OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Edmonds City Council Regular Meeting - March 4, 2026

City Council & Boards — Wednesday, March 4, 2026
BodyEdmonds, Washington
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateWednesday, March 4, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:25:47

Transcript — Verbatim
0:42

Good evening and welcome to the March 3rd edition of the Edmund City Council.

0:46

Please join me in the flag salute.

0:53

The United States of America to the Republic, which is the Inmidence.

1:04

Thank you.

1:05

For the land acknowledgement, Councilmember Eck, please.

1:10

We acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Snohomish people and their successors, the two Laylit tribes, who since time memorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands.

1:24

We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and water.

1:35

Thank you.

1:36

Can we have a roll call, please?

1:39

Councilmember Eck.

1:41

Councilmember Chen?

1:42

Yeah.

1:42

Councilmember Barnett.

1:44

Council President Dutch.

1:46

Councilmember Olson.

1:47

Here.

1:48

Councilmember Payne.

1:49

Here.

1:50

Councilmember Nand.

1:51

Mayor Rosen.

1:52

All elected officials are present.

1:55

Thank you.

1:56

In addition to our council members and your mayor, we have another mayor in the House, Mayor Hearst from Linwood.

2:03

Welcome.

2:05

Our next item of business is approval of the agenda.

2:08

Motion to second.

2:10

It's been moved in seconds to approve the agenda.

2:12

All in favor, please raise your hands and say aye.

2:15

Aye.

2:16

Anyone opposed, please raise your hand and say nay.

2:18

The motion carries unanimously.

2:20

Thank you.

2:21

Our next item of business is presentations.

2:24

The first one being the mayor's financial update.

2:34

So for January, we got some results for three of our revenue streams that we count on.

2:40

Our 2026 sales revenues, as you know, we uh were as everybody else was experiencing lower than anticipated sales tax revenues.

2:49

So we went conservative and said, let's not assume that they will be going up.

2:54

And um the good news is from our refined uh our revised projections, we are up 25,449 for January over what we had projected.

3:03

Um so I'm pleased we were conservative.

3:06

Our property tax revenue is humbly up, but up 2,672, higher than our forecast, and development related revenues, which are very hard to predict, um, are up 23,591 over projections.

3:19

So those three uh by themselves add up to 51,700 and change.

3:25

And I'll stop with that since that's good news.

3:29

Our next item of business is also a presentation, which is the hearing examiner's annual report.

3:40

Okay.

3:44

Okay, can you all hear me now?

3:46

We can, thank you.

3:47

Perfect.

3:47

All right, thank you, Mayor and City Council.

3:49

It's a pleasure to be uh back again this year to do my annual uh hearing examiner report.

3:55

Uh this one's a little more interesting than the one we've had in the past.

4:00

That's not exactly uh always a good thing because that means a lot more staff on hearing examiner time, but we did have a couple hearings which uh um I think raised some important issues in the city's code and that kind of thing.

4:12

I'll kind of go in reverse uh chronological order, although for whatever reason the last the uh the hearings from last December put at the very end here, but uh one of the big hearings uh from uh done recently was an appeal of a notice of violation uh with the city's new interim landmark tree preservation ordinance.

4:30

And uh, you know, I do a lot of these for uh uh other communities with similar high fines, bury and Kirkland and and Kenmore.

4:38

And uh this is probably one of the probably the one that I've reduced the most from 102,000 fine to 20,000.

4:46

And I think it's kind of gives a good example of uh sometimes how you know it maybe some innocent mistakes or semi-innocent mistakes can lead to really astronomical fines and and you know, and and give you an idea of of uh you know how how people go through this process sometimes.

5:01

But essentially what happened with the red elves was that uh you know, they of course they live in the Edmonds community, they decided they were gonna buy a house just down the street, remodel it, and then move into it.

5:12

And uh they were a little concerned about a landmark Douglas fir tree that was uh very close to the backyard.

5:18

It just had branches on one side and was kind of leaning towards the house.

5:22

Its roots were uh attaching to the foundation of the house, and the the um Snowman County PUD told them that they were gonna limb some more trees.

5:31

So they decided this was a dangerous tree and they needed to cut it down.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management████████████████████████████████████████40%
Procedural███████████████████19%
Public Safety█████████████13%
Land Use Regulations███████7%
Tree Removal Regulations█████5%
Environmental Protection█████5%
Public Engagement█████5%
Animal Welfare██2%
Affordable Housing█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Edmonds City Council Regular Meeting - March 4, 2026

The Edmonds City Council met on March 4, 2026, starting at 6:00 PM and concluding after an executive session at 10:25 PM. The meeting included presentations, a public hearing, extensive discussion on the Lynnwood Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade, and action on an odor control contract.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from previous meetings (February 23, 24, and 24 regular).
  • Approved claim checks and wire payments from February 25-26, 2026.
  • Approved second reading of ordinance amending authorized employee positions (FTE changes).

