner's girlfriend who took me to the ER and walked the dogs.

And I realized that somewhere the nesting partner's girlfriend may have lost the plot for you, but that's okay.

Sometimes my family does require a flow chart to follow.

but it doesn't require that when someone needs help because we know who shows up.

We know who takes care of the kids, who sits with someone after surgery, who drives you to the emergency room, and who walks the dogs.

That's what my polyamorous family looks like.

It's not simply about having multiple romantic relationships.

It's an interconnected network of people who love each other, care for each other, and take responsibility for one another.

That is our village.

And frankly, it's the village we need to survive in this world.

I'm standing here openly talking about my family, but I don't always feel comfortable doing that.

There are places where I have to think carefully about which parts of my family I talk about and which relationships I name.

Being open about being polyamorous doesn't always feel safe when I know that someone else's judgment about my family could affect my livelihood.

And that's part of why this matters.

Recognition isn't just symbolic.

When life goes sideways, these are the people who show up.

I wanna live in a city that protects families that actually exist, not only families that are easy to explain.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Raul Ramos followed by Alicia Ruiz and then we'll switch to online speakers.

Good afternoon.

Thank you for the opportunity to be here and to speak up.

I am a believer in that everyone, especially every law-abiding citizen, should have the opportunity to pursue happiness the best way they understand it.

and in order to do that in a safe and more accepting environment, the right legal framework must be in place.

So as a polyamorous for 15 years or so, I have found that a safe and nurturing lifestyle and we count on your support.

Thank you.

All right, our final in-person speaker is Alicia, and then we will switch to remote speakers starting with Red.

Good afternoon, Chair Foster and members of the committee.

My name is Alicia Ruiz.

I am the Advocacy and Policy Manager for Habitat for Humanity, King and Kittitas Counties.

I'm here today in strong support of Kelly Larson's appointment as the Director of the Seattle Office of Housing.

Habitat has had the privilege of working alongside Kelly for many years, and we've seen firsthand her steady leadership, her innovative approach, and her deep commitment to this community.

With nearly 20 years of experience in affordable housing, she brings a rare combination of institutional knowledge and genuine care for the people this work serves.

Kelly understands that housing is not just policy, it's people.

She has spent her career translating that belief into real homes, real levy dollars, and real partnerships.

Habitat shares that belief that everyone deserves a decent place to live and that lasting solutions come from building alongside our neighbors, not around them.

We are proud to support Kelly Larson, and we look forward to continuing this partnership in service of a Seattle where everyone has a place to call home.

Thank you.

We will now switch to remote speakers.

The first remote speaker is red.

Please press star six when you hear the prompt that you've been unmuted.

Then the next speaker will be Jen Carl.

Good afternoon, council members.

I support CB 121278. Your own central staff memo cites research finding that about one in five Americans have been in a consensual non-monogamous relationship.

And one in 20 is in one right now.

These are your constituents.

Being honest with consenting adults should not cost anyone their job, their housing, or their children.

People are doubling up to survive.

Rent keeps climbing and ICE is kidnapping our neighbors, while the city offers nothing but performative words.

Families are taking each other in.

They should not be evicted or found in violation of a lease for sheltering someone this government came for.

So here's my ask.

The cohabitation language names multi-generational families, broaden it, households of choice, not just households of relation, and put it in the definition, not the recitals.

Intent language isn't protection.

Thank you for making Seattle a more inclusive city.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jen Carl followed by Rose Legionnaires.

Good afternoon, counsel.

My name is Jen Carl, she, her pronouns, and I'm the Neighborhood Safety Coordinator for Capitol Hill through the GSBA.

I'm calling in to testify in support of CB121278 to amend civil rights protections for diverse orientations and relationship structures.

Our city has been a leader in protecting LGBTQ plus individuals and families, now holding the highest percentage of LGBTQ plus households in the country.

That said, we know that gender identity, sexuality, and family structure are fluid and can change over time, requiring us to update our legislation to continue protecting the people of our city.

Nationwide, youth identifying as pansexual have nearly 50% greater odds of experiencing housing instability a 40% rate of food insecurity and an 18% inability to meet basic needs compared with other sexual identities.

So data on individuals identifying as asexuals is just starting to emerge.

Evidence already shows higher rates of depression and anxiety due to erasure, along with difficulty working with service providers who misunderstand asexuality as a medical or psychological disorder.

