Committee of the Whole - Planning and Public Works Meeting - November 3, 2025
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Committee of the Whole - Planning and Public Works Meeting - November 3, 2025
The City of Redmond Committee of the Whole for Planning and Public Works met on November 3, 2025, at 4:30 PM. The committee reviewed nine action items, all of which were recommended for placement on the consent agenda for the November 18, 2025 City Council meeting, with one item initially considered for December 2 but later agreed to November 18. Discussions included impact fee indexing, grant agreements, contract awards, and infrastructure improvements. No public comments were received.
Discussion Items
- Development Impact Fees – 2026 Annual Indexing: Senior Planner Glenn Coyle presented proposed fee increases: park fees up 2.01%, transportation fees up 0.85%, school fees for single-family homes from $5,972 to $7,277 per unit, and multifamily from $0 to $170. Council Vice President Forsyth questioned the school fee increase; Brian Buck of Lake Washington School District explained it was driven by higher student generation rates. Council President Kritzer asked about fees for Bellevue School District properties; staff confirmed no interlocal agreement exists. The item was placed on the November 18 consent agenda.
- WSDOT Transportation Demand Management and Commute Trip Reduction Implementation Agreement: Program Administrator Kim Keeling presented a $214,300 grant for 2025-2027. Councilmember Fields noted a one-third funding drop due to a new jurisdiction entering the program. The item was placed on the November 18 consent agenda.
- Business License Process, Policy and Compliance Evaluation Contract: Economic Development staff Philly Marsh presented a $150,000 contract with Strategica Inc. to review business license compliance and identify gaps. Council President Kritzer clarified that fee study would be a later phase. Councilmember Nuevacamina highlighted benefits to businesses for resource connection. Councilmember Fields asked about potential revenue leakage; staff said the study will estimate gaps. The item was placed on the November 18 consent agenda.
- Indigency Screening Agreement Renewal: Brooke presented a $4,000 annual renewal with King County for public defense screening. Councilmember Stuart requested a memo on the impact of a new state ruling on service standards. The item was placed on the November 18 consent agenda (originally December 2, but agreed to November 18).
- 156th Cycle Track Project – Final Contract Acceptance: Public Works staff reported the project closed $1.2 million under budget. Council President Kritzer praised the project. Placed on November 18 consent agenda.
- Reject All Bids for Lift Station Equipment Upgrades Phase 2: Staff recommended rejecting all bids due to a bid protest over state procurement law updates. Councilmember Nuevacamina commended the decision. Placed on November 18 consent agenda.
- Idylwood Park Parking Lot Expansion and Frontage Improvements: Staff presented a consultant agreement with David Evans & Associates ($700,000) and a Department of Commerce grant ($215,000). Council discussed tree removal, stormwater management, and communication with neighbors. Placed on November 18 consent agenda.
- Pavement Management – NE 24th Street Project: Staff recommended awarding a $6.3 million construction contract to Earthworks Solutions LLC and a $380,000 consultant supplement, after the low bidder was deemed non-responsible. Councilmember Fields clarified terminology. Council Vice President Forsyth asked about future-proofing utilities. Placed on November 18 consent agenda.
- Additional Sewer Connection Charges for Redmond Town Center: Deputy Director Chris Stenger presented a resolution for equitable cost-sharing of sewer upgrades. Councilmember Fields asked about equity and outreach; staff noted office hours and developer support. Council President Kritzer linked to infrastructure readiness. Placed on November 18 consent agenda.
Key Outcomes
- All nine agenda items were unanimously approved for placement on the consent agenda for the November 18, 2025 City Council meeting. No objections were raised from committee members.
Meeting Transcript
Thank you. Good afternoon. I call to order this committee of the whole for planning and public works on Monday, November 3rd. Just a quick announcement off the top. Um, and council members do have copies of this flyer. Uh, the city is so so excited about the overwhelming amount of uh community interest in supporting our neighbors with food security at this time. There is a flyer available um on the city website and through the social media regarding how to support both the renewal food bank and hope link. So please do check that out if you are interested. We have seven items of business in today's committee meeting. Excuse me, we have nine items of business. Uh six council members are in attendance. Council President Kritzer, Council Vice President Forsyth, Councilmember Noeve Kamina, Councilmember Fields, Councilmember Salahoudin, and myself, Councilmember Stewart. Kicking us off with our planning and public, excuse me, our planning and community development items is uh Jeff Churchill. Welcome. Good afternoon, Council members. Uh each year, council has the authority to index impact fees for inflation. Glenn Coyle is here today to brief council members on proposed impact fee changes in 2026 to account for inflation. Also, a representative from the Lake Washington School District is available online to answer any questions about school fees. Glenn. Good afternoon, council members. I am Glenn Coyle, senior planner. Uh just wanted to provide some context on impact fees for the community. Uh impact fees are one-time charges collected by the city from new commercial and residential developments to fund fire, park, school, and transportation facilities needed to accommodate growth. Impact fees are authorized in RMC 310. Indexing or updating Redmond's impact fees annually allows the rates to keep pace with inflation to maintain the purchasing power of these impact fees and to help provide the capital facilities necessary to serve growth in Redmond. RMC 310 establishes the indexes and procedures that the city council may apply annually to index or update the city's uh Redmond's impact fees. The city also collects school impact fees on behalf of the Lake Washington School District by interlocal agreement. School impact fees calculated by the Lake Washington School District reflect a proportional share of the costs of school-related system improvements that are reasonably related to new development. So for 2026, park impact fees will increase by 2.01%. Transportation impact fees will increase by 0.85%. School impact fees for single family homes will increase from 5,972 per unit to 7,277 per unit. And fees for multifamily units will increase from zero to 170. Also to note, uh fire impact fees will not be indexed in 2027. Welcome to Zoom. If you are the meeting fire is updating its functional plan and in conjunction is conducting an impact fee uh rate study with proposed new fee schedule based on capital needs related to growth. Um parks will also be working on a rate study in 2026 with a new schedule to be adopted for 2027. And lastly, transportation will be updated in its transportation facilities plan as part of the TMP update in 2026, which will necessitate an updated fee schedule for 2027. So thank you. And we are asking that this item be placed on consent for December 2nd. December 2nd, not November 18th. I had November. Uh either one would work, I believe. Okay, well, we'll we'll see what the questions are and see if there's any um additional work to take care of. Um okay, thank you so much for the introduction. Uh, what are the questions from the council? Council Vice President Forsyth. Thank you. The single family dwelling unit for schools um is a pretty pretty pretty big increase from 5,000 to 7,000 uh percentage-wise, that's pretty big. Does that take into account the um well, what is taken into account for that increase? And um, are we taking into account declining enrollment rates?
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