Presentations

  • Mayor's Finance Update: January 2026 revenues exceeded projections: sales tax up $25,449, property tax up $2,672, and development-related revenues up $23,591 – a combined positive variance of $51,712.
  • Hearing Examiner Annual Report: Hearing Examiner Olbricks presented cases from 2025, including:
    • A landmark tree violation (Redelfs) where a $102,000 fine was reduced to $20,000 due to extraordinary circumstances – the owner relied on a contractor's inaccurate statement and had no economic benefit from removal. Councilmembers expressed concern about environmental value and contractor accountability.
    • A unit lot subdivision appeal where the state requirement for a public hearing was criticized as misleading because building permits were already issued.
    • A SEPA appeal concerning Bernhoff Creek bypass and railroad safety – appeal sustained on railroad risk grounds; fish habitat claim denied.
    • A conservation plan subdivision that achieved 71% tree retention via city incentives.
    • A notice of violation for stairs/boathouse built without permits – the owner agreed to remove them.
    • Councilmember Olson noted the unit lot subdivision case highlighted a need for process improvements to avoid futile public hearings.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Multiple residents (Tim Amon, Jeff Flowers, Mandana Baniani, John, Bob, Steve Fisher, Bruce, Lori Dressler, Stephanie McLaughlin, James Weiss, Ken Reedy) spoke against the Lynnwood Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion, citing concerns about odor, property value, health (clusters of illness near the plant), traffic, noise, lack of community notification, and the use of eminent domain. Many urged relocating the plant or conducting a full environmental impact statement. Bob stated that 50% of neighbors he canvassed had no knowledge of the project.
  • Rachel Potts accused an Edmonds City Council member of cyberbullying after she declined a campaign call; she reported the incident to police and requested council action.
  • Ken Reedy criticized the Hearing Examiner system, alleging lack of independence, record integrity, and accountability, and requested a new ordinance and comparative analysis.

Public Hearing: Deer Creek CARA Moratorium

  • Director Cluxton confirmed the six-month moratorium (Ordinance 4430) on permit applications triggering stormwater management in the Deer Creek Critical Aquifer Recharge Area. No public testimony was offered, either in person or remotely. Council discussed: some residents have been impacted (expansion plans delayed), but staff noted the moratorium is required for PFAS/stormwater study. The city attorney indicated low litigation risk. Council directed staff to expedite the study and report back if earlier completion is possible.

Discussion Items

  • Update on City of Lynnwood Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade (Item 10.1):
    • Lynnwood Public Works Director Jared Bond, plant manager Asan Shirkani, and supervisor Tanner Boyle presented the project history, need (aging infrastructure, incinerator failures, regulatory requirements), and alternatives. The current preferred alternative is upgrading the existing site (estimated $208 million in 2021 dollars) vs. new location ($250–400M) or connecting to King County Metro ($340M).
    • They acknowledged past EPA violations for air emissions (incinerator) but stated compliance was achieved by 2023. Community outreach included postcards to a half-mile radius, tours, and meetings, though many residents said they were not contacted.
    • Two properties were acquired voluntarily (not eminent domain) for $1.2M plus relocation costs, to mitigate space constraints. No further acquisitions are planned.
    • Edmonds Public Works Director Andy Reum emphasized that 7,000 Edmonds residents rely on this plant, and if Lynnwood relocated, Edmonds would have to build its own plant – possibly costlier.
    • Councilmembers raised questions about population projections (2040 vs. 2050), climate resilience (sea level rise), cost allocation for Edmonds, construction impacts on neighborhoods (truck routes, staging), and the upcoming SEPA review for the construction phase (expected in 2027). Lynnwood committed to re-evaluating alternatives and sharing results.
  • Award Construction Contract for Odor Control Enclosure and Air Scrubber (Item 10.2):
    • Two contracts totaling $287,353 (Engineering Services & Products Co. – $211,503.12; Netwerra Corp Inc. – $75,849.43) to control odors at the Edmonds Wastewater Treatment Plant. The motion was initially made with incorrect amounts from an older packet, then amended to the correct figures. Approved unanimously.
    • Council noted this is a necessary investment to address neighborhood odor complaints and will be used long-term.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved unanimously.
  • Deer Creek CARA moratorium retained for six months; staff to provide updates on study progress.
  • City Council will continue to monitor Lynnwood WTP upgrade, with Edmonds staff now actively involved in planning and BODR (Basis of Design Report) process.
  • Odor control contract awarded (amended vote: unanimous).
  • Council will consider a resolution supporting Edmonds residents near the Lynnwood WTP, as requested by a resident.
  • Executive session held (30 minutes) to discuss litigation with legal counsel under RCW 42.30.110(1)(i).
  • Council comments included updates from Councilmember Nand on new SNOCOM and emergency communications board appointments.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening and welcome to the March 3rd edition of the Edmund City Council. Please join me in the flag salute. The United States of America to the Republic, which is the Inmidence. Thank you. For the land acknowledgement, Councilmember Eck, please. We acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Snohomish people and their successors, the two Laylit tribes, who since time memorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands. We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and water. Thank you. Can we have a roll call, please? Councilmember Eck. Councilmember Chen? Yeah. Councilmember Barnett. Council President Dutch. Councilmember Olson. Here. Councilmember Payne. Here. Councilmember Nand. Mayor Rosen. All elected officials are present. Thank you. In addition to our council members and your mayor, we have another mayor in the House, Mayor Hearst from Linwood. Welcome. Our next item of business is approval of the agenda. Motion to second. It's been moved in seconds to approve the agenda. All in favor, please raise your hands and say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed, please raise your hand and say nay. The motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Our next item of business is presentations. The first one being the mayor's financial update. So for January, we got some results for three of our revenue streams that we count on. Our 2026 sales revenues, as you know, we uh were as everybody else was experiencing lower than anticipated sales tax revenues. So we went conservative and said, let's not assume that they will be going up. And um the good news is from our refined uh our revised projections, we are up 25,449 for January over what we had projected. Um so I'm pleased we were conservative. Our property tax revenue is humbly up, but up 2,672, higher than our forecast, and development related revenues, which are very hard to predict, um, are up 23,591 over projections. So those three uh by themselves add up to 51,700 and change. And I'll stop with that since that's good news. Our next item of business is also a presentation, which is the hearing examiner's annual report. Okay. Okay, can you all hear me now? We can, thank you. Perfect. All right, thank you, Mayor and City Council. It's a pleasure to be uh back again this year to do my annual uh hearing examiner report. Uh this one's a little more interesting than the one we've had in the past.

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