Edmonds City Council PSPHSP Committee Meeting - October 21, 2026

The Edmonds City Council Public Safety, Planning, Human Services, and Personnel (PSPHSP) Committee met on October 21, 2026. The agenda packet was dated October 20, 2026 at 4:30 PM, while the meeting timestamp used for this summary is 2026-10-21 11:30:00 UTC; the date discrepancy is noted. Staff presented updates on police patrol staffing, a proposed e-bike ordinance, family burial ground permanent regulations, and the Deer Creek Critical Aquifer Recharge Area draft code.

Police Department Patrol Staffing Update

• Chief Dawkins presented historical staffing data. The department had 66 budgeted commissioned officers and 19 civilian staff in 2023; the highest number ever filled was 58 sworn officers.
• After end-of-2024 budget cuts, commissioned staffing fell to 49 and patrol staffing to 30. Current sworn staffing is 47, with 13.75 civilian FTE and 30 assigned to patrol.
• Detective staffing declined from 7 detectives plus a sergeant to 4 detectives plus a sergeant; training unit staffing went from 2 officers to 1; canine officers went from 4 to 1; animal control went from 2 to 1.
• Calls for service have remained steady at somewhere between 25,000 annually; the 2026 figure was year-to-date through September and is on pace to be the highest. Public disclosure requests are increasing while city population is slowly increasing.
• Edmonds currently has 1.07 officers per 1,000 residents, compared to the Washington state average of 1.37 and the national average of 2.2. Chief Dawkins said reaching the state average would require 58 total sworn officers, and he described the current staffing level as unsustainable long term and similar to 1995 levels.
• Chief Dawkins described 12-hour patrol shifts, mandatory overtime, and one recent week with five mandatory call-ins. An officer told him she was unsure if she could enjoy days off because of the risk of being called back in.
• Ex officio member Chris Ack said he had been personally concerned about police reductions and found the data helpful for telling the city's budget story. Chair Susan said she requested the update because of concerns about mandatory overtime and morale. Michelle asked whether the department is on thin ice; Chief Dawkins said current officers are highly capable and trained, but the staffing model is not sustainable. A committee member identified 58 sworn officers as a target.

E-Bike Ordinance (Chapter 5.75, First Reading)

• Chief Dawkins presented a proposed ordinance addressing electric bicycles, electric scooters, and other powered personal transportation devices. It is based on the model ordinance adopted by Everett and Arlington and is intended to establish safety expectations, not to discourage e-bike use or emphasize citations.
• The ordinance would address operating speeds, helmet requirements, age restrictions, pedestrian safety, sidewalk and shared-use path use, and enforcement of unsafe behavior. Edmonds has identified three collisions involving electric bicycles or devices since June 2025. The amended draft explicitly includes one-wheel devices.
• Councilmembers noted several scrivener errors, including a leftover Everett citation, and agreed to email corrections to staff.
• Chair Susan asked for public education and questioned how reckless endangerment would be defined. Michelle raised concerns about groups running stop signs, sidewalk speeds near older pedestrians, and unclear speed limits in bike lanes. Councilmember Erica Barnett supported the ordinance but urged caution not to discourage young riders; she asked staff to cross-check park ordinances so Class 1 and Class 2 e-bike access is not overly restricted compared to state rules.
• The committee reached consensus to send the ordinance to full council as a business item rather than placing it on the consent calendar, with a short presentation by police and public education materials.

Family Burial Grounds Permanent Regulations

• Staff reported that State House Bill 2239, enacted in March 2026, allows cities and counties to regulate or prohibit family burial grounds on private property.
• Council adopted interim ordinance 4437 on June 2, 2026, as a temporary prohibition. The Planning Board reviewed the topic and recommended a permanent prohibition on August 12, 2026.
• The draft permanent ordinance would prohibit the establishment of family burial grounds in Edmonds. Reasons cited include land-use compatibility, property turnover, environmental and groundwater concerns, and neighborhood character.
• No committee questions were raised. Consensus was reached to move the ordinance to full council for a public hearing on November 10, 2026.

Deer Creek Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA) Draft Code and Next Steps

• Planning staff said the interim ordinance still prohibits building permit submittals in the Deer Creek CARA. A study identified source control as the primary short-term strategy; the CARA code already includes roughly two dozen use regulations or prohibitions. The draft proposal would add six additional source-control categories, including roofing materials and compost, and would treat stormwater as a potential PFAS pathway.
• Staff recommended adopting interim source-control regulations by December, then lifting the moratorium, with permanent regulations and adaptive management and monitoring to follow within about six months.
• Andy from Public Works said the three realistic options are a permanent moratorium; a moratorium until a large stormwater treatment system is built, which he estimated could cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take many years; or allowing infiltration with restrictions. He said the proposed thresholds align with or are more restrictive than the Washington Department of Ecology stormwater manual and advised against adopting local standards that conflict with state standards.
• Andy noted that the Olympic View Water and Sewer District watershed protection plan from 2023 is satisfied by the proposed stormwater approach. He also said there is currently no stormwater treatment technology that effectively removes PFAS.
• Chair Susan asked for more information on costs, permit fees, and what adaptive management means in practice; she said the moratorium should remain until the city is sure about next steps. Michelle asked for comments from the EEC and Olympic View, cited the high permeability of Deer Creek soils, and emphasized the precautionary principle. A committee member asked about engineered infiltration and the planning board role; staff explained that deep UIC wells would be prohibited, shallow low-impact development infiltration could be allowed if state site-suitability criteria are met, and planning board review would occur for permanent regulations. Michelle also asked whether an EIS would be required; staff said CEPA would apply to permanent regulations but they were not aware of a separate EIS requirement for infiltration.
• Staff clarified that drinking water pumped from the Deer Creek CARA is not served to Edmonds residents but to Woodway.
• The committee agreed to place the Deer Creek CARA topic on the November 24, 2026 full council agenda for discussion. The chair's closing remark referred to December 24, 2026, likely a slip.

Key Outcomes

• Chief Dawkins agreed to provide the patrol staffing presentation to all councilmembers for inclusion in budget materials.
• The e-bike ordinance will go to full council as a regular business item, not consent; scrivener errors will be corrected before then.
• The family burial grounds ordinance was referred to full council for a public hearing on November 10, 2026.
• The Deer Creek CARA draft code and next steps will be discussed at full council on November 24, 2026.