OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Shoreline Planning Commission Regular Meeting - July 16, 2026

Planning Commission — Thursday, July 16, 2026
BodyShoreline, Washington
SessionPlanning Commission
DateThursday, July 16, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:13:31

Transcript — Verbatim
0:11

Good evening, y'all.

0:12

Welcome to the Shoreline Planning Commission of Thursday, July 16th.

0:17

I shall call this to order.

0:19

Haley, would you please call roll?

0:22

Yes.

0:22

We're just going to go in alphabetical order tonight.

0:25

So Chair Brinson.

0:26

I am here.

0:27

Commissioner Cabe.

0:29

Here.

0:29

Commissioner Hadley.

0:32

Present.

0:33

Commissioner Laura.

0:34

Here.

0:35

Vice Chair Mosier?

0:36

Here.

0:38

Commissioner Povick?

0:39

Here.

0:39

And Commissioner Souza.

0:41

Here.

0:43

Excellent.

0:43

Next, approval of the agenda.

0:46

All good.

0:48

Approval of last meetings.

0:50

Last meeting meeting minutes.

0:52

July 2nd.

0:54

Excellent.

0:55

Moving on to public comments.

1:00

Has anyone c signed up for public comment, Haley?

1:04

Yes, we have 17 people signed up for in-person comment.

1:09

And as of 5 p.m.

1:10

this evening, we also received 40 written public comments, which were posted to the agenda and sent to the commissioners.

1:19

Okay.

1:21

So one thing to note because tonight is a both a study item meeting and a public hearing for the development code.

1:29

This first section of public comment is for general public comment.

1:33

If you wish to be part of the public hearing and make comment on the development code updates, please wait, and we will do that as a separate public hearing.

1:41

So public comments during our public comment period are limited to two minutes per person.

1:48

When Haley calls your name for either in-person or remote comment, please state your name and your city of residence for the record before you begin.

1:57

Haley, let's go.

1:58

Okay.

1:59

So I'm going to call people up in groups of three.

2:01

If you can just come and um line up at the podium.

2:04

So we have Gary Halpern, Jack Malik, and Jerry Miller.

2:13

Okay.

2:15

Hi.

2:17

Gary Halpern.

2:19

I'm a resident of Shoreline for 31 years now.

2:23

And uh been living in the same home on Corless Avenue and 190th Street approximately.

2:29

And um uh first of all, I love Shoreline.

2:34

Number two, I love trees.

2:37

Number three, uh as much as I love trees, I also love my property.

2:42

And the problem that I've encountered with what Shoreline has been attempting to do here is basically I have a tree that's causing damage to my property.

2:54

If I don't do something about it, the cost of the repairs involved will be even greater and greater the longer I wait.

3:02

The problem is when you guys want to charge as much as is the case with with uh the permits, plus what it costs me to take the tree down uh uh physically, you know, like the labor involved, it's a very expensive proposition.

3:20

Um I'm not anxious to let the property get worse off than it is.

3:25

On the other hand, I'm not wild about the idea of having to spend $15,000 or more to remove a tree.

3:33

And I really love the tree.

3:35

I don't want to remove the tree.

3:37

The problem is that the root system is pulling up the pavement and pulling up the asphalt, and it's starting to encroach in my in my property.

3:51

So again, my concern is that to have to pay a permit fee like you've had in place for the last couple years, last year and a half, is exorbitantly expensive for someone in my situation.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Environmental Protection█████████████████████████████████████████████45%
Tree Preservation███████████████15%
Affordable Housing██████████10%
Procedural█████████9%
Public Engagement████████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████8%
Community Engagement███3%
Racial Equity█1%
Transportation Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Shoreline Planning Commission Regular Meeting - July 16, 2026

The Shoreline Planning Commission held a regular meeting on July 16, 2026, addressing a public hearing on the 2026 Development Code Amendments and a study session on the proposed Tree Code Update. The meeting included public comment periods, a unanimous vote to recommend the development code amendments to City Council, and extensive discussion on tree retention policies, with commissioners requesting additional data and analysis for future meetings.

