Seattle City Council 9/6/22

Are we ready?

We're ready.

Great, thank you.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Today is Tuesday, September 6. The meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is two o'clock.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Council Member Herbold?

Here.

Council Member Lewis?

Here.

Council Member Morales?

Here.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Present.

Council Member Nelson.

Present.

Council Member Peterson.

Present.

Council Member Sawant.

Present.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council President Juarez.

Present.

Nine present.

Great, everybody's here.

Welcome back everybody.

So we're gonna go through the agenda and next we have presentations and my understanding is that there are no presentations here today.

So now we'll go on to public comments.

I'm gonna read a little bit and then I'm gonna hand it over to the clerk.

Madam clerk, how many people do we have on the remote side?

We have 17 remote speakers and approximately 17 in-person speakers.

Okay, so let's do the 17 in person first.

And then we will do the 17 remote and everyone will have one minute, please everybody one minute and this so now i'm going to go ahead and hand i'm going to read off the script, so we make sure we do this right.

Then I'll hand it over at this time.

We will open the hybrid public comment period for this hybrid public comment period.

The remote speakers.

I'm sorry, the people in the remote speakers will be the I'm sorry, I'm a little rusty after a couple of weeks.

The the in-person speakers will speak first.

The remote speakers will be heard second.

As you heard, there are 17 people that have called in and there are 17 people that are in council chambers.

Everyone will each have one minute.

And Madam Clerk, I will now hand this over to you to present the instructions and the recording on the public comment recording.

Thank you.

Hello, Seattle.

We are the Emerald City, the city of flowers and the city of goodwill, built on indigenous land, the traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples.

The Seattle City Council welcomes remote public comment and is eager to hear from residents of our city.

If you would like to be a speaker and provide a verbal public comment, you may register two hours prior to the meeting via the Seattle City Council website.

Here's some information about the public comment proceedings.

Speakers are called upon in the order in which they registered on the council's website.

Each speaker must call in from the phone number provided when they registered online and used the meeting ID and passcode that was emailed upon confirmation.

If you did not receive an email confirmation, please check your spam or junk mail folders.

A reminder, the speaker meeting ID is different from the general listen line meeting ID provided on the agenda.

Once a speaker's name is called, the speaker's microphone will be unmuted and an automatic prompt will say, the host would like you to unmute your microphone.

That is your cue that it's your turn to speak.

At that time, you must press star six.

You will then hear a prompt of, you are unmuted.

Be sure your phone is unmuted on your end so that you will be heard.

As a speaker, you should begin by stating your name and the item that you are addressing.

A chime will sound when 10 seconds are left in your allotted time as a gentle reminder to wrap up your public comments.

At the end of the allotted time, your microphone will be muted and the next speaker registered will be called.

Once speakers have completed providing public comment, please disconnect from the public comment line and join us by following the meeting via Seattle Channel broadcast or through the listening line option listed on the agenda.

The council reserves the right to eliminate public comment if the system is being abused or if the process impedes the council's ability to conduct its business on behalf of residents of the city.

Any offensive language that is disruptive to these proceedings or that is not focused on an appropriate topic as specified in Council rules may lead to the speaker being muted by the presiding officer.

Our hope is to provide an opportunity for productive discussions that will assist our orderly consideration of issues before the Council.

The public comment period is now open.

and we will begin with the first speaker on the list.

Please remember to press star six after you hear the prompt of, you have been unmuted.

Thank you, Seattle.

Okay, we're going to begin with the in-person public commenters.

And the first person on our list is Katie Garrow.

Good afternoon, council members.

Nice to see some of you in person.

My name is Katie Garrow.

I'm the executive secretary treasurer for MLK Labor.

I'm here today to express our support for ordinance 120391 through 393, or through, yeah, 393 regarding cannabis equity.

MLK Labor's mission is to build power, eradicate bigotry, and support our unions as the best way to improve our community.

I'd like to begin by wishing a happy Labor Day to all of the bud tenders and people who work in cannabis, 20,000 of you who labor across Washington State.

OSHA, the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970, is one of the labor movement's greatest achievements.

However, it was passed 50 years ago.

The cannabis industry only became legal less than 10 years ago, and there are some improvements that we need to be making.

Furthermore, the war on drugs was racist and there are some repairs that we need to take responsibility for.

I want to commend Council for trying to right both of those wrongs with these cannabis equity legislation and also express my appreciation for UFCW 3000 who's been supporting cannabis workers in this fight.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Michael Rehashi.

Good afternoon.

My name is Renaissance and I'm the director of campaigns with 350 Seattle.

You've seen me with Healthy Through Eating Smoke and doing all of that lobbying.

And today we're here on behalf of being in solidarity with UFCW 3000. Definite automatic expungement is something that we definitely need to have.

What you don't know what this council doesn't know what other councils do know.

I was a part of passing resolution 31614 in 2015 of zero use detention of youth and juvenile.

And I sat at that table as an expert on that.

And I'm a formerly incarcerated individual and I couldn't have entered into the industry of the marijuana selling business.

that's legally now sanctioned here because of that law.

When they passed the law, that wasn't retroactive.

We need to have that retroactive because of the way that the prison industrial complex has impacted our people negatively.

Also, we need to make sure that we have a commission that includes the workers within the industry, the same as all the rest of the industries in the union representation, so that we can make sure that people are being treated with respect and dignity.

And we want workforce development to make sure that people have the capacity to grow in industries where they're at, and to continue going forward within the industry itself.

Thank you very much.

Our next speaker is Peter Manning.

Good afternoon.

Peter Manning with Black Excellence in Cannabis.

I'd like first to thank Council Member Nelson and Council Chair Mosqueda for putting this together and getting us further down the road.

I am not anti-union.

What I am is pro-equity.

I am pro-equality.

I would like everyone to understand that.

My standpoint at Black Excellence Cannabis is I don't need anyone to teach me how to be a better servant.

What I need is someone to show me how to be an owner.

where I am going from what my platform I'm standing on, I'm telling black and brown people, it's time to own something.

It's not time to work for anyone.

What we need to do is come together and figure out how we can get back in the game of this cannabis industry and how we were pushed away and pushed out.

That's all I have to say.

Thank you.

Our next speaker.

Our next speaker is Mike Asi.

Asi, thank you.

Good afternoon, Council.

Good afternoon, public.

My name is Mike Asai with Emerald City Collective, first downtown Seattle dispensary, second black-owned in Washington State.

We were unjustly shut down by the City of Seattle, and for the record, I want it to be known that it was not the state, it was the City of Seattle who came in and made threats and shut us down.

I want that to be clear.

As Peter said, we are not anti union.

We are pro equity, and we are pro equality.

We're simply just asking for a fair shake in the situation where we have now we don't have any money for social equity applicants.

So there should be some money that is in there.

I'm sorry, but I also want to thank Council Member Nelson and Chair Mosqueda for this amendment.

As I say, we're not anti-union.

We just don't feel like there should be any attachment to that.

We just want it to be known that we're expecting the mayor's office and we thank Mayor Bruce Harrell, but we need some money for the social equity licenses that are getting ready to come out.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Perry Hartman.

Hi, I'm here speaking on Resolution 32064 to eventually ban gas leaf blowers.

I'm founder of Quiet Clean Seattle, whose mission is to find an acceptable way to reduce or eliminate leaf blower effects.

NIH writes that excessive noise causes cognitive impairment and stress in the brain.

Some individuals have extreme aversion to loud noise, which can trigger anxiety, Rage or panic, reports BBC.

NIOSH says it increases general stress levels.

These effects worsen over time.

The WHO set guidelines of 55 dBA daytime and 40 dBA evening exposures.

Seattle's limit in residential areas is a whopping 70 dBA.

And what are the operators exposed to with engines just inches from their heads?

Council Member Peterson's recent polls shows that about 83% of respondents support banning gas blowers.

Quiet Clean Seattle's membership is growing.

Make our city better, cleaner, and quieter by adopting the resolution.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Peggy Prince.