We also increase the already pervasive systemic barriers for those in consensually non-monogamous relationships.

relying on systems, social services and legislation that structure around traditional nuclear families or single individuals.

We know that the creation of an ordinance will not magically solve these issues.

We still have a lot of work to do in the pursuit of equity, even within our own LGBTQ plus and polyamorous communities.

But implementing this ordinance and amending our Seattle Municipal Code is a necessary first step in ensuring that all members of the community are recognized and protected.

Thank you for your time, consideration and continued efforts in our city.

Our next speaker is Rose Legionnaires, followed by Kate Rubin and then David Haynes.

Hello, council members.

I'm very glad to see that this legislation is finally seeing the light of day.

It's been a lot of work in the background with myself and the council members on to do this along with many other people in the community.

There is one ask in this that I think is an important part of this, however.

There is a lot of ways that people can express their love towards each other and their symbols of relationship.

There is one symbol that has gone back for the last 40 years in the queer and gay communities, in the trans communities, that is not currently respected in Seattle or Seattle law.

There is something that is known as a collar in the gay leather subculture that then spread to lesbian leather culture and trans culture.

This was a symbol of our love and care for one another when we were not allowed to be married to one another.

And this is something that people still carry now in the city of Seattle.

However, people are being fired and told that they are not allowed to wear the symbol of love for one another in their workplace, in their housing, and in other various places because people are worried about what other individuals would think.

we are never gonna be acceptable enough for them in this city.

And in addition to the discrimination that this is a part of, this is something that I think as the council members, you honestly, people in the trans community especially do not trust City Hall.

We need you all to offer this as an olive branch to the community because as much as we wanna talk about anti-discrimination or insist, people in the community do not trust that this is something that is offered to them.

Offering something as simple as you can wear the symbol of your love at your workplace is something that would be incredible for individuals.

Every person I've talked to about this being even a possibility has seen their eyes light up.

I think this is something that you all should very much consider because this is something that could really do a lot of good for our community and would really make a lot of people happy.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Kate Rubin and our final speaker will be David Haynes.

Good afternoon.

My name is Kate Rubin.

I serve as co-chair of the Seattle Renters Commission.

I'm testifying today on behalf of the Commission in support of stronger civil rights protections for people of all family and relationship structures.

We are living through overlapping crises that are putting enormous pressure on renters in our communities.

Seattle has committed to being a welcoming city where everyone belongs.

As the federal government works to narrow who is worthy of recognition and dignity, The city needs to lead with our values and expand who our laws protect.

Everyone deserves the freedom to be who they are and build relationships and support systems that work for them.

Discrimination can cost people their housing, their jobs, and access to basic services.

No one should have to hide or defend who they are, who they love, or how they build their lives to be protected from discrimination.

Thank you for your work to protect Regers in Seattle.

Thank you.

And our final remote speaker will be David Haynes.

Hi, thank you, David Haynes.

There's still a homeless crisis and there's not enough efforts of resources to solve the crisis because there's certain like political beliefs and voting blocs that think you're not supposed to work with your regional partners on the state or the federal level.

And we need more legislation that would be user-friendly to take over, finally, for example, all of the rundown motels that have been used to sexploitate over the years and ruin the property and human rights values and tear those things down and rebuild them.

But you have to use federal money a lot of times and you already want to deal with the federal government.

But whatever orientation you are, you still need a 21st century first world quality home that's noise abated, that's pedestrian centric and resident friendly, that doesn't have the neighborhood overwhelmed by the road rage and the heat island of asphalt.

And I still don't see any effort from council to purge the corrupt landlords' restrictions that sabotage the next 20 years of development that has purposely undermined the working class and sold us out, denying us a better choice in home and real equity that's been pervertedly misinterpreted.

It's like we need the incentives to go eight to 12 stories with real robust floor spaces that don't accommodate the weaponized tree ordinance that could be traded out for taking away an entire like side road of asphalt and just tear it up and rebuild green where the walkable neighborhood is like housing and like soft ground greenery where there's no roadways driving through.

But we still have to have the comprehensive plan addressed and all the corruption that the landlords on the city council self dealt and backstabbed and undermined and is purposely cheating modern advanced housing.

All right, and any additional comment can be sent in an email to Councilmember Dionne Foster.

And we have one final in-person speaker, Senator Emily Elberato.

