Clyde Hill News: March City Meeting Recap
City to pursue 17th St Stormwater repair; City Attorney search continues
Also: “City Hall will reopen its doors to the public effective Monday, March 14th (Police on Thursday, March 17th due to staffing). Masks and hand sanitizing stations will remain available for use. Appointments will continue to be encouraged to meet with Staff.” This reflects the transition of Washington State’s indoor mask policies from “required” to “recommended.” (link)
One more item before our disclaimer: if you find this newsletter useful or interesting, please forward it to your Clyde Hill neighbors and friends. Thank you!
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.
March City Council Meeting Recap
Some highlights from a resident’s point of view:
17th St Stormwater Discussion. Briefly, the City Council was very clear in its consensus that the Administration should just fix the problem. The next step is figuring out the details; the Council voted 5-0 to form a subcommittee to help the Administration figure those details out as quickly as possible. Some more detail on this item below.
City Attorney. The Council voted 5-0 against moving forward with the Administration’s choice of City Attorney. The discussion focused on conflicts of interest. The City will extend the interim City Attorney’s contract another month and consider other options.
Yard Waste Rate Increases. A 2023 rate increase is planned in addition to the 2022 rate increase that residents are paying, reported Councilmember Friedman. He represents Clyde Hill on the Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Advisory Committee. No additional public information was available at the meeting.
Investment income. The City reported it is positive versus budget on investment income, reflecting changes it made in forming an investment committee and putting City funds to better use. You can see that part of the meeting here (link).
Stormwater Discussion
The gist of the discussion came in guidance from the interim City Attorney.
While “the City has no apparent duty to act... the City may act if the City secures rights” to access the stormwater equipment that is located on private property.
The Council was clear in its intent that the Administration “do right by residents” and fix the problem. Councilmember Muromoto opened up the questions by asking “What’s stopping us” (the City) from fixing the problem.
Councilmember Moore echoed the sentiment: “We did approve the money to fix this thing back in July and I don't know how many presentations we’ve had on this now… I’ve lost count. I personally would like to see us fix the problem.”
“I think the Council has been quite clear about what we want to have happen,” he continued. “If the Mayor and the Administrator would like a motion for us to direct you to do it, I’m happy to make that motion — just tell us.”
Councilmember Muromoto made clear that “what we need to do as a Council is to fix stuff that’s wrong.”
The City Attorney noted that in acting, City will “set a political precedent but it’s not going to set a legal precedent.”
Here’s the entire discussion; there are timestamps available at YouTube for your convenience:
Clyde Hill Housing Density — Nevermind
Last week’s newsletter covered items like HB 1660: Washington State HB 1660, “Concerning accessory dwelling units,” would remove restrictions on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), possibly resulting in more housing in Clyde Hill.
This effort appears to have “failed to make it through before the deadline” according to the City Administrator and is considered unlikely to return this session. It appears that it will not affect Clyde Hill’s housing density.
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Dean Hachamovitch