Seattle City Council 6102019

Good afternoon, thank you for being here on June 10th the June 10th 2019 City Council meeting of this full Seattle City Council come to order.

I'm Bruce Harrell president of the council of clerk.

Please call the roll Here Jaco here, so what your bank shop here Gonzales purple Juarez Mosqueda President Harrell here nine present.

All right, I If there's no objection, today's introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, today's introduction and referral calendar is adopted.

And similarly, if there's no objection, today's agenda will be adopted.

No changes there.

Hearing no objection, today's agenda is adopted.

The minutes of the May 28th and June 3rd, 2019 Special City Council meetings have been reviewed.

And if there's no objection, the minutes will be signed.

Hearing no objection, the minutes are signed.

Clerk.

Presentations, I'm not aware of any presentations this afternoon, so we'll move into public comment.

This time we'll take public comment on items that appear on today's agenda, the introduction referral calendar, or our 2019 work program, and I'll call you out with what you've signed.

We'll go for two minutes apiece, and we'll start off with David Haynes, followed by Mark Taylor Canfield.

And so we're going to try to put both microphones in place.

So Mr. Taylor Canfield, if you don't mind, you'll use this microphone up here and start making your way toward there when it's the appropriate time.

Go ahead, Mr. Haynes.

You have the floor, sir.

You can tell it's re-election season for Democratic operatives of the Northwest, co-opting trivial movements for media re-election favors.

and all the corrupt activists and organizers and political operatives of Seattle's social welfare industry, non-profits...

Excuse me, stop the clock for one moment.

Mr. Haynes, is there an agenda item or specific work program you'd like to...

Yes, sir.

I'm sorry if that went off the subject.

You know, it seems like it's forgotten sometimes, but...

Okay, it's related to the expansion right now.

Seattle is filled with rock and roll wannabes forever stuck on drugs and alcohol, acting like keeping Seattle rundown, dilapidatedly, preserved is the only way to feel Seattle forever living in past.

It would be a better negotiation demand to the developer to tear down and rebuild a modern 21st century show box that would be a preservation of a music venue without the traffic driving by at 21st century volumes creating like PTSD for all the kids hanging out there waiting to get inside and it would not preserve another endangering, like, crappy building that is totally unnecessary if you have, like, a really wealthy developer just, you know, be forced by all the design review and all the great pedestrian-friendly particulars that you have for 21st century redevelopment and create a more accommodating 21st century showbox, but make the developer do the whole thing, but you guys design the whole thing, but preserving another old building while all that traffic drives through on those cobblestones is too much to bear.

You guys got to do something about that regardless.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Following Mark Taylor-Canfield will be Joan Singler on the middle mic.

Yes, sir.

That'd be great, Mark.

Thanks.

Hi, my name is Mark Taylor Canfield.

I'm a musician and a journalist, and I moved to Seattle because of the music scene here, and because of places like The Showbox.

And some of you have heard part of this song, but we have a new verse for you today, and it goes like this.

♪ Yeah, we love The Showbox, really love her today ♪ ♪ Yeah, we love The Showbox, we really love her today ♪ You gotta save the showbox Don't let them take that lady away Seems like I've been going to the showbox Since the day I was born Seems like I'm going to the showbox Since the day I was born Well don't you let her tear her down Don't you leave that lady alone We gotta save the showbox We gotta save the showbox.

We gotta save the showbox.

We gotta save the showbox.

We gotta save the showbox.

Don't you let her tear the lady down.

Very good.

Very good.

Following Joan will be Eugenia Wu.

I am here representing the Friends of the Market.

This is our Vice President, Carla Rickerson, and we are the organization that spearheaded the campaign to save the market and wish to convey our very strong support for the extension of the 6-month extension on the Pike Place Market Historic District to include the show box.

We believe that it is feasible and appropriate to seriously consider this expansion and to include historic properties, including the show box.

This concept deserves serious professional study and in-depth analysis.

neither of which appears to have been undertaken since the interim action was taken by the City Council on August 13, 2018. Friends of the market are eager to assist and support this effort.

Our Board of Directors and membership include many individuals who possess in-depth knowledge regarding the history, delineation, regulation of a Pike Place Market historic district, we are very willing to contribute to a thorough study that will fully identify the feasibility and appropriateness of this expansion.

Thank you.

Following Eugenia will be Jane Davies on the middle mic.

I'm actually Jane Davies.

I'm going to speak with Eugenia.

That works out.

Then following you two will be Elton Mason on the middle mic.

Go ahead.

So I'm Jane Davies.

This is Eugenia Woo.

We're speaking on behalf of Historic Seattle.

We are asking for the Council to pass the amendment to Ordinance 125650 to provide for a six-month extension of the interim boundary expansion of the Pike Place Market Historical District.

Section four of the original ordinance describes a work plan to conduct a study to review the historic significance of the showbox and study its relationship with the Pike Place Market, as well as conduct a SEPA review on the permanent expansion of the historical district.

Our understanding is that neither the study nor the SEPA review has been completed, so it is appropriate and imperative that the council extend the interim expansion in order to complete the commitments that were outlined in the original ordinance.

Thank you.

And since the consultants that the city hired is charged with looking at the historic significance of the ShowBots and its relation to the pipe place market, just want to let you know if you, I'm sure you already know, but last week the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board unanimously nominated, it was a clear nomination, of the showbox for as a landmark.

The designation hearing is set for July 17th and we're confident with this clear nomination that it will get designated.

So we also have been contacted by the consultant as of last Friday and we'll be doing a stakeholder interview this Thursday and we look forward to meeting with them and talking to them more about the historic significance of the showbox in relation to the market and also what the that all that the ties are The Showbots was originally built as a public market in 1917, just 10 years after Pike Place Market was established in 1907. So that connection is very clear.

And so we just want to thank the City Council for your time and efforts in this important issue.

And we ask that you pass this extension.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Following Mr. Mason will be Shannon Wells.

Hello for the record.

My name is Elton Mason owner of a Washington State trucking The comments that I'm here to make is in regards to the contracting with the city of Seattle Contracts that come out of FAS s dot and whatnot The problems that I've occurred what's happened to my firm and the I believe that And I'm watching this first-handed.

There's millions and millions of our tax dollars being wasted.

Millions.

And I know for a fact firsthand that this is going on.

I'm not going to name any names out of FAS and out of divisions across the street, but you do have my contact information on the sign-up.

You have my email.

You have my phone number before this goes to the next step.

FAS has made some decisions within my firm and has done some I lost my capacity.

I had to sell over 30 trucks.

I lost my office that was here in the city of Seattle.

I mean, they've done some major, major damage in some of the decisions that they have made in contracting in regards to this inclusion plan with the contracts that are coming out of the city of Seattle.

I have, anyway, I can go on and on.

I think you know where I'm going with this, but I really hope that somebody reaches out to me before this goes to the next level.

Mr. Mason, if you do have the time after the hearing today, after I conclude, I'd like to speak with you.

If you do not, I'll follow up with you based on your information.

I'd love to chat with you after today's hearing.

I take it's maybe an hour or so, but if you have the time.

You bet.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Following Shannon will be, if I may call you Shannon, will be Kim Doyle.

I think.

Go ahead.

Hi, good afternoon.

My name is Shannon Wells, and I'm speaking today on behalf of Friends of the Showbox, which is a grassroots community coalition dedicated to saving the Showbox.

The Friends of the Showbox strongly supports the six-month extension of the ordinance that places the venue in the Pike Place Market Historic District.

I do have a copy of the ordinance here, and as Historic Seattle just mentioned, there is a work plan, as you know, laid out in this ordinance.

And so our concern is that there are a number of studies that are listed here, the historic significance of the theater.

the relationship between the theater and the market, the SEPA review, looking at the historic district guidelines.

So we're concerned that none of that has been done to this point.

And if the city laid out a 10-month plan to do the work and it hasn't even started until now, that leaves about a month for all of the work that was supposed to be done in 10 months to be done now.

So we feel that it's rushed and that it won't be comprehensive and thorough.

And as Eugenia mentioned, there was a unanimous vote last week to nominate the show box as an historic landmark.

So I just want to reiterate that this is really important to the city and the community.

And so we just want a serious comprehensive analysis to take place.

And that is why we are asking for the six month extension.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Following him will be Daniel Marchan.

Hi, I'm Kim Doyle and I came here today to ask you to please vote for the extension so that the city can complete a mandated study.

That's it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Daniel Martin.

I'm privileged to serve as the president of Seattle Pacific University.

First, I'd like to thank Councilmember Bagsall for your representation of District 7. You will be missed.

I've appreciated your partnership and your leadership, not only thinking about items within the district and the ways in which we can be a better neighborhood and better neighbors, but for broader Seattle as well.

I would simply urge your approval of agenda item number 15 is simply an extension of the comprehensive plan amendment that was approved in December.

We've been partnering with the city since 1891 and what this would allow is simply for further conversations to be ongoing between the university and concerned community citizens and the industrial base there as we think about the best possible use for this land for the benefit of all.

So thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next two speakers are Dominic Vescio.

Vescio, Dominic.

And then we'll go to Ernie Dornfeld.

Dornfeld.

Hi, everyone.

I'm Dom.

I work at the Showbox.

I'm asking you to please extend the ordinance so we can have the comprehensive study we deserve.

Please help us preserve the heart of Seattle's thriving culture.

Music and entertainment are integral to our city and our society.

We at the Showbox dearly want to continue providing that entertainment and enjoying it ourselves at our landmark home venue.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Following Ernie is Carolyn Ann.

Hi, my name is Ernie Dornfeld.

I'm a board member of Friends of the Market.

I'd like to talk about some reasons why we think this is really an important thing to consider, the issue of adding the, possibly adding the showbox to the Pike Place Market Historical District.

First, it seems to me that the showbox and its use as a cultural venue is way more compatible with the market than a luxury high-rise would be on that site.

Second, although the Showbox is being considered for landmark status, that would not protect its use.

Adding it to the Historical District could preserve its use for entertainment.

And third, the Pike Place market is potentially threatened by development all along First Avenue.

Expanding the Historical District, perhaps including the Showbox and extending along First Avenue from Stewart to Union, could protect the market from incompatible development.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm going to call out three speakers, Doug Conrad, Steve Gillespie, and Christophe Doles.

Doug, Steve, and Christophe after Caroline Ann.

Go ahead, please.

Caroline Ann and I'm a music photographer here in Seattle.

I moved here 11 years ago from the East Coast.

