After spending two years and almost $200,000 toward the city’s Comprehensive Plan update, Clyde Hill’s administration announced that they are behind and that the “game plan is not set yet.” Compliance with new state housing laws, according to the administration, will involve even more work that it has not yet planned out.
More details about this topic, another specious election-related complaint against Clyde Hill’s incoming mayor, and an opportunity to help Clyde Hill’s police help children, below.
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Disclaimer: while I am a councilmember on the Clyde Hill City Council, I write this newsletter in my capacity as an individual resident. Any opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily the position of the city.City information and references here are from public sources. I welcome email responses — and if the topic is about city business I will respond from my city email account.
Shop with a Cop
Clyde Hill police are partnering with Kirkland PD to help children and families in need in our area. From Clyde Hill PD’s Facebook post (link):
We will be partnering with Kirkland PD on December 16th from 9-11am for Shop with a Cop.
We will be accepting monetary donations at the Police lobby, City Hall and at Queen Bee in the mornings.
Shop with a Cop is a unique program in which Officers can make a positive contribution to the community by sharing Christmas with children and families in the local community who are in need.
Officers spend one-on-one time together with the kids in an unforgettable shopping experience!
Comprehensive plan problems
The short version: the administration’s lack of a clear plan to comply with state requirements emerged starkly at the last Planning Commission meeting of the year in November. (The Planning Commission chose to cancel its December meeting.)
At the November 29, 2023 Planning Commission meeting, administration officials made clear that almost two years in, they were still working out a plan for a plan:
… [a] matter of trying to put down all the work that we need to be doing in the near future, just to give every kind of give everybody a heads up and so we can kind of game plan towards it. The game plan is not set yet, that’s kind of the next steps. Council’s asking the same questions … we put forth in … one of … well at the last council meeting, and also in the admin report from a … little over a week ago. We are starting kind of a road map… (link)
At the same meeting, the administration provided fuzzy estimates of when the Planning Commission will get draft text to review: “critical areas ordinance… will also come to Planning Commission for review in late, late winter [or] early spring… don’t have an exact date yet.” (link)
Separately, the administration reported it has spent $192,884 toward the Comprehensive Plan, in addition to staff time (link):
Details on the city’s Comprehensive Plan spending. The left column names firms and consultants the administration has hired to work on the plan.
Planning commissioners also expressed confusion at the administration’s presentation about new state housing laws. Specifically, commissioners questioned how work resulting from the slate of new laws related to the work required to complete the Comprehensive Plan. (link)
The administration told commissioners that:
this is a very, very challenging prospect… it’s going to take a lot of hard work and likely some extra meetings, I’ll just say…. to get all of this work done in the next year (link)
For context, back in April 2023, Mayor Klaas, addressing the city council,
agreed vehemently about their concerns regarding progress on the city’s comprehensive plan at Tuesday night’s council meeting.
“We’re going to have an immediate task force of leadership on this to regroup,” the Mayor said during the discussion of the plan. (link)
At the same April 2023 meeting, councilmembers expressed strongly-worded concerns. Cm Steve Friedman asked the city administrator “how we’re going to get this back on the rails because I don’t see it moving forward in an effective manner. We’re not making progress.” (link)
State dismisses another complaint
The state agency that regulates candidates, campaigns, and lobbyists dismissed a second complaint against current council member and incoming mayor Steve Friedman.
The complaint to the Public Disclosure Commission, filed by Clyde Hill resident Spencer Nurse, alleged that Friedman violated RCW 42.17A.235 (link) when he failed to provide appropriate documentation in relation to a public inspection request of his campaign finances.
According to a letter from the PDC, it dismissed the matter in accordance with RCW 42.17A.755(1) (link) and WAC 390-37-060(1)(a) (link).
For context, Nurse runs a political action committee (link) and campaigned against Friedman during the election. He also attempted to recruit an opponent to run against Friedman. Previously, Nurse alleged that Friedman spent city funds on “personal agendas and pet projects” like limiting residents’ ability to fly the American flag. As noted in previous newsletters, the accusations are specious.
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