Seattle City Council 71222

The Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.02 p.m.

I'm Dan Strauss, Council President Pro Tem of the Council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Herbold?

Here.

Council Member Lewis?

Present.

Council Member Morales?

Here.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Present.

Council Member Nelson?

Present.

Council Member Peterson?

Present.

Council President Pro Tem Strauss?

Present.

Eight present.

Thank you.

My name wasn't called on the roll.

Apologies, council member Salon.

Present, thank you.

Eight present.

Wonderful, if there's no objection, council member Juarez is excused from today's city council meeting.

Hearing no objections, Council Member Juarez is excused from today's city council meeting.

So we've done items A and B, moving on to item C, presentations.

There are no presentations today.

Colleagues, at this time, we will open the hybrid public comment period.

For this hybrid public comment period, the remote speakers will be heard first, then followed by in-person speakers attending in the council chambers.

Madam Clerk, how many speakers are signed up today?

Approximately 25. With that, we are gonna do one minute per speaker to be able to move through this.

Today, each speaker will have one minute to speak.

Madam Clerk, I now hand this over to you to present the public comment instructions.

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.

Have you called the name?

Howard Gail?

Are you doing it or not?

Yeah, thank you.

Good afternoon.

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

Six days ago, a King County inquest jury spoke unambiguously The Seattle police did precisely what they were trained to do under SPD policy when they shot Charlene Alliles, the pregnant mother of four, seven times in front of her children.

Let's be clear, the jury did not find the killing correct or morally justified or without alternatives.

The jury found that the SPD officers acted according to training and policy.

Five years ago after Charlene's murder, Council President Juarez and Council Member Herbold promised us this would never happen again, but it did.

It happened to Albert Fredericks Jr., Danny Rodriguez, Ryan Smith, Terry Caver, Derek Hayden, and the person still unnamed on Beacon Hill in January.

Seattle's police accountability system, including the CPC and the council, have revised and approved SPD policies over the last 10 years.

So if we follow the jury's findings, the responsibility for Charlene's killing lies with this council.

Yet every one of you have remained strangely silent over this last week.

Not a public comment to be found.

Thank you, Howard.

Up next is Cody Zielinski.

Apologies, Cody, if I did not say your name correct.

Welcome.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes, we can.

Can you hear me?

All right.

My name is Cody Zielinski from District 4. I'm commenting today in favor of ranked choice voting alternative to the approval voting on the 2022 ballot.

Ranked choice voting has been tested across dozens of cities in the country, in addition to the states of Alaska and Maine and the countries of Australia and Ireland.

Ranked choice voting is a tested method of maximizing voter preference at a time when many have lost trust and have become cynical of a democracy dominated by first pass to post voting.

This is an opportunity for Seattle to become a leader in voting reform and encourages a movement on local options bill in the Washington state legislature.

Please put ranked choice voting on the Seattle ballot this fall.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Harry Marr.

Harry, welcome.

Please take it away.

Hi, my name is Harry Marr, speaking out in favor of ranked choice voting also.

I'm a data analyst.

I live in District 7. I work in the U District.

I'm a member of the Transit Riders Union, and just wanted to pass on that our membership unanimously voted in support of ranked choice voting in our October 2020 meeting.

We like that it gives voters more power to elect who they want in the order that they want.

We joined a diverse coalition working across Washington to advance choice voting because we find it gives voters power and results in more just outcomes.

So we support adding ranked choice voting to the ballot this November.

So thank you.

Thank you, Harry.

Up next is Betty Lau.

Betty, welcome.

Take it away.

Hi I'm Betty Lau.

Resolution 32055 has arrived in the nick of time holding Sound Transit accountable for RET outcomes and their own racial equity goals.

It allows more time for Sound Transit to answer community questions address community concerns in detail and collaborate with community on finding solutions to 4th Avenue impacts and who knows perhaps Sound that will identify a totally new alternative that leaves 4th and 5th avenues intact.

Thank you.

Thank you, Betty.

Up next is Timothy Kitchen.

Welcome, Timothy.

Hey there.

My name.

Hey, I'm on, right?

Yep, can hear you just well.

Yep.

Hi, my name is Timothy Kitchen and I'm a resident of Seattle District 4. I support adding the council's ranked choice voting alternative to the ballot in November of 2022. And today I'd like you to vote yes to postpone the vote until next week so the council has time to review voting methods in Seattle.

My support for ranked choice voting comes from personal experience.

I ran as a candidate three separate times for a Seattle organization that has more than 40,000 members.

This organization is a University of Washington, Seattle.

It's been holding ranked choice voting in its student body elections for at least 15 years.

The youth of student body elections use ranked choice for two big reasons.

It encouraged candidates to genuinely listen to all voters, since every single voter, even if you weren't their first choice, could still vote for you without taking any power away from their first choice.

This in turn heavily disincentivized negative campaigning.

As a candidate, this was a huge burst of fresh air.

I'd say to voters, this election allows you to rank your candidates so someone other than me can be your first choice.

I encourage you to vote your conscience.

Ranked Choice Voting empowers and upholds your conscience.

Thank you.

Thank you, Timothy.

Up next, we have Brett Mullen, followed by Megan Mahan, and then Elizabeth Probus.

Brett, take it away.

Hello, my name is Brett Mullen from North Seattle, and I support adding Ranked Choice Voting option to the November ballot.

I would list all the benefits of Ranked Choice Voting, but since time is limited and I trust you are already pretty familiar, I will put it as simply as I can.

Ranked choice voting is the truest expression of the voter's preference.

