City Manager’s Weekly Report
for week ending Oct. 18, 2019

Initial Public Hearing – 1st Avenue Land Use.   There was a robust public hearing last night with over 50 people in attendance to begin public discussions of potential alterations to land use, including comp plan designations (non-specific and non-regulatory) and related specific zoning, in three areas along 1st Avenue.  The hearing aired initial public concerns regarding the 2019 Comprehensive Plan Docket, specifically the Future Land  Use Map (FLUM) amendments and concurrent re-zones on three limited areas along 1st Avenue.  Citizens at the hearing identified the need for more outreach and time to understand the proposals and to provide feedback on the types of changes being proposed.  Planning Commissioners clearly understood this public need, and made a motion to move the FLUM Amendments and concurrent rezones to the 2020 Docket.  [These are the same city land use proposal drafts reviewed by the City Council, and placed by the City Council on the Planning Commission Docket on April 9, 2019.]

Further comments clarified the need for additional communication with citizens about the nature of these proposals, including citizens’ desire for public notice in a different, or additional, publication.  City staff members will assess the best available options, and are open for suggestions.  For many years, the City of Normandy Parks has placed its public legal notices in the weekly newspaper that serves SeaTac, Ballard, Burien, Des Moines, West Seattle, White Center and Normandy Park.  The paper now called Westside Seattle has historically been the only paper that responds to the city’s public yearly public bid request – as required by Washington State statute – to be the newspaper-of-record for public notices.  Of course, the city regularly posts the same public notices prominently on the City of Normandy Park homepage.

There will be a public hearing to hear a presentation on the draft economic development element (non-land use, non-regulatory) and public comments on Thursday, October 24th at 7:00 PM.  Based on the public hearing on Thursday, staff is proposing an initial informational meeting to explain the proposals, with one-on-one dialogue as necessary to illuminate and answer any questions about the proposals.  It will take a few weeks to produce the public display materials for this meeting, which is being tentatively slated for Wednesday, November 20, from 5:30-7:30pm in the City Council Chambers.  The meeting will be a drop-in type meeting for information sharing and gathering. This informational event will take the place of the November 7 public meeting.  Subsequently, perhaps in early December, the City Council and Planning Commission will be asked to conduct a joint workshop on the proposals, at which the public can participate in dialogue with appointed and elected officials.

NEPA 101.  Tomorrow, I will be attending one of two seminars offered by the EPA pertaining to NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) and environmental justice.  I will attend with neighbors from surrounding, airport-impacted jurisdictions.

Port Commission Agenda.  In an attempt to communicate future Port of Seattle Commission actions, an Commission meeting agenda is being produced for all Highline Forum cities and entities – all elected officials and chief administrative officers – including Burien, Des Moines, Tukwila, SeaTac, Federal Way, Normandy Park, Highline Public Schools and Highline College.

PORT COMMISSION AGENDA & OTHER NOTABLES

Welcome to this FOURTH edition of Port Commission Agenda & Other Notables. We’ll be updating you on upcoming Port Commission agenda items that may of interest to Airport cities, as well as other timely, notable Port activities and opportunities. We initiated this as part of our commitment to ensuring timely communications on upcoming Port issues, particularly those related to Sea-Tac Airport.

October 22, 2019 – Port Commission Meeting Agenda

The next Port Commission meeting will be this coming Tuesday, October 22, 2019 from 12pm to 5pm at Sea-Tac Airport’s International Conference Center (Mezzanine level.)

Notable items on the Special Orders that may be of interest:

  • Accessibility Improvements at Sea-Tac Airport, for those less-abled

Notable items on the Consent Agenda that may be of interest:

  • Approval of the 2021-25 Airfield Pavement and Supporting Infrastructure Replacement and Repair program, including concrete joint replacement on some taxiways and the Third Runway (34L/16R). This is a maintenance item. This item was reviewed at the October 8th Commission meeting.
  • Final Action on Sale of Port Property to WSDOT for Puget Sound Gateway Project SR 509 [some of the proceeds (approximately $4 million) from the sale of the property will be spent in the Noise Mitigation Program]  This item was reviewed at the October 8th Commission meeting.

Notable items on the Action Agenda that may be of interest:

  • Motion opposing Initiative 976, concerning $30 car tabs and rolling back transportation funding.
  • Motion to support Initiative 1000 by supporting Referendum 88, concerning affirmative action
  • Preliminary Briefing on 2020-24 Maritime and Economic Development Divisions’ Capital Improvement Plans
  • Draft Finance Plan for 2020-24 and Tax Levy Briefing. There are references to SAMP NTP and the South King County Fund in this presentation.

You can find the complete meeting agenda at the Port’s website HERE.

Port Hosting Open Houses on 2020 Budget – Oct. 22 at Pier 69, Oct. 28 at Sea-Tac Airport

The Port of Seattle will host two community open houses to review its 2020 budget and five-year capital development plans for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and the Maritime and Economic Development divisions. The plans outline the Port’s blueprint to further invest in infrastructure, maximizing efficiency and service to benefit the economic and environmental vitality of our region. The open houses will be held Tuesday, October 22 at Pier 69, and on Monday, October 28 at Sea-Tac Airport’s Conference Center. Both open houses will be from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. The public is encouraged to attend.

Next Forterra Green Cities Event – October 19, 2019

On Saturday, October 19 the last of three Forterra Green Cities planting events will take place in the Airport communities. The October 19 event will be held in Des Moines at Kiddie Park/City Park.  Funded by the Port of Seattle through the Airport Community Ecology Fund, non-profit Forterra has been working with the cities of Burien, Des Moines and SeaTac to establish Green City Partnerships. After nearly two years of community engagement, forest health assessments, and forest stewardship planning, they are going to break ground and begin planting and restoring parks and urban forests. You can find out more about these events and register HERE.

–Mark Hoppen
City Manager
City of Normandy Park
801 SW 174th Street
Normandy Park, WA  98166
(206) 248-8246 (Direct Phone)