The July 16th, 2024 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.
It's 2.01 p.m.
I'm Tanya Wu, President Pro Tem of the Council.
Before the clerk calls the roll, and before we begin, I would like to recognize our colleague, Security Manager Jim Hillis, who passed away while on duty last night.
I would like to have a moment of silence out of respect for his friends, family, and colleagues as we share in their grief today.
Thank you.
So thank you, will the clerk please call the roll?
Council Member Kettle.
Here.
Council Member Moore.
Present.
Council Member Morales.
Here.
Council Member Rivera.
Present.
Council Member Saka.
Here.
Council Member Strauss.
Present.
Council Member Hollingsworth.
Here.
Council President Nelson.
Present.
Council President Pro Tem Wu.
Present.
Nine present.
Colleagues, at this time, we will open the hybrid public comment period.
Madam Clerk, how many speakers are signed up today?
We have 15 in person and two remote.
So we will start with speakers in council chambers first.
We'll alternate with the first 10. Today, each speaker will have about one minute.
Madam Clerk, I will now hand this over to you to present the instructions and call on registered speakers.
Thank you.
The public comment period is up to 20 minutes.
Speakers will be called on in the order in which they are registered.
We will first call on the in-person speakers and then the remote speakers.
Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of their time.
And speakers' mics will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time to allow us to call on the next speaker.
We'll start with the in-person speakers.
Thank you.
Our first three speakers is Terry McLean, Mike Gain, Steve Pumphrey.
It's one minute.
Thank you.
Okay, hi, my name is Terry.
This is my second meeting.
I live in Lower Queen Anne, and I was at the first meeting because I happened to walk into Legal Street Racing.
That was over in Elliott, right near where I live, and I took videos.
I called 911. I reported it.
the cops came, and he's the one that suggested I reach out to the city council, so this is why I'm at the second meeting.
That meeting, I took videos and I sent it to the news media.
So the reason I'm here, because I care about my town, I want it to be safe, and I had questions about, I just hope that it's voted for, Sorry, I thought I'd have longer.
I just want this to get passed so our community can be safe and end illegal street racing.
Thanks.
Mike Gain and Steve Humphrey, then Hao Shen, if you don't mind lining up to either one of these two podiums so we can get three speakers, thank you.
Ready?
My name's Mike Gain and I'm from West Seattle.
I'm in favor of the proposed bill CB120806.
It's past time that we do something to reduce the crime, racing, reckless driving, stunt driving, racing motorcycles and groups gathering, especially the groups gathering that encourage this type of activity.
It's completely out of control and very dangerous to allow these activities to continue on our public streets.
Harbor and Alki have become a regular place for these activities to occur and to grow.
Day and night, it's continual from one o'clock, two o'clock, three, and even later.
It's very dangerous activity.
It needs to stop.
We need to take our streets back.
We urge you all in the city council to approve this bill.
Allowing this behavior to continue, it's not right.
Those who break our laws need to have consequences.
That's one of the problems.
They need to face the consequences.
The activities all around our city have become magnets for crime, gatherings, criminal activity, shootings, injuries, and even deaths.
We need to stop this, and I approve.
Steve Pumphrey, I live on Harbor Avenue, and I think several of you council members know me.
I'm here in support of Council Bill 128.06, in particular the amendment related to penalties for spectators.
I was here a year ago, and we asked that you pass, and you did pass, the designated racing zones and cameras for speed-activated ticketing.
Nothing has happened in that regard.
So I hope that we can move forward with more legislation.
And remember, legislation doesn't get anything done.
Action gets things done, and that means enforcement.
Unfortunately, we have a police department that's been taken apart by your predecessors, and they are yet to be able to rebuild their force to where they can enforce.
Therefore, in order to create consequences and accountability, we're going to have to employ technology to determine how we enforce this.
That means license detecting systems and speed activated camera ticketing systems, among others.
Thank you.
Steve followed by Hao-Shen and Susan Ornstein.
Hi, my name's Hao-Shen.
I'm just gonna read some news to you today.
The first from King Five on July 10th.
Delivery fee fall out, Seattle restaurant closing, drastically changing the business model.
The Omabab on Capitol Hill has closed.
The owner told King Five that they saw a 40% reduction in delivery sales in February and March.
Their business rely heavily on food delivery and these days it is not sustainable for them to run the Capitol Hill location.
