Clyde Hill News: 2022 Preview
Happy New Year!
This last 2021 issue of Clyde Hill News looks ahead to 2022 and what to expect.
The short version is that this coming year, the City will formalize changes and decisions with a large impact on residents.
The changes start with hiring decisions (like legal services and services to help with the Comprehensive Plan), as well as kicking off the Land Use Code Review process. There may be a plan to address Stormwater Drainage issues (“will your house have a torrent of water during the next big rain?”). And as residents we can expect to hear more about the $2m Facilities Master Plan involving a new fire station and changes to City Hall.
Disclaimer: while I am a council member-elect 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. The information and references here are public and the resources used to generate the letter are entirely my own.
Transparency is an important theme for this next year. I’ll come back to this after walking through the planned or expected work.
All these changes come on top of continuing regular operations from the City. Police will continue to patrol, to train, and to respond. Public Works will continue to respond to emergencies and perform the regular, seasonal scheduled work that keeps the City going. City Hall will send out and pay bills, process payments, receive and process applications, and answer questions.
Planning is how the City gets better
Budget
Every year, the City runs a budget process. This year’s has a shorter timeline because Washington State moved its filing deadlines earlier.
It’s not clear what will change this year to address (1) running the budget at a deficit, as it has been for the past two years, or (2) how part of the budget operates as a plan, while another part of the budget operates as “permission” for the City to spend opportunistically.
Comprehensive Plan
This plan is supposed to articulate “a series of goals, objectives, policies, actions, and standards… to guide the day-to-day decisions of elected officials and local government staff.” (link) An update is mandatory per State law; the City’s current plan was published in 2015 (link). The City is selecting a contractor to help them with this update.
How the City will listen to residents and validate the plan is not yet clear. I haven’t found a public statement about the City’s plan for this plan. According to the City, the plan “is based on locally established visions, goals, and policies” that are “based on residents (sic) aspirations.”
Land Use Code (CHMC Title 17) Review
Residents care about this review because this code determines what they can do with their land. For example, the City changed land use code after the current structure housing the Queen Bee had been built. Because of changes to setbacks, the current owner can only rebuild on ~270sq ft of the lot — about the size of a parking spot — if the current structure were severely damaged. Ouch.
This review process will involve City staff and the City attorney and the Planning Commission and public hearings and will eventually go in front of Council. While the process has been described verbally at several City Council meetings, I haven’t found a written description yet (see note about Transparency at the end).
Stormwater
Between Clyde Hill’s location on a hill and the nature of the soil here, drainage is a very big deal. A few years ago, residents had to seek legal action to get the City to address this responsibility; the City settled. This past year, the City tried to abandon repairs, leaving residents around 17th Street with recurring flood issues. The City also started the process to create a new tax in the form of a stormwater utility.
While there’s been no written commitment that I’ve found on this front, a City Stormwater Project Plan is likely to emerge this year.
Legal and other services
In the last Weekly Administrator Report of the year (link), the City reported on several selection committees working on the many open RFQs, RFPs, and RFBs (Requests for Qualifications, Proposals, and Bids).
The City set expectations about bringing contracts to City Council for approval in January / February for (1) services to help the Comprehensive Plan Update and Title 17 review as well as (2) Hearing Examiner services and also (3) services to facilitate the redevelopment of Fire Station #5 as well as updating City Hall and the Public Works Building.
In February/March, the City Council is likely to see contracts for legal services contract and investment support (the City received only one statement of interest).
Facilities Master Plan
In 2021, the City committed ~$2m to this plan and the Mayor signed a Letter of Intent with the City of Bellevue regarding the redevelopment of Fire Station #5.
While there’s been no written “what to expect” on this front that I’ve found, the City allocated funds to plan changes to City Hall and I think we can expect a bidding process to execute on those changes in 2022.
Transparency
The City has a lot of planned work in 2022. Ultimately, the purpose of that work involves benefiting residents.
Transparency is important so that residents have clear expectations around this work and have the opportunity to have an impact.
There are many sweet spots along a transparency spectrum between (1) strict minimum legal compliance with the Washington State Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act and (2) drowning residents in details.
Some of Clyde Hill’s 2021 surprises for residents suggest that residents (and I’m writing as one here) could use more transparency.
I’m looking forward to the January City Council Meeting to find out what to expect in 2022.
thank you —
Dean