Seattle City Council 1/3/2023

Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome back to Seattle City Council.

Today is Tuesday, January 3rd.

The time is 2.01.

I'm Deborah Juarez.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Peterson?

Present.

Council Member Szilagyi?

Present.

Council Member Strauss?

Present.

Council Member Herbold?

Council Member Lewis.

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Present.

Council Member Nelson.

Present.

Council President Juarez.

Here.

Seven present.

Thank you.

Council Member Herbold, you might want to turn your mic up a little bit.

I could barely hear you.

How's that, better?

Perfect.

Is Council Member Lewis, whenever he, just let us know when he enters at some point.

Council Members Lewis and Herbold are entering the room.

I am here, Council President.

Oh, good.

Thank you.

Sorry, did not hear you.

I apologize.

Moving on in our agenda, I'm not aware of any presentations today.

Moving on to public comment.

Madam Clerk, how many speakers do we have in chambers and how many do we have remote?

We have 10 remote speakers and 14 in the chamber.

OK, so let's do the folks that are in the chambers first.

I normally do it the other way, but since we have 14 people there and then we have 10 people that have are calling in and what we'll do today is we'll give each speaker two minutes And Madam Clerk, I will now hand it over to you to go ahead and provide the instructions via recording.

Hello, Seattle.

We are the Emerald City, the City of Flowers and the City of Goodwill, built on indigenous land, the traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples.

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

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

Here's some information about the public comment proceedings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

At that time, you must press star six.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Council reserves the right to eliminate public comment if the system is being abused.

or if the process impedes the council's ability to conduct its business on behalf of residents of the city.

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

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

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

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

Thank you, Seattle.

Our first speaker is Sagar Amini.

And be sure and speak right into the microphone, please.

Yes, thank you.

Hello, my name is Sagar Amini or Sahar Amini.

And as a UW student in Seattle, and a member of the Iranian community, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to this council for hearing us, for hearing what we have been chanting for the past four months.

Iranian people want a change of this regime led by themselves, but they are fighting a fight that must be supported by all of us here.

They want to live with dignity and the freedom they so much deserve.

Organizations like NIAC have been standing in the way of that by misinterpreting what is happening in Iran in the name of normalizing a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran, taking retaliatory actions against U.S. residents, and influencing U.S. policy, both domestically and internationally.

I myself am a victim of these bullying and retaliatory actions.

NIAC's actions is an extension of the Iranian government's actions, and it's affecting those of us living here in Seattle and across the nation.

Even singers, rappers, and activists inside Iran are screaming against NIAC because they have first-hand experienced the consequences of NIAC's actions.

This council is reflecting the true voice of Iranians in this resolution, and we are proud to be represented by each and every one of you.

And we want to thank you for standing with us against bullies.

Nayak is known to be the lobbyist of the Islamic regime in Iran, and even a federal judge in the U.S. agreed to that.

After Nayak filed a lawsuit against Hassan Da'i, who showed Nayak's links to the regime, Judge said the works of Trita Parsi, the previous president of Nayak, was not inconsistent with the idea that he was first and foremost an advocate for the regime.

The piece about NIAC is a central aspect of this resolution, and we appreciate each and every one of you for standing by our side throughout this process, and most importantly, for standing in the right side of history.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Nagin Kamkar.

Thank you, Council President and members of the Seattle City Council.

My name is Nagin Kamkar, and I'm a longtime Seattle resident and Iranian-American.

I'll be speaking to Resolution 32078. The purpose of this legislation is to take a public stance with the people of Iran, condemn the Islamic regime and its affiliates, and urge local and national leaders to engage, including President Biden.

It's 2023. The Iranian Revolution The women, children, and men, they are sacrificing everything to have basic freedoms.

Freedom to love who they want, freedom to criticize government policies peacefully without retaliation, freedom to pray to whomever they want.

Many Seattle residents have family and loved ones back in Iran.

facing this brutality.

Many Iranians have here organized in response, organized art exhibits, organized local rallies that garner thousands of people.

And this has been done for the last four months, being there for the voice of Iran, because they're begging for it.

They're begging for help.

They're begging for international aid and regime change.

If this resolution passes, Seattle City Council would be a leader in the nation for proactively taking a stance in a fight that is not just international.

This is not just an international issue.

This is local and we're seeing it today.

I've seen it today on Seattle soil where we have a lobbyist arm for the Islamic regime, the National Iranian American Council or NIAC attempt to lobby in their right to remove text that would call for an FBI investigation.

Think about that.

Why are they doing that?

There's a lot of evidence to show that their policies are in favor of the Islamic regime, and they're not there for the voice of Iran.

Our next speaker.

Our next speaker is Golban Mirandez.

Look around this room right now.

All the Iranians here have lost so much to the Islamic Republic.

My name is Golban Mirandas, and I am a proud Iranian-American.

My family immigrated from Iran 22 years ago to Washington State, fleeing religious persecution.

As a result, my family spared me from a life of oppression and humiliation by moving us to this great nation.

My story isn't unique, as there are a whole generation of Iranians who have been forced into exile due to oppression and genocide, including all of us here.

The Iranians in this room are all active members of the community and have been working around the clock to amplify Iranian voices.

We are across all parties and walks of life, but we all have one goal, a free Iran.

As an Iranian and an American who is passionate about freedom and human rights, I urge you to pass Resolution 32078 in support of not only the Iranian people in eradicating the Islamic Republic, but for a better world at large.

This movement is aligned with everything we stand for in Seattle.

This is an opportunity to stand on the right side of history against oppression and there is nothing more progressive than the freedom of mankind everywhere.

Condemning NIAC and standing in solidarity with Iranians is standing for freedom and prosperity for Iran and the preservation of America's freedom.

Iranians in Iran have made it clear they don't want the Islamic Republic and they don't trust NIAC.

NIAC does not represent Seattle Iranians or Iranians anywhere.

We have been impacted by retaliatory action of NIAC here at home.

And as a victim of the bullies, I want to thank you for standing up for me.

Remember, this movement is all about woman life freedom, something that we stand for here in Seattle.

Zan zindagi azadi.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Arizona by gun.

Speaker number four Arizona.

Thank you.

In the name of women, life, freedom, my name is Arzu Begum.

I am an Iranian-American-Washingtonian, and today I'm here on behalf of my fellow Iranian friends to express my deep appreciation for honorable council members in their work to support our community.

I move out of Iran as a refugee after years living in fear under the Islamic Republic regime.

My childhood years were filled with the horrific experience of the child rejected at the public schools for my religion and jailing of my father for his belief.

Today, I feel even more honored to say I am from Seattle.

The resolution put forward by Councilman and Councilwoman to address our concerns.

In the last past three months, I have had the privilege to work with other volunteers in the Iranian-American community in organization rallies and be the voice of who can get their voice out.

We have formed Voice of Iran, where I am currently a board member of.

