Clyde Hill News: City seeks to improve land use code updates
Also: Clyde Hill resident, French Legion of Honour recipient Kimitomo Muromoto passes
Next week’s city council meeting will “take stock of the existing demand and current capacity for city planning work” (link) and consider multiple options for how to improve the city’s process for updating its land use code.
More details about this topic below, as well as news about an out-of-cycle vacancy on the city’s civil service commission and the kick-off of resident engagement on the 2025 budget process. But first, I’m sad to report the passing of long-time Clyde Hill resident Kimitomo Muromoto.
Mr. Muromoto, a World War II veteran, served in the legendary 442nd Infantry Regiment, “best known as the most decorated in U.S. military history and as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-generation American soldiers of Japanese ancestry (Nisei).” (link) In 2022, Mr. Muromoto received the French Legion of Honour (link):
Recently, KING5 news wrote about Mr. Muromoto’s attendance, at the age of 101, at a Memorial Day event in Seattle (link). Mr Muromoto’s son, Kim, serves on Clyde Hill’s city council and is the city’s mayor pro tem.
Disclaimer: while I am a council member 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.
Making land use code better, sooner for residents
Good news for residents: the city appears to have acknowledged that there is a gap between its capacity to update its land use code and the demands on it to update that code.
City staff offered a variety of approaches and solutions to the “significant increase in demand for city planning-related work” (link) in a series of documents in the packet for next week’s city council meeting (link, items 6.2, 6.3, and 6.4).
In this context, “planning” work (as in “planning commission”) refers to the city’s land use code, and is sometimes also referred to as “development regulations.” These different terms describe the rules for developing real estate in Clyde Hill, like minimum lot size, heights, and setbacks.
Factors
One of the documents from city staff sets out some of the factors behind the increased demand, including new state laws as well as “several decades of a business-as-usual approach” on the part of the city:
The city has a long list of proposed updates (link) to its land use code. Some are in response to changes to state law, while others reflect long-standing problems with the city’s code (for example, conflicting rules related to the appeals process). Some of the proposed changes have been in the queue for over a year and half, since January 2023.
Demonstrating progress in the short term
A good example of progress is a document in the packet that clarifies the process for changing the city’s land use code. An emerging theme over the last six months of council meetings has been the lack of clarity in the process. As the document from city staff offers wryly:
Some [proposed changes] that have recently been referred to the Planning Commission have followed the process outlined above more closely than others. (link)
Among other recommendations from city staff is that the city council “recall” some of the proposed land use code changes that have already been referred to the city’s planning commission:
Recalling these items would enable the city council to provide more specific policy guidance to the planning commission, which would in turn help the planning commission fulfill its role to “make recommendations to the city council” (link) about decisions related to development regulations.
Flexibility
Another recommendation emerged earlier this year when the mayor asked if the council could do more of this work on its own. In response, an agenda bill from city staffers in the meeting packet describes providing the city council
“more flexibility to directly review and amend certain development regulations… thereby reducing overall Planning Commission workload and avoiding unnecessary delays.” (link)
It’s important to note that under this recommendation, the public would continue to get the same notice of potential changes to development regulations, and public hearings about those potential changes would still be held.
Progress on variance expiration
In related news, the planning commission appears to have finished the work it started at its June meeting related to proposed changes to the rules around expiration of variances. From the Administrator’s Weekly Report:
At their July 25th meeting, the Planning Commission voted to recommend an expanded revision to CHMC Chapter 17.72.040 Expiration of Variance... (link)
A previous issue of the newsletter (link) offered details on this topic, as well as its impact on the local community hub, Queen Bee Cafe.
Residents help with 2025 budget planning
The first meeting of the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) will be Thursday, August 1st, according to the Mayor’s Report (link).
The “initial emphasis [will be] on our key 2025 Priorities and a discussion on options to deliver on these priorities in an efficient and productive manner.”
Opening on civil service commission
This month’s Mayor’s Report (link) also announced an out-of cycle opening on the city’s Civil Service Commission:
“The City will be advertising for community volunteers to serve as Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission. This is an opportunity to work with the Police Department Officers in matters relating to qualifications and hiring, as well as complaints or appeals by police officers concerning grievances, disciplinary matters, or termination.”
The city’s website does not have additional information about which commissioner vacated their position or the application process. A previous issue of the newsletter described the volunteer opportunities on commissions available to residents (link).
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Dean Hachamovitch