We can also look to over 50 cities, plus two states, and several other countries to see that ranked choice voting is effective, efficient, and popular among people from all political persuasions and backgrounds.

So thank you for your thoughtful consideration.

And in the ranked choice voting spirit to bring more voices into the conversation, I yield back the rest of my time.

Thank you, Brett.

Up next is Megan Hannon, followed by Elizabeth Probst, and then Kamau Chegg.

Megan, welcome.

Good afternoon.

My name is Meg Hannon and I am representing the 2,500 members of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

Here today to comment on resolution 32055 on the recommended preferred alternative for the West Seattle and Ballard Link extension.

We urge you to pass the resolution today as unanimously approved by the Transportation Committee last week, and we ask that you continue to advocate with Sound Transit on behalf of the community.

We would also like to thank Transportation Committee Chair Peterson and the rest of Council for listening to the community's preferences, which are reflected in the resolution before you.

This resolution is important because it clearly communicates the City's position to Sound Transit.

The best outcome for the community is an agreement between the City and Sound Transit on a preferred alternative that we work together to advance, address the outstanding issues, reduce costs and risks, and deliver the project as committed to the voters.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment today.

Thank you, Megan.

Up next is Elizabeth Probus, followed by Kamau Chege, and then Francisco Irgon.

Elizabeth, welcome.

Hi, my name is Elizabeth Probus.

I'm a resident of District 2, and I'm calling in support of the Ranked Choice Voting Alternative.

Council members, I'm really excited about how Ranked Choice Voting would transform the campaign experience for you and other candidates.

I recently got to attend a panel of candidates who ran for city council in New York last November under their new Ranked Choice Voting system, which, by the way, created the most diverse city council in New York history.

The candidates who were there, whether they won or lost, were thrilled about how Ranked Choice Voting reduced negative campaigning and helped them to connect better with voters.

They loved that they could knock on the door of someone who had a campaign sign for a rival candidate.

And instead of writing that voter off, they could still have a conversation with them about shared values and ask the voter to rank them second or third.

Approval provides this benefit.

We desperately need elections about values-based policies, not toxic attacks.

Thank you.

Thank you, Elizabeth.

Up next is Kamau Chege, followed by Francisco Iragon, and then Max Rappaport.

Down the list quite a ways is Lisa Smith, who's not public present.

Lisa, if you want to join now is the time.

Kamau, welcome.

Please take it away.

I see you there, Kamau.

Press star six, not pound six.

Can you hear me now?

We can.

Welcome.

Great.

My name is Kamal Shegha.

I'm the executive director of Washington Community Alliance, a network of organizations of color across the state, including dozens of organizations in Seattle focused on multiracial democracy, which is why I'm very excited to also be speaking in support of adding ranked choice voting alternative to the November ballot, which has been a top priority of our organization.

And that's because ranked choice voting doesn't just make intuitive sense, as most of us want to communicate our preferences and have more voice and to name our first choice from our backup choices.

It's also more widely used by communities of color.

Over 87% of people in New York City's last election that used ranked choice voting used the system.

When you compare that to approval voting, the one that's much lower, And it also presents a serious legal liability and danger to the city as we would be the only city under that system to implement it with state voting.

Thank you.

Up next is Francisco Iragon followed by Max Rapoport and then Elise Orlik.

Francisco, welcome.

I see you there, Francisco.

Press star six, not pound six.

Francisco, I see you present.

Can you press star six, not pound six?

We're gonna move on and we'll come back to Francisco.

Max Rapoport followed by Elise Orlik and then Margo Spindola.

Max, welcome.

Please take it away.

And you can press star six, Max.

There you are.

Hi, my name is Max Rappaport, and I'm a resident of District 3. I'm speaking today in support of adding ranked choice voting as an alternative on the November ballot.

Ranked choice voting is currently used in over 50 cities, counties, and states across the country, where it's shown to result in greater diversity of candidates and political viewpoints.

Approval voting, on the other hand, is largely untested, disenfranchises voters who choose to approve fewer candidates than other voters, and has a strong bias towards incumbents and candidates with the financial backing that simply boosts their name recognition.

With such a huge change to our electoral system, why would we choose to provide voters with fewer viable choices?

Please add ranked choice voting as an option this November.

Thank you.

Thank you, Max.

Up next is Elise Orlik, followed by Margo Spindola and then Jordan Crowley.

Elise, welcome.

Take it away.

Hi, my name is Elise Orlik.

I'm a registered voter in Ballard in the 6th District.

And I'm also here to speak in support of adding ranked choice voting to the November ballot, which is CS314495.

I am really proud of the fact that Seattle leads the way among the country in creating a representative democratic system.

And I think our next best opportunity in this vein as a role model is to try ranked choice voting.

because it will create opportunities for every Seattleite to have their voice heard and for new ideas to flourish.

And in the spirit of encouraging democracy, the voters do deserve the opportunity to weigh in on this issue in November.

So on initiative number 134, I support adding the council's alternative to the ballot.

And I'd like you to vote yes today to postpone the vote until next week.

to better the council's understanding of voting methods available to Seattle voters.

Thank you, Elise.

Up next is Margot Spindola, followed by Jordan Crawley, and then Monique Misner.

Margot, welcome.

Thank you.

Hello, members of Seattle City Council.

My name is Margot Spindola, and I live in the Central District, and I'm here to speak in favor on adding a ranked choice voting alternative to the November ballot.

And I know that the tech executives behind the Seattle Approved, the Seattle Approved effort, they want to paint a picture to their effort to get approval voting on the ballot as Democratic.

