OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Seattle City Council Briefing - May 18, 2026: Proclamations, Regional Committee Updates, and Key Policy Discussions

City Council — Monday, May 18, 2026
BodySeattle, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, May 18, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:17:54
Transcript — Verbatim
0:18

Good morning or good morning, excuse me.

0:20

Good afternoon.

0:20

Today is the May 18th.

0:22

Council briefing will come to order.

0:24

It is 2 02 p.m.

0:27

Will the clerk please call the roll?

0:29

Councilmember Rivera.

0:30

Councilmember Saka?

0:32

Here.

0:32

Councilmember Strauss.

0:33

Yep.

0:33

Councilmember Foster.

0:35

Councilmember Juarez.

0:36

Councilmember Kettle?

0:38

Here.

0:38

Councilmember Lynn?

0:40

Here.

0:40

Councilmember Rink.

0:41

Council President.

0:42

Council President Hollingsworth.

0:44

Here.

0:44

Six present.

0:45

Awesome.

0:46

Thank you.

0:46

There's no present, excuse me.

0:48

If there is no objections, the minutes of May 4th, 2026 will be adopted.

0:53

Hearing no objection, the minutes are adopted.

0:56

There are no presentations or executive sessions scheduled for today.

1:02

There are 20 items on the refer introduction and referral calendar, bills, minutes, and two appointments to the customer review panel.

1:11

We have four proclamations for discussion and signature for the record.

1:15

We are joined by Councilmember Juarez and Councilmember Foster.

1:19

Thank you.

1:24

That is, and sorry, I just looked at Councilmember Warez and it threw me off.

1:28

It's good to see you.

1:32

Okay.

1:36

It was amazing to see you.

1:39

Okay, not just good.

1:40

Um council briefing and city council are canceled on May 25th.

1:45

That is our council briefing and full council meeting the 26th.

1:50

So our next scheduled city council meeting is June the second.

1:55

Awesome.

1:56

Just making sure we know about that.

1:58

On June 1st, colleagues, council briefing, council central staff will provide a briefing on affordability in Seattle in light of the upcoming levy and rate increasing proposals.

2:09

So we have council uh central staff presenting to the council about the levies that are currently uh you know being paid on right now, and then also uh ones that are coming down the pipeline as well to do a table setting for us so we understand how they all interconnect.

2:28

Um, and if there's any stuff offline we can talk about that you all want to see in there, more than happy to discuss.

2:34

Um, but I think it's good from central staff perspective to tell us about uh what we have voted on in the past, what's currently being paid on cap, everything you could possibly think of about affordability because I think it's important.

2:46

Um, and so that will be on June the first at 2 p.m.

2:50

for our council briefing.

2:51

So we will have a presentation.

2:53

We will be on the dais for that meeting.

2:55

Awesome.

2:56

Looking a lot of head nods, so that's great.

2:58

Um, so today we have four proclamations for discussion and signature.

3:01

I'm gonna ask each each council member uh to introduce the proclamation and seek any final feedback before I request roll call to council members to fix their signature to each proclamation.

3:12

This is just a reminder, I think we only have one being presented tomorrow in council.

3:18

I'm looking at the other council sponsors and because I know council member uh Lynn and I have one that's coming tomorrow that will be presented in council, everyone else is doing is presenting them in community.

3:29

Awesome.

3:30

Okay.

3:30

So uh councilmember Rink has a proclamation recognizing May 24th as a reritrian independence day.

3:37

Councilmember Rink.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████████████34%
Homelessness█████████████████17%
Transportation Funding███████████████15%
Land Use and Zoning███████7%
Racial Equity███████7%
Community Engagement██████6%
Parks and Recreation████4%
Public Transit████4%
Arts And Culture███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Seattle City Council Briefing - May 18, 2026

The Seattle City Council convened a briefing on Monday, May 18, 2026, at 2:02 PM in the Council Chamber. Presided over by Council President Joy Hollingsworth, the meeting included the approval of minutes, signing of four proclamations, and an extensive preview of upcoming city council actions and regional committee work. The meeting adjourned at 3:19 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The May 4, 2026, Council Briefing Minutes were adopted without objection.

Proclamations Signed (Unanimous)

  • Eritrean Independence Day: Recognized May 24 as Eritrean Independence Day (sponsored by Councilmember Rink). 8 signatures affixed.
  • Pride Month: General proclamation celebrating LGBTQIA+ residents (sponsored by Councilmember Foster). 8 signatures initially, later Councilmember Rivera added her signature.
  • Pride Asia Day: Celebrating LGBTQ Asian and Pacific Islander communities (sponsored by Councilmember Foster). 9 signatures affixed.
  • Rainier Beach Boys Basketball Day: Recognized May 19 as State Champion Rainier Beach Boys Basketball Day (sponsored by Council President Hollingsworth and Councilmember Lynn). 9 signatures affixed.

Discussion Items

Councilmembers provided updates on their respective committee agendas and regional work:

Parks & Seattle Light Committee (Councilmember Juarez):

  • Upcoming meeting on Wednesday at 2:00 PM with seven matters, including a data center resolution, housekeeping items (land deed acceptance, easement conveyances), a public hearing on D1 current use taxation for Buyers Bulldog Garden Pea Patch, and use contracts for cooperative preschools at Madison Beach Park and Victory Heights. Councilmember Juarez emphasized the public benefit offset in contracts.