The second article from Seattle Times, July 11. Mott Pizza acquired by California Restaurant Group.
While this article only outlined the bankruptcy and acquisition about this beloved Seattle-based chain without telling the financial detail leading to Mott's demise, we all know what a pizza shop business is made of.
Another article from Eaters on June 27. This article just highlight all the restaurant closing in this year.
Given the limited time, I can only highlight June and May.
June, Fair Isle Brewing in Ballard, Cupcake Royals in downtown, A-Roll in Green Lake, Broward's Cafe in Fremont, Cellulite in May, Cellulite Seafood in Ballard.
Excuse me.
Next speaker, please.
in West Seattle that I could easily have written myself.
To all Seattle City Council members, I implore you to vote today in support of the street racing penalties proposed by Council Member Rob Sacca as described.
I am a resident of Harbor Avenue Southwest.
For the past two years, I've witnessed street racing, drifting, stunt driving complete with audience members cheering on the activities nearly every night of the week year round.
The racing activities also promote additional illegal activities, drug use and dealing, fights, partying, extremely loud music and fights, and now more recently gunfighting and murder in my front yard.
This activity goes on in other parts of the city.
The proposal made by council member Saka is the first step in the right direction.
The safety of city residents is at stake, not to mention decreasing property values, negative effect on local business enterprises, and the abject fear that many live within their own homes.
It's incumbent on- of you to take positive action and approve Amendment 1 to CB 120806 today.
Three seconds.
The next three speakers is going to be Carla Coates, Charlotte Stark, Stacey Baswalden, and then Greg Drubinick.
So if you can please line up to any of these two podiums.
Thank you.
Hi, I'm Carla Coates.
I live on Alki Avenue.
It is a nightly thing that we hear these loud racing muffler enhanced cars.
And they're not there.
They didn't come for dinner.
They didn't come for a damn thing other than to show up for each other.
They didn't come to buy an ice cream cone.
They don't live there.
They don't live there.
Nobody likes them.
Nobody.
I've done my own personal survey.
This is not scientific, but I've asked lots of people, different ages, do you like these cars?
Nobody likes them.
Nobody likes them.
And I think it's going to take really some effort to get them off Alki.
I think for Alki, it's sort of a culture...
that's built in there, I think it's had support.
I wouldn't be surprised if policemen were racers.
Thank you.
I think we are out of time.
Next speaker, please.
good afternoon i'm charlotte stark president of alki community council in part i snowballed into that role because i my property was hit by a street racer knocked out 40 feet of our property with a vehicle landing at three o'clock in the morning next to our bedroom windows thus i am here with all of my alki neighbors And I'm proud to support Rob Saka's amendment on the spectators.
I'm also an award-winning journalist with an Emmy for street racing reporting.
17 deaths in San Diego in 13 months was too much.
The city took action.
That was years ago.
Sport has evolved.
You have to address the show or you will not stop the racing.
So the production, the organizers, the spectators, the people promoting on social media are actually being addressed by other cities with fines.
That means if you stop and you block a road for street racers, if you block first responders, if you promote on social media, you are held accountable.
Excuse me, next is Stacey, and then followed by Stacey Gregg-Drobenick, and then Arianna Riley.
Hello, my name is Stacey.
Thank you for having us today.
I live on Alki.
I've been there for 25 years.
Exactly what Charlotte said, exactly what Steve said.
It's gotten worse.
We would like to back Rob Saka on what he is trying to have done and push those penalties.
Make it not fun for them.
make it almost impossible for them to even want to do it, suspend their license.
I'm talking go deep on them, not just the fine that they may ignore, take the license away, suspend them.
That's tapping into their job security.
Make it tougher for them, thank you.
Hello, Council.
My name is Greg Drobnik.
I am a resident of West Seattle for 72 years, Beach Drive for 12, Fauntleroy, and now I'm eight years on 1300 Alki Avenue.
I've witnessed so much happening.
I want to support Rob Saka and the bill 120806 and all of its amendments.
We need help, and we're asking you for help.
We need people to come out, and you need to witness what goes on, not just once or twice a week, every day, every night.
The noise, the confusion, the racing, the killings.
I've witnessed two cars going over the embankment in the last year down there from street racing, and people getting hurt, people getting injured, and it scares the daylights out of everybody.
We need your support.
Thank you.