Reason being for the music and for the cultural diversity that's here in Seattle.

I recently wrote an article in Innocent Words Magazine and I also would like to quote the mayor.

She has recently been quoted as saying, Seattle is thriving.

I feel that if we want to keep Seattle thriving, we need to keep the doors to the showbox open.

We need to keep these doors open for our community, our culture, diversity in this city that we pride ourselves upon.

I think we need to put community before profit.

If this extension is needed, I believe that we are not only protecting the community and our culture, we're also protecting the jobs of the people that work at the showbox.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Doug Conrad.

I'm a citizen of the city.

And for the last three or four years, I've come to the council on occasion and given testimony with respect to some important issues concerning housing affordability and homelessness.

And I want to add my voice of support to the committee that just adopted the, or at least supported the adoption of Resolution 31887. That's the one that reads, it's a resolution adopting and approving an application for surplus federal property at Fort Lawton, including a redevelopment plan, and it goes on.

I want to make three points.

The first is, one of the aspects of the plan that I like is that it contributes intentionally toward fair housing.

And I think that's a very important, if you will, double win, both for the fair housing and for the development of affordable housing.

I also want to congratulate both the council and several of its members for their strong support of housing affordability.

I think it really matters.

I think the Fort Lawton is an example where I would hope the council and the city and HUD and Habitat and the Catholic Housing Authority will push to move with all deliberate speed to get this done.

My final point is as you think about this, when HALA and the mandatory housing affordability levy was being developed, I thought that was a very impressive document and an ambitious document.

It pointed out that even building 6,000 housing units, which was the plan, would only dent 30% of the need over the proposed decade.

20,000 units needed, a plan for 6,000.

So this 238 units at Fort Lawton that are proposed, three different sectors, housing affordability, low income housing, vets included, it's just a, it's an ambitious plan and as significant as it is, it's like 2.4% of the need.

And it's been, in some sense, depending on how you time it, 13 years in the making, that property was, if you will, provided to the city for free.

And I don't gainsay the fact that it takes time to do these things right.

But having given testimony on this issue at an Office of Housing meeting that they had up in the Fort Lawton area a couple years ago, I thought it'd be a done deal by now.

Let's get it done, please.

Good afternoon, Steve Gillespie, Foster Pepper here on behalf of Seattle Pacific University.

I'm excited to be part of a very packed agenda that has generated a lot of civic engagement.

I'm here to talk about a few blocks along near the ship canal in North Queen Anne.

We've been working on this text amendment, and I urge your approval.

This is item 15. I want to thank you for taking it up.

We've been working on it for several years.

I think that Councilmember Bagshot and I first spoke about this in January 2017 and as President Martin said this is implementing the comprehensive plan amendment that you approved in December of 2018 and it is Not the end of the conversation, this is the beginning of what will be a robust public conversation about the appropriate use of the land right adjacent to Seattle Pacific University.

Anything that the university decides to propose is going to involve quite a bit of public process from project level permitting, meetings of our advisory committee, all and up all the way through a full major institution master plan, which all of you know is a very, very robust years-long community conversation that we are excited to have.

But this this vote is the first step that allows us to ask the question of what how this land should be used.

So thank you very much for your support.

Council Member Bagshaw, thank you very much for your service to District 7. You are going to be a tough act to follow.

And thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Following Christopher be Ernie Ashwood and then Misha to do my

Hello, my name is Christophe Dolez and I'm a lifelong Seattle resident.

Around here, there's no place like the Showbox.

It is the absolutely best place acoustically and just the sheer beauty to see shows.

There's a good reason why basically everyone around here loves the Showbox and bands from all over the world and the country love the Showbox.

Just in traveling, wearing this shirt, you know, the last couple of months and stuff, I've had just at different venues around the country have had people ask me about that and basic about what's happening with it and They said do they simply can't let that happen.

That's that's where we that's where we play.

That's the best That's what some place we look forward to all around the country to play Let's see And also just the fact that it would change the entire historical feel of the market.

We can't let that happen.

The market's one of our most treasured spots in the city where tourists flock to.

Tourists want to flock to see beautiful historic buildings like the Pike Place, like the Showbox, to want to go see shows at the Showbox.

And that's a lot of tourist revenue coming in.

And we just can't afford to lose one of the last beacons in our city's you know, longstanding title as the City of Rock and that we just need the proper time to do the due diligence with the study.

So I strongly urge you to vote to extend the study for another six months and so make sure we get the due diligence that we were promised and that we get a fair shot.

Thank you so much.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Thank you guys so much for taking the time out to hear us.

We really, really appreciate it.

My name is Ernie.

I represent a band called The Complex Dialect that has the privilege of being able to play at the Showbox.

I also work at the Showbox.

I have a lot of ties into the Showbox.

I'm not here to ask you guys to make a decision regarding the actual permanent extension.

We're just asking for more time just based off of the concept of having an informed decision.

It's been made very, very clear from earlier testimonies that a lot of resources for information haven't really been tapped yet.

And the start of actually getting that information has just begun so recently when the actual ordinance was passed way back in August.

We need more time so that way you guys can have the proper information to make an actual informed decision.

That's the only thing we're really asking for today.

Again, thank you so much for your time.

We appreciate you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Following Misha will be Marva Samet.

Hi, apologies to be redundant.

This is something I said very similar last week to a few of you, but I'm gonna say it again just for the benefit of those of you that were not here.

So my name is Misha, I'm a local artist and have been a theater and venue employee in Seattle for close to 20 years now.

I've worked at the Seattle Opera, I've worked at Ben Araya Hall, I've worked at Fifth Avenue Theater, I also currently work at the Showbox.

So my love for Seattle theater and venues runs pretty deep and for a very long time.

So I just wanted to say thank you for the continued efforts that you've made towards helping us to save the show box.

Without this additional six months, we could very well lose it, and there's been countless theaters in this town that we've already lost.

The Music Box was built in the 20s.

That was demolished completely.

And I could give you countless other examples, but I bet you when you look at pictures of those theaters, you'll think to yourself, gosh, I really wish those were still here.

I really wish they were part of the downtown landscape.

But unfortunately, there's just no bringing them back.

And the same goes for the Show Box.

I know it seems like process to process, you know, another six months.

What's another six months going to do?

But it could be the difference between losing it and having it.

So I urge you to make a decision towards leaning towards giving us an additional six months to work on it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

My name is Marva Sameh, and I'm here to ask you to postpone the vote for developing the last remaining contiguous parcel of Discovery Park, which is known as Fort Lawton.

I'd like to paraphrase a statement by Phil Vogelzang, the Friends of Discovery Park.

The park represents many decades of hard work and advocacy.

advocacy.

We ask that all of you remain committed to the ideas first put forth by the likes of Senator Henry Jackson, Bernie Whitebeer, Judge Don Voorhees, and Bob Kildall.

to create and protect this place that is free from the noise and the clamor of the city, to provide its citizens a place of refuge and solitude.

Not only is the parcel adjacent to the park, it is also located within a few hundred feet of the riparian zone of Salmon Creek and Kiwanis Ravine, where a small band of great blue herons have been living and nesting for literally thousands of years.

They, too, are stakeholders in this decision, and we ask that you consider their fate.

Also, I'd like to paraphrase a statement by Thatcher Bailey from the Seattle Parks Foundation.

As a city strives to meet its equity commitments, we cannot regard access to green space and access to affordable housing as competing goals.

Piecemeal solutions, such as surrendering finite green space, can never be recovered.

To create room for affordable housing would only lead to more serious problems down the road.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The last three speakers I have signed up, Rosalyn Tan, Nick Setter, Marty Koerster.

Koerster.

Rosalyn, Nick, and Marty, in that order.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Rosalyn Tan.

Thank you for the opportunity to be here in front of all of you to speak on this topic of Fort Lawton.

And like what Marva had said, I request for the decision to vote to be postponed.

So I'm speaking on behalf of my husband and myself.

So if my husband was here, this is what he would say.

I feel it's inappropriate to take a neighborhood with its own quiet character and dropping 600 more people and their cars into a very small residential space.

Council Member O'Brien, I heard you on NPR expounding the virtue of upzoning to allow for accessory dwelling units, backyard cottages as a way to increase density without greatly impacting the character of the neighbourhood.

Why isn't this same thinking being applied here?

Your plan will greatly change this area, an area nowhere near places of employment, shopping or transportation for the people you hope to house here.

My comments, my personal comments are as follow.

So a couple of questions.

What are the reasons for pushing this Fort Lawton project through?

Is it because you have spent the last 15 years on this and you think it's about time to get this going?

then I don't think it's the right reason or good enough reason.

If it's about helping the homeless and affordable crisis we are facing now, then 237 units eight years later won't help the situation that we are facing today.

If it's about getting this land for free, then I would like to know how much the federal government will allow this to go to an expansion of Discovery Park and the affordable housing being built off-site, for example, at the Interbay Armory, where the Alternative 3 plan is to build 2,680 units for up to 4,000 people.

So the land may be free, but developing it is not cost-effective.

So I urge you to please spend the money wisely like it's your own.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Nick Seton and I'd like to speak about the showbox.

Now as you ought to be aware, the Pike Place market is a truly unique neighborhood.

The only federally designated historic district that owes its status due to a public vote, it is today home to over 500 small and micro businesses, as well as a preschool, a senior center, a food bank, and a medical clinic.

I've been a tour guide and a historian in the market for over 10 years, and I've learned that above all else, the market is a fragile ecosystem.

Your motion to add the show box to the historic district was an important step, but in the interim, you have failed to follow through with your promises to conduct studies on the impact of making piecemeal additions to the district.

Today, I urge you to extend the ordinance simply so that you can buy more time to conduct the outreach and studies you said you would do in the first place.

I will repeat that.

You made promises that were left unfulfilled.

I have been a part of the community working to be engaged in the conversation around the show box, and I am imploring you to simply do the work you said you would do.

Vote to extend the ordinance.

Vote to have a responsible dialogue and seek to find compromise to authentically and sustainably work to marry Seattle's passion for progress with the history and the culture that make this an exciting and engaging place to live.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Just one second, Marty.

Following Marty is our last speaker, who will be Alicia Rutz.

Good afternoon Councilmembers.

Marty Koester.

I work for the Housing Development Consortium Seattle King County.

I am speaking in favor today of moving ahead quickly with the Fort Lawton project.

11 years ago I was excited to bring Habitat for Humanity's work to that area.

It has been a long time in coming.

We are right now today at least 156,000 affordable homes short in King County.