Good morning, council members.

Thanks for the opportunity to testify.

Emily Alvarado, Seattle resident, longtime affordable housing advocate, and I'm here to express my enthusiastic support for the confirmation of Kelly Larson as Office of Housing Director.

As former Office of Housing Director, I know what it takes to do the job.

You have to have the technical expertise.

You have to know how to collaborate.

you have to have a bias towards action and you have to be a real public servant and Kelly has all of those qualities.

She spent her life working in affordable housing both in government and on the outside.

I trust her to collaborate with the mayor and council with all levels of government and with community stakeholders from different sectors.

And she knows that we have an urgent problem right now.

We have to make housing more affordable.

We have to move people out of homelessness.

We have to help struggling families afford to live here.

She'll work hard to get those things done.

And lastly, she's a public servant through and through, and we'll steward our resources, we'll make our programs better, and I think we'll make Seattle better, so urge your support.

Thank you.

All right, there are no additional registered speakers.

Okay, fantastic.

Thank you so much to all of our public commenters, both in person and online.

We appreciate you taking the time to join us and share your support for the items on today's agenda.

With that, we are now going to move to our first item of business.

Will the clerk please read item one into the record?

Agenda item one, appointment 03569, appointment of Kelly Larson as director of the Office of Housing for briefing discussion and possible vote.

Great.

I move that the committee recommend adoption of appointment 03569. Is there a second?

Second.

Fantastic.

And with that, I'm excited to invite up to the committee table, Acting Director Kelly Larson of the Office of Housing.

And before Kelly starts and colleagues, I'll be turning to you for any questions prior to our vote today.

I'll just say I'm really excited to be voting today on the appointment of Director Larson to the Office of Housing.

We already heard a lot of the reasons why, you know, I want to keep wanting to call you Kelly, I have to, Acting Director Larson, has a wealth of knowledge in the housing space, including having worked as the Director of Policy and Planning since 2023, where she led the reauthorization of the Seattle Housing Levy, as well as in her eight years at Plymouth Housing as the Director of Strategic Initiatives, and then Chief Program Officer.

Last month our office sent, last month seems like ages ago, sent written appointment questions to Acting Director Larson and her responses were circulated with council members as well as included in today's agenda.

I just am gonna read a brief excerpt from one of those responses that I think just demonstrates the spirit that Director Larson brings to the role.

so I quote, I've seen the positive outcomes of co-creating solutions to our sector's most pressing challenges.

Several of the creative solutions that we implemented in the last few years have been designed to respond to emergent challenges in the sector and done with provider input.

We've worked together to create the permanent supportive housing workforce stabilization fund, new operating stabilization investments, and new capital investment strategies.

And I think that's just a snippet of all of the hard work that you have done in the office and all of the hard work that I know you're going to continue to do on behalf of all of the residents of our city.

We know that the Office of Housing has just a really important role in continuing to innovate and ensure that our investments in affordable housing are strategic and efficient, and Acting Director Larson is the right person to do the job.

I'm going to hand it over to you to introduce yourself, and then I'll turn to my colleagues to see if there are any questions.

And as a reminder, this is the second time we've had you in committee, so we're really excited to vote today.

Thank you so much, Chair Foster.

I'm Kelly Larson, Acting Director of the Office of Housing.

All righty.

Colleagues, I am happy to turn to you all for any questions that you have, anything that you want to follow up on from what was circulated prior to today's committee meeting.

Don't have a question, but just a comment.

Sure, I will also take comments, Vice Chair Lynn.

Okay, well, spoke last time, but just obviously want to speak again.

Just so excited for your service.

You know, I think you obviously have very strong references and validators, and I think that is a very, you know, one of the most persuasive things in choosing.

someone for such an important role.

I think we heard very compelling testimonies today, including from Senator Alvarado.

Thank you for being here.

I agree with everything that was said.

I also think You know, Seattle.

I mean, we face many of the same challenges as other cities, but in some ways we are kind of special and unique.

We're very fortunate in the level of support that we have for affordable housing and we have some unique challenges here.

So not only do you bring all the incredible qualities that we heard about, but I think, you know, the deep understanding of our unique conditions here, our different neighborhoods, all the different providers, you know, just the landscape and, you know, the support of Office of Housing staff, the relationships with staff, you know, those can take years to develop and those relationships are critical.