Well, you are on the way to making Seattle one of the more livable cities in the country by voting yes on Resolution 32064, phasing out gas-powered leaf blowers, and considering eventually banning all blowers.

It couldn't happen soon enough, because as my colleagues in quiet, clean Seattle are reminding you today, these blowers can cause serious health damage and hearing loss.

Happily, landscapers will also see financial benefits soon after they switch.

That's what happened in Santa Cruz.

Within a year after they bought battery-powered devices, contractors were able to recoup the cost of the new machines.

Here, the city might provide no interest loans to buy new equipment.

More good news in the hundreds of cities that have banned gas powered or all leaf blowers, yard workers have kept their jobs.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Lynn Domingo.

Thank you very much for the time.

It's been a while since I've been up here, so I might need one more minute.

Sorry.

But it's something very, very important and very, I think we need to make time for this.

And I'm a longtime community activist.

I'm affiliated with a legacy of equality, leadership and organizing, LELO.

I'm here today as a cannabis activist.

I've been part of the medical community and have advocated for marijuana to be legalized since its inception in the early 90s and also in the 2000s.

Unfortunately, my time as a community activist had to come to a short stop because of my declining health.

But today there are three asks from our community.

One is automated expungement.

The other is a commission.

And also the third one escapes me, but skillsets.

And, but as a medical.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Gabrielle Peral.

I wanted to hear that.

I mean, I wanted to hear what Gabriel please.

Good afternoon.

Council members.

My name is Gabriel and I'm the president of the Seattle chapter of the A Philip Randolph Institute.

Just to give a brief of a that followed the Civil Rights Movement and founding of the Sleeping Car Porters Union, First Black Union.

And one of the things that Randolph did in 1941, he was able to push Executive Order 8802, barring discrimination in the defense industry and federal bureaus, and creating the Fair Employment Practice Committee.

And I'm speaking in this.

because we need equity in our community.

We need equity on the workers that are being disenfranchised.

And today I'm supporting UFCW 3000 and the great work that they're doing in trying to bring some equity on the cannabis industry.

And I urge that this committee acknowledge the need for the change that we need in our community and uplift

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Lotta Braithwaite.

Ma'am, we have over 34 speakers signed up.

Madam Clerk, are you speaking to me?

Would you like me to move on to the remote speakers now, or should we finish up with the in-person?

Let's finish up with the in-person.

So did we go from 17 to 34?

We all know we have 17 remote and we have 17 in-person, so.

Right.

Did we finish the in-persons?

No, we're on number eight.

So number nine will be a lot of breath weight.

Thank you.

No, use the other one.

One second.

Try it again.

Hello.

My name is a lot of breath weight here to address the cannabis social equity ordinances.

I'm a former bartender and producer for the bakers and collective, also known as TBC, TBC wants to ensure that the city council is fully aware of the impact that the deliberations taking place today have on the BIPOC community.

As the current conversation dives into how to legislate social equity in the city and state, there needs to be a discussion on the impacts that the lack of access to the current established industry has on the BIPOC community, i.e. the need for individuals to form unofficial markets to sell cannabis products.

It is discouraging to see that the regulators who are specifically tasked with overseeing the implementation of a social equity program are actively shutting down these unofficial markets, with approximately 30% of these unofficial markets, participating, being BIPOC individuals who have created safe space for their community.

TBC strongly believes that the state and city's time will be better spent served getting licenses into the hands of these unofficial market participants so that they can continue to reduce the inequalities BIPOC cannabis users face.

To ensure the success of Washington's and Seattle's mirroring social equity program, it's essential to begin to look towards states that are currently succeeding, such as New York, which created legislation.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Michael Chek.

Good afternoon.

My name is Mike check.

I was formerly a talk show personality at 90.7 KCR, and I also was a videographer and a program director for music inner city here in Seattle, and doing that I was always asked to do extra jobs as a videographer and one of them was to film a corporate meeting one night.

So as I'm sitting in the back of that corporate meeting, I'm listening to everyone talk, but one man stood up and said something that really moved me.

He said, I'm not going to convict young black men of medical or of marijuana convictions anymore.

And it turned out that that was Pete Holmes.

And that was the initial 502 meetings with Allison Holcomb, I believe.

I'm sitting here listening to everyone talk about equity and Seattle is a city of goodwill, but I don't really believe it.

It's just a bunch of talk.

It's hot air to me.

What you guys need to do is move forward with what Seattle says it's gonna do and get these licenses into the right hands.

Thank you for your time.

Our next speaker.

Our next speaker is Brianne Corbray.

We still only have one minute per person.

Are you, Breon?

Yes.

Thank you.

I'm actually Micah Sive speaking for Breon.

He's not feeling well.

Breon Corbett was the first black dispensary owner in 2010, and I was second behind him.

He had three locations, and he was unjustly shut down by the federal government.

He did nothing wrong.

As you have today, it's myself, him, and also Peter.

We are highly frustrated and we've been frustrated, okay?

Our livelihood has been taken away and we want the city to understand that, yes, there's some type of reparations that need to be assessed and need to be needed, okay?

I wanna thank Bruce Harrell once again.

I wanna thank Brianna Thomas and Dan Elder for their hard work during this.

I know it's extremely difficult.

And I also wanna thank the city council as well.

And on a side note, Mr. Lewis, I'm in support of my uncle's a fireman.

He's been a fireman for over 40 years.

So I'm definitely in support of protecting the firemen.

It's very much needed.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alex Zimmerman.

Thank you.

Yeah, I'm ready.

Sieg Heil, my dirty damn Nazi fascist bandit and psychopath, with your mafia principle.

I want to speak about this cannabis personal business or private business or small business.

You know, as a small private business, never German Nazi did this, never Soviet communist did this.

It's idiotic situation.

And I told you a hundred times before, you're more dangerous than Nazis or communists because you're an idiot, because you're a Democrat mafia, and because you destroy Seattle totally, for the Seattle number one fascist city in America, because everything under government control.

I repeat you again, no German Nazis, no Soviet communists unify small businesses.

is idiotic situation.

It gets against America, against constitution and us human rights.

Stand up America!

Our next speaker is Maurice Gordon.

Go ahead and start over, sorry.

You want me to start over again?

Yes.

Good afternoon, everyone to all.

My name is Maurice Gordon.

I was a pioneer in the cannabis industry for a while.

I want to start by saying that we're not anti-union.

Like my comrades said, we are pro-equity, although.

I feel like we as a city, I feel like we can and we need to do a lot better.

I said, we can't keep portraying ourselves as a community if we choose to bar certain individuals from ownership, but allow them to work as security and as bud tenders.

I feel like generational wealth is a key component to the family structure.

I feel like it would be more courageous to take the right course, right and true course of action, and not just a politically expedient one.

The true definition of hell is when a person that you are meets the person that you could have been.

With that being said, good afternoon to everybody.

Our next speaker is Zion Gray-El.

I'm here to talk about the ordinances.

I'm sure we're all familiar what they are for cannabis equity.

I want to say equity is essential.

I fully agree with them on that.

The barriers not only need to be removed, but repairs need to be made to those wrongfully affected by the war on drugs.

Now, I love cannabis.

I smoke it, grow it, sell it, all that.

Pretty much research it.

I mean, I'm into it.

It's my thing.

I have a business degree.

I've been a bud tender for six years.

I've worked at a store when it did sell, and I've lost my job to Zips right down there in Soto.

So I know what it's like.

The language in these ordinances, they protect that.

And I'm thankful for that, I can make that change.

I just want protection for everybody, not just the workers like myself, but the owners as well, because I understand it's very disproportionate.

I just want to say, I am a worker by choice in the industry.

I could move up and there are opportunities, but some people just aren't, it's not their interest.

I don't.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Kristen Wild.

Kristen while.

Hi, my name is Kristen and I'm a union steward for QFC, I was asked by my union to come and talk to you guys about why being a part of a union is so such a good thing and so important to me.