We have worked days and nights to learn the ins and outs of organizing large rallies, while having our own jobs and fighting on several other fronts, including disinformation about the Iran events by organizations such as NIAC.

In doing so, we have been targeted, harassed, and intimidated, but never gave up.

Even though we are putting our lives here and our families' lives back home in danger, but we choose to do so because it's the right thing to do.

Please pass Resolution 32078.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Ali Nasr Saeed.

Thank you.

I would like to thank the council members for allowing us to speak here.

I asked the clerk previously that I could play an audio tape.

President Obama is in it, and he much better than me explains what I wanted to say.

If I may, please.

It started fast.

You've got one minute and 45 seconds.

I've not heard from anyone inside of Iran.

There's not a large number of people here, but there's anything in particular else that the United States should want?

There is very little the United States can do to actually help in any particular action.

The U.S. can, however, do a lot of damage if it does the wrong things.

I think it's absolutely right to not take sides.

If you ask the protesters, they're all united in this.

They say, leave us alone.

There's absolutely nothing that Barack Obama can say to help the reform movement in Iran.

Every word that comes out of his mouth will be used by the regime, by the supporters of Ahmadinejad, to bolster their argument that this whole thing is nothing but a Western rule.

They all said the same thing.

Stop reaching out to us.

You're not helping the situation.

For example, as an Iranian, and as an American, and as somebody who has studied this country, and who has a real stake in what's taking place in Iran, I can tell you that almost the unanimous opinion of the people who are on the streets is that the more the United States stays out of this, the better chance that they have to actually succeed.

So to the Iranian people.

So the two people that you heard were members of NIAC, advising President Obama in late 2010s and early 2011. And here is Mr. Obama himself.

That's fine.

You guys will recall, there was a big debate inside the White House about whether I should publicly affirm what was going on with the Green Movement, because a lot of the activists were being accused of being tools of the West, and there was some thought that we were somehow going to be undermining their street cred in Iran if I supported what they were doing.

And in retrospect, I think that was a mistake.

Every time we see a flash, a glimpse of hope, of people longing for freedom, I think we have to point it out.

We have to shine a spotlight on it.

We have to express some solidarity about it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sarvanas Shikan.

Hello, my name is Sarvana Sheik, and I urge passage of Resolution 32078. First, I want to thank the city of Seattle for considering legislation that stands with the people of Iran and the revolution which impacts so many Seattle Iranians.

I'm a first-generation Iranian-American, born and raised in the Seattle area, graduated from UW-Seattle, lived in U's district for several years, conducted research at UW Medicine, and I currently work at Swedish Cherry Hill.

I proudly say that Seattle is my home.

I believe Seattle is a pillar in modeling a progressive culture that is inclusive for people of all walks of life.

Seattle has influenced my journey as an advocate on issues here at home ranging from gun violence to climate change, Black rights and women's rights, all of these matters which I have shown up for by engaging my peers, my own community, by joining protests, signing petitions, organizing rallies, and fundraising.

I believe this to be my responsibility.

Unfortunately, these rights and privileges are not allowed in Iran.

For the last 43 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has tortured, raped, silenced men, women, and children who ask for nothing but respect for basic human rights, free religion, expression, and choice of body autonomy.

What is happening in Iran is a humanitarian crisis, and the international community is quiet at best.

But I have hope because this resolution says to me that Seattle stands on the right side of history, that Seattle sees the local rallies and grassroots efforts by advocates like myself, the voice of Iran, and that Seattle Here's the women of Iran, the children and the men fighting for basic human rights.

And we have a responsibility to take a stand and call on Biden to do more.

Nayak is not my voice and is not the voice of the Iranian people.

Please pass Resolution 32078 and tell the world we stand with the people of Iran.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Carla Matashemi.

Carla.

Hi, I'm Carla Montashami.

I'm here to support Resolution 32078 and cheer you on as you lead the nation by passing it and standing with the people of Iran.

I was born in the US.

I'm a veteran.

I live in South Seattle in Boulevard Park.

My father is an immigrant from Iran.

My Iranian family have been separated from me because of the Islamic regime.

It's been painful to see and hear how they were bullied, shot at, and treated like second-class citizens.

The personal stories could go on and on.

However, I really want to talk about the bigger picture here.

Support of this revolution is life changing for our progeny all over the world.

This goes beyond the borders of Iran and could significantly move the needle of the world towards more democracy everywhere.

Less supported terrorism and kinder, more humane future.

Let me elaborate.

I'm gonna go beyond the known facts of the regime sending drones and missiles to Russia and that dictators support dictators.

Let's really look at this.

This is the first ever women started and led revolution.

Standing up for women, life, freedom is standing up for life itself.

Women in Iran have been subjugated, tortured, raped, murdered, and keep getting up and going into the streets.

Why?

What gives them that strength?

I think it's because living in fear of tyranny is not living at all.

No freedom, no life.

So women, bearing the ability to bring life into this world, would rather give up their own than let those future lives smother in despotism.

That is the strength of responsibility.

When women stand up for freedom, we stand up for everyone.

And we stand with those women.

Martin Luther King said, he who possibly accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps perpetuate it.

So thank you city council for becoming real leaders and leading the nation in support of resolution 32078. Thank you.

Our next speaker.

Our next speaker is Leanne Olson.

Leanne Olson.

Good afternoon and happy new year.

I'm Leanne Olson.

I'm a board member and the current preservation chair of the Queen Anne Historical Society.

I'm here with a couple of my committee members.

And we respectfully urge you to approve postponement of the vote on CB120312 until the last week in February.

The Council Committee decision made at their December 9th meeting has given the public very little time to learn about and consider the recommendation to reject the bill.

The time between the committee meeting and today was compressed by various end of year celebrations and the upcoming months will also be impacted by national holidays.

As you know from our letters to you, we object to the committee's recommendation.

Along with numerous constituents from other council districts, we believe that the rejection of this bill would represent a serious threat to Seattle's landmark ordinance.

However, the reason for the requested delay is to allow the general public a fair opportunity to share their views with you.

Thank you for considering this request.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Michael Hershenson.

Thank you.

Greetings.

I'm Michael Hershenson.

I am also here from the Queen Anne Historical Society.

We urge rejection of the neighborhoods, education, civil rights and culture committees recommendation and ask for your vote for council bill 120312, establishing controls and incentives for the Seattle first national bank building on Denny way, a city landmark since 2006. Rejecting this bill would disregard Seattle's preservation processes, where in anticipation of council approval, controls and incentives are negotiated in good faith by the city and property owners as a normal second step in the landmarking process.

A negative vote would undercut 50 years of protecting our historic urban landscape.

The Queen Anne Historical Society encourages well-planned urban density and supports multifamily housing.

The potential transfer of development rights from the bank site would achieve both preservation and density goals.

Denny Way chronicles the rich tapestry of Queen Anne's urban history, from the Denny Farm at Seattle Center to the park the Denny's donated to the city in 1883. The story pivots around the bank building, and it ties to the open spaces of the second regrade and the post-World War II automobile age.