The understanding of our landscape is critical.

And so excited on so many levels, but also just, you know, excited that there's not going to be a learning curve, that you're going to be able You're already doing the job and will continue to do the job.

So most of all, it's a very difficult one.

I've said this before, but I just want to thank you again for stepping into this extremely difficult role.

But it's also just a reminder to me that oftentimes, you know, we think, oh, we need to do a nationwide search or we need outside experts.

And oftentimes, we have the expertise right here at home who understands the issues.

And anyway, very excited.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for those comments.

I really appreciate those, Vice Chair Lynn.

Any other questions or comments from the committee?

Council Member Rink, you are recognized.

Thank you, Chair Foster.

Well said, Council Member Lynn.

Very excited to be voting yes on this appointment today.

And I wanna thank you, Acting Director Larson, for your continued leadership throughout the city and supporting the development of so much affordable housing across our community.

I do have one question.

I know we've asked so many questions, but I'm just thinking about, you know, how no one person can do it alone.

And in so many ways, the work of Office of Housing needs to be supported by our other city departments across the city who also play a role in supporting the development of housing.

So I'm wondering just how you envision working with other city leaders and working with SDCI, SDOT, City Light and Utilities who also have a really important role to play when it comes to addressing our affordable housing crisis.

Thank you for that.

Great question.

We at the office have been talking about this more and more in the last few months even.

We keep saying the word infrastructure again and again in order to hold ourselves accountable and continuing to have these hard conversations with our sibling departments about all the difficulties that our projects can encounter along the way.

There's no simple answer.

Some of the work that the mayor's office is convening will help to lift up some of these challenges and help us start addressing and solving some of these challenges.

But our teams are also really interested in working at staff levels and further up hierarchies so that we're continuing to ask hard questions about projects that are underway, permitting.

Permitting happens in all different departments.

Sometimes people just say permitting is SDCI, but it is all the other departments that have influence here too.

So we're having a lot of conversations and mapping and relationship building with all of our departments who are interested and invested in affordable housing as well.

And sometimes it just takes a different approach and a different window of opportunity to make success happen.

So we're excited about that.

And we have some folks that are really excited to dig into some of these gnarly challenges ahead of us.

And we've had some successes too.

And we have great relationships with a lot of others in other departments.

We have some really exciting projects underway right now at the Lake City Community Center, which is this great partnership with parks.

We have Fort Lawton underway still, which is also parks.

And we work a lot with utilities.

And we also have OPCD support on that project.

So we're working a lot with our colleague departments.

More to come.

Fabulous.

Thank you so much.

And that is a call out to our other departments across the city to be working in a partnership when we're talking about addressing our housing crisis.

And so I thank you for that.

I'm really excited about your leadership over the Office of Housing and excited to vote yes today.

And thank you, Chair, also for shepherding this appointment process.

Thank you.

Fantastic.

Thank you so much, colleagues.

Any final questions or comments from committee members?

Okay, I've said it to you several times, Kelly.

I'm really excited to continue working with you in this role.

And I just appreciate your leadership within the department.

I know in our previous committee, we had somebody come and read a statement of support on behalf of the staff in OH, and we've heard from community members.

So it's just very clear that the deep and wide well of support that you have, and I couldn't be more excited to vote on your appointment today.

With that, will the clerk please call the roll on the recommendation to confirm appointment 03569?

Council Member Rink?

Yes.

Vice Chair Lynn?

Yes.

Chair Foster?

Yes.

Chair, there are three votes in favor and none opposed.

Fantastic.

The motion carries and the committee recommendation that the City Council confirm appointment 03569, the appointment of Kelly Larson as Director of Office of Housing will be sent to the September 15th, 2026 City Council meeting.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

We will now move on to our next item.

Will the clerk please read item two into the record?

Agenda item two, Council Bill 121278, an ordinance relating to civil rights protections for diverse sexual orientations and relationship structures, amending the definition of the sexual orientation protected class to recognize gender identities outside the gender binary, recognize pansexuality and asexuality as orientations, and include consensual relationships with multiple partners as an element of the attitudes, preferences, and practices pertaining to sexual orientation and amending sections 314910, 314931, 480020, 602270, 6202230, 1404030, 1406020, 1408020, 1411020, and 1812280 of the Seattle Municipal Code for briefing, discussion, and possible vote.

Thank you so much.