One of the reasons why the union is so important to me, I've had the opportunity to watch UFCW do some amazing things for the city and for the nation, as far as fighting for minimum wage and as far as fighting for pregnancy leave.

But also within the store itself, they also helped Kroger turn around their ideas of Black Lives Matter and wearing masks and things like that.

I had a mask on one day and was told to go home because my mom said black lives matter.

My union came in immediately and fought against that.

And I got paid back the time that I would have had if I was able to work that entire moment.

Unions do such amazing things and we're so much stronger together as people, which is why the unions are just a really good thing for us to have.

Thank you for having me.

Our next speaker is Kathleen Baker.

Hi, I'm Kathleen Baker.

I'm addressing Resolution 32064. I'm quoting from the Seattle Globalist, which was a daily online publication dedicated to elevating diverse voices.

In one such publication, Freddy Dubon is featured.

He is now the Casa Latina Day Workers Center coordinator and the 2019 recipient of the NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award presented by the Seahawks.

The article states, Five years after starting his job with a landscaping crew in the suburbs of Seattle Freddie Dubon decided he'd had enough and called it quits.

The work days were long sometimes 12 hours but a bigger problem was having to inhale exhaust from his gas powered leaf blower.

Eventually Dubon an immigrant from El Salvador said he was getting migraine headaches pretty much every day, and a problem.

that both he and his doctor who examined him attributed to the exhaust belched by the blowers.

The article goes on to say the air pollution puts yet another burden on the nation's roughly 1 million landscaping workers who frequently are low-income immigrants with few job alternatives.

Our next speaker is Beth Derencing.

Hello, my name is Beth Derencing.

Seattle is at a crisis.

Homicides are at record low levels.

Fentanyl deaths of young people are at record levels.

Dead bodies are found on Seattle streets regularly.

Some people say they're almost immune from seeing it, which is horrible.

But the Seattle City Council focuses on punishing crisis pregnancy centers, which are nonprofits helping women and children on a voluntary basis with extremely high positive reviews from clients.

This goes against the First Amendment, and it's written and enforced in a city that's hostile to the pro-life position, which means that it will be enforced unjustly.

There's no reason for this.

Nobody ever, ever, ever goes to a hospital or an ER based on a crisis pregnancy center.

Doesn't happen, there's no risk.

And for the city council to focus on that when there's dead bodies out there and the dead bodies are piling up.

Our next speaker, our last in-person speaker is Matt Edgerton.

Matt Edgerton, I'm a cannabis division director UCW 3000. And I think, you know, I wanna thank Council Member Mosqueda for all of her work on this body of work, as well as the most recent amendment on the needs assessment.

I think there was a lot of, we asked for that after hearing from the community speaking, and I think that it is important for us to move forward together, to start addressed up.

There was a lot of wrongs done.

in the war on drugs, a lot, and a lot of wrong done in the legalization of cannabis as well.

And I think that this is, I'm excited to, you know, be able to sit down.

People were left off the table.

The medical industry was left off the table.

Workers were not at the table when this all took place.

And so I think this is, you know, first steps of putting that table together and starting to actually make policy that makes sense and stop hurting people.

Thanks.

We'll now move on to the remote public commenters starting with Howard Gale.

Remote public commenters please remember to hit star six when you hear that it's your turn to talk.

Thank you.

Yep.

Good afternoon.

Howard Gale with Seattle Stop dot org.

Despite hearing from a King County inquest jury in July that it was Seattle police policy that led to the killing of Charlene Lyles you will now enter a budget season with plans to continue to fund these policies and outcomes with no plans to stem the tide of preventable killings.

More folks experiencing a behavioral health crisis have been killed by police in the decade after John T. Williams than before.

In the coming months and years there will be 15 more King County inquests of SBD killings with over half of those involving circumstances where a person was in severe behavioral health crisis or had no weapon at all.

In all these cases, a jury will come to one of two and only two possible conclusions, that the SPD either killed according to training and policy, or that the SPD violated its training and policy.

Either of those conclusions is a direct condemnation of our failed accountability system, which for decades trains police that a perceived threat is to be met with deadly force that as rapidly and as completely as possible terminates a human life.

Please, we need to start on the road towards civility.

Next speaker is Alina Perez.

Alina hit star six if you haven't yet, please.

Okay, we'll come back to Alina.

Let's go on to Hannah Thompson-Garner, please.

Good afternoon.

My name is Hannah Thompson-Garner.

I'm the director at Northwest Animal Rights Network.

Recently, $20 million in taxpayer money earmarked for infrastructure projects was given to the Seattle Aquarium Bird's New Shark Tank.

City Council is supposed to represent its constituents.

However, we don't feel represented on this issue at all, partly because you spent our money on a project that considerably contributes towards climate change and does nothing for infrastructure issues we care about, like the house's crisis and our crumbling bridges.

Seattleites consider climate change a top priority.

Please spend money on projects countering its negative effects, especially for our Black and Brown community members.

If you do choose to use our money to build this tank, you will also be indicating to taxpayers that funding countermeasures to the climate crisis is only a priority if convenient for City Council, and its business partners and board member associates.

At 325,000 gallons of water, this tank will use huge amounts of energy in its filtration process.

Water must continuously be pumped in from Elliott Bay, heated and filtered, and then must be re-put back into the sound.

You ban gas leaf blowers.

How many leaf blowers need to be banned to make up for the emissions from this aquarium?

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Aileen Fortgang.

I see Aline on there, and I think Aline Star 6. Can you hear me?

Yeah, we can hear you now.

Oh, we could hear you, and now you're muted again.

Maybe try pushing Star 6 one more time.

There you go.

I'm Aline Forking with Humane Voters of Washington.

The animals confined in our zoo and aquarium tanks and cages retain all their wild instincts.

Everything important to them is denied, migrating, mating, foraging, hunting, and running or swimming any distance.

Natural behaviors are simply impossible in a cage or tank.

And for what?

There are no metrics or peer-reviewed scientific research that substantiates the captivity industry's claim that any significant learning happens at the zoo or aquarium.

The captivity industry's own research done by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums found that people's caring about wild animals and caring about wild habitat actually decreased after visiting a zoo.

This council must stop the endless millions of dollars flowing to the zoo from the upcoming Seattle Parks District budget and you can pass a resolution that the aquarium install a non-live experience instead of inhumane shark tank.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Carol Ostrom.

Carol, there you go.

Thank you for considering resolution 32064. My name is Carol Ostrom.

I'm a Seattle resident and a steering committee member for QuietCleanSeattle.org.

Like more than half a million others in Washington, I have asthma.

The CDC says our state is one of the nation's highest levels of asthma, and it's rising.

Each spring and summer, no matter how hot, I have to close up my home to avoid clouds of dust whipped up by gas-powered leaf blowers.

But this is not just dust.

These leaf blowers spew chemicals, cancer-causing toxins such as benzene and formaldehyde, mold, animal feces, and tiny particles that penetrate N95 masks and enter the bloodstream.

These particles are linked to premature death in people with heart or lung disease and to heart attacks, aggravated asthma, and other breathing problems that are very dangerous to older people and children.

But most at risk are the workers who must breathe these toxic fumes for hours on end.

Please pass this resolution.

Our next speaker is Rachel Bjork.

And Rachel, you may need to press star six.

I see she's on, but no star six.

We will come back to Rachel.

So our next speaker is Jake Milan.

Jake.

Yep.

Hi, my name is Jake Millen, and I am a member of District 7 in Seattle.

I was born here 41 years ago, and I would like to communicate that gas leaf blowers ruin communities, and why I urge the Council to pass Resolution 32064. You may ask, but won't landscapers lose jobs if we ban gas leaf blowers?

Absolutely not, because of high gas prices and the advancement of batteries.

In fact, it's exactly the opposite.

They will save money year after year.

What about battery-powered blowers not being powerful enough?

Are you aware the quickest production car in the world at zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.2 seconds is 100% battery-powered?

Modern battery-powered leaf blowers can get 195 miles per hour.