It is a critical feature of our neighborhood, and we urge you to protect it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Council President, we've used our 20 minutes.

Would you like to extend the public comment period?

Yes, how many people do we have in chambers left in?

We have five.

We have five people left in chambers, and I believe we still have approximately eight to ten remote.

OK, so we should extend public comment to at least three o'clock.

That sounds safe.

OK, let's be safe.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Tom Rasmussen.

Good afternoon, council members.

It's great to see you and happy new year.

I'm Tom Rasmussen here in support of Council Bill 120312, which adopts controls and incentives for a landmark building.

Passage will encourage transit-oriented development and avoid the unprecedented action of rejecting an agreement between the property owner and the city.

The Uptown Neighborhood Plan supports more density in housing, and the community supports this landmark.

The controls and incentives will help make that happen.

The development capacity of this site will not be lost.

It can be transferred to another site in the neighborhood.

This legislation is also supportive of climate action goals.

Reuse of the building reduces the consumption of new material, resources, and the carbon emissions associated with new construction.

The building meets an extraordinary four of six criteria to qualify as a landmark.

Only one is needed.

We've heard people request delays so the public can weigh in more on this issue and perhaps to allow you to delve into the issue more yourself.

Having been in your shoes for 12 years, my request and recommendation is that you vote for the controls and the incentives today and put this behind you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, our next speaker is deb Barker deb Barker.

Thank you, my name is deb Barker I was co chair of the Seattle landmarks preservation board for six and a half years and I appreciate the opportunity.

To speak to you today, I'm advocating for the controls and incentives being passed on Council Bill 120312. At the weekly meetings that I attended for six and a half years, both on ARC and in actual board meetings, I viewed dozens of nominations, evaluated criteria, visited sites and voted on each project based on the codes in place, even if I disagreed with them.

for a council committee to arbitrarily discount controls and incentives for a landmark without extensive public conversation is really a slap in the face to the volunteers who have upheld the codes of landmarks ordinance, to the staff who administered the program, and well, I believe that Queen Anne's Martin Kaplan, who wrote a letter to you, said it best, so I'd like to read that into the record.

This portion of it, he says, while some of you may find little historical value in the original Seattle First National Bank building, frankly, as a citizen, I strongly feel that it is not up to you to act as judge and jury and removing the C and I.

This move is unprecedented and opens up far-reaching consequences for all properties possessing landmark status now and in the future.

If you feel there are compelling reasons to revisit the landmark status of this building or any other building in the future after considering and publicly sharing transparent and justifiable reasons, then you owe a duty to every Seattleite to open up the discussion to rich and public robust engagement.

Honor all citizens of Seattle.

Thank you for your time today.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Eugenia Wu.

Good afternoon.

I'm Eugenia Wu with Historic Seattle.

I'm joined by my colleagues Taylor Roden and Evan Bew.

If you decide to vote today or later in the future on Council Bill 123.1.2, then I ask that you honor the designation process for the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance and vote to adopt controls and incentives for the Landmarks Seattle First National Bank Building.

As noted in Central Staff's memo, the controls and incentives recommended by the Landmarks Board are consistent with other recently approved C&I agreements.

Why is this landmark different?

Why?

I quote central staff's memo.

To protect the city's designation as a certified local government, if the council wishes to amend or reject the controls and incentives for the SFNB, central staff recommends that council members ensure that council's decision is not arbitrary and capricious.

and its reasoning thoroughly documented and justified." End quote. Walgreens purchased the property after it was designated a landmark. After it was designated a landmark. So they knew they were buying a landmark. They signed a controls and incentives agreement with the city and the board approved the agreement. This is how the process is supposed to work. This process has been agreed to by the city, the State Historic Preservation Office, and the National Park Service. Any action that is not part of the agreed upon landmarks ordinance could end up in review of the entire Seattle Historic Preservation Program. A vote to reject the controls and incentives is counter to the C&I agreement and the process. This could jeopardize the city's CLG status, which means no pass-through federal funds to the local program and subsequent removal from the Special Valuation Program, a program often used to benefit low-income and affordable housing rehabilitation projects. Seattle has one of the most well-respected preservation programs in the country, so let's keep it that way. In addition, Walgreens appealed their property taxes based on Lamrock designation, so they have lower property taxes.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alex Zimmerman.

Hi, my name is Alex Zimmerman.

Yeah, and I stay in care with my red sign and with my David yellow star because I am Jew.

And I speak about force 17 about appointment of police chief.

And I totally disagree what has happened because I have huge experience, I'm expert.

I am three time prosecutor, arrest probably a couple dozen times.

So, because I'm expert in this situation, my opinion totally no.

And I explain to you why.

Mayor Carl, you know what it means, a black man chose another black man only for political reasons.

It's number one.

Number two, we have absolutely identical situation for another four years with another black person.

It's not- All right, we're not- Madam Clerk, shut the mic down.

Mr. Zimmerman?

You are being offensive and disrespectful.

We are not talking about people's race.

We will not disperse the name of our mayor or his race or anyone else.

I'm going to ask for a recess here.

Shut the mic and have Mr. Zimmerman escorted out.

Okay, our next speaker.

This is our last in-person speaker, Susanna McIntyre.

Thank you.

Hello?

Hello, honorable council members.

We're here.

Hello, honorable council members.

My name is Susanna McIntyre and I'm Seattleite and the president and CEO of Atheist Republic, the world's largest international community of atheists.

The founder of my organization created our group over a decade ago when he was still living in secret in Iran because atheism is a supposed crime punishable by death.

I urge you to approve resolution 32078. Since joining my organization, it has been my utmost honor to stand with our Iranian community in their fight for a liberated Iran that respects all of her citizens.

I want to speak to you about how critical it is that non-Iranians stand with this community through this period of uprising and revolution.

The international solidarity that we display makes a huge difference to a community that largely feels abandoned by the supposed promoters of freedom and democracy.

As a case in point, I would like to share the words of my friend, political prisoner Sohail Arabi, who was sentenced to death for blasphemy and for being an atheist.

He shared these words after we successfully campaigned for the commutation of his death sentence and his release from prison.

He says, I don't know how to appreciate you with words.

You are my new family, better than a typical family.

I wasn't alone in prison because I had you.

Without you, I couldn't have passed the hardships.

but we have won.

We have proven that the prison cannot break an atheist, but we, the atheists, can destroy the prison.

To be an atheist is not a crime.

I heard your voice when you defended me.

My dear Sohail was arrested yesterday.

Sentenced, severely beaten, and denied the medication he needs as a result of years of torture.

It is our moral duty to stand with the Iranian community.

They hear us even in the darkest prisons.

As such, I'm asking you to please approve Resolution 32078. Thank you.

Thank you.

We will now move into our remote speakers and our first remote speaker is Howard Gale.

Hi, good afternoon.

Howard Gale with seattlestop.org commenting on our lack of police accountability.