Councilmember Rink, would you like to move your bill?

Thank you.

I move that.

Give me one moment.

Do we want to do a briefing on this first or do we need to?

I was going to have you move it and then I was going to have us get the briefing on it if that's okay.

But if you want to go in another order, I'm happy to.

No, I'm happy to move it.

I just need to have the bill number in front of me.

Fantastic.

So let's be at ease for a second while we get our slides pulled up and we will turn to you in just a moment.

Thank you.

All right.

Fantastic.

We've got the slides up and I will pass it over to you, Council Member Rank.

Thank you, Chair.

I move that the committee recommend passage of CB 121278. Second.

Okay.

I will turn to Tommaso to brief us on the bill, and then we'll head over to you, Council Member Rink, for comments.

Good afternoon, Chair Foster, members of the committee.

For the record, Tommaso Johnson, Council Central staff here to give a short summary of Council Bill 121278, the Relationship Structure Non-Discrimination Ordinance.

By way of background, there are a number of what are called protected classes currently in city law.

Protected classes are the primary way through which we enforce and enact our non-discrimination civil rights protections in the city.

Briefly, those can be thought of as common characteristics on the basis of which no discrimination can occur.

There are a number of categories currently in city law.

Race, color, sex, marital status, sexual orientation.

The full list is there.

I'm not going to read the entire thing.

I will note that most recently, Seattle expanded the protected class categories with the addition of CAST in 2023. The Seattle Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, is the primary enforcement department for civil rights protections and protected classes, though some areas of Seattle Municipal Code that contain protected classes, anti-discrimination protections, pertain to other departments that are administered by those departments.

Some additional background, because there are terms used and concepts used in this legislation that don't currently exist in Seattle Municipal Code.

Generally, the concept of non-binary gender identity is the idea that gender exists outside of a male-female gender binary.

Examples of non-binary gender identity include non-binary, gender non-conforming, or two-spirit.

Two-spirit is initialized within the 2SLGBTQIA plus initialism that the city regularly uses.

In terms of legal recognition for gender beyond gender binary, both the city's all gender restrooms ordinance from 2015 acknowledges genders other than male and female.

Washington state also enacted in 2018 the ability for residents, for persons in Washington state to obtain identification documents such as driver licenses that have the ex-gender designation Prior to that, only male or female gender designations on state ID documents were available.

Briefly, pansexuality can be defined as a person who may experience attraction to another person regardless of their gender identity.

The term bisexuality is currently already in Seattle Municipal Code in the city's sexual orientation protected class.

Pansexuality, that terminology is similar, but you can think of it as more expansive since it explicitly refers to genders outside of the gender binary.

Briefly, asexuality is attraction, someone who generally does not experience sexual desire or attraction.

Another term that is not currently in Seattle Municipal Code but that this bill addresses is consensual non-monogamy, which briefly is defined as the practice of a person having sexual and or romantic relationships with more than one partner concurrently when all parties consent to that relationship structure.

Surveys estimate that approximately 10 to 20% of people in North America have been in such a relationship at some point, and approximately 5% are in such a relationship currently.

Similarly, surveys demonstrate that a significant number of people who are in such relationships report experiencing a stigma or discrimination because of their relationship structure.

By way of context, there are a number of other jurisdictions around the country, municipalities that have enacted protections, anti-discrimination protections for non-monogamy that are similar to the ones that this bill contains.

Two cities in Massachusetts, three in California, Portland, Oregon, Olympia, Washington was the first jurisdiction in this state.

A jurisdiction that was also in Michigan earlier this year, I believe Hazel Park, Michigan, which is part of the greater Detroit area was another 2026 edition.

So there have this bill follows a trend of other municipalities dating from, I believe, 2023 to earlier this year.

This bill would add civil rights anti-discrimination protections for the following groups, pansexual people, by adding this term explicitly to the sexual orientation protected class.

That class, the definition of which I'm going to bring up on the screen in a moment, contains enumerated list of sexual orientations, and this would add pansexuality to that list.

It would also add asexuality explicitly to that list.

Third, it would add anti-discrimination protections for persons of any sexual orientation engaging in or being perceived to engage in consensual, non-monogamous relationships.

It would accomplish this.

not by adding non-monogamy or consensual non-monogamous relationships as a protected class in and of themselves, but by adding language clarifying that these relationships fall under, quote, protected, quote, attitudes, preferences, beliefs, and practices pertaining to a person's sexual orientation.