But just because they went through the checklist to get the necessary support doesn't mean the effort has genuine community support.

You know, no one has debated approval voting in Seattle since before 2022, or before 2022. It's never been proposed in the legislature nor in local elections.

It has no civic or community group endorsing it.

If you go to their campaign website, you'll find that no endorsements for major community groups are listed, because it doesn't have any.

Instead, they've tried to buy their way to the ballot with out-of-state tech executives like crypto billionaire Samuel Banks and Freed, and according from my Northwest and others, question signers are believing they were supporting ranked choice voting.

So it's only fair that this council elected by hundreds of thousands of voters give us a real option with genuine support like ranked choice voting.

Thank you, Margo.

Up next is Jordan Crawley followed by Monique Missner and Eric Kido.

Jordan, welcome.

My name is Jordan Crawley, assistant director of Alki Beach Academy speaking on resolution 32055. DELF 6 would erase half of our community's infant care and 10% of the peninsula's childcare with no plan to meaningfully assist with reestablishment of these services.

It would consume the only entrance to the new core steel mill and propose as no plan to mitigate that impact.

It would also position the station in a way that presents significant safety issues accessibility concerns and fails the Delridge community requiring that we lose in the long term anything preserved in the short term.

These consequences of Del 6 are not addressed in the DEIS.

Passing the resolution pushes Sound Transit to conduct the thorough assessments necessary to make sound decisions.

Please pass this resolution and state no preference in Delridge.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jordan.

Up next is Monique Meissner followed by Eric Kido and then Jude Ahmed.

Monique, welcome.

I see you there, Monique.

Is your phone muted?

You're off mute.

There you are.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Yes, my name is Monique Meissner and I live in District 2. And I support adding ranked choice voting because I believe that it's the best way to make elections truly representative and actually make our votes matter.

When I'm voting, I want to be able to say which candidates I genuinely want to vote for without throwing away my vote.

And I think that ranked choice voting is the only method that really makes this possible.

Also, RCV is a critical reform right now for my district.

because it will help ensure that people of color are still represented.

As gentrification pushes people of color out of this district as well as the neighboring central district the POC voting blocks are removed.

And so to make sure that those who are still here are represented we need race voting.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Monique.

Up next is Eric Kido, followed by Jude Ahmed, then Kirk Robbins.

We would be then at Lisa Smith.

Lisa, you are not present at this time.

Please do call into the phone number provided to you on your email response, not the listen line.

Now is your time to call in.

Up next is Eric Kido.

Welcome, Eric.

I see you there, Eric.

Just press star six, not pound six.

Hi.

Hi.

Hi council.

My name is Eric Ketto District 4. I'd like to encourage members to add ranked choice voting as an alternative to approval voting on the ballot in November.

Ranked choice voting is effective.

It's just and voters should be able to make that decision in November.

I'd specifically like to call on my representative Alex Alex Peterson to support adding ranked choice voting to the ballot.

Thank you very much for your time today council members.

Thank you, Eric.

Up next is Jude Ahmed, followed by Kirk Robbins.

Lisa Smith, you are not present, followed by Dan Eisenberg.

Jude, welcome.

Hi, this is Jude Ahmed.

I am calling as a representative from the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.

I'm the Civic Engagement Organizer there.

which basically means that I am the person in our organization on the ground working with community, encouraging voter education and encouraging folks to really use their voice and have their voices counted when it comes to election season.

I'm speaking in support of ranked choice voting and providing that alternative on the ballot to approval voting because I know that our communities are unaware that approval voting is different from ranked choice voting.

and we need an opportunity to provide a concrete opportunity for our community members to learn about alternative voting strategies and battle some of the apathy and disengagement that we see in local politics when Black community members do not see their peers represented on an elected council.

Thank you for your time and please continue with ranked choice voting at the city level.

Thank you, Jude.

Up next is Kirk Robbins, followed by Lisa Smith, who is not present, Dan Eisenberg, and then Jacqueline Wu.

Lastly, we have David Haynes, and we will then come back to Francisco Iragon before moving on to those in our chambers.

Kirk, welcome.

Thank you.

Kirk Robbins, District 6, urging the City of Seattle to transfer ownership of City Hall Park to King County.

It's so extraordinary that the judges of King County that take no position on any political issue, much less an administrative issue, would come forward and do this, take this position.

And I think part of it might be because nowhere in King County has a park been completely closed to public access, the way City Hall Park has been and the way Ballard Commons has been.

Ballard Commons has been closed for more than two years.

It was first because it was entirely taken over by a colony of squatters and run as a criminal operation.

drug deals and violence and a fair amount of arson was going on there as well.

And then it's been closed for immediate environmental radiation.

And now it's closed for endless meetings.

Whatever pretext it is, our park is not accessible to us at this time.

And I think King County can do a better job of this.

They've never sunk so low as far as parks access goes.

So support King County administration.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Up next is Lisa Smith, still not present.

Now is the time to call in Dan Eisenberg, followed by Jacqueline Wu.

David Haynes, you are not present at this time.

Please do call into the line provided to you in the email, not the listen line.

Dan, welcome.

Hi, I'm Dan Eisenberg.

I'm a resident of Ballard and a professor at the University of Washington.

I'm of course speaking for myself, not the university.

And I'm speaking to say that I hope the council will give voters a chance to weigh in on ranked choice voting as an option in future elections.

I think ranked choice voting will better allow voters to express their will and to help combat polarization, which even happens here in Seattle.