Hi, my name is Arianna Riley.
I'm also resident of West Seattle like all these other people.
I'm a delivery driver.
I work lunch in Georgetown and dinner into midnight in West Seattle and White Center six days out of the week.
In February, my average downtime between orders was one hour.
Now my average downtime between orders is less than 10 minutes, usually between two to five minutes.
This is true for other drivers that I encounter as well.
A driver I met yesterday said he works downtown in Capitol Hill and averages one to two minutes of downtime between orders.
At this current moment and over the past few months since late March, there is no problem with order volume.
The vast majority of restaurants I talk to say their delivery volume is the same versus this time last year.
This is going to be a hard pill for many to swallow, but if your delivery volumes are still down, it is not due to pay up.
Many restaurants I talked to do a high volume of delivery and couldn't do more, even if they wanted to, due to staffing and kitchen capacity.
Please keep pay up in place as is.
Thank you.
We'll now go to remote and then go back to you in person.
For our remotes.
Oh, excuse me.
For our remote speakers, I want to remind you to please press star six after you hear the message that you have been unmuted.
And our first remote speaker is Alberto Alvarez, followed by Oliver Misca.
Go ahead, Alberto.
Oh, just bear with me.
I'm a little tired today.
It's been a very busy week.
It's been busier and busier every week, actually.
People are still ordering full family meals of that delicious curry from their favorite place across town.
We are in the midst of heat waves, and drivers are out there.
From Lake City to West Seattle, from Ballard to Chinatown, from downtown to Rainier Beach, we are here.
In the rain and snow, we will always be here.
24-7, 365. We have earned everything pay-up has given to us.
This is a headline from theseattleleader.com.
This Yale restaurant has dropped DoorDash and hired its own delivery drivers.
Unplugged the app to provide better customer service, its owner says.
PayUp works for both independent contractors and hired drivers.
PayUp provides workers with a fair living wage, accounts for expenses, and grants protections of dignity, safety, and level playing field.
Keep PayUp.
Vote no on any reduction.
Thank you, Alberto.
Our last remote speaker signed up is Oliver Misca.
Go ahead, Oliver.
Hi, y'all, and thanks for the name pronunciation.
You did it exactly right.
My name is Oliver Misca.
I'm an educator in Seattle and a lifelong Seattleite.
I first want to just recognize and absolutely validate all of the safety concerns that members of our community of our city have shared with us tonight and in no way do i want to invalidate the the very legitimate safety concerns people have um but but i do want to bring up just an issue that this you know piece of legislation brings for which really involves the first amendment especially the freedom of assembly and the freedom of speech uh i strongly warn against any fees and and punishments uh for that would ultimately criminalize bystanders of these incidences.
And I totally understand folks want to de-incentivize this kind, but criminalizing bystanders really runs.
All right.
Thank you, Oliver.
That was our last remote speaker.
We'll move back to in-person.
Right.
The next speakers are going to be Rita Holzman, Alex Zerman, Jenna Edlund.
You can please get to one of the two mics.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, council members.
My name is Rita Holzman, and I am a lifelong resident of Seattle.
I want to thank the Public Safety Committee for bringing a proposed ordinance on street racing and street racing spectators to the full council for a vote today.
This ordinance, and especially the two amendments proposed by Councilmember Saka, will allow the police department and the city attorney's office to respond in meaningful ways to dangerous and disturbing street racing events, such as those that occurred recently in various Seattle neighborhoods.
If street racing is not dealt with effectively, it will change the character of our city for the worse.
Street racing on Alki is a long-standing issue and was a significant factor in the decision two of my family members made this past spring to move away from that neighborhood.
In fact, they ultimately decided to leave the city of Seattle altogether.
When Seattle loses residents such as my family members who contribute positively to the daily life and local economy, of their now former neighborhood because they don't always feel safe there, it is time to address the issue.
Please vote to approve CB120806 as amended.
Thank you.
Alex Zimmerman, followed by Jenna Edlin.
Yeah.
Ze Heil, my dirty damn Nazi Gestapo junta, bandito and killer.
My name is Alex Zimmerman, I'm president of Stand Up America.
I love you.
You're my best consul, what is I know.
For this freaking idiot, 750,000 people, one minute is too much, look.
They are pure cretina.
You know what it means?
It's coming except one minute.
Nobody have one minute.