So as you'll see in a moment, the existing city protected class of sexual orientation already contains that term that protects attitudes, preferences, practices, and beliefs pertaining to someone's orientation.

It would also seek to protect multigenerational families that live together by clarifying the Council's intent via recital that the words cohabitating and cohabiting used in the marital status protected class encompass multi-generational families.

And just to note, this was pointed out in the memo, but both of those words are included.

They're essentially synonyms, but in different parts of municipal code, the same otherwise identical definitions of marital status for the purposes of the protected class use those words, and we believe that that was just a historical drafting mistake.

So you can see here in strikethrough and underlined the changes that this bill would make to the existing definition of sexual orientation.

As I said, it would remove reference to male or female to better acknowledge the existence of Genders outside the binary add pansexuality and asexuality to the enumerated orientations.

And then, as I said before, specify, articulate that attitudes, preferences, beliefs, and practices pertaining to someone's orientation includes actual or perceived involvement in a consensual relationship with multiple partners.

This bill would enact these additional protections into the following areas of law.

Duties of the Office of Civil Rights Director, duties of the Seattle Human Rights Commission, discrimination-free workplace policies of the city, grounds for business license denial or revocation based on discrimination, unfair discriminatory employment practices, unfair discriminatory practices in places of public accommodation, unfair discriminatory housing practices, bias-free policing requirements, and full enjoyment and use of Seattle parks and recreation facilities without discrimination.

A couple other items to note.

This bill has an effective date of July 1, 2027. The bill also includes a clause just clarifying that these Additional civil rights protections don't, on their own, mandate any additional expansion of employer-provided benefits, such as health benefits.

There is one policy consideration identified in the central staff memo for this legislation, which essentially just has to do with effective implementation.

The primary implementing department, the Office for Civil Rights, has noted that Given the effective date in the bill of July 1, 2027, they do expect to be able to do some basic implementation efforts within current department budgets.

So there is not a mandatory fiscal note attached to this bill.

However, they do believe and they note that effective implementation of this bill, in their opinion, is going to require additional outreach and education work that they don't currently have the capacity for in their budget.

So they've outlined an additional $46,000 that they believe are going to be necessary for outreach activities and material production.

And then they have sort of a plus level of $75,000 additional on top of that for a total of $121,000 above their current budget, which they believe would represent the sort of ideal level of maximum awareness raising and outreach to affected communities, businesses, and other entities that would be subject to these non-discrimination protections.

So this is just a policy consideration.

The option here would be to continue to gather more information about this and consider including some or all of these outreach and education expenses within the 2027 budget process that we will be embarking upon shortly.

I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you so much, as always, for that fantastic briefing.

We really appreciate all the work that Central Staff does and did on this bill.

And I will first turn to Councilmember Rink as sponsor to the bill.

I invite you to speak to it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair Foster.

I want to start first with some gratitude again to echo that appreciation.

Thank you to Tommaso Johnson on Central Staff for his hard work on developing and working on this bill.

Thank you to my Chief of Staff, Tim Lennon, as well for his hard work on this bill, and especially a huge thank you to Founders Seafree and LGBTQ Commission co-chair Jessa Davis for her tireless work advancing human rights on multiple fronts, in addition to shepherding this work in Seattle and across the country.

Thank you.

And I also want to thank everyone who came out today to share their story about family and understanding the courage that that takes.

I want to thank you for that.

And I want to thank you for sharing these stories because it is powerful and important to hear stories of kinship, care, and love.

So I want to thank you all for coming out today to share that with the committee.

to get into the nitty-gritty about this bill.

This update to existing Seattle Municipal Code sections covering protected classes clarifies definitions and removes antiquated gender binary language.

The intention is to ensure our laws continue to prohibit discrimination based on family and relationship structure as fully as possible.

And this update reflects how people actually live.

and ensures that all residents can participate fully in civic, economic, and community life without fear of discrimination.

Now, as we've heard today, the City of Seattle has long been a leader in recognizing and seeking to protect all of our neighbors' basic rights.

Our municipal code recognizes protected classes with a degree of inclusivity that reflects our values.

And from time to time, this body has updated the language and code to reflect the changing nature of how our neighbors define themselves and define their families.

This update to the code is another iteration of that decades-long process.