Ranked choice voting allows voters to simply vote for the candidates they most prefer in order without having to worry about voting for the most electable candidate or against candidates they don't prefer.

Ranked choice voting better allows the willed voters to be expressed than a gruel voting or current system and is less apt to be gained.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you, Dan.

Next is Jacqueline Wu.

And then we'll go back to Francisco Aragon because Lisa Smith and David Haynes are not present.

Jacqueline, welcome.

Hi, my name is Jacqueline Wu.

I'm a District 2 resident and providing comment on resolution 32055. The Chinatown International District is my cultural home, and I'm concerned for the Sound Transit expansion into the neighborhood.

I thank the council for recommending Sound Transit conduct an additional six to nine months of community outreach.

However, I am disappointed that this recommended outreach will only focus on the 4th and 5th Avenue shallow options.

The two options will displace up to 20 small businesses and a whole apartment complex.

I ask the Council to amend the resolution to recommend that Sound Transit go back to the drawing board and find other station alternatives to the existing options that prioritize historic preservation and keeping small businesses and residents in the neighborhood.

I also ask that the Council members attend the next Sound Transit Expansion Committee meeting on Thursday to oppose the 4th and 5th Avenue shallow options.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Francisco Iragon, we'll come back to you.

Francisco, if you're, I see you in the meeting.

If you press star six, you will unmute and be able to provide public comment.

Now is your time, Francisco.

Seeing Francisco not coming off mute, we will come back to him at the very end for one last attempt.

Francisco, this is your time coming soon.

Up next, we have Robert Porlik, Alex Zimmerman, John Burbank, Michael Taylor Judd, and Joe Riley.

Robert Por, welcome.

Hello, my name is Robert Por.

and I'm here to encourage you to support rank choice voting in Seattle elections.

For many years, I've been really frustrated with the political systems failures and the divisiveness we see.

I did not get seriously involved in finding a solution until after the 2016 election.

In researching what could be done, I realized that the voting systems used around the country, including our top two system, are the root cause of my frustrations because they incentivize elected officials and candidates to behave as they do.

I concluded that rank choice voting is the only voting system that provides the right incentives and addresses my concerns.

Rank choice voting is widely used foundational reform that improves elections, and creates governments that truly reflect the communities they serve.

I encourage you to let Seattle voters decide if they agree.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Up next is Alex Zimmerman followed by John Burbank and Michael Taylor Judd.

Alex, welcome.

Thank you, sir.

damn Nazi fascist bandit and psychopath.

My name is Alex Zimmerman and I want to speak about agenda number four, about recommendation to Sound Transit Board.

How you can recommend to Sound Transit Board when I call them a Nazi Gestapo psychopath, a president, a color man, cut me after I speak only for five seconds.

But this normal for Seattle.

Yeah, different opinion, five seconds more than enough.

You're nothing different.

You're same human garbage, a same Nazi, Gestapo, psychopath.

You give one minute.

Whereas you see a business opinion, and I talk about this for many years, hundred times, how you can see different opinion for one minute?

How is this possible?

You're same freaking, same, you belong to same Nazi, Gestapo, Mafia psychopaths.

This is exactly what's happened.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you very much.

Up next is John Burbank.

Welcome, John.

Thank you, council members.

My name is John Burbank.

I commend your interest in placing a ranked choice voting alternative on the November ballot.

Ranked choice voting enables voters to rank their choices so you can optimize your personal choice without jeopardizing your vote.

Ranked choice voting recognizes that voters may hold several candidates in high regard and can differentiate among them depending on their several different takes on a multitude of policy issues.

With ranked choice voting, while you may not get your first choice forwarded to the general election, you still may get your second choice candidate on the general election ballot.

Ranked choice voting avoids the yes for one, no for all the others of the current system, and it avoids the undifferentiated yes, yes, yes possibilities for approval voting, which could very likely violate the constitutional rule of one person, one vote, as one voter could vote for five candidates and another for one candidate, and all votes would be weighted equally.

A lot of other cities have passed ranked choice voting, the state of Maine, state of Alaska, it's our turn.

Thank you.

Thank you, John.

Up next is Michael Taylor Judd.

Welcome, sir.

Hello, council members, Michael Taylor Judd.

I'll quickly say as a former candidate for Seattle City Council, I also support RCV and think it would benefit our elections, but I'm here today to speak to you as chair of the West Seattle Transportation Coalition.

We want to particularly thank Transportation Chair Peterson and Council Member Herbold for their work on the proposal in front of you.

In particular, emphasizing impacts in the Delridge, around the Delridge alternatives, and particularly to transitional care resources and a childcare facility that's there.

We're urging you, we're hearing, we've heard a lot from members of both the Avalon neighborhood and North Delridge.

about looking at alternatives that were previously taken off the table by Sound Transit.

We know that costs have changed radically over the last year, year and a half, and we'd like to look at both the long tunnel alternative and the so-called purple line or Puget Ridge tunnels, both of which increase access for everyone and avoid a lot of the impacts that you're citing.

Thank you.

Thank you for your time.

And last we have Joe Wiley.

We will then come back to Francisco Iragon for one last time.

Lisa Smith or David Haynes, now is your time to call in because we will be closing public comment after Joe.

Welcome Joe, take it away.

Thank you so much.

Good afternoon, council.

My name is Joe Riley, policy director at Seattle Subway.

We kindly request support for 22nd Ballard Station, South Lake Union Station access solutions that mitigate four adjacent highway-sized roads, removal of CID 5th Avenue and deep station options from study as the community has unanimously requested, and a shallower version of the 4th Avenue shallow alignment that crosses over the existing tunnel, making the entire downtown alignment shallower.

