Everett City Council February 26, 2026 Meeting: Transit Plan, Endangerment Ordinance, and Mayoral Actions
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Everett City Council Meeting — February 26, 2026
Note: The agenda and transcript list the meeting date as February 25, 2026; the supplied timestamp is February 26, 2026. This summary uses the supplied date.
The Everett City Council met to approve consent items, hear briefings on a new controlled substance endangerment ordinance and the Everett Transit Long Range Plan, and receive mayoral directives on automated license plate readers and immigration enforcement. The council also adopted several action items, including stormwater controls updates and a resolution for a public hearing on an alley vacation.
Consent Calendar
- Approved claims ($2,187,952.01) and payroll ($5,892,239.64) resolutions.
- Authorized lease agreements: Cedar View Law at Everett Station, Amendment No. 4 to Village Theatre lease (Cope Gillette Theatre), and a fireworks display agreement ($100,000).
- Approved Amendment No. 2 to a water quality grant agreement with Ecology, a temporary medical oversight services agreement ($5,960/month), acceptance of the Water Filter Plant Air Scour Building Replacement completion, and confirmation of two appointments to the Animal Shelter Advisory Board (Melissa Moore and Andy Anderson).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were offered during the public comment period or during the public hearing.
Discussion Items
- Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR): Mayor Franklin announced that after a court ruling requiring public disclosure of ALPR records, the city temporarily turned off the cameras to evaluate implications and protect victim identities. She provided an update on state legislation (SB 6002) that would exempt ALPRs from public records requests.
- Mayoral Directive on Immigration Enforcement: Mayor Franklin issued a four-part directive including internal policy review, stakeholder collaboration, restricting federal agents from non-public city areas without a warrant, and reaffirming constitutional policing. Councilmembers expressed support.
- Endangerment with a Controlled Substance Ordinance (CB 2602-08): Detective Purcell and City Attorney Lacey Offitt presented a proposed ordinance creating a gross misdemeanor for endangering a child under 18 by exposure to Schedule I or II controlled substances. The ordinance fills a state law gap regarding fentanyl and other drugs. A first reading was held; third reading set for March 11.
- Everett Transit Long Range Plan (Public Hearing): Transit Director Mike Schmider presented the draft plan “Connecting Everett in 2045,” projecting 70,000 new residents, 84,000 jobs, and a 25% increase in service hours. The plan includes expanded frequency, microtransit zones, fleet upgrades (50% electric already), and a proposed three-tenths sales tax increase to fund growth. Public comment period closes March 2; adoption expected March 25.
- Pavement Maintenance Overlay (CB 2602-09): Councilmember Barbano inquired about integrating bicycle infrastructure and Vision Zero goals. Public Works Director Tom Hood explained the overlay is strictly maintenance and bike routes are considered separately.
- Alley Vacation Resolution: Councilmember Bader raised concerns about unused alleys citywide and suggested potential housing development. Staff noted limited resources but willingness to review properties.
Key Outcomes
- Consent items (1-8): Adopted unanimously.
- Animal Shelter Advisory Board appointments: Confirmed unanimously.
- Minutes of February 18: Approved (Councilmember Ryan abstained).
- Stormwater Controls Ordinance (CB 2601-04): Adopted (third reading) unanimously.
- South Police Precinct Locker Room Project (CB 2602-05): Ordinance closing the project adopted unanimously.
- Alley Vacation Resolution (Item 15): Adopted unanimously; public hearing set for April 22, 2026 at 12:30 p.m.
- Public Hearing on Transit Plan: Hearing opened and closed; no public testimony. Council will receive a memo of changes and vote on adoption March 25.
- First readings of CB 2602-06 (Floating Dock), 2602-07 (Standpipe), 2602-08 (Endangerment), 2602-09 (Pavement Overlay): No vote taken; third readings scheduled for March 4, 11, or 11 respectively.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, residents of Everett, Washington. I'd like to call to order the Everett City Council meeting for February 25th, 2026. For information on council meetings and how to participate, please visit Everett Wad.gov slash city council. Clerk, will you please take the roll? Mayor Franklin here. Councilmember Zarlingo. Here. Councilmember Barbano. Right here. Councilmember Tui. Excused. Councilmember Weir here. Councilmember Bader. Excuse. He may be joining us soon. Vice President Ryan. Here. President Schwab. Here. At this time, I'd like to ask Councilmember Zarlingo to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you. And this time I'd like to ask Vice President Ryan to read the land acknowledgement. City Council wishes to acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Stahoes people and their successors, the Talelep tribes. It says time immemorial. They have hunted, fished, gathered on, and taken care of these lands and waters. We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and water. We'll strive to be honest about our past mistakes to bring about a future that includes their voices, their stories, and their people to form a more just and equitable society. Thank you very much. Well, good afternoon, Mayor. Good afternoon, President Schwab, Council, and community. To start with, I want to talk a little bit about automated license plate reader cameras, which are an incredibly valuable law enforcement tool that have helped Everett police make over 250 arrests, finding missing persons, and locate stolen vehicles. Yesterday, Everett lost a court case that said we must publicly disclose these records when requested. And we're still evaluating the implications of this ruling. However, with this ruling, we may be required to produce literally millions of records, which could take hundreds upon hundreds of hours of staff time. Even more importantly, we're concerned about protecting the identity of victims of domestic violence, stalking, and other crimes. As a result, I've asked our staff to temporarily turn off license plate reader cameras until we learn the result of legislative action in Olympia and have a clearer understanding of the legal framework framework governing their use. Again, I want to share this as really disappointing due to how important this tool has been from solving homicides to locating missing people. I remain very hopeful for a fix this session in Olympia. So speaking of Olympia, I know Jennifer has been keeping you updated on weekly legislative issues. I wanted to share a couple updates. Senate Bill 6002 continues to move ahead, and this bill would clean up and provide guardrails for the use of automated license plate readers, like I was just referring to. Just yesterday, it was voted out of House Policy Committee. That should give plenty of time for a floor vote in the House and eventual approval. This bill would treat automated license plate readers the same as our traffic safety speed and school zone cameras. It would exempt them from public records act. It would also allow us three weeks to access data for valid public safety purposes and help protect victims and solve crimes. At this point, it limits the use to felonies, but we are hopeful that the bill will be amended to include additional crimes like gross misdemeanors, including domestic violence, sexual assault crimes, crimes against children, and other categories. And this bill removes roadblocks that have come up in some other communities. Everett has stayed engaged on it and ensuring that will be amended to allow us to use our management plans as best practices for providers. We we know the result of these and other important uh policies that are coming forward.
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