This is very happy.
Look at their faces.
It's very happy.
No one stand up and talk.
No, I'm not happy.
750,000 brainwashed for 25 years.
Please pause the timer.
Alex, is there something you want to speak about on the calendar?
What is you talking?
Are you talking about your hotel or about somebody want to kill you?
Huh?
So why don't you give me a chance to speak?
Huh?
I am...
Are you speaking on something that's on the calendar for today?
No, no, no, no, no, no.
You speak for my time.
Don't forget about this.
Go ahead and continue.
You're not exactly on.
Continue.
No, exactly.
It's not good.
So what's up?
Where is my time?
You can speak.
room open every week or day for free conversation for three minutes because you cannot control this idiot so long without reason.
Following Jenna is going to be Andrew, I believe.
And then John Strom Sam.
Hi, I'm Jenna Edlund, a 20 year resident from Belltown.
I'm here to speak about public safety and drug use.
specifically street racing.
It's out of control in Belltown.
I've had to call 911 twice in the last few weeks and have personally recorded videos while walking on the street.
Drug use in person is out of control, and the audit that you just put out and put so much work into shows that.
If you would just enforce the laws that you already have on the books, such as Ricky's Law, and stop people from doing drugs on our streets, that would help.
Every day I know more people in my building that are moving out of the city of Seattle because of these things.
I would also like you to consider that there's gonna be a lot of pushback with the building pilot program, specifically 2616 and Western Avenue, allowing 20 story buildings to go in.
Hello, my name is Andre Cicerone.
I lived in Belltown for 15 years, and like many of you, I've seen the city grow and change over the years.
I'm here to raise my concerns about the Living Building Pilot Program, specifically the amendment that the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspection has proposed that allows projects in this program to exceed the height of 1,000 or 145 feet, regardless of lot size.
I applaud the city to look at creative ways to grow to grow responsibly and sustainably.
However, this program will allow a 20-story building two blocks from the waterfront to be built, where all the other buildings are capped at 13 stories.
This will reduce light, green space, and have a negative effect on the community.
I encourage the city council to look at other creative ways to develop sustainably, not at the cost of height and the current character of the neighborhood.
Thank you.
King Five did a story last week detailing how Omabop in Capitol Hill is going out of business, and the owner specifically blamed the downturn in delivery orders because of the pay up bill fees.
We warned the council of this, but Working Washington and their supporters said everything was working fine.
Drive Forward did a recent survey and the results showed no one except Instacart and Amazon Flex workers are making the minimum wage, and they barely are.
The majority are all averaging well below Seattle minimum.
Uber Eats couriers are at $14 an hour.
Restaurants are down and going out of business and gig workers are making provably far less money than before.
Please stop listening to lobbying groups like Working Washington, who have been spreading false information to you for seven months now.
All data so far has clearly shown that pay up is harming both restaurants and the majority of gig workers.
They all said it was too soon to do anything.
How many people have to be harmed and how many restaurants have to go out of business before it isn't too soon?
Please don't listen to the people who come to this room and.
Thank you, your time is up.
That was the last registered speaker.
So we have reached the end of the list of registered speakers.
The public comment period is now closed.
Thank you for your comments today.
We have, if you are encouraged to either submit written public comments on the sign up cards available on the podium or email the council at council at seattle.gov.
If there is no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.
So hearing no objection, the introduction and referral calendar is adopted.
If there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted.
Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.
So we will now consider the proposed consent calendar.
Items on the consent calendar includes minutes of the July 9th, 2024, council bill 120814, payment of bills and one appointment from the parks, public utilities and technology committee.
Are there any items council members would like to remove from today's consent calendar?
So hearing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar.
Is there a second?
Second.
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 Kettle?
Aye.
Council Member Moore?
Aye.
Council Member Morales?
Yes.
Council Member Rivera?
Aye.
Council Member Saka?
Aye.
Council Member Strauss?
Yes.
I'm sorry, Council Member Strauss, thank you.
Council Member Hollingsworth?
Yes.
Yes.
Council President Nelson?
Council President Nelson?
Just a second, Jody.
I see that she's trying to log on really quick.
Okay.
IT, can you let her in, please?
Okay.
Okay, Jody, can you please repeat the Council President?
Council President Nelson?
Aye.
And Council President Pro Tem Wu.
Yes.