Sound Transit must prepare now for future expansion.

When Sound Transit 4 passes, Sound Transit risks shutting down the region's new downtown tunnel service for over a year with unprecedented levels of service disruption and cost.

We appreciated the Transportation Committee's strong stated support on this.

Sound Transit must continually receive specific feedback from Seattle to improve system-wide ridership access, and respect for every person's time takes the light rail.

A station in Seattle is never a Seattle only station.

It's a regional station for every Puget Sound rider who stands to gain newfound access to more places.

We remain a resource for you all, and thank you so much for your time.

Thank you, Joe.

Fabulous, clerks and IT is Francisco Iragon still with us.

Francisco, I see you have returned.

Now is your opportunity to press star six.

There you are my friend, take it away.

Thank you very much for your patience.

My name is Frank Iragon and I'm with the OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates Greater Seattle Chapter.

I hope that the Chinatown International District, the last epic enclave in downtown Seattle is given careful consideration when you are prepared to state your preference for the route that Sound Transit 3 will take in to or near the CID.

Our preferred route or any route that will not decimate or cause harm to our neighborhood.

No on fifth.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir.

Confirming Lisa Smith and David Haynes are not present, is that correct?

That's correct.

Thank you.

With that, we've reached the end of our allotted time for public comment.

I think we went over a little bit, apologies for that.

The public comment period is now closed.

Thank you for your comments today.

Moving on to item E, approval of the introduction and referral calendar.

I move to adopt the introduction and referral calendar.

Is there a second?

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

Are there any comments?

Council Member Lewis.

Wait, sorry, Mr. Chair, could you say that again?

The introduction and referral calendar has been moved and seconded to adopt the introduction and referral calendar.

Are there any comments?

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair.

Sorry, I'm having trouble hearing on this side of the dais.

Yes, Mr. Chair, I move to amend the introduction referral calendar.

It has been moved.

This is...

It has been moved and seconded at this time.

Oh, thank you.

I'm sorry.

So Mr. Chair, I move to amend or Mr. President pro tem.

I move to amend the introduction referral calendar to introduce clerk file 314498 entitled city council motion and declaration of city council intent to reject initiative number 134 relating to voting and city primary elections and placing initiative number 134 on the November 8th, 2022 ballot in conjunction with the rank choice voting measure, council bill 120369, a proposed alternative measure on the same matter.

Thank you.

It has been moved and seconded to amend the introduction referral calendar by adding a clerk file as described by council member Lewis and referring it to city council colleagues at this time, I'm asking in a very polite fashion, that there, please hold further comments related to initiative 134 until the full, the special full council meeting this Thursday, July 14th.

Cannot be more clear.

Please hold your comments, friends, colleagues until this Thursday.

Will the clerk please.

Council member Herbold.

Yes, please do not comment on the initiative.

Point of order.

I didn't, hear a second, but you announced one.

Was there a second?

I'm sorry.

Sorry, I think I said second very faintly.

You did, okay.

Thank you so much.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

I'll just read that part of the script one more time.

Just for fun, it has been moved and seconded to amend the introduction referral calendar by adding clerk file as described by Council Member Lewis and referring it to the City Council.

Please hold further comments related to initiative 134 until the full Council meeting this Thursday, July 14th.

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

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Strauss.

Yes.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries and clerk file 314498 is added to the introduction referral calendar and referred to city council.

Are there any further comments on the amended introduction and referral calendar?

Hold your comments of substance for Thursday.

Seeing none.

If there are no, if there's no objection, the introduction referral calendar will be adopted as amended.

Hearing no objection, the introduction referral calendar is adopted as amended.

We're moving on to item G, adoption of the consent calendar.

We will now consider the proposed consent calendar.

The consent calendar this week includes the minutes of June 28th and July 5th, the payroll, Council Bill 120368 and the appointment 02265 that comes with the recommendations from the Public Assets and Homelessness Committee from last week.

Are there any items council members would like to remove from today's consent calendar?

Hearing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

It has been moved and seconded to adopt the consent calendar.

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

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Strauss.

Yes.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The consent calendar.

Items are adopted.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the, or I could actually just sign it right here if you want.

No, please affix my signature to the minutes and legislation on the consent calendar on my behalf.

Thank you.

Moving on to item H, committee reports for the city council.

Item one, will the clerk please read item one, the abbreviated title for item one into the record.

The report of the city council, agenda item one, clerk file 314495, report of the city clerk on the certificate of sufficiency for initiative number 134.

Thank you.

Clerk file 314495 is notice that initiative 134 has sufficient signatures to go on the ballot.

According to the city charter clerk, the city clerk has 20 days from receipt of notice from King County elections to file the notice with the city council.

The clerk city clerk filed a report and certificate of sufficiency with the council via this clerk file on June 28th.

This action started the 45 day clock for council.

action on the initiative.

In order to provide my colleagues with additional time to consider this initiative, I'm recommending holding the clerk file for another week until Thursday.

This clerk file will appear on every agenda until the City Council determines what action will be taken in response.

to initiative number 134. As a reminder, the city council, city's election code, SMC 2.04.300 prohibits elected officials and city employees from using their office for the promotion or opposition of any ballot measure.

According to the code, we should refrain from discussing the merits of the initiative until we are actually voting on the legislation to support or oppose the ballot proposition.

That will occur at a future meeting and within 45 days of this clerk file 314495 being filed with the council, I recommend the council's refrain from discussing this initiative today and until the council considers legislation supporting or opposing this ballot measure, ballot proposition.