In order to make that number palatable, we're talking about how to build 44,000 in the next five years.

So it's not a matter of should we or should we not, it's a matter of how much, including Interbay and every other possible location that we can build.

And unfortunately, that means that we all have to learn to adapt to a society that's going to embrace density.

Density done right.

talking about Fort Lawton being designed after years of work by partners, the Office of Housing and others as a true community.

Yes, there's other work that's going to need to be done, including transportation, schools, all of that, but it is a unique opportunity that we have before us and I would encourage you to move forward with all due haste and please encourage your partners as well to develop it out quickly.

Let's make it happen.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Alicia Ruiz.

I'm here today representing the Master Builders Association of King and Sonoma County.

We all recognize that affordable housing, we are in a crisis situation with the shortage of affordable housing.

Therefore, the Master Builders Association fully support the Fort Lawton redevelopment plan and urge the city to approve it quickly.

Obviously, after years of discussion, planning with stakeholders, public review, litigation and debate, it is time to adopt and implement the plan to create affordable housing at Fort Lawton.

Thank you.

Okay, that will conclude our public comments section.

Let's move to payment of the bills.

Council Bill 119538, appropriate amendment to pay settlement claims in order and payment thereof.

I move to pass Council Bill 119538. Second.

It's been moved and seconded the bill passed.

Are there any further comments?

Please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Pacheco.

Aye.

Sawant.

Aye.

Bagshaw.

Aye.

Gonzales.

Aye.

Herbold.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

I was going to ask for an encore from Mark Taylor Canfield before it got into our agenda, but I think I'll just keep plowing on.

That was good stuff there, Mark.

Please read the first agenda item.

The report of Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts Committee, agenda item one, appointment 1345, appointment of Robert Wong-Song Lee as Director, Office of Economic Development.

The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Customer Herbold.

Thank you.

So today I'm really excited to advance the confirmation for Acting Director Bobby Lee for the Office of Economic Development.

Acting Director Lee has been really helpful and thorough in this confirmation process, completing what I found to be, and I believe when compared to others, a really rigorous questionnaire submitted by the Council.

and joining us for two confirmation hearings in the Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts Committee.

I really want to extend my thanks to Director Lee for sticking through the process and thank you to council colleagues for your participation.

Director Lee brings years of experience in the public and private sectors where he's worked on youth workforce initiatives, community and economic development efforts that have prioritized equity and building pathways to economic opportunity for communities of color, building sustainability for small and longstanding businesses, similar to our work with legacy businesses, and served also as a city council person for the city of Eugene, so he understands our role as well.

Acting Director Lee's most recent role before coming to Seattle was Director of Economic Development in Portland.

Before that, he served Oregon Governor Kate Brown, working on economic and community development challenges.

He has received numerous letters of support throughout the process, including former colleagues and electeds in Oregon, the president of the Portland chapter of the NAACP, and leaders from important community-based organizations.

In addition, I just want to highlight Director Lee's commitment to working on priority issues that this council has identified and has already begun engaging in the neighborhood businesses throughout the city, has come to South Park twice already in his short time and met with businesses out there.

I do have an amendment I'd like to make to the appointment as it relates specifically to the expectations letter.

Please do.

Thank you.

I move to amend appointment 1345 to add the council letter of expectations for Mr. Lee.

Second.

Okay, we're going to vote on just the Amendment, did you want to say more about the amendment or being sort of self-explanatory?

So just the amendment vote all those in favor of the amendment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

The legislation is amended.

Great.

And so those are my comments in support of this confirmation and...

Sure.

Before we move forward and ask for a vote, are there any other colleagues who would like to make any comments or questions?

Council Member Baxhaw.

I am very pleased, Bobby, that you're going to be joining us.

I really appreciated your positive energy.

And I think moving forward, and you've got some people that preceded you that I've really appreciated working with.

So I think it's going to be a wonderful partnership.

And I do want to acknowledge what Council Member Herbold said.

We've received many, many letters of support, unsolicited letters that came in and talking about your strengths and the experience you had as a city council member in Eugene, as was mentioned, and the number of, we understand that you went to graduate school with our own Greg Doss, so we figure that you've got a good thumbs up there as well.

So I want to acknowledge that it's, I really welcome you, I welcome working with you, and I'm very glad that the mayor put your recommendation forward.

Any other comments from any of our colleagues?

Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you, Mr. President, and I want to thank you as well, Mr. Lee, for your direction that you would like to take the department.

I just want to echo some of the things that we've heard, especially from frontline workers, from union members.

They've been very supportive of the direction that you'd like to bring to the department.

I am also really excited about the commitment that you bring to women and minority-owned small businesses, the work that you've done in Portland with the Portland Mercado.

the example in which we want to create so that as we're creating new buildings, as we're creating density, we do, as you heard from one of the testifiers, density done right, which means smaller shops on the first and second floor, and that we do the outreach to connect those small business owners with the opportunities to have sites there so that they can begin their business and that it's affordable and that the process gets broken down.

And I just want to make a plug.

So every time we create opportunities, for small businesses to thrive.

We also need to create those opportunities for child care facilities to grow so that our businesses and workers can have a place for those kiddos and families and workers to be successful.

And I loved your enthusiasm around that image, and I love what you've done in Portland.

I'm really excited about the frontline workers also supporting you, and I'll be enthusiastic, yes.

Thank you, Councilwoman Mosqueda.

Any other further comments from any of our colleagues?

I'll just say very quickly that I've enjoyed the time we've spent together and your vision for the department and the city.

I found, I love the sort of the fierce competitiveness you have for small businesses and for high performance, but then also sort of a quiet humility about your style of leadership.

So I do expect great things and I did approve the expectation letter, but what a treasure to have you as part of our city government now.

So I look forward to supporting you strongly.

Okay.

So with that, Council Member Herbold, should I call for a vote or do you want to close with any other remarks?

The only other remarks I would like to close with are a recognition that the Mayor's Small Business Advisory Commission had deferred my request or my offer for them to submit questions because they had already met with the Early on in the, what's the word I'm looking for, the process to identify an appointment, they had already met with Mr. Lee and were really excited about working with him.

I want to just highlight real quickly some of the specific expectations that the council have.

grow and strengthen the local business community through the provision of direct services.

Workforce development is an important priority, specifically the city's investments in workforce development initiatives that support the career advancement of low-income and underemployed job seekers.

Economic resilience, measuring the city's overall economic health via analysis of key indicators.

Economic development leadership, participating in regional economic development work groups and policy meetings.

Neighborhood business districts, working with business owners in our business districts to identify, evaluate, and address emerging needs in these business districts.

Legacy businesses, developing and implementing a legacy business nomination and designation program.

with the goal of facilitating and finalizing this designation in each district by the end of this year.

And then finally, and really importantly, shepherding the conversation or participating in the shepherding of the conversation around the home for the film and music division that was formerly housed in the Office of Economic Development.

We're not quite sure where it's going to go, but there is an effort partnered with the Arts Office to engage with the arts and film and music community.

to talk about where the right home for film and music is.

I think we have a shared belief that there's so much more that Seattle could be doing to support the film and music industry.

And I'm excited that Director Lee has that on his list of priorities as well as ours.

That's all for me.

And Councilor Herbold, I want to thank you for doing such a thorough job on this confirmation.

Thank you, John.

Job well done.

Thank you.

Makes our job a little easier here.

Okay.

With that, those in favor of confirming the appointment of Mr. Lee as amended, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed, vote no.

The motion carries.

Appointment is confirmed.

And we'll suspend the rules and we'd love to hear a few words from you, Mr. Lee.

Please come forward and congratulations.

Thank you very much.

Is this on?

Yes, it is.

Thank you very much.

I'm truly humbled.

I'm so excited to be in Seattle.

I finally made it.

It's a challenging part for many urban economies is that we're about to transition into a new economy called the network economy.

And there are strengths and weaknesses in the new economy.

And so part of our job in our office is to help you navigate those opportunities and make sure that we build an inclusive economy for everyone.

With that, I'll leave it there.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Lee.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda item two, Council Bill 119504 relating to the Pike Place Market Historical District, amending ordinance 125650 to extend its effective date by six months.

The committee recommends it will pass with Council Members Herbold, Sawantin, O'Brien in favor and in abstention with Council Member Pacheco.

Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

So this council bill amends ordinance 125-650 to extend its effective date by six months.

The bill it is amending established an interim expansion of the Pike Place Market Historic District last August.

The legislation will allow the Department of Neighborhoods some additional time to complete work that this council asked D.O.N. to do in last August so that the effect, again, is just to simply extend the legislation we already voted on by six months.

The central staff memo Accompanying this legislation specifies that the Department of Neighborhoods expects their consultant will complete much of the work needed to develop a preliminary recommendation by the end of June.

If the recommendation is for a permanent expansion, SEPA review would follow that recommendation.

We had a public hearing last Tuesday.

A lot of folks came out to testify in support of the legislation.

And folks speaking in favor of the legislation really did a great job of speaking to why, in their perspective, the market should be looked at as part of a permanent future expansion for the Showbox to be within the market boundaries.

The points that they spoke to was that the market was established in 1909, the Showbox building opened up About 10 years later, in 1919, it was a public market.

Folks noted the fact that there is a commercial synergy between both the market and the showbox.

Many visitors go to both places.

Each year for the last several years, Seattle has had a record number of visitors, and so tourism is an important industry in Seattle.

One of the comments that came up in the public hearing was from businesses or people who had moved to Seattle because of the culture and who have since started a business.

The folks also spoke to the physical synergy between the look of the buildings and the appropriateness of the show box to be considered as part of the market because of that as well.

The Department of Neighborhoods is working to implement Ordinance 126560, which calls for a review of the historic significance of the Showbox Theatre, to study the relationship between the Showbox Theatre and the Pike Place Market, and to consider amendments to the Pike Place Market Historical district design guidelines related to the Showbox Theater.

They're also, part of this ordinance called for them to draft legislation, conduct outreach to stakeholders, and conduct State Environmental Policy Act review on the permanent expansion of the historic district as appropriate.

There may be some confusion about the scope of what the executive is doing right now.

The Department of Neighborhoods has clarified that the current scope of the study includes an analysis on whether or not to permanently extend the market district to cover the showbox property.

And in order to make a recommendation on whether or not to expand the district to cover that one property, they need to look at a broader area.

And in this case, they are looking at First Avenue properties to better understand the historical context as it relates to the showbox.

Essentially, to analyze the showbox property, you have to analyze the historical connection of the adjacent areas.