Nine in favor, none opposed.
The consent calendar items are adopted.
Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes and legislation on the consent calendar on my behalf.
So will the clerk please read the short title of item one into the record.
The report of the Public Safety Committee, agenda item one, council bill 120806 relating to street racing, adding the crime of racing, adding the traffic infraction of vehicle participation, unlawful racing, adding the civil infraction of attending at an unlawful race event.
The committee recommends the bill pass as amended.
Council member Kettle, as the chair of the committee, you are recognized to provide the committee report.
Thank you, Council President Pro Tem.
Bottom line, and thank you everyone who's attended today on this subject, bottom line is street racing is plaguing communities across our city.
Street racing is a danger and a threat to our traffic and pedestrian safety, to our public safety.
And street racing, to be clear, is also a threat to the health and the quality of life of our neighbors.
Street racing also pollutes our environment, whether from where the tire hits the road with the particles from the tires, the carbon emissions and all the like, but also noise pollution.
This is something that our neighbors are hearing all the time.
And this is pollution.
Street racing and, importantly, the lack of action contributes to the idea that it's permitted And this in itself is a problem because it goes to the idea of the permissive environment that underlines our public safety challenges in our city.
So again, bottom line, this is an emergency.
It's an emergency right now.
And that's why this bill was turned into an emergency bill, as we have seen in Queen Anne, but also in other areas like West Seattle.
Thank you very much for coming.
And Mr. Gain, as it turns out, I have your email, and I was going to highlight a few things.
First, the Harbor Alki Neighborhood Group, which I presume all you're participating in, noted it is past time to do something to reduce the crime of racing, reckless driving, stunt driving, racing motorcycles, and groups gathering and participating in this behavior.
is completely out of control and is very dangerous to allow these activities to continue on our public streets.
Later saying, this very dangerous activity needs to stop.
We need to do what we can to make our streets safe again.
We urge you all to take immediate action.
And that's what we're doing.
I would like to thank, as chair of the Public Safety Committee, Council Member Saka for his amendments to our bill, and also to Council Member Wu here in the dais, who's co-sponsoring the bill, as she sees at large across the city the impacts of street racing.
And I ask my colleagues for your support.
I also wanted to add briefly, really quick too, because everything is somewhat tied together, is that I was not here for Thursday's meeting related to overdoses and crime, but I also want to thank the city auditor team for that report on overdoses and crime, which is clearly challenging in what we see on our streets and what I saw this morning on 3rd Avenue.
I walked 3rd Avenue from James all the way up with a group of CONCERN RESIDENTS, BUSINESS OWNERS, AND OTHERS THAT ARE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING ON OUR STREETS.
SO WE HAVE THE STREET RACING, BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE OTHER CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE FACING, AND THEN WE NEED TO PRESS FORWARD ACROSS ALL FRONTS TO MAKE OUR STREETS SAFER.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU TO THOSE THAT HAVE SPOKEN, AND AGAIN, ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT, COLLEAGUES, FOR THIS STREET RACING BILL.
THANK YOU.
ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS ON THE BILL?
Council Member Saka.
Thank you.
I don't know.
Apparently my camera is not working in part of me.
As I'm talking, I noticed that my voice seems a little raspy, but I was cheering on my daughter's Little League team.
Happy to report they won.
I am I want to I want to thank all the My constituents and to my city wide colleagues are shared constituents who took the time to show up in person or remotely and share.
Your feedback, it is very empowering.
But from my perspective, and colleagues, I also ask for your support on this bill.
As specifically amended, I love.
Chair Kettle, our public safety committee, I appreciate how your comments, how you basically called out some specific quotes from our Elk High Harbor Avenue residents and neighbors and their views and love how they came up and said it in their own words today or some of them in their own words today.
Hey, and special shout out to to community members.
Stacey bass Walden.
I love that quote.
Make it not fun for them.
So, anyways, I asked for your support on this bill colleagues as amended.
But I do want to thank our community members for showing up.
uh chair public safety chair kettle i appreciate you and your strong leadership uh and together with council member wu uh for getting this shepherding this emergency piece of legislation that's critically needed now more than ever also want to thank the mayor mayor harrell and city attorney davidson for their leadership on this issue as well uh because too many people are dying and you know that this what's going on is preventable with respect to a public comment i heard about um you know constitutional rights look the fact is that the spectator component is modeled after an existing long-standing by the way uh ordinance in the city of kent long been on the books for a long time and and unlike the city of kent it does not in fact criminalize being a spectator.