Transportation, Waterfront & Seattle Center Committee (Councilmember Saka):

  • Thursday at 9:30 AM agenda includes: a community panel on Seattle Center renovation, a joint mayoral-council proclamation committing to modernize Seattle Center by 2027, an update on unpermitted street vending from an interdepartmental team, and a possible vote on the U Alley street vacation. Councilmember Saka also shared community events: Delridge Farmers Market launch and a flag-raising ceremony at West Seattle baseball fields.

Finance, Native Communities & Tribal Governments Committee (Councilmember Strauss):

  • A special meeting held last Friday recommended confirmation of Dwight Dively as Finance Director. The next regular meeting is canceled. The confirmation will go to full council on June 2. Councilmember Strauss also reported on Sound Transit: the Ballard Link extension faces a funding gap (no construction funds from Seattle Center to Ballard). He hosted a community conversation and is working on amendments for the May 28 Sound Transit Board meeting. Ridership data from Sound Transit was contested as inaccurate.

Public Safety Committee (Councilmember Kettle):

  • No meeting this week; next week’s meeting will focus on the Office of Emergency Management’s preparations for the FIFA World Cup. Councilmember Kettle also noted he will speak at the Memorial Day ceremony at the Garden of Remembrance (addition of a name from the Iran War). He raised concerns about Sound Transit’s decision to tunnel under the emergency operations center and fire alarm center without proper consultation.

Land Use Committee (Councilmember Lynn):

  • Upcoming agenda includes: a data center moratorium (focused on mega data centers), housing opportunities legislation, and a proposal to remove appeals to the Hearing Examiner for CEPA appeals of legislative acts (e.g., comprehensive plan, rezones). Councilmember Lynn clarified this would not apply to non-legislative permits and that appeals would go directly to court. Several councilmembers questioned the potential delay and unintended consequences.

Governance & Utilities Committee (Council President Hollingsworth):

  • Next meeting June 11 at 9:30 AM. Items coming to full council include: two appointments to the Seattle Public Utilities customer review panel, reappointment of General Manager Andrew Lee, and the new stormwater code (vote set for June 2). The code is complex and further outreach is planned.

Housing Committee (Councilmember Foster):

  • Tomorrow’s full council agenda includes votes on creating the Hillman City Arts District and Georgetown Arts District, and the shelter legislation. Councilmember Foster also briefed on technical updates to the Seattle Social Housing Development Charter to allow buildings to be used as collateral.

Human Services, Labor & Economic Development Committee (Councilmember Rink):

  • Unanimously recommended confirmation of acting OED Director Beto Yarse and passage of a resolution on next steps with the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA). Councilmember Rink noted coordination with King County. Councilmember Rivera added that she drafted a resolution calling for KCRHA dissolution, but emphasized alignment with the county.

Other Updates:

  • Councilmember Strauss highlighted the upcoming briefing on affordability and levies on June 1.
  • Councilmember Rivera introduced two amendments to the shelter legislation: one requiring collaboration between SDCI, HSD, and providers to address safety near schools (per state law 2266), and another mandating overnight security at tiny house villages (not prescriptive on hours or vendor type). She cited positive outcomes from existing providers.
  • Councilmember Lynn noted May is Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Month and participated in a Walk for Rice event.
  • Councilmember Kettle mentioned a meeting at McDonald’s at Third and Pine to discuss city-county coordination on public safety challenges.
  • Councilmember Juarez attended a memorial for a 20-year-old shooting victim in Lake City.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes approved without objection.
  • Four proclamations signed (unanimous, with later additions from Councilmember Rivera).
  • No formal votes on legislation were taken during the briefing; all substantive decisions are scheduled for upcoming committee and full council meetings.
  • Next meeting dates: Council Briefing and Full Council canceled for May 25-26 (Memorial Day week). Next Council Briefing is June 1 at 2:00 PM (with affordability presentation), and next Full Council is June 2.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning or good morning, excuse me. Good afternoon. Today is the May 18th. Council briefing will come to order. It is 2 02 p.m. Will the clerk please call the roll? Councilmember Rivera. Councilmember Saka? Here. Councilmember Strauss. Yep. Councilmember Foster. Councilmember Juarez. Councilmember Kettle? Here. Councilmember Lynn? Here. Councilmember Rink. Council President. Council President Hollingsworth. Here. Six present. Awesome. Thank you. There's no present, excuse me. If there is no objections, the minutes of May 4th, 2026 will be adopted. Hearing no objection, the minutes are adopted. There are no presentations or executive sessions scheduled for today. There are 20 items on the refer introduction and referral calendar, bills, minutes, and two appointments to the customer review panel. We have four proclamations for discussion and signature for the record. We are joined by Councilmember Juarez and Councilmember Foster. Thank you. That is, and sorry, I just looked at Councilmember Warez and it threw me off. It's good to see you. Okay. It was amazing to see you. Okay, not just good. Um council briefing and city council are canceled on May 25th. That is our council briefing and full council meeting the 26th. So our next scheduled city council meeting is June the second. Awesome. Just making sure we know about that. On June 1st, colleagues, council briefing, council central staff will provide a briefing on affordability in Seattle in light of the upcoming levy and rate increasing proposals. So we have council uh central staff presenting to the council about the levies that are currently uh you know being paid on right now, and then also uh ones that are coming down the pipeline as well to do a table setting for us so we understand how they all interconnect. Um, and if there's any stuff offline we can talk about that you all want to see in there, more than happy to discuss. Um, but I think it's good from central staff perspective to tell us about uh what we have voted on in the past, what's currently being paid on cap, everything you could possibly think of about affordability because I think it's important. Um, and so that will be on June the first at 2 p.m. for our council briefing. So we will have a presentation. We will be on the dais for that meeting.

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