A recent June 22 study showed a 10-month payback for an extremely powerful backpack blower versus a comparable gas blower.

I think we can also agree that most landscapers are overblowing.

Do we really need to blow empty parking lots in the morning?

Please pass Resolution 32064. Thanks.

Our next speaker is Aden Espino Jr.

Hello, Council President Juarez and members of the council.

My name is Adan Espino Jr. and I am the Executive Director of the Craft Cannabis Coalition an association of over 70 cannabis retail stores and end-line producer processors statewide, including half of stores in Seattle.

The CCC greatly appreciated the opportunity to engage with the City Council in cannabis equity work.

We thank and appreciate the work of Council Members Mosqueda and Council Member Nelson to ensure the upcoming cannabis needs assessment process is fair and unbiased toward any particular stakeholder.

And we look forward to continuing to partner in the next steps of this process.

While we may not love every detail in the cannabis equity package, the CCC has always recognized the equity issues in the industry and are ready to do our part to advance equity.

We greatly appreciate working with the mayor's office and the committee in seeing the conversation moves towards directly addressing equity and bringing all stakeholders together.

We hope the ongoing process will continue to be neutral, fair, and equity focused as we collaborate on the needs assessment, developing solutions.

Our next speaker is Shelly Anderson.

Go ahead, Shelly.

Hi, Council President Jorge and members of the Council, my name is Julie Anderson, and I'm the Deputy Director of Craft Cannabis Coalition, an association of over 70 cannabis stores, including half of the stores in Seattle.

Craft Cannabis Coalition has been a part of the transformative work in the state level to advance equity in the cannabis industry, such as proposing and advocating for cannabis tax revenue, to be reinvested directly back into communities that were ravaged by the failed war on drugs.

We're excited to take part in this work and to the City of Seattle and we're excited to work with the city and community to create truly equitable industry.

It's here that I wish to emphasize where we hope the next steps of the process to go.

Centering the voices and the needs of the Black and Brown communities that have been fighting for equity.

We look forward to working together to bring justice to the black and brown communities that have been fighting to rebuild after the horrendous war on drugs.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Claude Burr-fect.

Claude?

Hey, Claude, go ahead.

Yes, my name is Claude Burr-fect.

I'm the first vice president of the Seattle-King County NAACP.

Question that I have is how can we talk of equity in the cannabis industry for black and brown people when we lack ownership in the dispensers in the Seattle area and across the state of Washington?

Also, I'm talking less than 1% of the cannabis black and brown is owners or have ownership of the dispensers.

If we are talking equity in the cannabis industry, then we need to talk about how black and brown people can be more involved in the industry.

And I want to give a shout out to USCW 3000 and MLK Label for pushing cannabis industry for black and brown people.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Danica Adams.

Go ahead, Danica.

Hello, my name is Danica.

I'm the advocacy director for the Freedom Project and will be addressing the cannabis policy, specifically the expungement portion.

We support the expungement portion of this proposal and hope the city will vote yes on this portion of the initiative.

The Black community has been directly impacted by the war on drugs, and we're 2.8 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than whites in Washington state.

And these laws were used by law enforcement and prosecutors to directly target Black communities.

The city should work and fund Black-led and directly impacted organizations like the Freedom Project, who are expunging records through our legal aid services called Beyond the Blindfold of Justice.

Communities should be leading these conversations and making the decisions in every aspect of this policy.

We as a community have the answers and we have the solutions, and we encourage the city council to vote yes on this portion of this proposal, as well as a large portion of the commission, including cannabis workers directly impacted community members in our organization.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Linda Cox.

Star six, Linda.

There you go.

Hi.

My name is Linda Cox, I'm speaking on resolution 32064 to ban leaf blowers.

I've lived in Seattle since 1990 when there were no leaf blowers and now half my neighbors use them.

I've asked them to stop, explain their impact, but they continue to use them because they can and it's legal.

The first available models were to be operated by only licensed trained professionals, but somehow it didn't get implemented and now they're used everywhere.

It seems they're mostly used to blow debris off of sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots.

These leaves provide protection and habitat for insects.

The insects pollinate plants, decompose debris, and are food for birds, mammals, and amphibians.

Leaf blowers, both electric and gas, blow off the leaf splitter that is needed for healthy soil.

As the leaves break down, they provide nutrients to the soil and help retain soil moisture.

With climate change upon us, and our warmer and drier summers, it becomes even more important to hold the moisture in the soil, so less watering.

Please pass the resolution.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Key Porter.

Hi, my name is Key Porter.

I'm a medical cannabis consultant with the Central District Cannabis Co. and I've had the privilege to collaborate with several people in the cannabis industry, cannabis workers, several organizations, and even city council members to define what cannabis social equity could be in Washington and present a piece of legislation that would reform, redistribute, and restore the narrative within communities that were disproportionately impacted from those incarcerated from cannabis-related offenses to those that had cannabis businesses that were shut down and want to get back into the industry.

I'm very proud of the community that was built with trying to get cannabis social equity a reality in Washington.

And I fully support cannabis social equity legislation and support the new generation of BIPOC cannabis business owners.

Thank you so much for your time.

And I hope that you sincerely consider this piece of action

We'll go back now to Alina Perez.

If Alina Perez is still online, it's star six.

I see that she's still, there you go, Alina.

Hi, my name is Alina Perez with Puget Sound Sage, speaking in support of the cannabis equity policies.

Despite Seattle often leading in labor standards nationally, we still see BIPOC workers being left behind time and time again, especially in emerging industries.

in terms of their pay safe and just working conditions and a voice on the job.

Today you have the opportunity to address serious equity concerns around how the billion-dollar cannabis industry in Washington was created enriching a small number of people at the expense of black workers and communities hit hardest by the criminalization of cannabis.

A fundamental value we need to see uplifted in the cannabis industry is democracy in the workplace.

Successorship should respect and uphold the decisions of cannabis workers to unionize.

It's time to take action.

Please pass the cannabis equity policies today.

Thank you for your time.

Our last speaker, if she's online still, is Rachel Bjork.

Let's see.

I don't see Rachel.

Oh, yeah, I do.

Rachel, star six.

Hello?

Yep.

Hi, my name is Rachel Bjork, and I am asking for the city council to please fund proper things, bridge repairs, better roads, park improvements.

These things all fall under the category of critical infrastructure projects and things that I as a taxpayer would be happy to pay for as part of the real estate excise tax.

What I am very disappointed at is that you have chosen instead to fund a shark tank that will house warm water aquatic animals over so many other necessary projects.

You have numerous bridges that need repairs, parks that need their bathrooms reopened, and potholes to fix.

This is a pretty large list of projects that ought to be more important than helping a private entity pay for a shark tank.

How are you going to pay for all the other things if you're loaning out money to private entities?

Please City Council, do not keep throwing good money after bad by funding something that has no business being on our waterfront.

Thank you for your time.

That wraps up our list, Council President.

Thank you, Jodi, and thank you folks who called in and who also appeared to give public comments.

about the seven matters that are actually on our agenda today.

So we have reached the end of public comment and we will move on to the different sections of our agenda today.

Moving on to adoption of the introduction and referral calendar.

If there's no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.

Not seeing or hearing any objection, it is indeed adopted.

Moving on to adoption of the agenda.

There's no objection, the agenda, today's agenda will be adopted.

And again, not seeing or hearing an objection, the agenda is adopted.

Moving on to adoption of the consent calendar.

As you all know, if you want something pulled, this would be the time to do that.

My understanding is there isn't anything, is there anyone who wants to separate any matter from this consent calendar and address it at the end of the agenda?

I'm going to briefly state what I have.

Thank you, Madam Clerk, for putting in here, which I usually handwrite, but I'm really glad you've been doing this for me.

I want to briefly go over what are the items on the consent calendar, which are also on the online agenda.