Instead, it makes it a, our bill here, as amended, would make it a civil infraction.
And so we're mindful of all these concerns.
Now it's time to act.
And I think this bill strikes the right balance between the competing demands and constitutional rights and the rights of people who want their community safe across the city, whether it's in Alki, Harvard Avenue, Magnolia, it's going all around.
So in any event, colleagues, I ask for your support for this bill.
I want to thank everyone again for showing up.
Thank you.
We'll go to Council Member Rivera, then Council Member Morales, and Council President Nelson.
Thank you, Councilmember Pro Tem Wu.
I want to just thank my colleagues, Councilmember Kettle and Councilmember Wu and Councilmember Sack and the rest of the Public Safety Committee for bringing this forward.
I know that this is something that I've heard from constituents in the D4 about in terms of Sandpoint Way.
It's happening in various areas of the city.
And I'm very pleased to be able to support this legislation because we need to do something about this.
And so I think that is enough said on that.
Really appreciate you bringing this forward and I will be supporting this.
And the D4 constituents, thank you.
Council Member Morales.
Thank you.
Last year council passed and I voted in favor of council bill 120600 to establish additional uses for automated traffic safety cameras and designating restricted racing zones.
And I supported it because similar dangers exist on Rainier Avenue and on Martin Luther King.
That said, the Seattle Municipal Code makes reckless driving under current city law a gross misdemeanor, and not having the word race explicitly defined is not necessary for the city to hold street racers accountable already.
In 2023, state legislators passed Senate Bill 5606 to deter illegal racing, and that went into effect this January 1st.
Those convicted under state law already are subject to a $5,000 fine and up to 364 days in jail.
It also makes those knowingly aiding and abetting to be prosecuted under the same statute.
So I don't believe we need more criminalization of this activity.
All of that can already be prosecuted.
But what we do need is safe places for young adults to go.
We need better lighting on our streets.
We need to design our streets to make it difficult for drivers to race on them.
And that's why we just approved a $1.5 billion transportation levy package to begin to address all of that other infrastructure that's needed.
The Seattle Police Department has existing authority to investigate and enforce under state criminal law.
This legislation will not make our community safer, but it will require more attorney time prosecuting these crimes, and that is not a good use of our resources.
We just passed license plate legislation, and I believe that between that and the existing state laws, it's enough to address the street racing that is happening in the city of Seattle.
In short, I don't believe this is the best use of our police powers, and I will be voting no.
Council President Nelson.
Thank you very much, first of all, Council President Pro Tem Wu for taking over for me today.
I am traveling, so I really appreciate you stepping up.
I guess my message is that I, first of all, Thank you, Chair, Public Safety Chair Kettle.
I mean, you and City Attorney Davison worked on this, and you expedited it, and I really do appreciate your attention to this issue.
Last year, people remember there was a death at a street racing event on Capitol Hill.
So we're not just talking about fun and games here.
People did die.
um i want to say that i just take the um i'll take an all of the above approach yes to lights yes to more activities for youth and then yes to using all the tools in our toolbox to uh to interrupt dangerous activities so thank you very much all of you and i will be supporting this measure oh thank you very much uh council member saka for uh for your amendments and also bringing out the community i spoke with the west seattle folks probably one of at some point early on in my tenure here.
So this has been an ongoing issue for them.
Thank you very much, everyone.
Council Member Hollingsworth.
Thank you, Pro Tem.
Did I say that right?
Pro Tem Council Member Wu.
Did I say that right?
Okay, sorry.
You know, yes, thank you.
Thank you, Councilmember Kettle, for bringing this, and thank you, Councilmember Saka, for your amendments.
I sit in the Public Safety Committee and going to be supporting this bill.
Last year, four people were shot on Capitol Hill.
One of them passed away.
Her name is Essence Green.
And the family...
officers could not break up the, they could not enforce, unfortunately, the activity that was going on in Pike Pine.
I live on 23rd.
Cars are racing constantly on 23rd and shooting guns off constantly.
So anyways, I'm going to be supporting this.
I think that whatever we can do to make it safer for our streets, for our kids, this activity needs to stop in Seattle.