We all know that every family is different, and we need to be clear that every family deserves equal protection under the law, and chosen family is family.

Now working with community advocates, LGBTQ commission members, and again, our brilliant central staff, we took what was already a very inclusive and expansion definitions of our currently covered protected classes and made some small, but I would dare say important additions to ensure that no family in Seattle is left out.

and I believe we have a chartered responsibility to protect and enhance the health, safety, environment and general welfare of the people and to allow fair and equitable participation of all persons in the affairs of the city.

This code update ensures that all continues to mean all.

Thank you, colleagues, and I ask for your support and open to any questions you have as well.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you so much, Council Member Rink.

I really appreciate you and your leadership in bringing this forward and just really excited to have this in committee today and just wanna echo, it was really meaningful to have folks come and talk about your personal experiences I just want to say it's always hard to talk about personal experiences in public, I think, so I really appreciate each of you for doing that and just coming down here in person today.

It really does mean a lot, so thank you to everyone who testified.

I don't have questions about this bill.

I'm really excited to support this bill.

I'll express my appreciation to Jessa for meeting with our office in advance, and I felt like we were very well prepared coming into our conversation today.

The thing I want to just share is one thing I appreciated about this process is how in the pursuit of identifying the need for this bill and working on this, Council Member Rink that your office also identified this kind of antiquated language in our code and so I was just as I was looking through the changes I was excited to see what I was expecting and then also excited to see additional changes that I wasn't expecting.

And I just think that's evidence of what happens when we try to center equity and center people that we end up with even more benefits than we expected.

So I just wanted to call that out in particular and say thank you and thank you to central staff and to the community organizers for making this an even more holistic approach and change to our code.

Okay, that's my comment there.

Any questions from members of the committee?

Councilmember Lin, you are recognized.

Just kind of one question, and it's probably more of a comment.

But just without this bill, effectively discrimination is legal.

Would that effectively be correct?

Yes, that's correct.

I mean, you know, we have, as was mentioned before, we have a fairly extensive coverage of protected classes, but this bill would create new explicit protections for people in non-monogamous, consensual non-monogamous relationships specifically, and I think, you know, also with respect to asexuality.

and pansexuality.

It's possible that there could be instances of discrimination where the nature and the basis of the discrimination could be on multiple fronts, and some folks might be experiencing discrimination that would already be covered under some protected classes, but once again, this explicitly adds that, and I think that particularly in the context of consensual non-monogamous relationships, we wrote it in a way that it is not dependent on any one specific orientation, but rather the shape of the relationship can't be the basis of discrimination, and that would be a new protection for us, yes.

Thank you so much, and just want to thank you, Councilmember Rank, Chair Foster, to everyone coming here to speak.

for all the work on this.

It is very exciting.

Thank you for sharing your stories, for being vulnerable at a time when discrimination apparently is legal until we pass this bill.

To your point about families, I just think about that this is not just for your benefit, but this is really for the entire community's benefit.

And I think a little bit about all the difficulties we face right now as a community in terms sort of loneliness and disconnection and really in many ways stems from sort of these biases we have, this inability to connect with one another because of the way we discriminate against each other.

I'm excited for this not only to provide basic human rights protections that are well overdue, but also the benefits this will provide for our entire community.

In terms of fostering more human connection, fostering supporting each other, you know, which is good for our public health, for our safety, for, you know, our life expectancy, so many for raising our children.

So thank you all.

And thank you for all the work on this and excited to support.

Fantastic.

Thank you so much for that, Councilmember Lynn.

I really appreciate it.

Are there any further comments on this bill to come before the committee?

Okay, with that, will the clerk please call the roll on the recommendation that council pass Council Bill 121278.

Council Member Rink?

Yes.

Vice Chair Lin?

Yes.

Chair Foster?

Yes.

Chair, there are three votes in favor and none opposed.

Fantastic.

The motion carries and the committee recommends that the council pass this bill.

That recommendation will be sent to the September 15th, 2026 Seattle City Council meeting.

Yay.

Thank you so much, everyone.

Okay, is there any further business to come before the committee?

Okay, seeing none, this concludes the September 9th, 2026 meeting of our Housing Arts and Civil Rights Committee.

Our next regularly scheduled meeting is on December 9th.

Thank you so much for attending.

It is three, oh, three o'clock on the dot and we are adjourned.