Today, you will formally appoint a new police chief and a new member of the Community Police Commission.

In two days, on Thursday, January 5th, It will be the one-year anniversary of the Seattle police chasing a naked Latinx man in severe mental health distress with a snarling, aggressive dog, and then, after less than two minutes, releasing the dog to attack his naked crotch and then shoot him to death.

You paid for the officer, you paid for the attack dog, you paid for the gun and the bullets, and you paid for an accountability system that rendered this tragedy forgotten and invisible.

This council, the police, and the entire police accountability system have spent the last year ensuring, even if only by turning a blind eye, that a man robbed of his life was also robbed of his humanity and dignity by leaving him unnamed and unremembered for the last year and almost certainly for the years to come.

I would say that you rendered him a statistic, but even that was taken from him.

One year later, this incident is still not accounted for on the SPD's crisis data set.

Let me repeat that.

One year later, That incident is not on the SPD's crisis data set.

One year later, we have no idea what investigations were done or their outcomes.

This is precisely the environment that encourages police abuse.

Chief Diaz has been part of and led a culture of Seattle policing that has killed 18 people suffering a mental health crisis in the last 18 years.

All people with an edged weapon or no weapon at all, like the person killed one year ago this week, like Derek Hayden the year before, like Terry Kaver killed just six days before George Floyd.

like Ryan Smith and Danny Rodriguez, both killed the year before that, like so many others.

Today's appointments to public safety will only help perpetuate the same police culture that brutally murdered John T. Williams a decade ago, over a decade ago, when many of you promised us a different future.

How will a police chief and a community police commission that has stood by in silence over the brutal police murder one year ago, provide Seattle with any hope of change or justice?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jeff Murdoch.

Mr. Murdoch?

You want to call the name again, Madam Clerk?

Good afternoon.

Thank you.

My name is Jeff Murdoch from Historic Seattle.

My apologies.

I'm calling to support the adoption of the controls and incentives agreement for the Sea First National Bank building on Denny Way.

Historic Seattle is an organization that supports saving Seattle's meaningful places.

I served on Seattle's Landmarks Preservation Board from 2011 till 2017. The board is represented by diverse backgrounds and its members are experts in their fields.

You have entrusted this board of qualified citizens to evaluate the significance of historic properties to vote on designation alterations and to adopt controls and incentives agreements.

These decisions are not made lightly and they involve public discourse from many communities.

The claim that historic preservation is preventing the creation of much needed housing in Seattle is inaccurate.

It is a false dichotomy.

Old buildings, some of them historic, provide naturally affordable space across the city.

Old buildings offer sustainability, diversity, and resiliency in our city's building stock.

These places also provide connection to our shared histories, which cannot be replaced.

Only one half of 1% of Seattle's built environment has historic designation among the lowest of any American city.

In Seattle, we typically designate only a handful of properties as individual landmarks each year.

The Seattle First National Bank building, like so many other landmarks in the city, offers the potential for adaptive reuse and sustainable redevelopment.

Please do not undermine the volunteer board that you entrusted to do this important work.

Vote to adopt the controls and incentives agreement approved by the property owner of the city and the board.

Allow the landmarks board and property owner to work together to sensitively adapt the landmark while developing other parts of the site, such as the parking lot.

The landmarks board has a long history of successful redevelopment of landmark properties and the council should trust them to do so in this case.

Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Nassim Ghazanfari and Nassim will be followed by Susan Boyle.

Go ahead, Nassim.

In the name of the God of the rainbow, my name is Nassim Ghazanfari, and those were the words of Kian Pirfalak, a nine-year-old brilliant beautiful boy who was murdered by the Islamic Republic by gunshot when driving in the car with his parents.

He had done nothing wrong.

He was a brilliant inventor, loved robotics, and wanted to one day grow up to be an inventor.

His parents had to keep his body preserved in ice from their refrigerator in their home before they could have time to bury him because Islamic Republic not only kills children, but also steals their body.

I have a son.

I moved here to Seattle to raise my son in a free, democratic, and progressive community.

Being thousands of miles away from Islamic Republic, I am still being targeted by NIAC-affiliated individuals because I have been speaking up.

because I have been in the rally, because I have tried to be the voice of the Iranian people.

The resolution 32078 put out by the Honorable Congresswoman Morris and Congressman Strauss puts a huge, I'm sorry, I was trying to go off the screen, but I decided not to.

This resolution is huge for our community.

We urge you to pass it.

NYAC has betrayed our community for years, for decades.

They have portrayed a colorful picture of my country that doesn't exist.

They have lied to the board.

I am hoping to see them prosecuted one day.

But in the meantime, please stand with us.

Pass 32078. And I have the privilege to present Dr. Modarowski,

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Susan Boyle, and Susan will be followed by Tara Hedayati.

Susan.

Hello.

I'm speaking about Council Bill 120312. My name is Susan Boyle.

I'm a principal of Bola Architecture and Planning.

I speak to you with knowledge about this issue because I wrote the landmark nomination report for the Dexter Avenue Bank and also served as an eight-year prior member and chair of the CF Landmarks Board.

My professional work includes projects with those who have promoted and those who have fought landmark nominations, including municipalities, institutions, companies, nonprofits, developers, and land use attorneys.

I provided you with written comments, but I want to focus on one, which is that this building, this property is historically and architecturally significant.

It embodies the modernism of Seattle during a critical post-war period, leading up to the Seattle World's Fair, And the emergence of our city is a forward-looking progressive place.

The city and site design embody a new design for services to a diverse customers with an emphasis on convenience, openness, and transparency, rather than a hierarchical bank design for the rich and powerful.

As an interpretation of established design, it demonstrates the successful branding efforts of a local institution.

The current property owner purchased this property with full knowledge of the building's landmark status and it negotiated the very agreement that you seek to overturn.

I want to note how effective Seattle's landmark process has been over the last 50 years, supporting preservation of over 450 individual landmarks.

Think about the Space Needle, the Smith Tower, the Log House Museum, UW Canoe House, the Elephant Car Wash sign, the historic fire stations and libraries throughout the city, and hundreds of buildings in the historic districts of Piner Square, Chinatown, Downtown Ballard, Pike Place Market, Fort Lawton, and Columbia City, among others.

Seattle's landmark process and the negotiated agreements have succeeded for decades.

I urge you to approve the agreement.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Tara Hediati, and Tara will be followed by David Peterson.

Go ahead, Tara.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council President and members of the Seattle Council.

My name is Tara Hedayati, and I am a proud Iranian-American calling to support Resolution 32078. With immeasurable amounts of evidence from Iranian rapper Tumaj Salehi and political activist Hossein Ronafi, they have been risking their lives and the harassment, torturing, and murder of their loved ones to speak the truth from Iran about Nayak as a lobbyist arm.

of the Islamic Republic, which has furthered the lack of trust and increased frustration we feel collectively as the Iranian diaspora and non-Iranian.