Very briefly, the minutes of August 16th, payroll bills, Council Bill 120407, 120408, and 120409. Then we have a clerk file, 314468, And then we have Council Bill 120406. And I also understand from Council Memorandum Committee, the Neighborhoods, Education, Civil Rights and Culture Committee, that we have eight appointments, two appointments to the Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy Oversight Committee, two appointments to the Seattle Disability Commission and four appointments to the Seattle LGBTQ Committee.

So that is what is on our consent calendar.

Okay, so not seeing anyone, I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the consent calendar.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the consent calendar?

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

We've reached the part in our agenda where we go to committee reports.

And my understanding is there are seven items on today's calendar and I believe items one and six have an amendment to them and we'll address those when we get there.

So let's start with item number one.

Will the clerk please read item number one into the record?

The report of the Finance and Housing Committee, agenda item one, council bill 120391, an ordinance establishing the city's commitments and plans for supporting cannabis workers and supporting communities disproportionately harmed by the federal war on drugs.

The committee recommends the council pass as amended the bill.

Councilor Mosqueda, you're the chair of the committee, so I will hand the floor over to you.

And I understand that you also have an amendment.

So I will just, I think the way we'll do it is I will allow you to start with your amendment and then we'll go back to general comments and then open the floor.

Does that sound okay?

That sounds great, Council President.

Okay, go ahead.

I understand you have an amendment.

Thank you, Council President.

And if I might, I'd like to try to speak to all three bills together.

So if I could be offered the chance to speak to all three and then go to the amendment, that would be great for the first one.

Okay, let's do that.

Then that's actually we'll, we'll save some time.

Go ahead.

Okay, wonderful.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

I'm so excited to be here.

This suite of legislation came to us from all of you.

In December of last year, we had the Finance and Administrative Services racial equity team come and present to our committee at the Finance and Housing Committee.

And they talked about how since 2018, they largely people of color led staffers from within our finance and administrative services department had been hearing from community that we needed to do better.

We needed to do better for the workers in the cannabis industry, to do better for employers, largely black and brown owned businesses that had been harmed by past city policy as noted in public comment.

that we could step up in this moment when we look at other jurisdictions, both cities and states, who had taken not only the step to legalize cannabis, but had taken the step to legalize cannabis and add an equity approach to licensing, to supporting workers, and to supporting those who've been previously harmed by the war on drugs.

This is an opportunity for us as a city to step up and recognize that over 10 years ago, we legalized cannabis in our region, but we fell short.

We fell short when it came to making sure that as we allow for legalization to move forward, that we centered workers, business owners, and communities who are black and brown who were the target of the war on drugs at the national level.

from being part of the folks who received the most benefits from legalization.

We fell short 10 years ago by not including equity in our approach to making sure that Black business owners, workers, workers of color, and our community was at the forefront of how we implemented policies.

So we talk a lot about the past war on drugs, the federal policies, but we have to take ownership that has been called upon us from the public speakers today to who we've heard from over the last year to act at the city level to repair.

To act to repair is an act of reparations, and this is one small step towards repairing those past public policy harms that were caused at the city level.

I want to acknowledge that these three bills today are small steps.

They are small steps in the scheme of the harm caused by the war on drugs, and frankly, the harm caused by not centering equity in our approach 10 years ago.

And I'm excited, though, that we have a suite of legislation that I believe brings us together to build upon what the state legislature is doing as they think about creating a licensing approach that centers equity, as they work to include the voices of those who've been harmed by the past war on drugs and our local and state policies.

We are building upon that to act with urgency in this moment.

Yes, late, but in this moment to say, as the state moves forward with equity licensing, we need to do our part to layer on top of that.

We are very excited that we have a city cohesion moment.

We are coming together here today with the mayor's office, with council, with community, with workers and business owners, and centering our discussions here today on those who've been disproportionately harmed by past public policies, by righting those wrongs in some way today.

there is a lot of work yet to do.

As you've heard public commenters say today, more work will be needed.

And I'm excited that we have been able to take an important step today to put more concrete steps into those next step actions.

We greatly appreciate the mayor, Mayor Harreld, and his team for sending down legislation, and I'm thankful for my colleagues and all of the work that you have done to make amendments and enhancements so that we have greater opportunity for transparency and inclusion.

We've added greater certainty to who will be sitting on the task force so that when that task force is brought together, we have true representation from workers, community, and business owners previously harmed by the war on drugs.

We've taken steps to make sure that there's greater improvements in the amendment that we will consider momentarily.

to make sure that a needs assessment truly centers what the industry needs for both creating workforce training opportunities and greater stability for the industry on what the best practices say and to take us away from the fray of the conversation that has evolved.

What we are doing today is bringing us back together to focus on equity, to focus on opportunity, and to focus on inclusion.

I'm thankful as well that many of the folks who testified today have really helped us bring this policy forward.

You have said let's focus on the areas of common ground.

Let's focus on where we need to take next steps together.

and we are finding the opportunities today to really help repair some of those past harms by putting this into statute.

But the hard work is yet to come.

I had one person tell me today, the proof will be in the next steps, in where the funding comes from, in how quickly the task force is convened, and how quickly those equity licenses get out, and how fast we can create opportunities for workers to have greater ownership, opportunity, and liberation within their places of employment as well.

So I'm excited to talk a little bit more, Council President, as we close out the debate on the bills here today.

But I really wanted to bring us together in this moment to talk about where I think there is common ground.

I think today is about unity.

This legislation was always about trying to come together and find opportunities to repair past harm.

I believe that we are doing that today in the base legislation, the three pieces of legislation, and the amendment that we have in front of us to help undo some of those past harms.

and to really make sure that as we bring together black-owned businesses, brown-owned businesses, workers, workers of color, and community, we are collectively working towards that greater goal in unison today.

So with that, Council President, I do have an amendment in conjunction with my colleague, Councilmember Nelson, to again find another opportunity for Common Ground to help us move forward in this monumentous I would like to move amendment A version 1 to council bill 120391. Thank you.

It has been moved and seconded.

Councilmember Mosqueda, do you want to address this amendment before we move to open it up to the floor and

Okay, Councilor Nielsen.

So our constituents want two things from us.

They want us to listen to them and they want us to work together, despite differences sometimes, and incorporate their needs as we work together to make policy that does right by them and the city as a whole.

And this joint amendment does both.

I thank Council Member Mosqueda for collaborating with me on this amendment in response to the community members that this legislation will benefit.

I voted against this bill in committee because I've always believed it's not appropriate for any one interest to have an outsized influence on the needs assessment, which will set the roadmap for policies going forward.

This amendment will ensure that it's conducted by a neutral third party, and I'll support the base legislation if my colleagues join me in passing it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Nelson.

So is there anything else that you want to add to this, or is there any other comments from any colleagues regarding the amendment before I let Council Member Mosqueda wrap it up and we go to a vote on the amendment?

Okay, I'm not seeing any.

other comments or questions from my colleagues.

So with that, Council Member Muscata, do you have any wrapping up comments on the amendment before we go to the final vote?

Sure.

Thank you very much, Council President.

Thank you very much, Council Member Nelson, for your collaboration and joint work on this amendment.

As you heard from public testimony today, both from people in the room and people who called in as well, we heard from worker representatives and industry representatives who collectively together said that they support this amendment.

They support it because it identifies common ground and an effort to move us forward on the needs assessment.

and I appreciate that this amendment will allow for us to make sure that we are not in a position where any piece of the legislation in front of us is dividing community even further, driving workers or business owners on other sides of the table when we know we have collective interests in creating greater greater stability in the industry and greater opportunity, especially for folks of color, whether that's business owners or workers.

I'm especially excited as well that we are helping to bridge the divide by making sure that communities of color who had been on the front line of receiving the harms of the war on drugs are not further being divided by wedges.

And we are putting forward this legislation today with the amendment towards the emphasis on creating opportunities to identify that common ground.

I know that folks in this room have commented on this, so I want to lift this up as well, but what I heard from business owners, current and past business owners, what I've heard from workers, both workers themselves and worker representatives, is that this is a monumentous opportunity to take a step forward And we want to make sure that this is not moving into a proxy debate about the merits of either nonprofits or unions or workers or businesses or apprenticeship programs or anything.

