Clyde Hill News: Mayor, Council to fill vacancies at first Friedman Administration public meeting
Also: Council to consider Tree Code; another online source for news about Clyde Hill
At the first city council meeting of the Friedman Administration on Tuesday, residents can expect the new mayor and council to fill three vacant positions. Whether Clyde Hill should pursue a “Tree Code” is also on the agenda, along with other planning and administrative issues.
Also: Clyde Hill PD published their 2023 activity report this week. The report notes that police activity related to Domestic Violence/Disturbance, Harassment, Order violations, and Rape/Sex offenses in Clyde Hill all went up year over year:
You can read Chief Kolling’s full report here, link.
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.
Filling vacancies
Clyde Hill currently has a vacant city council position and two vacant Planning Commission positions.
According to Tuesday night’s agenda (link), the council will appoint one of the two applicants for the open seat after public interviews and an executive session “for the purpose of evaluating the qualifications of a candidate(s) for appointment to elective office.”
The applicants are Clyde Hill residents Lisa Wissner-Slivka (link) and Tim Rattigan (link). These links are to the applications the candidates submitted in response to the public notice of the vacancy. The seat was previously held by Steve Friedman; the vacancy started January 1st when his term as mayor began.
After filling the council vacancy, the council will vote on the Consent Agenda (to pay the city’s bills, accept a $130K grant from the State’s Department of Ecology, and approve minutes of past meetings) and address other administrative issues (the position of Mayor Pro-Tem, assignments to committees, the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act and Public Records Act, and a possible planning retreat).
Planning Commission
Mayor Friedman will appoint two residents to the open positions on the Planning Commission later in the meeting, according to the agenda. The appointments are subject to the confirmation of the city council. At this time, there is no additional public information about these appointments.
Planning Commissioner Brendan Pack’s term expired at the end of 2023. The other open Planning Commission position was previously held by Ryan Olson; he vacated his seat January 1st when he began his term as a city council member.
Tree code
Tuesday’s agenda currently has a brief note — “Tree Code Priority (Yes/No)” — tucked under Item 8.6 (“Committee Updates”).
Tree codes typically provide guidelines about tree preservation. For example, Medina’s code (link) includes in its statement of purpose and intent:
“Protect and preserve the existing tree canopy,” and
“Prevent the indiscriminate removal or destruction of trees except as provided for in accordance with this chapter.”
Clyde Hill’s website has no search results for “tree code,” but motivated residents will find a 2003 “Urban Forestry Guide” (link).
A recent letter from Yarrow Point’s mayor to the community provides some context for this topic. Here’s an excerpt; an image of the full letter follows:
The recent removal of trees, all lawfully permitted under the current Town Tree Code, has generated concern among residents. The Town Council heard those concerns and tasked the Town’s Planning Commission with reviewing and revising the current Town Tree Code.
Residents with feedback about Clyde Hill’s pursuit of a Tree Code can provide feedback during the public comments section of the council meeting, as well as send email to council members (council@clydehill.org) and mayor (mayor@clydehill.org).
Another local news source
Residents interested in another independent point of view on local issues can visit Councilmember Steve Sinwell’s personal website, stevesinwell.com.
For example, here’s a link to his recent write-up about progress on the city’s Comprehensive Plan.
Similar to this newsletter’s disclaimer, he notes that his
website is not affiliated in any way with the City of Clyde Hill. Information on the website was written by me in my capacity as an individual resident of Clyde Hill. Some of the information contained here might be opinion/perspective provided by me, or references from public sources. As noted above, none of the information or views expressed herein are necessarily the position of the City of Clyde Hill or any elected official of Clyde Hill.
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Dean Hachamovitch