Consent Calendar

  • The commission approved the agenda and the draft minutes from the July 2, 2026 meeting without discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • General Public Comment: 17 individuals spoke in person, and 40 written comments were submitted. Speakers expressed concerns about tree removal permit costs (one resident cited a potential $15,000 cost), the 40% tree canopy target, impacts on view properties, and inequitable burdens on homeowners versus developers. Many residents from the Innis Arden neighborhood highlighted their community's 45% canopy coverage and over 50 acres of forest reserves, asking for flexibility and recognition of their existing stewardship. Several speakers urged the commission to protect large trees (over 60 inches DBH) citywide and to require tree retention in higher-density zones.
  • Public Hearing on 2026 Development Code Amendments: Two individuals testified in person, and 9 written testimonies were received. Jack Malik, a former planning commissioner, urged reducing the street wall requirement from 40% to 20% for middle housing to improve project feasibility. Jerry Millar attempted to speak but was redirected to the general comment period as his topic was not part of the hearing.

Discussion Items

  • 2026 Development Code Amendments: Staff presented amendments covering daycares, use tables, subdivisions, traffic, and building design. Commissioners clarified that parking in front yard setbacks remains allowed. They also discussed a public comment requesting a change to the 40% street wall requirement; it was noted that such a change would need to go through the normal process for future amendments. The commission then unanimously voted to recommend approval of the amendments as presented.
  • Tree Code Update Discussion #1: Sierra Carson presented the draft tree code, focusing on exceptional tree retention (trees ≥24 inches DBH or groves of trees with combined credit ≥12) and minimum tree credit requirements applied citywide. Discussants weighed the trade-offs between housing goals and tree canopy. Commissioners expressed a preference for a flexible approach to meeting tree credits (rather than retention-first) and requested more detailed analysis on how the code would affect housing feasibility, costs, and progress toward the 40% canopy goal. They also asked for examples of how the code would apply to recent development projects and for a side-by-side comparison with the existing code. No decisions were made; the topic will return in September.

Key Outcomes

  • The commission unanimously (7-0) voted to recommend approval of the 2026 Development Code Amendments to the City Council.
  • For the Tree Code Update, staff will bring back additional analysis and data, including comparisons with existing code and impacts on housing and canopy goals, at a future meeting (likely September 2026). Commissioners will continue deliberation on exceptional tree exemptions and credit flexibility.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, y'all. Welcome to the Shoreline Planning Commission of Thursday, July 16th. I shall call this to order. Haley, would you please call roll? Yes. We're just going to go in alphabetical order tonight. So Chair Brinson. I am here. Commissioner Cabe. Here. Commissioner Hadley. Present. Commissioner Laura. Here. Vice Chair Mosier? Here. Commissioner Povick? Here. And Commissioner Souza. Here. Excellent. Next, approval of the agenda. All good. Approval of last meetings. Last meeting meeting minutes. July 2nd. Excellent. Moving on to public comments. Has anyone c signed up for public comment, Haley? Yes, we have 17 people signed up for in-person comment. And as of 5 p.m. this evening, we also received 40 written public comments, which were posted to the agenda and sent to the commissioners. Okay. So one thing to note because tonight is a both a study item meeting and a public hearing for the development code. This first section of public comment is for general public comment. If you wish to be part of the public hearing and make comment on the development code updates, please wait, and we will do that as a separate public hearing. So public comments during our public comment period are limited to two minutes per person. When Haley calls your name for either in-person or remote comment, please state your name and your city of residence for the record before you begin. Haley, let's go. Okay. So I'm going to call people up in groups of three. If you can just come and um line up at the podium. So we have Gary Halpern, Jack Malik, and Jerry Miller. Okay. Hi. Gary Halpern. I'm a resident of Shoreline for 31 years now. And uh been living in the same home on Corless Avenue and 190th Street approximately. And um uh first of all, I love Shoreline. Number two, I love trees.

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