I move to postpone clerk file 314495 to July 14th.

Is there a second?

Second.

It has been moved and seconded to postpone the clerk file.

Will the clerk please call the roll on postponing clerk file 314495 4 4 9 5 until July 14th.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Strauss.

Yes.

Eight in favor and none opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries.

Clerk file is postponed to July 14th, 2022. And this item will appear on every agenda until the city council determines what action will be taken in response to initiative number 134. Item number two, will clerk please read item two into the record.

Agenda item two, Council Bill 120363, an ordinance relating to prosecuting violations of domestic violence and other protection orders to make the Seattle Municipal Code consistent with state law, amending section 12.8.09.020 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

Thank you.

I move to pass Council Bill 120363. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It has been moved and seconded to pass the bill.

Council Member Herbold has sponsored the bill.

Please take it away.

Thank you so much.

As noted in the central staff update from Asha Venkataraman yesterday, this legislation is time sensitive.

If the change is not made, the city attorney's office cannot prosecute misdemeanor violations of domestic violence and other orders.

While these misdemeanors could, in theory, be referred to the King County prosecutor because of their enormous backlog of cases and the emphasis of the King County prosecutor on filing felony cases, the city attorney's office's domestic violence personnel feel that these misdemeanor charges would not be filed if not for the action before us today.

So there are three key aspects of the bill.

Just as background, in 2019, Ordinance 125881 was enacted to adopt certain state criminal statutes, and it repealed Identical municipal code criminal sections.

Effective July 1st this year, one of those statutes that had been adopted by reference was repealed and its provisions were transferred to another state statute.

So the substance of the state statute remained primarily the same and the RCW code numbering was changed.

So the first aspect is that this ordinance would reflect those numbering changes.

Secondly, the ordinance would adopt by reference a part of state law that reflects enforcement and penalties for specific types of extreme risk protection order violations, which the city attorney's office, if adopted, could prosecute.

And then lastly, it would adopt by reference a section of the RCW which details how the city attorney's office prosecutes specific violations of anti-harassment protection orders already within its authority to prosecute under municipal code.

So in order to ensure that the violations of domestic violence and other court orders can be prosecuted by the city attorney municipal court, our code needs to be amended to reflect this RCW change as well.

Thank you.

And I will try to answer any questions if there are any, otherwise I hope you can support me in voting for this bill.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

Colleagues, any questions?

Any comments?

Seeing no questions or comments, Council Member Herbold, do you have any closing remarks that you saved?

Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Strauss.

Yes.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

Item number three, will the clerk please read item number three into the record.

the report of the Transportation and Seattle Public Utilities Committee, agenda item three, council bill 120358. I have a wrong number here, sorry.

An ordinance relating to grant funds from the United States Department of Transportation and other non-city sources.

Thank you.

Council Member Peterson, as chair of the committee, you are recognized in order to address the bill.

Thank you President Pro Tem.

Colleagues Council 120358 will authorize the director of the Seattle Department of Transportation to accept specified grants totaling $3.7 million and to execute related agreements on behalf of the city.

While it technically amends the adopted budget remains consistent with it.

It simply adds these grants to existing appropriations for the Seattle Department of Transportation's capital projects.

This was adopted or recommended unanimously by our committee.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Peterson.

Colleagues, any questions, comments?

Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Hubbell.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Sorry, I see you now.

know, I actually thought there was going to be a long lineup of people speaking, so I was going to wait.

I did want to say thank you to the chair for his work on this legislation.

I also want to thank Councilmember Herbold for her amendments as well.

I'm excited that we are, as a city, continuing to stand in solidarity with advocates like Seattle Subway and so many more who are calling for a connected and coordinated

Oh, wrong item.

That's the next one.

That's why no one was speaking.

Okay, hold on.

We got, you know, some great grant funds from the United States Department of Transportation and other non-city sources, but not as exciting for the main show for today.

I see it now.

I needed to scroll up in my script.

Apologies, everyone.

No problem.

Council Member Peterson, any closing remarks?

No, I just, anytime I get Councilor Mosqueda to give an eloquent speech in favor of anything, it's always better for me that way.

So thank you, Councilor Mosqueda.

Thank you, colleagues.

Great team here we got.

Clerk, if you wouldn't mind reading the, now I got, could you please call the roll on the passage of item number three, passage of the bill?

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Solant.

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Strauss.

Yes.

Eight in favor, nine opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes.

The chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

Item number four.

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

Agenda item for resolution 32055, a resolution relating to sound transit, providing recommendations to the sound transit board as to the selection of the preferred alternative for the West Seattle and Ballard Link extensions project to be studied in the final environmental impact statement, the committee recommends the city council adopt the resolution as amended.

Thank you.

Council Member Peterson, as chair of the committee, you are recognized in order to address the resolution.

Thank you, President Pro Tem.

Colleagues, Resolution 32055 is a joint resolution with our mayor on Seattle's recommendations regarding Sound Transit West Seattle Ballard Link Extension routes and stations.

As we all know, this voter approved expansion of light rail is a massive investment in the benefits of regional transit and will substantially impact communities throughout Seattle.

On February 15, our Transportation Committee had a presentation on Sound Transit's draft environmental impact statement.

And on April 19, we had presentations from both Sound Transit and the executive on the various options.

At our committee on June 7, we received a thorough presentation and had a robust discussion of that joint resolution 32055. To provide more time for consideration we scheduled our second committee meeting on that resolution at our July 5 committee rather than June 21. Then on July 5 we amended the resolution and our committee passed it unanimously.