This is really about coming together and finding harmony.

I think that the business owners and worker representatives have said, let's not use I'm excited about the opportunity to partner with you.

I'm excited about the opportunity to partner with you.

I'm excited about the opportunity to partner with you.

I'm excited about the opportunity to partner with you.

I'm excited about the opportunity to partner with you.

I'm excited about the opportunity to partner with you.

I'm excited about the opportunity to partner with you.

I'm excited about the opportunity to partner with you.

and for us to not engage on the council side and proxy debates.

This is really about finding that common ground and combining the best elements of both of our amendments.

So thank you for your partnership and thank you to the community on the entire spectrum of the community who has provided support for this amendment today for the scope of the needs assessment.

I urge your support as well.

Thank you.

So that was our comments on the Amendment A. I'm going to reserve my comments till after we do the vote on this.

So let's do this.

So will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment A?

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

So the motion carries.

The amendment is adopted.

And the amended bill is now before us.

Are there any comments on the amended bill?

I would like to go last, just out of courtesy for our colleagues before we vote on the base legislation.

OK, so I would like to make some few comments on the amended bill, which actually applies to the three council bills that came out of Council Member Mosqueda's committee, 120391, 392, and 393. I also want to thank those that came to public comment.

I'm sorry, Council Member Mosqueda?

Council President, I just wanted to make sure that I know you said you wanted to speak last, so I didn't want to cut you off, but I do have a few more comments before we wrap, but I didn't know if you're going to come back to me, so I just wanted to make sure I wasn't interrupting the flow.

Yeah, you're interrupting my flow, but that's okay.

So why don't we let me get this out, and then I was to let you be the closer?

And then I was going to go to a vote.

How's that sound?

That sounds great.

I'm sorry about that.

That's OK.

Just got in the middle of my flow, girl.

I'll let it go.

OK, let me get back on this because this has been going on quite a while.

And I really want to thank Councilor Mosqueda and Councilor Nelson.

And a big shout out to Dustin Lambrou.

all of us working together behind the scenes for the common goal and the common good that you heard Casper Mosqueda and Casper Nelson say, that this is a monumental piece of legislation regarding real cannabis equity.

And when we have something like this in front of us, it's always our intention that we start with legislation like this to be foundational, that it's strong, it's sturdy, it's defensible, and we know that we are going to add to it as we evolve.

It is an iterative process.

It doesn't just stop with today.

I'm guessing, knowing the work ethic of Councilmember Muscata and Councilmember Nelson, we are going to see a lot more coming.

down the pike to make this legislation more powerful, more effective, and also go into what a lot of people in public comment said, having Black business owners, minority business owners, actually owning, having capital, and having a store.

And so let me just say this very quickly, because we had made a point to go back and look at the schools that are in Seattle, the University of Washington, South Seattle College, Seattle Central College, their Cannabis Institute, and of course, North Seattle College.

And so my feeling had always been that these colleges, particularly Seattle Central College, is already hosts the Cannabis Institute and can serve and does serve and will serve and will continue to serve.

And we will continue to support as a business incubator for training and eventually careers across the cannabis industry, and as we say, from seed to sale.

As we know, a law, a big piece of this is that until we legalize marijuana nationally, until we can lift and pass the Fair Banking Act, so everybody can have access to capital to open up any business, this particular business, obviously, with those banking reforms, then we will start actually seeing people being able to have access to capital, to brick and mortar, to do a business plan and have businesses where they build wealth and have the legacy of that wealth for their family and their community.

I come from a really interesting background of working with tribes in the day when what we were doing was called a contraband economy.

We were doing gaming and cigarettes and fireworks and we had to work hard to quote unquote legitimize that economy, but part of legitimizing it in the world of Congress in the state in the federal law wasn't just about owning a gaming Institute, it was about us owning it running it.

hiring our people, training our people, because what I'm concerned about is that when we do legalize marijuana, and this is going to be a multi-billion dollar industry, that this city is poised and ready to go for people, particularly those that, as you all know, were affected by the war on drugs.

And I used to represent people that went to jail for growing marijuana, using marijuana, that they are part of this booming economic change.

And it goes beyond just, and nothing against those that do sell, but this goes beyond just working behind the counter or doing security.

So actually owning the business.

And the other side that I wanna just promote for our colleges and universities in the city of Seattle, if you decide to go to Seattle Central College and work in any of these programs, the Cannabis Institute or any institute, The front, any college like this is the front door to higher education.

So you're not just going there maybe just for the cannabis, but hopefully it opens up a whole new other world for all kinds of other businesses.

Because that's what we want.

We want people going to Seattle Central College and North Seattle College and all the South Seattle, or Seattle Central, Seattle South College, North Seattle, UW, wherever.

Because we want our people educated.

We want them to be able to take part in an industry that they were formerly not only excluded from, but incarcerated for.

So I really want to commend Dustin Lambrow for the work that he has done.

I want to really commend Council Member Mosqueda and Council Member Nelson for working so hard behind the scenes to bring this forward.

Because I know before I leave here in the next year and a half, that we are going to see more, use Council Member Mosqueda's favorite word, more robust legislation to add to this base legislation to be that city that provides that equity that we talk about all the time.

So those are my remarks and I'm happy to support this.

And before we go to the vote, I am now going to let Council Member Mosqueda wrap this up and then we will go to the vote on the amended bill.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you very much, Council President, and thank you for your support for the legislation from the beginning.

I really appreciate your interest in continuing to move forward on this.

I also want to thank Council Member Herbold, who has been working in this area for a long time and has been innovative in this policy area and has been very supportive as well.

Colleagues, I mentioned that we started this conversation in December of last year in my committee, but that you all in community have been talking about and demanding action for much longer.

I also want to talk about the urgency of why now.

We did have a discussion in December of last year, led by the racial equity team from the Finance and Administrative Services Department, who have been talking about their work since 2018. but nothing had happened.

Nothing would have happened again this year if you had not been calling for something.

I heard from folks, including community of color-led organizations, UFCW 3000, workers, budtenders who you've heard from throughout the last year, and families who have been harmed by the war on drugs, and business owners, Black-owned business owners, who called on us to do something.

It was the community large coalition, a large coalition that included USCW 3000, that said we need action this year.

That's why we had three meetings, excuse me, three months' worth of meetings at the beginning of the year, and because of the interest in this, we broadened out the table even further, and we had three months' worth of action on this now.

These conversations, the demand for action is culminating in today's vote.

A small step, again, I want to reiterate, a small but important step, towards working towards reparation, repairing the harm caused by the war on drugs, by making sure that we're centering folks of color, including workers and business owners, including the voices in the room that we heard today from business owners and workers.

And we are acting today, which must be followed up by action in the future, must be followed up by funding in the budget, must be followed up by quickly convening the task force and the needs assessment so we can continue to build on the policies that are outlined in these three pieces of legislation.

Everyone who testified today in some way talked about the value of unions, the value of workers, and supporting workers within this industry.

Everyone here today talked about the need to support small business owners, especially black business owners, folks of color business owners.

And everyone here today spoke about the importance of undoing those past harms caused by public policy at the city level.

These three pieces of legislation today act on all three of those calls to action.

This is a monumentous moment.

We must continue to take steps forward on this path towards greater equity.

We will continue to do that because of the call from all of you, from the black and brown business owners, from the workers in the cannabis industry on the front line, for the call from the community organizations and families who've been harmed by the past war on drugs.

Your call for greater equity, opportunity, and access and participation in this growing sector in the cannabis industry is only just beginning by the acts and the votes that we take today.

So I look forward to working with you as we continue to take more steps towards greater equity.

And I want to thank a few folks.

Council President, it wouldn't be me without doing so.

I want to thank Mayor O'Haral and his team.

I want to thank the incredible work of Brianna and Dan Eder, but also Devin and Gerald Hankerson before them who were in our first few meetings.

I want to thank UFCW 3000. I want to thank the Freedom Project.