And it's a danger to people who live close, closely to, you know, when the activity is happening and also the people that are participating and also the people that are standing by looking that have been hit from the cars drifting or, you know, so forth.
So anyways, I want to thank Council Member Kettle for bringing this and Council Member Saka for your amendments.
I will be supporting this today.
Thank you.
Council Member Kettle.
Thank you, Council President Pro Tem Wu.
I just wanted to know, first I wanted to say, again, traffic and pedestrian safety is public safety.
I've been working this from the Queen Anne and that area of the city, you know, Magnolia, Interbay, Uptown and Westlake.
over the years, and now I'm doing so here in the city.
And yes, we need to press forward on all the different pieces noted, whether it's lighting, how the roads are constructed.
There's a number of different things that we can improve our traffic and pedestrian safety key.
But this legislation is needed for all the reasons that I mentioned in my first note.
But I will also add that this bill is also about aligning Seattle Municipal Code, the SMC, to state law, to the RCW.
And we have to do this right.
We are doing it cleanly, working with the city attorney's office.
One, two, three, four, four major sections.
And we have to do this because the city attorney cannot do this unless it's within the Seattle Municipal Code.
THERE'S A REASON WHY I'M WORKING WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY ON THIS.
AND THIS IS A REASON WHY IT'S IMPORTANT.
AND, YOU KNOW, AND IT WAS DONE CLEANLY.
LEARNING THE LESSONS FROM LAST YEAR'S, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO LINE UP SMC WITH RCW RELATED TO PUBLIC DRUG USE AND POSSESSION, WE DID THIS CLEANLY.
AND WE'RE PRESSING FORWARD ON THIS.
AND THIS IS WHAT IT'S DOING.
AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK, AGAIN, TO THAT POINT, ADDING THE TWO POINTS THAT COUNCILMEMBER SACA ADDED TO IT.
BECAUSE CHECKING IN THE COMMUNITY, You know, $500 wasn't enough to deter.
So that's why we have the three pieces to this amendment number one.
We have to have that deterrence point.
Otherwise, more people are going to lose their lives, more people are going to have impacted, whether it's having a car showing up against their house where their bedroom is or whatever it may be.
We have to pass this law.
We have to sync up RCW and the SMC, and this is the best way to do it.
So thank you.
So I grew up going to car shows.
I grew up going to import shows.
And we have a respect for the culture of modern cars, but I think this is very separate from racing.
As a community member, we would attend these shows, but once these cars start moving, we leave.
As part of the community watch, when we hear that these events are happening, We usually like to show up at most events to help let people know what's going on and to protect people, but we don't show up for these events because we know how dangerous they can be.
Because we often forget that a car, while a symbol of freedom and power, can also be fatal.
So we listen closely to community members from Alki Beach to Belltown to Capitol Hill and even the Chinatown International District.
The call for safer streets is loud and clear.
Street racing is a perilous activity, claiming the lives of bystanders, passengers, and drivers every year.
And what some see as some kind of exciting activity, we must recognize the profound danger to both participants and the general public.
And so, you know, this has really evolved into a serious public health risk.
In cities like Seattle, we're not just talking about racing, we're also seeing an increase in drifting, street takeovers, popular tricks like burnouts, you know, when you spin the tires really quickly without moving, may look impressive, but they hold the potential to become incredibly dangerous.
So I want to make it clear, we cannot and will not use city land or public roadways to condone or facilitate these activities due to the massive liability they present.
And for those who feel the need to express themselves with speed, there are safe sanction events and areas that will allow you to perform these tricks at racetracks.
These venues are designed to handle the risk involved and provide a controlled environment where enthusiasts can safely enjoy their passion.
So leave these high-risk maneuvers to the professionals in a controlled environment, and let's work together to ensure our streets remain safe for everyone.
Councilmember Kettle, if there are no other comments, I will let you have the last word.
I think I've had my last word.
Thank you.
Great.
Yes, go ahead, Councilmember Rivera.
Thank you, I just wanted to add that we also, we need more tools in our toolbox and not less.
And I see we pass legislation, if it doesn't work to control the behavior, the negative behavior that we're trying to address, We need to look at the laws and seeing if we need to add anything that will have the intended impact on this dangerous activity.
So I see this as one way to further address and have more tools in the toolbox to further address the activity that is happening.
And we also need to be responsive to our constituents.