As we confront the climate crisis, we want more people to ride transit.

I recognize there's a strong desire to make sure the design and construction of this mega project builds in flexibility for future expansion options beyond Sound Transit 3, and to make sure the experience for transit riders is streamlined and efficient.

To address those two issues, it's important to note that the resolution currently states that the principle of financial stewardship includes, quote, prioritizing future expansion opportunities in planning and design.

Also, due in part to the concerns raised by several community leaders about the Fifth Avenue option, today's resolution acknowledges that more time and community engagement are needed before making generational decisions that impact the Chinatown International District.

And the resolution signals that we favor quicker, shallow alternatives instead of the deep options that would add travel time.

I want to thank my council colleagues for their thoughtful engagement on this resolution and the expertise and care they brought to the table for their districts and for our city.

I'd like to thank the executive, especially Sarah Maxana, Marshall Foster, and the mayor's office for their collaboration on this resolution.

I also want to thank our city council central staff, transportation analysts Calvin chow, and my own legislative assistant Hannah Thorson.

Ultimately, all of these decisions will be made by the team member sound transit board that represents King Pearson Snohomish counties.

but the City of Seattle will continue as the most populous and most supportive linchpin for the entire transit system.

Time is money and Seattle will be asked to expedite construction approvals to make sure the entire system expansion and its massive benefits for the region happen as quickly as possible.

I'm hopeful that the thoughtful preferences on routes and stations expressed by the Seattle resolution will be helpful to Sound Transit in achieving our mutual goal of quickly expanding light rail within our city and across our region.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Now, colleagues, this is the one where I'm expecting everyone's going to want to jump up.

I see Council Member Herbold from West Seattle, a city also annexed in 1907 by the city of Seattle.

Council Member Herbold, you are recognized.

Thank you so much.

I also would like to extend my thanks to chair Peterson for his collaborative approach to developing this resolution and incorporating his colleagues' feedback, colleagues who are working to represent our constituents.

I won't repeat all of my comments from committee.

I do want to note that the resolution includes a clear statement of support for the medium tunnel option for the West Seattle Junction in line with strong community support for a tunnel in the Junction.

a tunnel would have significantly less impact on residents and businesses.

For Delridge, there's no clear community consensus.

The draft EIS is clear that all alignments have impacts on residents and businesses.

The DEL 5 and 6 options were developed to minimize the impacts on the Youngstown community adjacent to Dennessee.

but they were added late in the scoping process at the board level.

So potential impacts of these options weren't discussed during the scoping process.

And so perhaps that might be why the draft DEIS failed to note the existence of the Alki Beach Academy Daycare Center as a potentially impacted social resource and did not fully analyze the project's impact on childcare centers.

Another impact would be transitional resources, offering 24-7 services to people with serious mental illness through both living facilities and a service center.

They depend on 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week services.

The holistic system in the draft EIS does not address the integrated nature of the program.

For these reasons, the committee amended including a statement that the city is not able to state a preference for the Delridge station given the inadequate DES DEIS analysis of impacted social resources and the state though that the future support of the city for a Delridge option is conditioned on avoidance or mitigation of impacts or relocation of impacted child care and transitional housing service providers.

Um, so, you know, we're, we're, we're, we're saying there's no preference now, but we're setting the bar for what, um, we would need to see in order to be able to support a PR a preference.

I really appreciate the executive's, um, addition to an earlier draft.

Version of, um, of the bill requesting specifically a transit access study for the communities identified in the racial equity toolkit, including South Delridge and white center.

and also adding mention of the important protections for Longfellow Creek.

These are great additions and I'm really pleased that the executive added them early.

And I encourage folks to lend their support to Council Member Peterson's fine legislation.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

Other colleagues?

Council Member Lewis and then Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you, Mr. President Pro Tem really looking forward to voting on this resolution today and appreciate the process and the ability to participate in the deliberations on the resolution, even though I'm not a member of the relevant committee.

The implications of Sound Transit 3 are amazing, and at the same time, offer a lot of challenges to District 7 in particular, and this resolution addresses those challenges that have been expressed by important stakeholders representing cultural, economic, and sporting interests in the area.

We have crafted recommendations in this resolution that address preserving the viability of our strong and robust maritime economy in the Salmon Bay area and throughout Interbay, preserving the cultural institutions and important public infrastructure in the Uptown neighborhood, particularly around the Seattle Center Campus.

And I look forward to continuing to have these discussions with Sound Transit on aligning their final planning priorities with the values that are expressed and the priorities that are expressed in this resolution.

and appreciate the opportunity to have gotten a lot of that feedback manifested in the four corners of this.

And I know it's been appreciated by a lot of the constituencies in District 7. So looking forward to voting yes on this.

Thank you, Council Member Lewis.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you very much.

And now's the chance to thank the sponsor and my good friend from District 1 out here.

for all the work that they did.

So let me repeat some of the things I was starting to say.

I really want to thank the chair, Council Member Peterson, thanks for all your work in spearheading this resolution to reflect the many needs and priorities of the city and our communities.

It was our pleasure as well within our office, and thanks to Erin House and Sejal Parikh for their work that they did with central staff and Seattle Department of Transportation, along with community partners like Seattle Subway to be able to make sure that the resolution as introduced included prioritization of future expansion opportunities at station location and design references to making sure that the refined Seattle South Lake Union Station location best serve the surrounding community and for the Ballard location requested that Sound Transit consider ridership impacts and the location of housing, employment and industrial areas.