NAYAK's suspicious and unethical efforts in framing themselves as the Iranian voice is expected and has been the case since 2009. However, if they have nothing to hide, then undergoing further investigations by the FBI should not be an issue since they continue to frame themselves as only a nonprofit that prides itself in its transparency.

Thank you, council members.

I urge you to support Resolution 32078 and support women, life, freedom.

Thank you, our next speaker.

Our next speaker is David Peterson and David will be followed by our last speaker, Chris Moore.

Go ahead, David Peterson.

Mr. Peterson.

Hello.

Mr. Peterson, you may need to hit star 69 possibly.

How about if we go to the next speaker and come back to Mr. Peterson?

Is Chris Moore available?

Mr. Moore?

I don't see his tile up here.

I see Mr. Peterson's, but it could be my screen.

I see both their tiles, and they both have the red mute.

So it's star six, gentlemen.

Go ahead, Chris Moore.

All right, well, it looks like we might be having technical difficulties.

Should we close the public comment or do you want to wait?

Let's close the public comment.

Yeah, and if it comes back, because we have a few items where we need to be interrupted, we can.

Mr. Peterson, it's star 6. Mr. Moore, it is star 6. I see your tiles are still up there.

Oh, hello.

Hello.

Can you hear me now?

We sure can.

Yes, sorry.

Okay.

Okay, good.

I'm glad that that worked and it finally came through.

Yes.

I appreciate your patience.

So thank you for the opportunity to comment today on CD 120312, an ordinance relating to placing controls and incentives on the Seattle First National Bank building, which is a designated city landmark.

I'm Chris Moore, the Executive Director of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, and we're a statewide advocacy group supporting preservation and cultural resources and communities throughout Washington.

So whether you vote today or in the future, we do urge passage of CB 120312. The precedent setting nature of the neighborhood committee's no pass recommendation is troubling actually for the overall preservation program that the city of Seattle has been fortunate to enjoy.

Failing to approve the controls and incentives for this resource would be precedent setting.

To be clear, the First National Bank has been a city landmark since 2006 for 16 years.

Codifying the controls and incentives for this building through a city ordinance is the last step of a multi-step process.

And while that process did take a long time, it in no way changes the fact that the building received landmark designation following the landmark board's determination that it met four of the six criteria associated with historic significance.

And again, as noted before, only one of those six must be meant to become a landmark.

So the building has been treated as a landmark since its designation in 2006. It would be going against all prior council action and precedent if this council voted against passage of the controls and incentives.

I do know concerns have been raised about the perceived loss of development potential.

As noted earlier, those can be transferred to another eligible receiving site.

So there would be no net loss of potential.

Again, we urge passage.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to comment.

Sorry for the technical glitch getting started.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And we'll try one more time with David Peterson.

You may need to press star six.

Let's see.

This is David Peterson.

Thank you.

Yes.

Oh, great.

I'm calling in support of CB12312 for the 72 year old former bank building at 566 Binney.

I've been working as a historic resource consultant for property owners for 15 years, primarily related to Seattle landmarks and working with landmark staff.

And before that, I was in multifamily design and development for 10 years.

I don't have anything to do with this project, no skin in this particular game.

But I watched the April 22nd and December 9th Neighborhood Committee meetings, very confused and dismayed by the discussion and the issues that were being brought up by the council members, issues that had to do with zoning and Department of Neighborhoods and Department of Construction Inspections.

And they seem to be discussing them without an awareness of how they overlap and how they do not.

And so it's hard in two minutes to respond to these multiple issues that came up.

One of them was housing and I couldn't figure out why housing came up because the property was being discussed as though it was owned by the city, which it's not, it's private.

And so discussions of that, I think may have had something to do with TDRs, Transfer Development Rights, which is a fantastic program and should be citywide, but it's very confusing and it gets complicated very fast.

And so I wonder if there are issues about our landmarks ordinance, why we have it at all, TDRs, landmark preservation and housing.

They're not in opposition.

They shouldn't be.

But I'm hoping that the council will vote to approve the CNI agreement for this property.

And then if there are issues that you have about understanding and wanting to alter TDRs or the landmarks program or housing, that you can take the time to go forth and do that and learn more about the issues and address career concerns in a more methodical way and not use this one specific property in order to deal with those larger issues.

It would be a terrible precedent to not approve the CNI for this and open up a whole legal morass probably of overturned landmarks and going forward.

So it would be terrible.

So please vote to approve the CNI.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes our public commenters today, council president.

Thank you.

And Madam Clerk, thank you for getting us through all of our public comment and thank those that came today, that showed up in chambers to discuss and give their comments and concerns regarding the two, one of the resolutions and one of the matters on the committee calendar.

So after that, moving on to our committee, let me, I know Council Member Sawant is ready to go.

I want to go ahead and move the, to adopt the introduction and referral calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

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

Are there any comments?

Thank you, President Warris.

I move to amend the introduction and referral calendar by adding appointments 02-434 and 02-435, the appointments of Dan Godfrey and Adit Goswami as members, Seattle Renters Commission for terms to February 28, 2024, to the introduction and referral calendar and referring them to the Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to amend the introduction and referral calendar by adding the two appointments that Council Member Sawant just referred to.

They would be referred to the Sustainability and Renters' Rights Committee.

Are there any comments?

All right, not seeing any.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the amendment to the introduction and referral calendar?

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Thank you.

Council President Ores.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries.

And the appointments of 02434 and 02435 are included on the introduction and referral calendar to be referred to the Sustainability and Renters' Rights Committee.

I'm guessing there are no further comments on the amended introduction of the referral calendar.

All right, seeing that there are none, if there's no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted as amended.

Hearing no objection, The introduction and referral calendar is indeed adopted as amended.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

Moving on to adoption of the agenda.

If there's no objection, today's agenda will be adopted.

Not seeing or hearing any objection to the agenda.

The agenda is adopted.

Moving on to the adoption of the consent calendar.

We will consider today on the proposed consent calendar, the items include, number one, payroll bill, Council Bill 120485, Council Bill 120486 and Council Bill 120488. Those are all those are all payroll bills.

Very common.

We do them every week.

Next, my understanding is that we have three committees regarding 11 appointments.

First, starting six appointments in the Economic Development, Technology and City Life Committee appointments there.

I understand, again, there are six.

four appointments coming out of the Neighborhoods, Education, and Civil Rights and Culture Committee, and one appointment coming out of the Public Safety and Human Services Commission.

Are there any items that council members would like removed from today's consent calendar?

Madam Clerk, I'm sorry, I didn't see your hand up.

I just wanted to mention there's also the minutes, the approval of the minutes from December 13th at the very top of the consent calendar.

Good catch, I just saw that.

Thank you for keeping me on my toes, Madam Clerk.

The minutes of December 13th, 2022. So with all of that, does anyone have, would any council member like to remove any of the items we just listed from the consent calendar?

All right, hearing none and seeing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

All right, I think I heard a second.

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

And will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the consent calendar?

