Clyde Hill News: April City Council Meeting Preview
Also, New City Attorney expected; code enforcement questions continue
Here’s a recap of last week’s City Council “Study Session” and a preview of the regular City Council meeting on Tuesday, rolled into one. The City published the packet for Tuesday’s meeting here.
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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. The 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.
From a resident’s point of view…
New City Attorney
Last week, Tom Brubaker of Lighthouse Law Group answered questions at the start the study session. Tuesday night, the City Council is very likely to approve moving ahead into a formal agreement to make him Clyde Hill’s new City Attorney. You can read more here (link).
Code Enforcement
Issues and disagreements remain… unresolved. The Administration asserts its authority to interpret and enforce as it sees fit. The Council has expressed concerns based on the community’s feedback.
The discussion was broad ranging and at times contentious, revisiting very different points of view on past and current complaints and enforcement actions.
The Administration shared a report of complaints and resulting enforcement actions at the Study Session. It is on this week’s agenda for discussion at the City Council session. You can see it here (link).
Fire Station #5
The Administration is very likely to move ahead with a “development agreement” to simplify the building permit process for Bellevue’s new fire station in Clyde Hill. For complex non-residential projects — government, school, or commercial — development agreements simplify the process of working through variances (exceptions to building codes). Rather than go the Hearing Examiner, this process will involve a Planning Commission review as well as a vote of the City Council. (Still not clear to me, as a resident, what this comment (link) about “being at the the whim of the Hearing Examiner” was about.)
The plan will result in an open space on NE 24th Street, as the station-house will use land to its east (where there is currently a house). There will likely be public hearings, at some point, about what to do with that open space.
17th St Stormwater
Tuesday’s meeting this week will include a progress update. You can read the Administration’s report here (link). After the City Council’s clear message to move ahead after about a year of non-clarity, it appears that bids on this work are expected in July. There is no roadmap to completion yet. Also unclear at this time is the larger plan to address the broader stormwater issues in Clyde Hill.
City Celebration in August?
In the past, the City held an annual celebration with a movie night, carnival rides, and more. “Staff are considering holding a limited version of this event in 2022 (August 19th)” after not holding it for the last two years due to Covid. The Council approved $20K in this year’s budget for the event. One of the reasons to limit the event, according to staff, is that the cost “would be well in excess of $20,000.”
It’s not clear, from the meeting packet, what outreach the Administration has done to understand what residents think or want with respect to this celebration. More information here (link).
Mayor-Council or Council-Manager?
At the Study Session, one discussion touched on Clyde Hill’s form of government. Here’s a brief explainer for anyone interested in the topic.
In Clyde Hill, residents elect the mayor and councilmembers. The City Council is the legislative branch. The Mayor hires a full-time professional manager to run the administration of the City. (The job of Mayor in Clyde Hill is a part-time position.)
In Bellevue as well as Medina, residents elect councilmembers. The City Council is the legislative branch. The Councilmembers hire a full-time professional manager to run the administration of the city. They choose, among themselves, a Mayor who does not have any additional authority beyond running City meetings. You can read more details here (link).
Clyde Hill has a “Mayor-Council” (or “strong mayor”) form of government. Medina has a “Council-Manager” (or “weak mayor”) form of government.
As the article linked to describes, the form of government is more about the distribution of authority than anything else. One isn’t better or worse, and residents of cities in Washington have chosen to change between them:
While it is not as common as the mayor-council form, the vast majority of cities that have incorporated or successfully changed form of government since 1970 have adopted the council-manager system.
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Dean Hachamovitch