We have heard from folks who, during our earlier deliberations back in August, had not taken a position.

We heard from some of them today, and we also received a letter last week from Friends of the Market, the Pike Place Market Foundation, Historic Seattle, Friends of Historic Belltown, the Fisher Studio building.

and Rise Up, Belltown, and Friends of the Showbox.

I may have mentioned them twice because they are awesome.

And there's been a question of potential lease expiration in January 2024. If part of the, if this property becomes part of the Market Historic District, the change of use would require a certificate of approval from the Pike Place Market Historical Commission.

So that's just a little bit of additional context about how the recent news from the owner on their plans for the building would impact future decisions around the district boundaries.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

Council Member Pacheco, and open up for comments or questions.

Council Member Pacheco.

I hear and appreciate the nostalgia and sentiments that brought some of you out today to support Saving the Showbox.

And I believe that this conversation highlights the need for better tools to preserve the cultural resources we have in our city.

That said, I do not believe that this tool, expanding the Pike Place Market Historic District, is the right way to go about preserving the showbox.

As with any policy decision, there are major trade-offs associated with preserving the showbox.

When we use a blunt policy instrument like the Historic District as our tool, we are making housing the cost of saving the showbox.

That is housing that this city desperately needs.

In the midst of a housing crisis which is rooted in a shortage of housing, we need to be building more houses of all types.

This action takes away the opportunity to build 442 new units of housing that we need.

Even more importantly, under MHA, all new development must contribute to affordable housing.

By closing the door to redevelop on this site, we are turning down up to $5 million in affordable housing payments that could have been required under MHA.

As a chair of the council's planning, land use, and zoning committee, I'm a firm believer that we should be embracing density and building more housing in walkable neighborhoods, particularly close to transit and light rail stations.

I also serve in the Puget Sound Regional Council where we are challenged with Vision 2050 as our region is expected to grow with 1.8 million new residents and 1.2 million new jobs.

As we confront climate change, congestion, and unaffordability, building housing near transit and jobs is what will allow so many Seattleites like myself to live without a car.

As someone who has advocated for greater density in my own district, particularly in the U District where new light rail stations are opening, it is intellectually inconsistent to oppose any new development so close to light rail.

Let me be clear.

I am not opposed to saving the show box, but I cannot in good faith support saving the show box in a way that places the burden on families trying to afford a place to call home in Seattle.

As a city, we need to move away from a conversation that sets up a false choice between creating new housing and preserving cultural spaces.

Instead of pitting these two things we need against each other, we should be having a conversation that promotes both housing and culture.

I wasn't on the council last year when this temporary boundary expansion was established, but if I had been, I would have voted no.

I believe that the council could have and should have taken more time to identify a solution that preserved the showbox and created more housing.

If we had worked with the developer to identify a solution that worked for all sides, we could have found a way to preserve the showbox and have 442 units of housing that were proposed.

As someone who was just at the showbox on Friday, I don't think that it is contradictory to want to preserve the history of that place and recognize that it could use some upgrades.

For example, we all know that the showbox is on the city's list of unreinforced masonry buildings, meaning that it poses a serious danger to the people in the area in the event of an earthquake.

This fact alone should tell us that freezing the showbox in time is not a safe or responsible option.

I will be voting no today because I believe that saving the showbox in this fashion is leading us down the wrong path as a city, and because I am hopeful that it is not too late to pursue the options that allow us to preserve culture while also building housing.

If I can make one final note, I hope that we, as we have this conversation, we can do so in a way that is respectful to all of us.

At the public hearing last week, I was very concerned to hear one individual compare himself as a Showbox fan to a Native American and call the Showbox his reservation.

I was even more concerned that the crowd applauded that statement.

That sort of comparison is unacceptable in my mind, and we should not be condoning it.

Thank you, Councilmember Chico.

Any other comments?

Councilmember Juarez.

I'll just be brief.

I just want to share that we have a point of order, Council President.

We just had an hour of public comment about people supporting or saving the show box.

And during that time, nobody was jeered or made noises.

And Council Member Pacheco deserves to have you to be respectful and to listen, because that's what we're doing.

So I'm going to ask that you do that and that this is not a rally.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Juarez, for the comments.

I'll take that under advisement.

Any other comments, questions?

I think Council Member Sawant, I think you were in queue.

Council Member Esqueda?

Okay, I just wanna figure that one out.

I'll just defer to your side-by-side colloquy there and go at it.

Thank you, Mr. President.

First, I really applaud Councilmember Pacheco in terms of your concerns around affordable housing and housing in general, and I want to make some comments about housing and I think the crux that we're at with wanting to create affordable housing, more housing in general in this city, and preserve cultural hubs throughout Seattle.

I will be voting yes again on this legislation to make sure that we have additional time to consider the request in front of us, but I want to be very clear about something.

We voted yes last year.

We voted yes in the budget to give funding to the department to complete the study.

The study did not begin until January of this year.

So if there's frustrations, I want folks to know what this council did in August versus what actually happened beginning in January and to direct those frustrations accordingly.

I think it's also very important to know that we here on council have taken a number of steps to ensure that there's access to both cultural hubs and promoting access to housing throughout the city and that it doesn't have to be an either or.

One of the issues that we had been working on last year prior to the passage was making sure that if there was the opportunity to preserve the show box as is and then build housing above it, that all of those options were tirelessly pursued before moving forward.

And unfortunately, we don't have that option in front of us, but I am supportive of giving us a little bit additional time so that we can see if there is opportunities that do present themselves to protect this cultural hub.

But I think in the future, we want to make sure that there's not a distinction between cultural hubs versus housing.

It should be both and.

There's also, I think, an important element that Councilmember Pacheco has elevated and Councilmember Juarez, you know, I appreciate your underscoring of the need for respect because we do want to make sure that we're not pitting ourselves against each other in this city when it comes to residential, cultural, and business displacement.

That is a very real and pressing issue around Seattle, especially, though, in communities of color.

And as we're facing the challenge of looking at displacement across our city, one of the bigger, longer-term impacts that I'm gonna be looking at is to make sure that we have both and, both housing, both affordable housing, and the ability to create and preserve cultural hubs.

It's really important for us to weigh these equity implications as we take actions to preserve important community spaces like the Showbox and so many others that have come before us and also think about how we can build housing around these centers so that more people can walk to work, that can afford to be artists in this city, can go down the street or down the the elevator to their place of employment or their place where they're playing a show.

So I hope that we keep that in mind and that also as we think about the opportunities to both preserve cultural space, we take the same level of energy that we've seen today and throughout the last 10 months and we really do apply that to creating greater density like some of the comments that were made around creating density at Fort Lawton.

We know that there's tremendous opposition sometimes and having your energy, harnessing that energy and focusing it as well in terms of creating affordable housing as much as we are as creating cultural hubs I think can be a both and and that's what I'll be looking forward to in the longer term policy solutions and conversations.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Council Member Esqueda.

Council Member Sawant.

I wanted to thank all the activists and music lovers who are here again today, and I know many of you were here at the public hearing last week, and many, many more of you have been fighting for the Showbox, and I've been honored to stand alongside you all, who have made the hope of saving the Showbox a reality, although obviously we are not done.

I also wanted to take a moment to congratulate the Save the Showbox movement, especially the Showbox employees, the Friends of the Showbox, and Historic Seattle in overcoming a major hurdle and winning the landmark status nomination last week.

And we are looking forward to a really positive outcome on that as well, even though we are all very clear that doesn't preserve the music menu use of the building.

The victory we won last summer, expanding the Pike Place boundary, historic district boundary to cover the showbox, would never have been possible without this movement, without the over 118,000 people who signed the online petition, without the hundreds of you all who packed council chambers, demanding the showbox not be destroyed to make way for unaffordable luxury apartments.

Without the hundreds of local musicians and artists raising their voice on behalf of their community and forcing the council to act, we would not have had any chance of winning.

Indeed, the Pike Place Market itself would not be standing today if it were not for a movement decades ago similar to this and probably larger in scale because of what they were up against.

It's also a critical component for the movement to have its own elected representatives who will always stand with and fight alongside the movement, never betraying it.

And my office was proud to play that role, and we will continue, my staff and I will continue, standing with the movement at every step of the way.

I also wanted to again thank Council Member O'Brien, who supported my ordinance last August from the get-go, and Council Member Herbold, who brought forward this bill today, which I think is important.

Those who were there last year will recall how at every opportunity many council members would say, what is the rush?

Why is someone's office pushing for this boundary expansion to apply so soon?

Why is fast-tracking the legislation necessary?

The reality is that if we had done it their way by believing that deals can be struck with wealthy landowners or corporate developers, then we would not be here.

People likely know about the lawsuit filed against the city by Roger Forbes, the building owner of the Showbox.

When the judge reviewing the case, throughout significant portions of the lawsuit, we heard this was due to our movement demanding no delay in action.

So judicial outcomes also are influenced by what we say out in this world on the streets and how strong our movement is.

When we passed our legislation last August, we knew we had won interim protections and we knew we would have to come back this spring and summer so here we are.

I will be voting yes of course on today's proposed six-month extension of the interim expansion and I'll call on council members to respect the demands of the movement and do the same but really as Shannon Wells said you know it should not have come to this today because The mayor's office and her departments had more than enough time to ensure the necessary studies could have been conducted in 10 months, okay?

It didn't happen, but this is what happens when the immediate pressure of the movement is absent.

So it's important that we keep in mind after today that if we have won the six-month extension, it doesn't let us, the movement, off the hook.

We have to make sure that all the studies that were promised in the work plan are carried out in a timely fashion, and that will only happen if we remain vigilant and vocal And we want to make sure that in the next month, especially, we have enough pressure on the mayor's office for the survey to be completed on neighborhood impacts by the city departments, because it can be done in that timeline.

We cannot, we simply cannot rely on the behind-the-scenes deals and negotiations with Forbes attorneys, developers, and corporate landlords.

It was, you know, we won the initial interim protection purely through the strength of the movement and we should not waver regardless of what we hear, what else we hear.

we should not waver because we know that behind-the-scenes deals is not the way to go.

For now, let's win the six-month timeline extension and keep the pressure on the city departments who report to the mayor's office and make sure the studies are completed.