I want to thank Black Excellence in Cannabis and Emerald City Collective.

I want to thank the African American Affairs Commission and the city staff who worked on that racial equity toolkit that I mentioned from the Finance and Administrative Services Department, including Rick Demmere and the entire team who worked on the licensing and equity approach, including Michael Wells and so many others who were in those first few meetings.

There was probably 25 of us or so in those first few meetings.

And again, thanks to central staff, Amy Gore, Jasmine Marwaha, and Lisa Kaye, who you saw do the presentations in the last few months.

And to my staff, Sejal Parikh, who's serving as chief of staff, who really took over this body of work in the last few months, She helped us get this over the finish line with this collaborative approach, and I really want to thank, as well, Aretha Basu, who is now working in community organizations on equity issues and led our initial work within our department.

Thank all of you for your participation today, recognizing there's much more work to come.

Thank you.

With that, I understand Councilmember Nielsen has a few words that she'd like to share.

Well, are we going to This is only on the last bill, so I'm fine holding my comments until that.

Are we going to move each one separately?

Yes, we are.

What we're going to do next, I thought that you wanted to have any closing statement before we go to a vote on the passage of the bill as amended.

So if there's anything right now, because then after we vote, we're going to move to the second bill.

That's fine.

I'm sorry, I can't hear you, Councilor Nielsen.

I'll just hold it until the last one.

Okay, let's do that.

All right, thank you.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill as amended?

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes as amended.

The chair will sign it.

And Madam Clerk, will you please affix my signature to the amended legislation on my behalf.

With that, we will move to item number two, which is the second item of the three regarding cannabis equity.

Madam Clerk, will you please read item two into the record?

And the item two, council bill 120392, an ordinance relating to licensing cannabis businesses in Seattle, establishing social equity applicant criteria for cannabis businesses, setting fees for cannabis businesses, expanding the purposes for which a cannabis business, excuse me, license may be issued in the future, updating references in the code to cannabis, and amending chapter 6.500 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

The committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

Thank you.

Council Member Mosqueda.

I included my comments in the earlier discussion.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you.

Does anyone else have any comments on item number two before we go to a vote?

Okay.

Not seeing any.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

Moving on to item number three, which is the last of the three regarding cannabis equity.

Madam Clerk, can you please read item three into the record?

Agenda item three, Council Bill 120393, an ordinance relating to employment in Seattle, adding a new chapter 8.38 to the Seattle Municipal Code and amending sections 3.02.125 and 14.20.2025 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you.

Councilor Muscat, I know you said at the top of the hour that you had addressed all three.

Is there anything else you'd like to share before I hand it over to Council Member Nelson?

No, thank you, Council President.

My comments were included.

Thank you.

Council Member Nelson.

Thank you very much.

So I voted for this bill in committee but I've kind of gone back and forth because I think it's overreach for the city to dictate the hiring and retention practices of employers and because requiring new cannabis business owners to hire the workers employed by the previous owner could prevent the new owner from hiring employees of color for the first six months.

But ultimately, the real job security depends on Seattle's cannabis businesses thriving.

And the biggest problem right now is the federal cannabis prohibition, which makes this industry especially vulnerable to crime and financial risk.

So I'm glad we'll be working with our delegations to fix this problem federally and give our industry a fighting chance to thrive and survive.

In the meantime, one of the functions of the needs assessment is to gather information on employee demographics, which will enable us to make data-driven policy decisions going forward.

So like I said, I've had some ambivalence, but in the spirit of collaboration and absent opposition from cannabis retail owners, I'll be supporting this bill again today.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else that would like to address this before we go to a vote on item number three?

Okay, not seeing any.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Councilmember Herbold?

Yes.

Councilmember Lewis?

Yes.

Councilmember Morales?

Yes.

Councilmember Mosqueda?

Aye.

Councilmember Nelson?

Aye.

Councilmember Peterson?

Aye.

Councilmember Sawant?

Yes.

Councilmember Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Juarez?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes, the chair will sign it, and the clerk, well, will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

And congratulations, Council Member Mosqueda, Council Member Nelson, and a big shout out to our friend, Mr. Dustin Lambrow.

It's a pretty big day, BFD.

Okay, so moving along on the agenda, we are gonna move to Neighborhoods, Education, Civil Rights, and Cultural Committee, item number four, which, Madam Clerk, will you please read item number four into the record?

Report of the Neighborhoods, Education, Civil Rights, and Culture Committee, Agenda Item 4, Council Bill 120399, an ordinance relating to limited services pregnancy centers, prohibiting false and misleading advertising by limited services pregnancy centers, and adding a new Chapter 7.32 to the Seattle Municipal Code.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you.

Council Member Morales, I understand that obviously you're the chair of this committee, but your co-sponsor on this is Council Member Herbold as well.

So do you want to, are you both sharing the opening of this or how would you want to do this?

I am happy to get started.

And then if Council Member Herbold wants to make some remarks as well, that would be great.

Okay, good.

The floor is yours.

Okay, well thank you very much.

Colleagues, this is the third bill.

We are presenting in an effort to make sure that we are protecting folks in Seattle who are seeking abortion care.

This bill would establish false advertising prohibitions, specifically that apply to crisis pregnancy centers, limited service pregnancy centers.

These are service centers that don't actually provide access to abortion care to a range of reproductive health care services, but advertise that they do.

And so we would establish prohibitions on false advertising.

and established an enforcement system, including penalties.

So if you don't know, crisis pregnancy centers are often promoted as legitimate alternative to abortion care.

They in fact outnumber health care, real health care in the state by two to one.

But they don't in fact provide medical services that require any sort of medical licensure.

They provide sort of your basic drugstore pregnancy test and ultrasounds, but really ultrasounds for the purpose of having a photograph.

They aren't ultrasounds that can be used to accurately determine a stage of pregnancy or the health of a pregnancy.

So we do have a Washington state code that regulates health care facilities, but these kinds of service centers really try to avoid being subject to that statute by not having actual medical facilities, medical providers.

So we are trying to establish with this bill requirements that if they do not actually provide care, they cannot advertise that they do.

As I said, there is no mechanism right now at the state or local level to address and correct the kind of deceptive practices that these entities engage in.

I do want to offer Council Member Herbold a chance to speak as well.

I thank her for her co-sponsorship.

I want to thank her staff, Christina Kotsubos, and I want to appreciate the collaboration and partnership to ensure access and safety for abortion services and reproductive health care.

And I do also want to thank Kim Clark from Legal Voice for her leadership to preserve the rights of those who are seeking the kind of information that they need to get safe abortion care in Washington state.

And also want to thank Pro-Choice Washington and Planned Parenthood.

and I'm happy to pass it to my co-sponsor, Councilmember Herbold.

Thank you.

My understanding is Councilmember Herbold is good.

Okay.

Is there any other comments from my constituents, our constituents, before we move to the vote?

Okay, not seeing any.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Councilmember Herbold?

Yes.

Councilmember Lewis?

Yes.

Councilmember Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Clerk.

Aye.

If you call the roll again on Council Member Mosqueda, that would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

I thought I heard her, but I guess not.

Okay, so with that, the bill passes, the general sign it, and Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Morales, and thank you, Council Member Herbold, for bringing this forward.

Moving along on our agenda to item number five.

I understand this is Council Member Peterson, Council Member Sawant from the Sustainability and Renters' Rights Committee, where Council Member Sawant is the chair.

Madam Clerk, will you please read item number five into the record?

The report of the Sustainability and Renters' Rights Committee, Agenda Item 5, Resolution 32064, a resolution declaring the City Council's intent to phase out gas-powered leaf blowers, establishing goals, and identifying actions to meet these goals.

The committee recommends the resolution be adopted as amended.

Thank you.

Councilmember Sawant, you are the chair of this committee and I understand that Councilmember Peterson is the sponsor.

So I'm going to assume that you will speak first and then we hand it over to Councilmember Peterson or however you deem appropriate.

Thank you, Council President Juarez.