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Salant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

None in favor.

None opposed.

Thank you.

The consent calendar is adopted.

Madam Clerk, will you please affix my signature to the minutes and legislation on the consent calendar on my behalf?

Thank you.

Moving on to our agenda to committee reports.

We have five committee reports.

I want to just note on the outset, item number five council member will address that matter separately.

So we're going to start off with the Public Safety and Human Services Committee, and that is Council Member Herbold.

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

The report of the Public Safety and Human Services Committee agenda item one, the appointment of Adrian Z. Diaz as Seattle Police Chief.

The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Council Member Herbold, you are the chair of this committee.

The floor is yours.

Thank you so much, Madam President.

I'm so very pleased to share that after the Police Chief Search Committee's work, including myself and Madam President Juarez, and the expert subject matter panel evaluation of the competitive exam, and Mayor Harrell's nomination, that the Public Safety and Human Services Committee unanimously recommended the confirmation of appointment of Chief Diaz at our December 13th meeting.

During this last meeting of 2022, the Public Safety and Human Services Committee was lucky to have Senior Deputy Mayor Monisha Harrell present Interim Chief of Police Adrian Diaz as the appointment for confirmation to the Chief of Police position.

Chief Diaz has served in the interim position since September of 2020, and he was appointed to the permanent role this September by Mayor Bruce Harrell.

Chief Diaz's experience spans patrol, specialty units, and police leadership.

His emphasis on community engagement resulted in community members writing, calling, and showing up to testify to support his nomination.

And Chief Diaz is well-known and well-loved throughout communities across Seattle, not the least of which being my constituents in South Park.

This is a testament to how seriously he takes community engagement.

It's not just a priority for his department to hire community engagement specialists, but he has made it a priority to show up himself.

is our partner in council priorities too, as we consider alternative responses, including the work of developing a new non-police crisis response, the development and implementation of the new CSO program as directed by the council in 2015, I believe, and support and collaboration for community-based initiatives like community passageways.

Again, the committee unanimously recommends support of Chief Diaz.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

So I'm going to open the floor up to any council member that would like to provide comments.

I will end with my comments at the end of my colleagues comments, and then we will go to a vote and then we'll open the floor if it's successful to allow Mr. Diaz, Chief Diaz to speak.

So with that, are there any other comments from my council members?

Council Member Sawant.

Thank you, President Warris.

I will be voting no on the appointment of Adrian Diaz as the Chief of Seattle Police Department.

This is similar to my past no votes against appointments to the Directors of the Office of Police Accountability and other powerful positions responsible for overseeing what has been a track record of police violence.

As I've said in the past, Seattle's police accountability system is fundamentally broken, and across the United States, police forces are heavily militarized and use far, far more violence than in many countries around the world, some of which have not had fatal police shootings in over a decade.

And I should also mention that this is also a reflection of the way the system of capitalism itself works.

So even though there are differences between the United States and other countries, and some of these are stark differences, as I just stated about the statistics of fatal police shootings, but at the end of the day, the institutions of the capitalist state serve the interests of the ruling elite.

So it is also not surprising, if we have an analysis about how the system works, to see that police departments function this way.

And for any leadership of a police department to do something dramatically different would require them to take on the opposition of the entire elite, including the established political establishments of various cities, and the wealthy classes of those cities.

And as I've said in the past in my no votes on past appointments, if as police chief Adrian Diaz were to radically overhaul the Seattle Police Department's practice away from occupying working class neighborhoods like an invading army, then of course I would support him.

However, to do that, as I just said, would require that he stand up to big business and the political establishment which she has not shown any intention of doing.

For all those reasons, I will be voting no on this appointment.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

I'll move to my volume up here.

Are there any other comments before I make some comments?

Council Member Morales.

Thank you.

I want to say I don't sit on the Public Safety Committee.

I was listening to some of the questions that my colleagues raised during that committee and appreciate the opportunity to both hear the questions and to hear Interim Chief Diaz's responses.

I do want to at least use my opportunity to comment to sort of frame the issues as I see it with the conversations that we've been having over the last few years.

I know that cities across the country are struggling to hire new officers.

We know that it's probably for lots of reasons, the stress of COVID, certainly public sentiment about policing after the murder of George Floyd.

I know that these are all contributing factors to what seems to be a change in perception about what policing means and possibly what it should mean from now on.

But I do think that it does our current officers a disservice to continue blaming the council for what is really a nationwide hiring challenge.

I think it sets up a dynamic that's unproductive.

And I understand that public sentiment can certainly affect morale.

I think as council members, each of us is keenly aware of of that issue, but we are public servants and we have a job to do, regardless of what what we hear from from either from colleagues or from community members.

I also want to say that when we have hundreds of thousands of guns on the streets in the city in the state.

It is, we do need to be able to respond, we need to be able to investigate, particularly if some of this is organized in some way which it seems to be in some cases in the city.

And public sentiment is still asking how we hold officers accountable when use of force or bias policing occurs.

These are legitimate questions.

These kinds of questions are the role of counsel in this setting.

And in the context of community safety in particular, we have a fiduciary responsibility to ask If paying for overtime or hiring bonuses is a better use of public services of public dollars.

If that's a better use then for example, building permanent supportive housing or thinking through an alternative mental health crisis response.

So these are legitimate questions, questions that I know we will continue to ask as a council.

As Council Member Lewis stated in the Public Safety Committee meeting last week, our community safety response has to include robust alternative responses for calls that don't require a badge and a gun.

And so I look forward to the chief's collaboration to help us identify what is the best way to set up this third department that the mayor is working with council to create.

And how do we do that in a way that really starts to meet our community safety needs.

So I look forward to working with the chief on that.

The last issue I want to address is throughout, Chief Diaz, throughout your written responses to council questions, you pointed to a need for continued investment in order to improve public safety.

And I think it's important that we be clear that the department has requested and council has funded Officer wellness programs, new technology investments, we fully funded the staffing plan, including substantial hiring bonuses.

So my hope going forward is that we hear from the department less about financial issues and more about how the department, which receives the largest share of our general fund, how the department is implementing operations and management strategies that achieve community safety for the people of Seattle.

So I will be supporting your appointment.

I think, you know, it is the mayor's prerogative to choose his cabinet as our new chief of police, it is your job to deliver on public safety for the people of Seattle.

And I look forward to your effective management of recruitment and retention strategies to ensure that our staffing goals are met and that our community safety goals are met.

And I look forward to working with you in the coming years.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Morales.

Are there any other comments?

Council Member Strauss.

Thank you, Council President, Chief.

Wonderful to see you.

I don't sit on the Public Safety Committee, and so this is my first opportunity to address you on the record.

I have seven words for you.

Congratulations and thank you for your service.

Looking forward to continue collaborating with you, sir.

Thank you, Council Member Strauss.

Is there anyone else before I make my comments and we move to a vote?

Okay, that being said, I have more than seven words, Mr DS GPS.