I wanted to thank those who have been fundamental to this struggle, the employees of the showbox, the Friends of the Showbox, Historic Seattle, central staff members, Lish Whitson, who's here, who helped us tremendously with getting the legislation ready, the community organizers in my office, some of whom are here today, Jay Middleton, who launched the online petition, and Seattle's vast community of artists and musicians, some of whom are also employees of the Showbox, but I also wanted to mention Smokey Brights, Ben Gibbard, Soul, Sassy Black, Dude York, Spirit Award, Ruler, many of whom also performed at the free concert we had last summer on the plaza outside.

Thank you all so much.

And then in closing, I will say, as Ernie Ashwood said last August, right here in chambers, this is not about, you know, Culture, it is not a question of music versus housing.

This is not about music versus affordable housing.

This is about culture and housing for everybody versus profits for the few.

And as Ernie said, he asked elected officials, you have to pick a side, you know, decide which side you're on.

And I will also say that making this about affordable housing, in my view, is either naive, you don't know the facts, or it's disingenuous of elected officials because we know it's not about affordable housing.

If elected officials are concerned about affordable housing, then those who repeal the Amazon tax should not have done that.

And if you want to support affordable housing, then let's fight for rent control.

and to expand social housing massively by taxing Amazon and big business.

Let's keep fighting.

Council Member Gonzalez.

Thank you, Council President.

I'll make this quick because I know we're on Agenda Item 2 of a very long agenda for today, but I just wanted to say that consistent with my vote in August of 2018, I intend to continue to maintain my my same position, so I'm going to vote yes on this bill.

However, I wanted to give some caution and some additional rationale for that.

So I don't think there is a justification for me at this point to modify my vote on what I see as a technical amendment to allow some some time for the departments to continue doing the evaluation that we originally asked them to do.

We haven't modified the substance of the evaluation and analysis and study that we originally asked the departments to do back in August of 2018. This is an opportunity for the City Council to provide the executive additional time to be able to complete that work.

Again, nothing substantive has changed in terms of the work that we're asking the executive to do.

This is just about finding an additional amount of time to allow to do this.

So I see this amendment to this bill is technical in nature and not substantive in terms of a final long-term solution for this particular parcel of land.

Which leads me to my second point, which is a caution to my colleagues that I am concerned about the direction of looking at and expanding the scope of evaluation for the alleged purposes of evaluating the true historic and architectural district nature of this space.

I am cautious of the fact that this may, the expansion of the scope may lead to further limiting development capacity along First Avenue, utilizing this historic resources tool as the mechanism to do that.

And we have seen in the mandatory housing affordability context and in other spaces that oftentimes historic resources as a tool is being weaponized to prevent additional density and affordable housing coming into particular neighborhoods that should be taking on the burden and responsibility of additional development capacity for purposes of housing our families and low-income members of the community and so I'm going to vote yes for this bill today with the caution that that doesn't necessarily mean that I would support a final bill if that final bill signals in my mind a move towards a scope of study area that would diminish significantly development capacity along First Avenue, again, under the auspices of preservation.

And I just really think we need to be very careful about evaluating specific historic resources and how that might implicate policy positions, clear policy positions that this city council has taken in other areas with regard to upzoning and allowing additional development capacity for purposes of increasing dollars, real dollars available to us to construct affordable housing, either in this particular neighborhood or in other neighborhoods around the city of Seattle.

And when we look at the maps of where our development is happening as it relates to affordable housing developments, a significant majority of those developments are occurring right here in downtown in District 7. And so when we know that our inclusionary zoning, incentive zoning programs require that downtown developers contribute the most amount of money under our mandatory housing affordability program, I have serious concerns about a broad stroke approach here that may compromise and diminish the great efforts that I think the City Council has taken in the space of affordable housing as it relates to a broader swath of land along First Avenue.

Thank you Councilman Gonzalez.

Any other comments or questions?

I'm going to say a few.

Would you like to close debate after I say a few?

So just a few things.

I'm going to support the legislation.

Councilman Herbold, thanks for having a committee meeting on it and bringing it to our attention and we were sort of monitoring the deadline of our first Legislation, I want to thank the advocates for coming out.

Your voice is heard, meaningful, and thanks for the song, Mark, that was beautiful.

This concept of picking a side, to me, is nonsense.

For me, it's not about picking a side.

It's about listening to people.

When you pick a side, you're drawing a line and you're on one side or the other.

To me, that's not how we get things done in this city.

We listen.

And we try to understand and try to come up with a good outcome.

I think many of you have presented a very clear picture of what we can preserve and what we should try to preserve.

Council Member Pacheco, I want to thank you for taking a bold stance on what you believe in.

And you weren't part of the long discussion we had that got us to this point.

But I want to applaud you for voting for your conscience, which I always think is Not listening to anyone else, but trying to hear others, but trying to vote on what you think is right.

So thank you, sir.

And last, I want to say this notion about behind-the-scenes deals.

I want to address that.

So my take on it is the city didn't do its behind-the-scene work as feverishly as I was hoping they did when we passed this legislation.

I was hoping that behind-the-scene work was really done and so we didn't have to get here where we are today.

We all know it's no big secret that we're in litigation on this matter.

If you didn't know, I'm sorry to let that secret out the bag, but we are in litigation on this matter.

And my hope is that perhaps parties can work together and we could come up with a win-win, a win that preserves our great music venue and allows these talented musicians to do what they do so well.

And that we again look at the value of the market and the beauty of the market and housing issues and we come up with some win-wins.

And whether that's behind the scenes or here in City Hall, I care less but I just want to get that kind of work done.

But for me it's not about picking a side, it's about working together as a community and getting some things done.

So hopefully within the next six months as this legislation presents, we will get this work done.

And so I want to thank all of my colleagues for this robust discussion.

I'd ask that Council Member Herbold close the debate and then we will vote and see where the chips fall.

Thank you.

I just want to close out with some comments.

Some of you heard before during the public hearing highlighting the work of the Arts Office as it relates to the need to act with urgency to preserve our cultural spaces.

A report out of the Arts Office, the Cultural Space Report, identifies that The value of cultural spaces and activities are quantifiable.

They drive economic growth and urban development.

Blocks in Seattle with cultural spaces have significantly higher walk scores.

They have more businesses open at 10 p.m.

on Fridays, and they have twice as many outdoor cafe seating permits, pointing to the economic development value.

They go on to say that The arts ecosystem that we have today thrives in a rich network of cultural spaces that were able to flourish because during periods of greater affordability in Seattle, without the spaces to support this cultural life, Without the presence of arts and cultural organizations in our neighborhoods, this ecosystem can't be sustained at times of less affordability, like the times we are in now.

Vulnerable communities are the canaries in the coal mines of displacement.

They are disappearing from the cultural landscape and some of the first to disappear, as we have heard, are communities of color and the arts and cultural organizations that reflect them, whose presence helped create the very land value on which those cranes are now building.

I think that's a good point to end on.

Okay.

Thank you, Councilor Herbold.

And with that...

We are going to vote on Council Bill 119504. So, clerk, please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Pacheco.

No.

Sawant.

Aye.

Bagshan.

Aye.

Gonzalez.

Aye.

Herbold.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Eight in favor, one opposed.

Bill passed and shared with Senate.

A little clap on that one?

Please read the next agenda item.

The report of the Housing, Health, Energy and Workers' Rights Committee, agenda item 3, Council Bill 119507 relating to fair housing, establishing a one-year prohibition on use of rental housing bidding platforms, amending section 7.24.020 of the Seattle Municipal Code and adding a new section 7.24.090 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you, Mr. President.

So on to rental protections, because I'm neither naive nor ready to wait.

We're going to change policy and we're going to make sure that it's informed by our community partners at the table.

We have worked on a one-year prohibition on rent-bidding technology.

So for folks who aren't aware, this is like eBay for rental units.

Nobody wants to see their rental unit go on eBay and the cost of their housing skyrocket.

But what we heard immediately after getting elected was that there was a number of people, especially in the University of Washington area, students specifically, who had seen these eBay-like platforms escalate the cost of housing in their neighborhoods.

And our intent was to create a one-year prohibition on these rent-bidding technologies in order to provide time to determine whether or not these platforms are in violation of our fair housing laws and to analyze how they may impact housing costs or cause greater inequities in our access to affordable housing and housing throughout the city, creating potentially disproportionate impacts on our communities, especially communities of color.

and lower income communities.

And what we've seen over the last year through the Office of Housing in coordination with the Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Constructions and Inspection is that they've been working diligently on time, I will add.

Thank you very much to the mayor's three departments who've been producing a report for us in July.

They will provide a study to help us better analyze and understand this new technology, its impacts on equitable access to housing, and what long-term regulations may be necessary.

Given the pace at which new technologies, and right here we see a number of them crop up right in our own backyard, can come online, can be ingrained in our communities and ingrained in our systems, we really just wanted to hit the pause button.

Let us have a little bit of time to see how these rent-bidding technologies or eBay-like systems for rental units actually affect our commitment to fair housing, whether or not they have an impact on the rental housing market, and whether there's implications for our commitment to protecting our population's access to fair housing laws.

So the report will be presented, as I said, on time in July of this year.

What we'd like to do with the Council's support today is to add an additional 12 months So once we receive that report back from the three departments, we will then have the opportunity to work with tenants and the community at large to develop potential policy solutions and conduct a robust engagement process to actually talk about what to do about the technology.

We have seen from other cities that they have not put this pause in place.

And the consequence has been limited access to units throughout their cities, an increase in the cost of affordable units.

And with an effort to try to be proactive and get ahead of it, we're very excited to be able to put forward in front of you a unanimous vote from the Housing Committee that looked at requesting that 12-month extension so that we can create the appropriate and informed decision on this longer-term regulation for rent-bidding platforms.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Any other questions or comments on the legislation before we vote?

Council Member Baxhaw.

Council Member Mosqueda, thank you for bringing this forward and for your leadership on it.

And I certainly will be voting for this today.

At the committee the other day, I asked the question because I've been hearing from both renters as well as property owners.

How is our study going along the lines of the first in time registration.

Because what I'm concerned about is that people who are at their computers during the day, that they get a first shot at a rental unit that comes open.

Somebody who is working outside and away from a computer may find themselves delayed and behind.

frankly, behind the eight ball in terms of getting on those lists.

And is this something that we can continue to look at, or will it be part of this 12-month study, or could we make it such?

Thank you for the question, Councilmember.

I'm looking down the way here at folks who were working on the first-in-time legislation previously.

I think that that's part of the question that they will be answering for us in July.

How has this tool impacted that ability?

If you're the first one to put your application in, you have the qualifications, you have the funding, you should have access to that rental unit.

Unfortunately, with the way in which the platforms were working before our stay on these technologies, the cost was escalating.