I apologize, I'm not able to be on camera.

I'm outdoors right now.

But yes, this is a bill from Councilmember Peterson.

And as the clerk correctly pointed out, the committee voted unanimously to approve this.

So I will turn it over to Council Member Peterson for any further comments.

Thank you.

So you're not outside with a gas powered leaf blower, are you?

No, I am not.

all right councilmember peterson sponsor of this bill i mean my god thank you council president and thank you chair savant and i'm grateful to the sustainability committee for unanimously recommending this resolution to rid seattle of harmful gasoline-fueled leak blowers While increasing community safety and reducing homelessness will continue as priority issues for Seattle, I'm confident City Hall has the bandwidth to address this public health and environmental issue as well.

The science is clear.

These fossil fuel machines with their toxic fumes and lung-damaging debris harm the workers who operate them and the communities that endure them.

As part of our research, we compiled an extensive list of information sources that are now part of the legislative record, and I want to thank the graduate students from the University of Washington's Evans School for skillfully supplementing our research, and for the City Council of Washington, D.C.

for showing us how they got it done in the other Washington.

The public opinion is clear.

In just the past 48 hours, dozens of residents took time during the Labor Day weekend to send emails in favor of the resolution.

I appreciate all the public speakers today.

That added to the dozens of emails we received last month.

An informal survey of my constituents last month showed an overwhelming majority want to outright ban gas-powered leaf blowers.

The resolution has raked in a variety of support from organizations, including the Environmental Justice Organization, the nonprofit 350 Seattle, the 46 legislative district Democrats endorsed it and the Seattle Times editorial board this morning.

The trend across the nation is clear.

More than 100 jurisdictions have banned or phasing out gasoline-fueled leaf blowers.

While Seattle prides itself on being a leader on many issues, we are too far behind on addressing the harms of leaf blowers.

Burlington, Vermont, Washington, D.C., all of California have left us in the dust.

I'm confident that our Seattle government departments that care about reducing pollution, that care about protecting workers, and that have the power to stop using gas-powered leaf blowers will be inspired to act expeditiously to implement this resolution to make real progress on this environmental and public health concern.

As we make the city government lead by example, there will be plenty of time for the private market to follow.

whether that's switching to electric and battery-powered leaf blowers, using a rake, or just letting the leaves decompose naturally.

I look forward to working with the mayor's office and city departments who are the first to craft the city budget proposals so that we can get faster results in 2023 and 2024 on this important public health and environmental imperative.

This resolution is consistent with past policy statements from the city council, but our resolution amplifies them.

The resolution also updates and expands this effort to spur additional action.

Fall is coming.

The season of falling leaves is upon us.

The harmful sound, the toxic fumes, the filthy debris of these terrible machines.

Colleagues, this issue has been delayed for too long by the pandemic.

Our resolution is consistent with past policy statements, and it's needed to make progress to finally rid our city of these deafening and dirty fossil fuel machines.

Please join me in voting yes today.

Thank you.

Wow.

Okay.

So does anyone have any comments regarding this legislation before we go to a vote?

I don't think anyone can top that speech.

If someone wants to give it a shot, not seen any.

Councilor Sawant, did you want to add anything before we go to a vote?

No, nothing.

Yeah.

I think Councilor Peterson made very eloquent points.

Yes, he did.

Okay, so with that, Councilor Peterson, you don't have any more wrap-up comments if we can go right to a vote?

Okay, great.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution?

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The resolution is adopted.

The chair will sign it.

And Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the legislation resolution on my behalf.

So moving on in our agenda to item number six, we have an item on the Transportation and Seattle Public Utilities Committee.

Madam Clerk, will you please read item six into the record?

The report of the Transportation and Seattle Public Utilities Committee, agenda item six, council bill 120384, an ordinance relating to the South Park Bridge Project, authorizing the director of the Seattle Department of Transportation to acquire, accept, and record on behalf of the city of Seattle a quick claim deed from King County for property situated in lots nine through 13, block 37 South Park.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you.

Council Member Peterson, you're the chair of the committee, but I also understand that Council Member Herboldt has an amendment as well.

Would you like to give the kind of opening kind of statement and then we'll hop over to Council Member Herboldt?

Go ahead.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, this Council Bill 120384 would enable our Seattle Department of Transportation to accept from King County two parcels of property related to the South Park Bridge project.

This is a relatively straightforward bill.

Enabling the city to accept this property is necessary to comply with the interlocal agreement entered councilmember Herbold.

I am a member of councilmember Herbold.

I am a member of councilmember Herbold.

Is there a second?

Oh, got a second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to amend the bill as presented on Amendment A. Councilor Herbold, would you like to speak to your amendment?

Absolutely.

Thank you so much.

This amendment directs the Seattle Department of Transportation to engage other city departments and South Park stakeholders on whether or not the accepted property could be used for other public purposes.

Great.

Thank you.

I'm moving as fast as I can, Councilor Herbold.

Are there any comments on Amendment A?

Not seeing any, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment A?

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Aye.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Juarez?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries.

The amendment is adopted.

And now the amended bill is before council.

Are there any further comments on the amended bill before we move to a vote?

Not seeing or hearing any.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill as amended?

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes as amended.

The chair will sign it.

Madam Clerk, please affect my signature to the legislation.

Okay, so moving on to our last item, item number seven.

Will the clerk please read item seven into the record?

Agenda item seven, Council Bill 120395, an ordinance relating to Seattle Public Utilities declaring certain real property rights as being surplus to the city's municipal utility needs.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you.

Council Member Peterson.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, this Council Bill 120395 would enable Seattle Public Utilities to grant minor easements to the City of Renton to enable public roadway work for utilities, storm drainage, and installation of traffic control equipment.

The Cedar River Freshwater Pipeline, which is owned by Seattle Public Utilities, flows under Rainier Avenue in the City of Renton.

This Council Bill was recommended unanimously by transportation and Seattle Public Utilities Committee.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any other comments before we move to a vote?

Councilor Peterson, I'm guessing you have no closing comments.

You're good?

Yes, thank you.

Thank you.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

All right, that concludes our committee reports.

So moving on on our agenda, we had no items that were removed from the consent calendar, so we can move on from that.

I do not see that there are any other resolutions for the introduction and adoption today.

I don't see any of that, okay.

Any other business before council?

Madam President.

Yes, Councilor Mosqueda.

Thank you, Madam President.

I am excited that we are going to have a Finance and Housing Committee meeting tomorrow on Wednesday at 930, as we usually do.

But I did want to flag for the viewing public that I will need to be conducting this meeting remotely from home.

because of another commitment.

So I appreciate that Farideh Cuevas will be clerking this.

As always, we do allow for in-person testimony, but I just really wanted to strongly encourage anybody who happened to want to come to Finance and Housing to please dial in remotely as I will not be there.

And I want to thank Council Member Herbold, our Vice Chair, for wrapping up the meeting, if it goes longer than anticipated.

I appreciate it, but just wanted to strongly put out a message to please dial in and participate remotely for finance and housing if you plan to participate tomorrow.

Okay.

Anything else?

You good?

Good.

Good.

I should add that we have a Metropolitan Park District meeting immediately following.

Council Member Lewis, how would you like us to do this before we adjourn now?

Do you want to have a break in between?

Then we have a different call-in number, I understand.

Yes, Council President, why don't we have a 10 minute recess to give people some time post full council and then reconvene at that time.

Okay.

Can we convene at 440 then?

Or 340?

350 would be a 10 minute recess.

Yes.

Sorry about that.

My math.

Thank you.

I was looking at a clock.

Okay.

350. Got it.

Okay.

So we will convene at 3.50 for Council Member Lewis, who is the president of the Metropolitan Park District for his meeting.

So with that, colleagues, that does conclude the items on today's business agenda or our agenda.

Our next meeting is next Tuesday.

Our next council meeting is next Tuesday, September 13th at two o'clock.

I hope you all have a wonderful afternoon and we are adjourned.

Thank you.

Thank you.