I first and foremost want to thank Councilmember herbal for being the chair of the Public Safety Committee and being with me, a member on the national search team and I think all of us know that her 25 years in public service has served as well so thank you customer herbal.

Also, a huge thank you to Pamela Inch, our senior executive recruiter that brought all of us together, and Kimberly Lovey, the director of the Seattle Department of Human Resources.

These are the people behind the scenes that schedule the meetings, the Zoom calls, the interviews, all through the summer, all through the fall.

And I just want to thank you so much for all the hard work that you did in bringing us all together.

And of course, a big thank you to Mayor Harrell, and Mayor Harrell's staff, some of which that were on the search committee and worked with us.

And we had really good open conversations about the city of Seattle, it's going forward, our chief of police, what does that person look like?

Who is that person?

So for me, that was an honor to serve.

I just want to also thank Chief Diaz that we have our weekly meetings and we talk.

And I appreciate him being candid and straightforward with me and my office.

And I'm sure with other colleagues as well about the crime in our city, but also the good things that happen in our city.

And sometimes we don't spend a lot of time talking about the good things that go on in our great city.

Chief Diaz, I had an opportunity, as did my colleagues, to review Your confirmation packet, it was dated October 17th.

Everything I'm about to say is also online.

So this isn't anything the public does not have access to dated October 17th.

The packet that was sent to us by Mayor Harrell.

We also on July 5th, I had an opportunity to go through and again, look at your letter to the selection committee that we all had a chance to read about why you wanted to be chief of police and also And thank you, Council Member Herbold, for this as well, and those of you that participated.

The 15-page response that you provided, Chief Diaz, to City Council members answering the 21 questions that we put to you, and you answered every one of them.

And before I thank a few other folks, I want to just highlight and read into the record, and I hope the public will have an opportunity to look at your 15 page response to our 21 questions.

Something that really struck me and what I believe in leadership was question number 19. And that is one of the questions that was asked of you.

And I don't know who posed it, but whoever did it, good job.

What do you want your legacy to be as chief?

And I want to read into the record what your answer was, because for me, leadership is about, you know, you lead to leave and you leave a legacy.

Your answer to question 19 on page 14 was my vision is to build a beloved community, a community at peace.

Martin Luther King Jr. talked about a beloved community that is cared for regardless of poverty or race.

I share that goal.

To do this, we must know what our community wants us to do.

We must restore and build public trust.

and we must focus on continuous improvement and innovation.

Clearly, I cannot do this alone.

I have my team, I have my department, I have my community, and I have, above all, the city of Seattle, which, if it shares my dream for peace, will hopefully work collaboratively with me and the Seattle Police Department to create this reality.

At the end of my tenure, I hope that people will say he helped bring peace to Seattle and he cared.

Now, for me, that was very powerful, besides all the ways you answered the other questions as well.

I hope, too, that you will leave that legacy for us, Chief Diaz.

In addition, we had got some comments and support from other people.

I just want to pull out a few names that have supported your nomination to be our next permanent chief of police.

We have Reverend Harriet Walton from the Mothers for Police Accountability.

We have Dr. Brent Jones, the superintendent of Seattle Public Schools.

We have Carmen Martinez, the manager of the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps.

We have Kathleen O'Toole, our former chief of police.

And we also have Rachel Smith, who is the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce president and CEO and many more.

Now I bring up those names because I'm hoping that the public is watching and keeping in mind also the comments of what Councilmember Sawant shared and Councilmember Morales.

I don't think we walk into this all dreamy eyed that everything is going to be perfect.

I think we know where we got to go.

I think we can all agree that we have to go forward.

And so with that, I will be supporting Chief Diaz's confirmation to be our permanent chief of police.

And so with that, I'm gonna hand it back over to Council Member Herbold if she has closing remarks before we go to a vote.

Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

I was actually going to lift up the answer to question 19, which you did.

So I'm good, thank you.

I too was struck by the poignancy of Chief Diaz's desired legacy.

See, when you get old, you have wisdom.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

Is there anything else you want to add before we go to a vote, Council Member Herbold?

I don't.

I encourage folks on the council to vote in favor of GTS.

Thank you very much.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of the appointment?

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

No.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Eight in favor, one opposed.

Great, thank you.

The appointment is confirmed.

Congratulations, Chief Diaz.

You are now recognized to provide remarks and I see that you are in chambers.

There he is.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much.

And, you know, I just want to say it's such an honor to be the chief of the 18th largest city in the country.

And the city is such an amazing city.

It has taken two and a half years to get to this point.

Actually, two years, five months from when it was announced that I would take over as interim chief.

And that is such a huge honor that it is that we have literally changed the dynamics of what we experienced in 2020. Now we know we cannot go back.

to 2020 and just completely ignore what we had.

And I have to acknowledge the impacts that we created in 2020, and then figuring out how do we move forward.

And we talked about improving, always constant improvement and innovation.

But I really want to just say thank you to the Mayor, Mayor Harrell for appointing me into this position.

I want to thank City Council for their work and working with us over the last couple years.

I have met with almost, I think everyone, every one of you, I've had a conversation with each and every one of you.

And we've really had a really deep conversation about how do we improve public safety in general in this city.

And while we always sometimes have differing opinions, we at least know where our heart is.

When I look back at some of the things that we've had to do and how the challenges that we've faced, yes, we had George Floyd.

We had a pandemic.

We had budget cuts.

We had officers leaving at a high rate of speed.

We also lost an officer.

We lost officer Lexi Harris.

We lost a K-9 officer, Jedi.

We experienced a vaccine mandate.

We have literally experienced so many different challenges.

But what I've noticed is people step up.

people are stepping up every single day.

Our team steps up, our officers step up.

And what's really important is that when I look at like markers that we do in 2022 about what we're trying to accomplish, yeah, we saw a crime increase.

We saw a crime increase over the last couple of years.

We're actually seeing over the last several months a downward trend in violent crime, which is positive.

It doesn't mean that we don't have a long road ahead of us.

but we're actually seeing good markers in that.

Officers are recovering guns, actually surpassing the amount of guns recovered that we had in 2019 when we had full staffing.

We're making arrests.

We're going out and making very, very difficult arrests, covering fentanyl, enough that it actually could kill this entire city last year.

That is huge for the city.

But what we've actually done since 2015 is we've reduced the amount of use of force of the use of forces that we had in 2015 by half, by 50% in 2022. We're actually on pace to actually reduce the amount of complaints officers have had in the job by 50% over the last three years.

And so those are really powerful markers.

Officers going out, working hard, doing the job, but they're doing it with compassion and empathy They're doing it just even with less staffing.

They're doing it in a place where we literally find ourselves working double shifts, having the stresses of just trying to keep the city safe.

So it is such an honor to serve in this capacity.

So I want to thank city council and thank the mayor for letting me serve in the future of the city.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Chief Diaz, to you and your family.

Congratulations.

All right, let's move on on our agenda.

Looks like we're going to go to Council Member Nelson's Committee Economic Development Technology in the City like me.