So those folks who were first in time were getting outbid.

So I think your question is exactly the type of question we hope that the July report will answer.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any other questions or comments before we vote?

I think we're good.

OK, please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Pacheco.

Aye.

Sawant.

Aye.

Bagshaw.

Aye.

Gonzalez.

Aye.

Herbold.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passed and the chair will sign it.

Please read items four through six and you could read a shorter title of any of those if you'd like.

Agenda items four through six, resolution 31887, adopting and approving an application for surplus property at Fort Lawton, including a redevelopment plan.

The committee recommends the resolution be adopted as amended.

Council Bill 119535 relating to the Fort Lawton redevelopment plan application.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Council Bill 119510 relating to land use and zoning.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Okay, all of these items are interrelated, thus we read them into the record together, so I'd ask Council Member Mosqueda, is it Mosqueda, or?

Yes.

Yes, okay.

Council Member Mosqueda to describe them all, but we'll vote individually if that works with you.

That would be great.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I'm really excited about today and thank you for giving us a little bit extra time to describe these three pieces of legislation as they all fold together.

This is really an incredible opportunity for us to celebrate the culmination after 15 years.

This is about a community vision for affordable housing to be developed at Fort Lawton that has taken community engagement, planning, and advocacy.

Advocacy, as I mentioned, for 15 years that is now going to create a variety of homes, including homes for seniors and veterans experiencing homelessness, affordable rental homes for families and individuals, affordable home ownership opportunities for low-income buyers, And with housing costs soaring and displacement crisis at very high levels, as we just talked about, there's an intense need for these homes to be built now more than ever.

And as we do so, we've talked about, as we create greater density in the city, one of the most important things that we can do is also preserve and expand access to green space.

Of the Fort Lawton land that we are talking about, 60% of this site will be dedicated to parks and open spaces.

complementing the natural beauty of the recreational space that is right next door at the Discovery Park Park.

This is wildlife habitat at Discovery Park, an area that we all love to enjoy in Councilmember Bagshaw's district, that will not be touched by the development at Fort Lawton.

So it will be complementary and it will butt up to the existing land at Discovery Park, and this Fort Lawton housing will be a complement for the neighborhood.

And by creating affordable homes in a very high-cost area of our city, Fort Lawton will further expand our commitment to exactly what you were just asking about, our commitment to fair housing, creating greater inclusion and advanced opportunities by opening access to more families to be able to live in a very high-cost area of the city that has previously been out of reach for very low-income communities, especially for communities of color and low-wage workers.

So I want to underscore today is a win-win.

It's a huge opportunity and it's a rare opportunity to gain access to a significant portion of public land from the federal government at no cost.

At no cost if it is used to build affordable housing and services especially for homeless.

It's a win-win for Seattle's highly competitive real estate market.

And over the course of several evening hearings, and over the last few years, and especially five public hearings at the Housing, Health, Energy, and Workers' Rights Committee just this year, we've heard from community and interest in doing a couple of things.

Number one is expanding access to bus services in the neighborhood and increasing school capacity.

We heard from SDOT and folks from Metro that they will engage in a process for looking at the frequency at which buses should come and how to potentially add stops or routes to the area over time.

We've heard the desire for increased school capacity and actual school buildings for teaching.

What we've heard from Seattle Public Schools to date is that they will engage in that process of looking at additional facilities for classrooms.

But the most pressing issue that Seattle Public Schools has right now is the need for more play fields.

And that's exactly what we're creating here.

We're also creating more space for wildlife habitat.

And as you heard, I think, from some of the folks who presented today and in previous committees, we've heard the desire to make sure that there's more space opened up to wildlife habitat and that we reduce our surface parking lot streets.

In today's package, we have a really great amendment that came directly from the coalition that was working with Fort Lawton and in the neighborhood that they brought to our attention the desire to reduce the surface lot parking space by at least a third and to work with communities so that we could create more public space, especially for wildlife habitat, including the blue heron population.

So I'm really excited about the proposed package that you have in front of you, the amount of work that has gone into making this these three pieces of legislation that you just heard described come together is really important.

And Mr. President, if I might, I think there's a few details as it comes to housing that I'd like to underscore for the population, for the community.

That'd be very helpful.

Thank you, Council Member Schuder.

So there's about five buckets that are critically important.

Number one, homes for seniors.

This is 85 supportive housing units for seniors, including veterans who've experienced homelessness.

On site, there will be housing case management, residential counselors, and housing stability plans created so that we're really not just creating a door and a roof, but we're creating the ability for folks to get stabilized.

Thanks to the support of services and partnership with Catholic Housing Services and United Indians of all tribes, this is not just creating a house, but it's truly creating a stable home for folks.

Again, that land will be at zero cost.

The second bucket is for individual and family size rental units.

These are 100, one, two, and three bedroom apartments for renters earning up to 60% of the area median income.

So you can imagine this is greater space for families to grow and thrive, opportunity for community space for those tenants there.

So it's not just going to be homes and units, it will be actual community space.

and this housing is being developed by Catholic Housing Service, the land is coming at an extremely discounted price.

The third bucket is home ownership opportunities, and having been a person who just went through the process of trying to become a first-time home buyer, it is very cumbersome, it is very confusing, and it is very stressful.

If we're going to create equity in this city, and by equity I mean racial justice equity, economic equity, we need to also create the ability for folks to buy their own first place so that they can create greater equity in their pockets, in their bank accounts, so that people can get out of generational poverty without universal guaranteed retirement security, often the ability to own your own place is one way to pass on wealth to future generations and to get out of generational poverty.

As we create home ownership opportunities, especially for our low-income communities, this is one way for us to achieve our commitment to equity.

This will create 52 three-bedroom townhomes and row homes for low-income buyers.

Low-income buyers between $64,000 to $86,000 a year for a two- or five-person household.

So that's our missing middle housing, that's our low-income, middle-income housing to create greater self-help so that people can create sweat equity and create opportunity to have true equity in their pocketbooks.

Thanks to the folks at Habitat for Humanity for working on this portion.

And again, the land for this type of housing will come at zero cost.

Further, we have included into the requirements the requirement for green building standards, which will be required for all of these new homes at Fort Lawton.

And finally, as we heard before, it's important to preserve access to green space and public play areas.

So 60% of the 34-acre site will be maintained for parks and related uses.

That's 13 acres for passive recreation, six acres for two multipurpose fields and service parking lots, five acres for forest land incorporated into Discovery Park, and the existing building where they have the parks maintenance facilities parking lot will be reduced now by a third.

Again, this land will be at zero cost for the open public spaces.

So, Mr. President, with that, I just want to say a few thank yous, if I might.

And perhaps I should hold those thank yous until other folks have a chance to say a few words.

Thank you, Council Member Scudetto.

Council Member Bagshaw.

Thank you.

Councilmember Muscata just said about 90% of what I was planning to say, so this is going to be very abbreviated.

But I do want to acknowledge our neighbors from Magnolia.

Thank you for coming again.

And I tried to get your questions answered at the committee and having people address them.

And I have been involved in this for way more than the last couple of years, the five committees that we've had on Fort Lawton.

And I really want to acknowledge Steve Walker, thank you, and Emily Alvarado.

Tracy Radsliff from our Council Central staff that have worked so hard on this.

But truly, we are getting six acres more of active sports field.

That's something that we negotiated with the Seattle Public Schools.

There's going to be 60% more of this land that's going into parks.

We're not taking more of Discovery Park.

Fort Lawton is asphalted right now.

We're going to be turning that into housing.

And a great portion of it is going to go into parks, as Council Member Musqueda said.

The whole idea that it could be an either-or, and as I mentioned at the committee meeting just the day before that committee meeting, I'm hearing from folks that are saying, well, look, we've got a really good idea.

Let's not do it in Fort Lawton, and let's put it down in Inner Bay.

Well, frankly, we are going to have to be looking for space all across the city and all across our region to even begin to scratch the surface on the amount of affordable housing that we need.

And it strikes me that, yes, after 15 years, this Fort Lawton plan is one that we have negotiated with the neighbors.

with the neighborhood.

And I'm very pleased that we're moving forward with it.

And I respect the fact that people say there's change.

You bet there's change.

Seattle is changing everywhere.

And no neighborhood is really to be separated from this.

We need to incorporate, hear the voices, and be inclusive.

And I believe that in this particular case, over 15 years that we have done that.

I also want to acknowledge Marty Cloistre, who was here earlier.

I think he's left.

But Habitat for Humanity is giving people the opportunity for home ownership.

And we know that that's really the step forward for so many families.

So, I'm very happy to be joining you in this.

Council Member Mosqueda, thank you for bringing it through your committee.

And also, I want to acknowledge the United Indians of all tribes, Catholic Housing Services, and all those who are helping us get here and bring this across the finish line.

Thank you, Council Member Bakeshaw.

Any other questions or comments before we turn it back to Council Member Mosqueda?

Okay, Council Member Swamp.

Thank you, President Harrell.

I want to start by acknowledging that we are on the indigenous land of the Duwamish people, and I'm specifically acknowledging that because we're discussing in this item and the next two items the disposition of Fort Lawton.

As everybody knows, in 1970, courageous activists from the United Tribes of all Indians occupied the military base on Fort Lawton to demand it be returned as indigenous land.

And it was through that struggle that the Daybreak Star Center was won.

You know, in other words, the result of a resolute demonstration of civil disobedience.

Once again, proving that when we fight, we can win.

And it was a big victory even though the movement did not win all the demands that they had.

Today we are voting on approving a plan to transfer ownership of Fort Lawton from the federal building, from the federal government, I'm sorry, to the city and to approve a plan to build some affordable housing there.

I will of course be voting in favor of these items because I support building these 237 units of affordable housing on Fort Lawton rapidly.

as rapidly as possible, and to build more there would require a new environmental impact statement, which could take years.

So I support these agenda items today.

However, I think we also need to be honest that this has been for years, not necessarily by the current council here, but in general, has been a monumental missed opportunity that could have allowed us to build far, far more affordable housing than we now have in our hands.

When former Mayor Ed Murray had city departments conduct the EIS for the Fort Lawton redevelopment, they studied different alternatives, but the maximum affordable housing they studied was 237 homes, which makes that our legal maximum at this stage.

The mayor made that decision without consulting members of the public.

I'm sure that after today's vote, there will be numerous press releases from the political establishment doubting this Fort Lauderdale redevelopment plan as a triumph, and absolutely we should celebrate every affordable home that gets built, but I think there's a danger that that triumphalism is such an exaggeration that it belies the better realities that we face in terms of our affordable housing crisis.

