Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Redmond City Council met on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 7:00 PM at City Hall. The meeting included a presentation from Habitat for Humanity, the delivery of the Mayor's Preliminary 2027-2028 Biennial Budget, public comments on various topics, a public hearing on the budget and revenue sources, a staff report on tourism progress, and approval of the consent agenda with one item pulled for discussion.
Items from the Audience:
Public Hearing on 2027-2028 Budget and Revenue Sources:
Presentation: Habitat for Humanity Alicia Ruiz, Advocacy and Policy Manager, presented Habitat's community land trust model. She noted that 56.8% of Redmond households are renters, the median home price is $1.45 million, and median gross rent is over $2,400. Habitat serves families earning up to 80% of AMI (e.g., $116,650 for a family of four). She cited Liberty Commons (58 condo units in Seattle, $30M budget, prices from $160s-$285k) and Orchard Gardens (25 homes in Bellevue, expected list price around $360k) as examples. She asked Redmond to consider increasing affordable housing funding, dedicating funds to homeownership, offering surplus land, passing faith-based land legislation, granting density bonuses, and reducing permitting delays. Council expressed interest in partnering.
Presentation: Mayor's Preliminary 2027-2028 Biennial Budget Mayor Angela Birney presented the $1.4 billion budget (5% increase from last biennium). Key highlights include: $6 million for housing and human services; three additional police officers; $250 million for the Maintenance and Operations Center redevelopment; $35 million for the Teen Center; $20 million to rebuild Fire Station 11; $1.3 million for environmental sustainability and climate resilience; $1.4 million for Red Link, safe routes to school, and wayfinding; and $52.3 million for a new department focused on permit approval and customer service. The budget is aligned with four priorities: a healthy and sustainable environment, a safe and resilient community, a strategic and responsive government, and a vibrant and connected community.
Staff Report: 2025 Annual Report and Tourism Strategic Plan Progress Jackie Lawler (Tourism Program Administrator) reported that tourism generates nearly $24 billion annually statewide. Redmond's 2025 domestic visitor spending was $92 million, up 19%, though visit nights and trips decreased slightly. The city has made progress on 56% of the 64 initiatives in the five-year Tourism Strategic Plan. Key successes include launching the Red Link shuttle (15% of hotel guests use it), securing an annual ECNL soccer tournament (80,000 attendees), and generating 143 million media impressions. The report noted the need to increase shoulder-season occupancy and explore a Destination Management Organization (DMO). Council members expressed strong support for moving forward with a DMO.
Consent Item Discussion: Teen Center Consultant Agreement Councilmember Parsi requested clarification on the selection process for Progressive Design Build Consulting LLC. Director Hamilton explained that three candidates were solicited from a state roster and interviewed; the firm was chosen for its expertise in community centers and progressive design build. Councilmember Kritzer asked about expediency; Hamilton described how the progressive design build approach allows concurrent processes and early procurement to speed the project. Councilmembers sought a clear timeline for decisions; Hamilton indicated a design-build contract would come to council by the end of 2026 or early 2027. Councilmember Stewart requested a more user-friendly visual timeline, which was provided. Discussion also touched on the potential to explore both a like-for-like and expanded facility option during validation.
I'm calling this meeting to order. This is a regular meeting of the Redmond City Council held on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, commencing at 7 o'clock PM. I will call roll starting with Council President Stewart. Here. Council Vice President Nueva Camina. Here. Council Member Forsyth. Here. Councilmember Kritzer. Here. Councilmember Parsi? Here. Councilmember Procria? Here. And Councilmember Sony. Here. The first item on the agenda is special orders of the day with a presentation from Alicia Ruiz from Habitat for Humanity. Please take it away. There we go. Thank you, Mary Burney, Council President Stewart, and members of the council. My name is Alicia Ruiz. I am the new advocacy and policy manager for Habitat for Humanity, Seattle, King and Kiditask Counties. And although I'm new to the East Side and I'm new to Habitat and a new to affordable housing, I'm not new to land use. Okay. There we go. Okay, so keep in mind as I go through our model that we are a land trust model and that our homes are financed through three buckets. One is public funding, two is the home buyer's mortgage, and three are money from our donors. So the first part of our model is applicants apply. You can qualify to be a habitat homeowner if you earn up to 80% of AMI. There's no meet there's no minimum credit score. We look for a positive consistent good credit history, and you must live or work in the county. Once builders are sorry, once home buyers are accepted, they agree to partner with us, they take finance education classes and willingness to partner, meaning that they put in their own sweat equity, either working on their home or one of the community homes, or perhaps even work in some hours volunteer in our uh one of our habitat stores. So then the buy the the best part comes uh buying the home. It's about a one percent down for down payment and mortgage payments are usually set around 30% of the home buyer's income so as not to uh cost burden the applicant. Um again, habitat works out of a land trust model, and we take the cost of the land out of the price so that it um stays affordable for any future buyer. Now, if you take away one thing from my presentation tonight, it is to remember that investment in habitat for humanity is a one-time subsidy that ensures permanent affordability. Um affordable rental projects, you know, often need annual funding and subsidy, but um with a habitat home, you subsidize in the very beginning, and it is it will continue to be affordable for generations to come. Shoot. There we go. So this year is our 40th year anniversary, so 40 years of impact uh within the region. Seattle is our the habitat affiliate, our habitat affiliate is the largest in the state and one of the largest in the countries. Was founded in 1986 with our first build was on the east side here in Issaquah. We've served 2,000 plus families. And uh you may have yourselves uh volunteered on a habitat project with one of our corporate sponsors or with community volunteer days, and we welcome over um 2,500 volunteers every year. We also have four habitat stores around the area. The one on the east side is in Bellevue, and those funds then are given back into the habitat mission.