Madam Clerk, you please read item number two and to the record.

The report of like an economic development technology and city like committee agenda item to council bill 120430 and ordinance relating to the city light department authorizing the general manager and chief executive officer to convey an easement to the city of shoreline.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you, customer Nelson.

Thank you very much.

This concerns a piece of property in Shoreline, and this easement would not interrupt the ongoing maintenance or operation of City Lights transmission and distribution lines.

And for the use of this surface space, the City of Shoreline would be able to provide a safer connection between the inter-urban trail, and a pedestrian pathway over Aurora Avenue, and also provide future connection to affordable housing development that is planned in future years.

In exchange, the city of Shoreline would pay the city of Seattle a one-time fair market value fee of $33,000, and this legislation passed out of committee unanimously.

Thank you, Council Member Nelson.

Are there any comments from our colleagues?

Okay, not seeing any, anything you wanna add before we go to a vote, Council Member Nelson?

That's it.

All right, thank you.

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

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Salant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council President Juarez?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you, the bill passes, the chair will sign it.

Madam Clerk, are you pleased to affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

So moving on to item number three, this is also Council Member Nelson, can you please read item number three into the record?

Agenda item three, Council Bill 120461, an ordinance relating to the City Light Department declaring certain real property rights surplus to utility needs.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you.

Council Member Nelson.

Yes.

So in recent years, City Light has been conducting a program to resolve encroachments on right of way.

And this ordinance would authorize City Light to grant this easement to the owners of a home with a portion of its carport and defense encroaching upon city property in exchange for a one-time fair market value fee of $63,000.

And the legislation was recommended unanimously for passage.

Great, any comments from anybody?

I don't see any, and Councilor Nelson, I'm guessing you don't have any closing remarks.

That's correct.

All right, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council President Orres?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes, the chair will sign it, and Madam Clerk, please affix my legislation to the signature.

Please affix my signature to the legislation.

Let's move it on to item number four, which is also Council Member Nelson.

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

Agenda item for council bill 120481 an ordinance relating to the city light department proving a 10 year franchise to construct operate maintain replace and repair and electrical light and power system in a crossover along under through and below certain designated public rights of ways and unincorporated King County, the committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

Yes, this agreement allows City Light to use the rights of way to serve customers in two areas of unincorporated King County, which are Skyway and White Center, and this was passed unanimously, and I will have no further comments after this.

Thank you.

Are there any comments from my colleagues?

All right, not seeing any, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council President Orres?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes, the chair will sign it, and Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

Moving on to item number five out of the neighborhoods, education, civil rights and cultural committee.

This is council member Morales's matter.

Can you please read item five into the record?

The report of the Neighborhoods, Education, Civil Rights, and Culture Committee Agenda Item 5, Council Bill 120312, an ordinance relating to historic preservation, imposing controls upon the Seattle First National Bank building, a landmark designated by the Landmarks Preservation Board under Chapter 25.12 of the Seattle Municipal Code, and adding it to the table of historical landmarks contained in Chapter 25.32 of the Seattle Municipal Code, the committee recommends the bill does not pass.

Okay, so with that customer Morales I believe you have a motion for us.

I do Council President Thank you very much.

I move that we postpone Council Bill 120312 until January 10, we have a substitute that I believe is, or shortly will be posted for public review.

Thank you.

Is there a second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to postpone Council Bill 120312 until the January 10th, 2023 Seattle Council meeting.

Councilor Morales, is there anything else you want to say to address this one week postponement?

No.

Thank you very much.

Okay.

Any comments from anyone on staff or any of my colleagues?

Not seeing any, will the clerk please call the roll on the motion to postpone Council Bill 120312 until January 10th, 2023, which is next Tuesday.

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council President Ores.

Aye.

Nine in favor, nine opposed.

The motion to postpone until our Council Bill 120312 to January 10th has passed, and it will be moved to the 10th for consideration.

All right, moving on in our agenda.

As far as the consent calendar, there are no items that were removed by any of my colleagues.

Moving on the agenda to adoption of other resolutions.

Will the clerk please read item number six into the record.

Item number six, excuse me, resolution 32078, a resolution affirming the city of Seattle support for the Iranian people engaged in peaceful protest for their fundamental human rights.

Thank you.

This is a resolution that is sponsored by myself and Council Member Strauss.

Council Member Strauss, I'm going to go ahead and make the motion first and then I'll see if there's anything you want to add.

Does that sound okay?

Sounds good.

Okay.

I move to postpone Resolution 32078 until the January 10th City Council meeting.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to postpone Resolution 32078 until January 10th.

And with that, Council Member Strauss is co-sponsor of this item with me.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Nothing further at this time, Council President.

Thank you.

Any comments or concerns from the colleagues?

Not seeing any.

Will the clerk please call the roll for the motion to postpone Resolution 32078 until next Tuesday, which is January 10th, 2023.

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council President Morales?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion to postpone is passed and the resolution will be brought back next Tuesday on January 10th, 2023. Moving on to other business.

So what we have in front of us is that Councilor Herbold has a proclamation proclaiming January 2023. And Councilor Herbold, please correct me if I get this wrong, to be the Human Trafficking Awareness Month that we will need.

And I understand we need the role to determine which council members would like their signatures affixed to the proclamation.

But at this time, Council Member Herbold, you are recognized to address your proclamation.

Thank you so much, Madam President Juarez.

As the proclamation from the Mayor and City Council proclaims, January 2023 is Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

As noted in the proclamation, this recognition was first established in January 2010 by President Obama to proclaim equality and freedom inherent to all people.

to advocate for legislation and protections for survivors, to educate leaders, and to encourage public awareness and action against various forms of human trafficking.

The proclamation further notes, the city of Seattle is striving to become a place where human trafficking does not exist, where people have opportunities available to them so as not to fall into financial vulnerability, and where all people are treated as fully human and worthy of fair pay, safe working conditions, and freedom from human rights violations.

I want to thank the Human Services Department for working with my office as well as with Mayor Harrell in developing this proclamation and hope everybody can indicate their support today.

Thank you.

Thank you and customer herbal Thank you for providing us a copy of the proclamation early, I always appreciate that.

And also, your leadership as well as others, and during budget, when we in customer mosquito should be thanked on that one as well.

where we do fund organizations that are committed to stopping human trafficking, not only in our city, but in our county as well.

And I will be voting to support this proclamation for this month.

I want to thank you for your leadership on this, Council Member Herbold.

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

Okay, I do not see any other comments.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll, determine which council members would like their signatures affixed to the proclamation declaring January 2023 to be Human Trafficking Awareness Month?

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine signatures will be affixed to the proclamation.

Thank you very much.

Before we move, is there any other business before I actually make a few comments to adjourn?

Not seeing any.

This does conclude our council meeting for today.

And the next regularly scheduled council meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 10th.

I want to thank you all and have a great afternoon.

We are adjourned.

Thank you.