For comparison, Fort Lauderdale will have 237 affordable homes on 34 acres, In comparison, affordable housing activists on First Hill in District 3 successfully won sound transit property to be used to build affordable housing on a parcel of Madison Street.

That one parcel will have over 300 units, more than all of the 34 acres of Fort Lauderdale.

My staff calculated the ratio and the first affordable housing project will have over 100 times as much affordable housing as Fort Lawton relative to its area.

Similarly, the North Lot affordable housing redevelopment of the Pacific Hospital PDA will have more affordable housing than all of Fort Lawton.

Similarly, the FAME housing affordable housing project in the central area near Pratt Park will have more than Fort Lawton.

The list goes on and all of those properties are on single parcels, not on the vast 34 acres that Fort Lawton sits on.

So I will be voting in favor of this plan because I want every affordable home that we can get But I also, my message is for affordable housing activists that we should not let up for one second in demanding as massive a possible expansion of social housing in Seattle because, you know, as we have these tiny projects heralded with a lot of fanfare, they are actually falling far, far short of what is needed.

To truly address the affordable housing crisis in Seattle, we will have to tax big business and the super-rich to raise the funds that will be necessary to build social housing on the scale that it's needed, that is in the many thousands every year, not in the hundreds.

And we also need rent control to stop the continued haemorrhaging of existing affordable housing.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Siwan.

Okay, Council Member Ms. Skater, would you like to?

Council Member Gonzalez, please.

Thank you, Council President.

I just wanted to echo my thanks for everybody who has been working on this issue for so long.

I think one person who was left off the thank you list is the great Kenny Pittman, who just retired last week.

He has been instrumental along the way for continuing to advance the relationship between us and the federal government to allow an opportunity for us to even be having these conversations around using this surplus property in this manner.

And I just wanted to underscore that when you read about the efforts, the 13 plus year efforts around Fort Lawton, it's striking to me that when the city initially proposed development in this manner on Fort Lawton, and that was in 2008, and the original proposal actually proposed 415 units of affordable housing.

We're now down to about 50% of that.

Part of that is because of construction costs and because of, you know, so there are other realities related to the process, and I think it's really unfortunate that we are now here over a decade later in a situation where we have half the amount of housing units we could have had in 2008 had we been able to proceed as we wanted immediately before the recession.

So I think this is a, while we aren't getting those full capacity of housing units that I think all of us would really truly want to see in this uniquely situated neighborhood, I think it's important for us to acknowledge the work that has been done to allow us to be in a position now to accept the 200 plus units of affordable housing that will certainly meet the needs of many families in the city of Seattle.

So really want to thank Council Member Esqueda for bringing us across the finish line and Council Member Bagshaw for your dedicated service to District 7. To be in a position where you're finally seeing this over the finish line must feel pretty tremendous.

So congratulations to you as well.

Thank you, Council Member Gonzalez.

Council Member Juarez.

I will be a little bit brief, and I'll probably be showing my age here.

But some of us were there in 1973 when we took over Daybreak Star, and we didn't actually have the movement.

But we did it, and we got it done.

The United Indians, I also want to thank the CEO, Michael Tooley, who just walked in, who is the CEO of United Indians and also my cousin.

Always involved in Indian country and the struggle for Native American people.

But I want to add that this goes further back than 2008, back in 2000, when we were trying to build the People's Lodge, which would have included housing units, a cultural center, an elder center, and more low-income housing.

And medical services for not only native and urban people, but other people who would require those services.

Those neighborhoods fought.

I was on the board for almost 30 years with United Indians and worked with Bernie White Bear, and I was also legal counsel for 15 years.

Those neighborhoods fought us tooth and nail for 13 years.

So, the historical perspective is this, well before, well, since 1973, our efforts that we did in 2000, what we tried to do in 2008, I am proud to sit here today and thank Council Member Mosqueda and Council Member Bagshaw that we kept at it, that our compass was clear about what we wanted to do with that property.

You've heard me say this before, sometimes just because you chant, when do we want, we want it now, that's not how the world works.

You have to keep marching forward and clear and what you need to do for the community and sometimes you don't get everything you want, but you get to that point where you can actually take a vision and have it transferred into brick-and-mortar.

So I want to thank Councilmember Mosqueda and Kenny Pittman and again Councilmember Bagshaw for being relentless and working in the district and Michael Tooley and the other CEOs that have walked before him and that we worked hard on this, and also Michael Reichert at Catholic Community Services, Liz Tale at Cowlitz.

I could go on and on and on.

This has been a piece of property that the tribes have worked on for many decades.

So I'll leave it at that.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Juarez.

Councilmember Mosqueda.

All right.

Well, thank you very much, Mr. President.

And you're damn right we're going to send out a press release after this because this has been 15 years in the making and that does not make anybody establishment.

That means we're celebrating small components that together, woven together, will actually help create more affordable housing throughout the city.

We're sending out a press release because we're quite literally demilitarizing a parcel of property that was publicly owned that should be put to the public's use so that it can be used for the public's good, not a military base.

We are absolutely celebrating the fact that we're creating affordable housing for seniors and for vets.

We're creating apartments that will be one, two, and three bedrooms so that more families can live in the city.

We're creating first-time home ownership options, and we're preserving 60% of former military land now for parks and public spaces.

Yes, we are celebrating.

And yes, we also know that this is one small tool in a very large toolkit that we need to address the crisis of housing in every single one of those opportunities that we can to build on public land.

We will take advantage of it.

Last year, the first piece of legislation that I passed was making sure that every parcel of publicly owned property that is not being used to the highest and best use that we've determined as surplus and no longer needed by the city, we should preserve that public land and stop plugging budget holes and actually build affordable housing.

This is an extension of that commitment.

On every parcel of land, we should be working to create housing and community services and the ability for more people to live in the city so that more working families can have the chance to grow, live, and thrive in this city so that more seniors have a place to call home and don't get displaced, so that vets who are sleeping homeless on our street have a place to call home.

That's what we're celebrating today.

I'm incredibly proud to be working with our colleagues to get this over the finish line.

After 15 years in the making, after five committee hearings this year, after the opportunity to work with those who wanted more space for the Blue Heron to get rid of surface parking streets, we are going to celebrate this, and then we will keep working and organizing.

We also know that when we reduce the cost of housing by building on public land, we make it more affordable by 15%.

That's the smart use of the Publix dollar.

This is the smart use of Publix land.

We are also making smart investments for future generations and for our elders.

Thank you.

Thank you to everyone who helped to make this day possible.

I'm looking at Director Walker and his team, Emily Alvarado.

Thank you to the Office of Housing.

Thank you to the folks at United Indians of All Tribes for being there from the very beginning to help advocate for turning this military land into a better public space.

Thank you to our partners at Catholic Community Services, at Habitat for Humanity, at the Housing Development Consortium, and so many others from the housing world who've been advocating for this for so long.

And thank you to our team, Tracy Radscliffe and Kettle Freeman from Central Staff for your ongoing tenacious work on this, along with Kenny Pittman, who Councilmember Gonzalez mentioned earlier.

He retired last week.

He got to see this over the finish line.

So we are so happy that he was able to celebrate that committee vote.

And we wish him the best in his retirement.

Finally, thank you to my staff, Aaron House, who has been working on this over the last few months to really make sure that we had all of our I's dotted and T's crossed.

And we won't give up.

We know that we need additional housing.

And we also hear you in terms of the need for more transit and potentially schools in the future.

And we'll be there to work with you to do that analysis.

So yes.

look for that press release because it is coming and congratulations to every one of our colleagues for all of your work and the community at large for your tenacious work to turn this parcel into housing.

Thank you Council Member Esqueda.

I think that's a good cue to vote on.

We're going to vote on three pieces of legislation.

We're going to take them individually.

We'll do the resolution first and so those in favor of adopting the resolution.

That resolution is 31887. Please vote aye.

Aye.

Opposed vote no.

The motion carries and the resolution is adopted and the Chair will sign it.

On Council Bill 119535, please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Pacheco.

Aye.

Sawant.

Aye.

Begshaw.

Aye.

Gonzalez.

Aye.

Herpel.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

None opposed.

I got distracted by Council Member O'Brien's loud aye and almost forgot to say aye myself.

The bill passes and the Chair will sign it.

And regarding Council Bill 119510, please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Jacob.

Aye.

Sawant.

Aye.

Begshaw.

Aye.

Gonzalez.

Aye.

Herbold.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passed and the chair will sign it.

Please read the next agenda item, number seven.

Agenda item seven, appointment 1355, appointment of Michaela B. Gonzalez as member of City Light Review Panel for term to April 11th, 2020. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Council Member Esqueda.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I'm still reeling from our excitement around Fort Lawton.

I'm ready.

We are very excited about the appointment of Mikhail Gonzalez to the Seattle City Light Review Panel.

This review panel position has been open for a while, so we want to thank the Seattle City Light Review Panel for their ongoing work as we've worked to fill this position.

Michael is a project manager at Spark Northwest.

She leads Access Solar Program in Spark Northwest and supports Solar Plus State energy strategy, sorry, and supports Solar Plus State.

energy strategy work across Oregon and Washington.

Also, she serves on the Emerald City's Executive Committee and the Seattle Environmental Justice Committee 100% renewable energy work.

We're really excited not just about her qualifications and her experience and her leadership that she brings to the panel, but on her also the work that she's going to bring and the diversity of opinions as we work to create greater diversity and representation on the board.

It's really exciting.

She wants to serve in this role and appreciate Ms. Gonzalez's commitment to making sure Seattle City Light's strategic plan and FR efforts that we initiated in my committee last year to right-size our commercial and residential rates for customers ends up in the right spot.

So thank you to her and the entire panel for their ongoing work on this effort.

Very good.

Any questions or comments?

If not, those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries and the appointment is confirmed.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda item 8. Appointment 1283. Appointment of Rachel L. Stewart as member of Capitol Hill Housing Improvement Program, governing council for term 2, March 31st, 2022. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I'm excited to bring forth this appointment to have Rachel Stewart serve on the Capitol Hill Housing Governing Council.

This is an opportunity for Rachel to help us bring her commitment forward that she's had from the community services group at the Seattle Housing Authority.

She's the former deputy director at the Center for Community Engagement at Seattle University.

And Rachel joined Capitol Hill Housing Community Development Committee in 2016 as a non-board community representative.