I know I've heard from constituents from the D4, like I said, on Sandpoint Way.
I seek Council Member Saka's constituents here in chambers today, and I thank you for being here.
And this is something that obviously we have not been able to curtail up to this point.
So not taking away from past legislation that may have already been passed, this just adds to it to make sure we're curtailing this.
dangerous behavior.
So I did want to say that and also the importance of being responsive to our constituents who are dealing with this on the ground.
Thank you.
So will the clerk please call the roll on the bill?
Council Member Kettle.
Aye.
Council Member Moore.
Aye.
Council Member Morales.
No.
Council Member Rivera.
Aye.
Council Member Saka.
Aye.
Council Member Strauss.
Yes.
Council Member Hollingsworth.
Yes.
Council President Nelson.
Aye.
Council President Pro Tem Wu.
Yes.
Eight in favor, one opposed.
The bill passes and the chair will sign it.
Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.
So will the clerk please read item two into the record.
Agenda item two, the report of the Parks, Public Utilities and Technology Committee, council bill 120807 related to Seattle Public Utilities authorizing general manager and chief executive officer of Seattle Public Utilities or designee to execute an agreement between the Seattle Public Utilities and the King County Flood Control Zone District for the South Park Interim Flood Preparedness and Response Program.
The committee recommends the bill pass.
Thank you.
Council Member Hollingsworth, as chair of the committee, you are recognized to provide the committee report.
Awesome.
Thank you.
I'll be super brief.
Colleagues, this passed.
Four in favor, none opposed.
This is an interlocal agreement between SPU and our King County Flood Zone Control District.
The legislation will improve...
reduce flood risk and improve safety within our South Park neighborhood.
And the proposed actions will also improve community resilience towards climate change, supporting safety and preparedness to the increased risk of flooding and extreme weather events.
I'll pause while I know that there's some people, I thought they came here for this strict piece of legislation for the flood control district one.
But Obviously, extreme weather events have been increasing across the United States.
We've seen Hurricane Beryl happen within our country and the rising heat infrastructure that's going on in the Atlantic Ocean.
And so, you know, this better prepares us.
75% of the neighborhood in South Park are residents of color and just continues to make sure that this is a safe environment for, you know, King County and then obviously South Park.
So I would love everyone's support on this.
Thank you.
Are there any comments on the bill?
Sounds pretty straightforward.
Will the clerk please call the roll of the bill?
Council Member Kettle.
Aye.
Council Member Moore.
Aye.
Council Member Morales.
Yes.
Council Member Rivera.
Aye.
Council Member Saka.
Aye.
Council Member Strauss.
Yes.
Council Member Hollingsworth.
Yes.
Council President Nelson.
Aye.
Council President Pro Tem Wu.
Yes.
Nine in favor, none opposed.
The bill passes and the chair will sign it.
Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.
So is there any further business to come before the council?
Council President, I just want to remind that I have asked to be excused next Monday and Tuesday, the 22nd and 23rd.
Noted.
Thank you.
Council Member Strauss.
Thank you, Council President Pro Tem.
I want to appreciate the fact that you took a full minute of silence at the beginning of this meeting for our dear friend Jim Hillis, who has loyally served the city of Seattle for many years and passed away on the job last night.
I just wanted to take this moment to, if his family or friends are watching, I consider Jim to be a friend of mine.
He's somebody who, I think we talk a lot about safety, When Jim is in this room, I feel more safe.
And it's just hug somebody you love.
Jim was a good friend of mine.
Thank you.
I remember coming to council to talk to council and seeing Jim here.
He was a regular fixture at every single council meeting.
He will be missed.
Council President Nelson, did you have a comment?
You are muted.
Hi there, I'm sorry.
I would like to rescind my exclusion for next week on the 23rd, I believe.
So I will be present at the City Council meeting on the 23rd, but not at the briefing meeting on Monday.
And then thank you both of you for your words about Jim.
Yes, sitting there at the dais and seeing him back there, this adds a smile to the meeting and also a sense of safety.
So thank you very much for recognizing.
Thanks.
Thank you.
So if there is no objection, Council President Nelson has rescinded her excused absence.
Council Member Morales has also asked to be excused.
And so we have reached the end of today's agenda.
Our next regularly scheduled City Council meeting will be held on July 23rd at 2 p.m.
So hearing no further business, we are adjourned.