by Teresa Wippel
Posted: March 12, 2025
Link to My Edmonds News Article
Two phrases — “neighborhood centers and hubs” and “middle housing” — are a major focus for the City of Edmonds this year as staff works to update the city’s development code. The Edmonds City Council Tuesday night learned more about those efforts, which follow the council’s adoption of the 2024 Comprehensive Plan update Dec. 17.
Neighborhood centers and hubs refer to the four new neighborhood centers and five new neighborhood hubs that are designated under the Comprehensive Plan to include small-scale multifamily housing and neighborhood commercial areas. They were created to accommodate the city’s allocated growth targets — designed to account for and comply with the state’s housing bills and the mandatory Comprehensive Plan elements, and to align with multicounty and countywide planning policies.
To further explain those concepts, the city is hosting a virtual open house at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 13. There will also be a series of “Walk & Talk” events in late March so people can visit each of the nine designated spots, which include the neighborhood centers of Westgate, Five Corners, Medical District Expansion and Firdale and the neighborhood hubs of West Edmonds Way, South Lake Ballinger, Maplewood, North Bowl and East Seaview.
Prior to the presentation, a group of North Bowl residents came to the podium during the council’s public comment period, questioning the process for designating their neighborhood as a hub.
“We’re concerned that the proposed changes are going to destroy our neighborhood,” said Scott Urquhart, who said he has lived in Edmonds for nearly 50 years — the past 20 of those in the North Bowl. “In response to that, we’ve gathered as a community, we’ve met, we’ve talked, we’ve reviewed documents from the planning board, we’ve reviewed the legislation behind the changes being proposed by the [Edmonds] planning board. We think there are flaws in the plan. We’re prepared to share our observations with the planning board directly and with this council.
“We expect changes as a result,” Urquhart added. “We’re looking forward to participating in the process.”
The council earlier this year approved an interim ordinance so that staff could begin work on centers and hubs zoning. A permanent code update is expected by the end of June. At the same time, the city is launching public engagement efforts to gather comments on the interim plan.
Acting Planning and Development Director Shane Hope and her staff explained next steps in the process. Planning Manager Mike Clugston said that the planning board is now reviewing the interim centers and hubs and middle housing codes, with the goal of providing recommendations to the council on those items in May. “And so you can have enough time, hopefully at least four to six weeks, to take a look at those items by the end of June, when we need to have those things adopted,” Clugston said.
Senior Planner Brad Shipley, who is overseeing development of the middle housing code update, said staff will work collaboratively with the planning board to develop the the regulations — providing them with data points so they can make an informed decision. Missing middle housing refers to new state requirements for allowing at least two residential units on each residential lot. The housing may take the form of duplexes, townhomes, cottage housing or other types of housing. Each unit can stay on the same lot or it can be on its own smaller new lot.
Among the key issues to be addressed regarding the middle housing code, Shipley said, is whether accessory dwelling units (ADUs) will be counted toward the allowable limit on properties and how to handle lot subdivisions.
“We encourage residents and stakeholders to stay engaged and provide feedback and just know that their input is essential to ensuring that the middle housing regulations align with community needs and supporting the city’s housing goals,” Shipley said.
Urban Design Planner Navyusha Pentakota, who is overseeing the centers and hubs outreach, provided a demonstration of a “more fun, user friendly and interactive”centers and hubs web page. The web page, which she designed, offers details about the interim centers and hubs ordinance, including allowed uses, height limits, setbacks and parking. There is also a land use map that includes a quick address search option in the upper left corner. Enter an address and the map will show whether the parcel is a part of any center or hub.
Also during public comments Tuesday night, several speakers urged the council to protect a 90-foot-tall redwood located in the Boardwalk Condominiums parking lot on 5th Avenue South. Among them was Boardwalk resident Dennis Weaver, who asked that the city rescind its previously issued permit to remove the 102-year-old tree, known by many as “Big Red.” (For background and details, see My Edmonds News’ earlier story here.)
Edmonds resident Georgina Armstrong said that previous city studies have shown the importance of preserving Edmonds’ tree canopy, a practice also highlighted in the city’s Climate Action Plan. A seven-year study by scientists at Humboldt University and the University of Washington found that “redwood trees are the best trees in the world sequestering CO2 and have doubled the absorption rate of the Pacific Northwest conifers,” Armstrong said. “The main reason redwoods surpass all levels of CO2 storage is their longevity.”
The city should pass a tree code “as soon as possible” to protect similar trees, Armstrong said, adding that “Big Red has become an important symbol for tree conservation.”
In other business Tuesday, the council:
– Heard a finance update from Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen, who noted that he was directed by the council to find an additional $1.5 million in city budget reductions by March 11, along with $230,000 from the police department’s command staff. The total budget savings at this point is $1,846,957, and came from a combination of layoffs, retirements, resignations, reductions in hours, positions left unfilled or new people being hired at a lower salary, he said. The additional $230,000 in police command staff savings is being realized with the retirement of Police Chief Michelle Bennett, with other reorganization to follow, he added. More details on the budget savings will be presented during the council’s Committee of the Whole meeting March 18.
– Held a public hearing (which drew no testimony) on a proposed agreement to sell five Edmonds Police Department 2023 Ford Explorer utility interceptor vehicles to the City of Marysville. Acting Public Works Director Phil Williams explained that with the planned restructuring of the Edmonds Police Department, fewer vehicles will be needed. Each vehicle — which was purchased for $85,000 a few years ago — was proposed to be sold for $82,000. After the hearing, the council unanimously approved the purchase.
– Received the 2024 Transportation Benefit District (TBD) Report from Acting Public Works Director Williams. Through the TBD, the city charges an annual licensing fee that funds the city’s street maintenance work. The fee was $20 until the council voted in 2023 to double it, with revenue increasing from $685,029 in 2023 to nearly $1.2 million in 2024. The extra revenue was transferred to the city’s street fund, which has been impacted by budget cuts, Williams said. Given the city’s budget shortfall, Councilmember Susan Paine noted that the council could consider increasing the licensing fee again — to a maximum of $50 — after the $40 fee has been in place for two years. Such a fee increase would raise an additional $350,000, Williams said.
– Unanimously approved a proposal from the Edmonds Police Department to promote a police officer to the position of corporal, temporarily giving the department seven corporals. City ordinance limits the department to six, but Acting Police Chief Rod Sniffen explained that a current corporal will be retiring in June, and the civil service authorization to hire another corporal expires in late March. If the authorization expires prior to hiring, the department will need to run another assessment process to identify another corporal — at a cost of between $20,000 and $25,000. Hiring a seventh corporal to fill the job for 68 days — until the other corporal retires — will cost the city about $3,600, Sniffen said.
– Heard an annual report from Hearing Examiner Phil Olbrechts.
– Approved a council resolution to continue investing surplus city funds in the Washington State Local Government Investment Pool.