She has an MPA in nonprofit and community-driven development from Kentucky State University and a certificate in leadership from Seattle University.

Very good.

Any questions or comments?

If not, those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries and the appointment is confirmed.

Please read items 9 through 12.

Agenda items 9 through 12. Appointments 1356 through 1359. Appointments and reappointment of Kel Anne Bowman, Michiko Starks, Sean Weeks, and Thomas J. Kelly as member joint apprenticeship training committee for term to December 31st, 2021. The committee recommends appointments be confirmed.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

I'll talk about all of these appointees in one comment together.

These appointees to the Seattle Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee can really compromise the type of experience and commitment we need to ensure that journey level workers and Seattle City Light Apprenticeship coordinators and management personnel have ongoing attention to how we are getting folks into these apprenticeship training opportunities And we had a great conversation in committee about the ways in which the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, which oversees the apprenticeship training standards offered through Seattle City Lights Apprenticeship Program, can help us with some of our commitments in these cities to diversifying the workforce, ensuring greater placement of positions within our city, good paying job positions, and also as the city is dealing with, I would say, a high number of individuals who will be retiring soon, trying to identify ways in which we can scale up our recruitment and outreach to especially diverse communities, women, people of color, to get into these good living wage jobs, union positions for the most part, and very excited about their interest in serving in the I think willingness in which they showed they'd love to come back to talk with us in September about some of these initial ideas with their appointments.

I'm very hopeful about how we can maintain and reach more of our goals.

Very good.

Any other questions or comments?

If not, those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries and appointment is confirmed.

Okay, please read the report of the Planning, Land Use and Zoning Committee.

The report of the Planning, Land Use and Zoning Committee agenda item 13, Council Bill 119505 relating to land use and zoning in many sections 23.41.010 and 0.012 of the Seattle Municipal Code to remove the Ballard Municipal Center Master Plan Area Guidelines and to adopt the Ballard Neighborhood Design Guidelines and to delete reference to the Ballard Municipal Center Master Plan Area Guidelines.

The committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

Council Member Pacheco.

So this legislation adopts new design guidelines for the Ballard neighborhood.

These new guidelines are the result of years of community work including 24 community meetings, five open houses, online surveys, and community group conversations.

The Ballard community set about to update these guidelines in response to the significant growth the neighborhood has seen in recent years as well as the MHA rezones that the council adopted recently.

The new guidelines Also apply to a much broader area within a neighborhood defining seven character areas and recognizing the unique design attributes and distinct features of each I want to thank everybody from the community who took part of the time who took the time to craft these new guidelines Thank you.

Councilmember Chico any questions or comments?

Council Member Bryan.

Just briefly add, thank you Council Member Pacheco for your work on this and really want to emphasize the gratitude towards community members that have been working on this for so long.

Not very often that a land use decision comes before us with almost no controversy at all, but I think it speaks to a lot of really deep, deep work that's based in community outreach by some of the leaders on that.

Thank you.

Okay, if no other comments, Please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Jaco.

Aye.

Sawant.

Aye.

Bankshaw.

Aye.

Gonzales.

Aye.

Herbold.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Bill passed in the Sheriff's Senate.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda item 14, Council Bill 119506 relating to land use and zoning amending section 23.41.010 of the Seattle Municipal Code to approve the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Design Guidelines 2019. The committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

This legislation adopts new design guidelines for the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

The development of these guidelines began in response to changes in the neighborhood, including the opening of the new Capitol Hill light rail station, the establishment of the Capitol Hill Eco District and the Arts District, as well as the recent MHA zoning changes.

The design guidelines were developed with the help of a community working group that held monthly meetings for over a year, community involvement also including walking tours, open houses, and online surveys.

Some of the priorities spelled out in these new design guidelines include reinforcing walkability and natural features, encouraging development to reflect local values and the LGBTQ community, and integrating major institution development into the surrounding community.

I wanna thank again all the community members who took out a time of their lives to work on these design guidelines.

Thank you, Council Member Pacheco.

Any other questions or comments?

If not, please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Pacheco.

Aye.

Sawant.

Aye.

Begshaw.

Aye.

Gonzales.

Aye.

Herbold.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Bill passed in share of silence.

Please read agenda item number 15.

Agenda item 15, Council Bill 119489, relating to land use and zoning, allowing limited expansion of major institution uses in a portion of industrial general one and two zones and industrial buffer zones located near Seattle Pacific University and amending sections 23.50.012 and 23.69.24 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Council Member Pacheco.

Colleagues, you may all remember that last December the council adopted an amendment to the comprehensive plan aimed at allowing SPU to apply for a slightly expanded major institution master plan that would incorporate several nearby parcels that are zoned for industrial use.

This legislation implements that comprehensive plan amendment by amending the Seattle Municipal Code to allow for the limited expansion of major institution uses in these specific industrial parcels near SPU.

In order for SPU to actually expand their master plan to include this area, they would need to begin the process of creating a new master plan, which would ultimately come back to the council for final approval.

I would like to thank SPU, who worked with the surrounding community to secure their support, including the support of the people who have spent decades of defending industrial land.

Thank you, Council Member Pacheco.

Any questions or comments before we vote?

Council Member Bakeshaw.

I want to acknowledge Dr. Martin.

Thank you for being here.

And my buddy Steve Gillespie, who we've been working on this for a long time.

I want to recognize and say thank you for the good work that you've been doing with the outreach to your community.

That has made a huge difference.

And I went back and looked at this about six months ago.

We got letters from both Eugene Wasserman and Susie Burke, both of whom said they didn't have an issue with this going forward, which is great because those would be the two that would be, if they were going to be concerned, we'd be hearing about it.

So thank you for that.

And I understand that this is the second step in a three-part process that we move through here.

And then I think Mr. Gillespie, you mentioned to me earlier that we will go through a full-blown MUP.

and really get focused on what the designs might be.

But at this point, it's just moving us forward another step.

I want to acknowledge how much work you've already done, so thank you very much.

Any other comments?

I'll just say, President Martin, thank you for being here.

Thank you for your commitment to our youth, well, everyone who wants to be educated, to our region.

And I don't make it a habit to thank attorneys here, but thank you for being here.

I don't want to start that precedent here, but what a great academic institution, your presence.

We're honored by your presence.

Okay.

With that, please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Pacheco.

Aye.

Sawant.

Aye.

Begshaw.

Aye.

Gonzalez.

Aye.

Herpel.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Bill passed and Cheryl will sign it.

And they've waited through the entire meeting, two hours to be here.

Okay.

Please read item 16 through 21 agenda item 16 through 21 appointments 1360 through 1365 Appointment of Benjamin William D. Roberta's as chair of Seattle Design Commission for a term to February 29th 2020 20 appointments of Amelia Leighton Cody Vinita Sidhu Elaine wine Brianna as Holin and Richard F Crotchallis as members Seattle Design Commission for a term to February 20th 2021 the committee recommends that these appointments be confirmed.

Yes, ma'am particular

Benjamin William de Robertis is a director of design with Flat Architects in Seattle and is being nominated by the mayor to serve as the new chair of the design commission.

Amelia Lane Cody is the director of the Seattle office of tool design and a past chair of the Seattle planning commission.

Vanita Sidhu is principal at Site Workshop, a landscape architecture firm based in Seattle.

Elaine Wine is the development manager at Seneca Group and has experience serving on the Landmark Board.

Brianna Holin is the project development manager for Gemdell USA in a reappointment to the Design Commission.

Crotchless is served as the regional administrator of the Federal Transit Administration's Region 10 office in Seattle and is a former director of the city's old Department of Design, Construction, and Land Use.

He is a reappointment to the Design Commission.

Thank you very much, Council Member Pacheco.

Any questions or comments on these appointments?

We're going to vote them all at once.

If not, those in favor of confirming the appointments, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The appointments are confirmed.

The motion carries, the appointments are confirmed.

Please read the next agenda item.

The report of the Sustainability and Transportation Committee, agenda item 22, appointment 1354, appointment of Andres Arjona as a member, Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board for term to March 31st, 2020. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Council Member O'Brien.

Thank you.

Andres will be a great addition to the Pedestrian Advisory Board.

He's got a master's in urban planning, land use and transportation.

He was also an appointed member of the stakeholder advisory group for the Sound Transit 3, like the leadership group process that we just completed.

A resident of D4, and I think he served well and look forward to him on the pedestrian advisory board.

Thank you, Council Member Brennan.

Any questions or comments?

Not those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries.

Appointment is confirmed.

We're gonna move to other business and Council Member O'Brien, you wanted to say some remarks about a return to Puget Sound.

Please describe it in an open session.

Thank you, so colleagues, I'm circulating a letter and asking your support to sign on.

This is a letter to the Lummi Nation in support of freeing Togatay and returning her to the Puget Sound.

I'll read just a couple little excerpts out of the letter that you should have or have had in front of you.

We know the Lummi believe that as their ancestors did, that the Orca are part of their cultural patrimony.

our kinship relation, and consider families to be sacred.

As such, it is their sacred obligation to bring Tokete home as she is an ambassadress of the Salish Sea.

Moreover, as the Orca are fighting for their survival, the Lummi people are acting boldly based on their inherent rights and their sacred obligation to help them as part of their overall Salish Sea campaign.

The following words from your Sacred Sea website resonated with us.

And so this is quoting from the website.

We have been called to bring Tokutei home.

We realize that Tokutei's story is important, but she is even more important as an ambassador for the Salish Sea.

Blackfish are apex predators and thus are key indicators of their ecosystem's health.

If we are to provide effectively for Tokete and her family, we must restore the salmon runs and vitality of the Salish Sea.

The peoples, cultures, and ecosystems of the Salish Sea are all connected, and they have long suffered the violences and stresses of colonialism.

It is our task to work across cultures and borders to heal the ecosystems, the economies, and communities of all those who now call this place home.

Thank you, Councilman O'Brien.

It's been passed and we've signed it.

Thank you for preparing that and for your work on this on this issue Okay, we're gonna move to other business.

Is there any other business to come for the council councilmember Juarez?

I would like to be excused from City Council and briefing on June 17th It's a move to save the councilmember Juarez be excused on June 17th any comments all those in favor say aye aye Opposed the ayes have it councilmember skater

Thank you, Mr. President.

I'd also like to request to be excused from full council and briefing on June 17th to attend a family reunion.

It's been moved and seconded by Council Member Muscat to be excused on June 17th.

Any comments?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

Any other business coming for the council?

If not, we stand adjourned.

Everyone have a great rest of the afternoon.