And really appreciate the amendments that were made in the Transportation Committee well I'm not a member of that committee I want to thank Councilmember herbal and with the support of the chair Councilmember Peterson, for the work that they did to continue, continue to improve the legislation in front of us today.

And as Councilmember herbal noted, recognizing that the draft.

EIS put together by Sound Transit didn't have the full analysis necessary to look at healthcare providers, childcare providers, and the impact to the surrounding community, and to make sure that as we create our next integrated mass transportation system that we're thinking about how do we preserve and help promote the preservation of existing businesses including child care and health services by either maintaining their location or ensuring that they are able to relocate to an area nearby without losing the ability to serve the community because those are the exact types of services that we want around new sound transit stations to make sure that The development that we're creating is truly transit oriented, we want to make sure that there's amenities like child care and health services around housing and other high opportunity options in all neighborhoods that sound transit serves so I'm really excited about the amendments that were made in committee and look forward to continuing the conversation about avoiding or mitigating the impacts of relocation or needs in the area as we think about housing as well as these other social services that we need.

So I look forward to the next conversations.

And I really think that the city is sending a strong message here today about the importance of yes, creating mass transit, creating our sound transit connected to all communities throughout Seattle.

And as we do so looking at the important things that we need in order to be a thriving healthy community, and that includes health services, childcare, housing, and so many other necessities located next to our new Sound Transit Station.

So thanks for all the work that you did to really promote what transit-oriented development should look like in the legislation in front of us, and to take into account really unique needs across our city, including for our youngest kiddos and future generations.

Well said, Council Member Mosqueda.

Colleagues, any other comments?

Council Member Nelson, please, welcome.

Well, first I want to thank Council Member Peterson for his leadership and transparency throughout this process.

Thank you very much.

As well as Calvin Chow from central staff and Sarah Moxana at SDOT.

Thank you very much for all the work that you've put into this.

So I approach this from the perspective of a citywide council member who must consider the needs of all of Seattle.

And the reality is that no alignment or station location comes without challenging impacts.

But it's critical that we position ourselves as a city well, when it comes to future work with Sound Transit staff and as the Sound Transit Board goes into its own deliberations.

So of course, I'm going to vote in favor of this resolution today, weighing all the pros and cons as a citywide elected, truly believing that this will put our best foot forward in this process.

So thank you very much.

Thank you, Council Member Nelson.

Colleagues, I'll share my comments now.

The amendments that were accepted unanimously by the committee is to note that 14 alignment is unacceptable without a pedestrian station entrance west of 15. We should reopen analysis west of 15th to 22nd to identify cost savings now that the high bridge is not an option due to the Coast Guard's ruling.

15th Avenue is our preferred alignment and there are cost saving opportunities available to us as compared to what Sound Transit staff have put forward.

shift to look at using right-of-way rather than private property, or shifting the station a block north or south to use private property there.

What I say every time I speak to this is that we need to connect our light rail spine to Tacoma and Everett as fast as possible.

and I'm committed to seeing that through.

As the Tri-County Board heads towards making a decision, it is critical decisions are not rushed without full analysis of the options we have as this is 100-year infrastructure.

I'm here to assist with any cost-saving option in Ballard.

I can show you where they are.

I live, breathe that community.

It's my community.

And it is critical, again, for an entrance to be west of 15th Because the housing and commercial core is West of 15th, the Sound Transit ridership projections are highest coming from West of 15th.

And the reason that we need that station entrance is because 15th Avenue Northwest is the third used, most used North-South corridor in the city, only behind SR 99 and I-5.

Asking pedestrians to cross 15th Avenue at grade will impact ridership and is not aligned with our city's Vision Zero.

commitment.

We also heard during committee, both Montlake and Broadway received station entrances and pedestrian infrastructure to also avoid similar issues.

Lastly, I'll note that the 14th Avenue station option abuts the industrial district as in when you exit the station, you are in the industrial district and the land to the Northeast is not zoned for maximum density with neighborhood residential in close proximity.

The densest zoning and housing core in Ballard is between 24th and 15th Avenue Northwest.

North all the way to 65th.

This is why 15th Avenue Northwest is the preferred alignment and we need grade separation, grade separated connection if 14th Avenue is going to be considered.

Again, as always, I'm committed to seeing this project through to Tacoma and to Everett and we have to understand that we have to do our part here in the city and Sound Transit.

Absolutely, we're not looking for bells and whistles.

We're just looking for the things that serve our communities.

Chair, any closing comments?

No, thank you.

Thank you.

If not, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution?

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Strauss.

Yes.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The resolution is adopted.

Chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the resolution on my behalf.

Item I, items removed from the consent calendar.

No items were removed from the consent calendar.

Item J, adoption of other resolutions.

There are no other resolutions for introduction and adoption today.

Item K, other business.

Is there any other business to come before the council?

Mr. Chair.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I believe I'm already excused on August 2nd for local progress, but I do want to ask to be excused the week prior on July 26, Mr. Chair, from full council.

Great.

If there is no objection, Council Member Mosqueda is excused from the July 26th City Council meeting.

Hearing no objection, Council Member Mosqueda is excused from the July 26th City Council meeting.

Any other business?

Seeing none, I move.

Don't back up.

Colleagues, this does conclude the items of business on today's agenda.

Our next regularly scheduled city council meeting is on Tuesday, July 19th at 2 p.m.

We do have a special city council meeting on July 14th at 2 p.m.

I hope you all have a wonderful afternoon.

We are adjourned.