City Council - Regular Meeting

Welcome, everyone. I now call the June 16th, 2026 regular city council meeting to order. We will take a moment to take a roll call of the council members by position number. Please sit here when the city clerk calls your name.

Thank you, Council Member Ongulary. Mayor Thompson.

Here.

Deputy Mayor Alderks. Here. Council Member Curd.

Here.

Council Member Dodd. Council Member Acabra.

Here.

All present with the exception of Councilmember Ongulary and Councilmembers Miles who are absent and excused and Councilmember Dodd who is on her way.

Fantastic. Thank you. First up is meeting agenda approval, and inside of that, the city manager review of agenda. City manager.

Thank you, Mayor, and good evening, council members. A quick review of the agenda tonight. On the top of the agenda are three proclamations, so we welcome everyone who is here for the reading and acceptance of those. We have ORCA Action Month, Juneteenth, which the holiday is coming up on Friday, and also an appreciation for the one and only Catherine Janssen, who will be retiring from the city before our next council meeting, so soon. in a number of business days. Under the City Manager Report, I'm going to provide a brief update related to ARCH, our Regional Coalition for Housing, and our latest Executive Board meeting, and some things to look forward to coming back to Council at the end of the year. And also, we'll be hearing a formal update from the City's Procurement Officer. There's two items for adoption and action during the public portion of the meeting tonight. A resolution approving possession and use agreements for the Bothell Way Multimodal Improvements Project, We've heard a number of updates on, but we're getting into the final actions and the meet, so we'll be talking about that tonight. And then also consideration of continued participation in the King and Snohomish County urban county consortiums related to CDBG funding. That is the item that I previewed last week under the city manager report. We only have one study session tonight, and it is about the transfer of development rights. It's in a program specific that the city is taking part in. And then finally on the consent calendar, there's a number of items related to capital projects. And you can tell that we are really cresting into the construction season because a lot of things are coming to wrap up point in terms of the contracting so we can get to work. THERE'S ALSO AN AGREEMENT RELATED TO WILDLAND DEPLOYMENT WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AS WE SUPPORT PLANNED POTENTIAL NECESSARY EFFORTS THIS SUMMER. SO PREPAREDNESS AND THEN AS WELL AS TWO ITEMS THAT COUNCIL HAS RECENTLY BEEN INFORMED ABOUT THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM THAT'S THE SIX YEAR UPDATE OF WHICH WE'VE DISCUSSED AND HAD A PUBLIC HEARING AS WELL AS A ZONING MAP CLEANUP ORDINANCE WHICH ALSO COUNCIL HEARD ABOUT AND THERE WAS A PUBLIC HEARING. SO AGAIN I RECOMMEND ALL OF THOSE ITEMS ON CONSENT FOR APPROVAL.

Thank you very much. Next up is council review of agenda. Council members, are there any proposed changes to the agenda? Seeing none, we'll move on to public engagement opportunities. First up is the Wayne Open Space Community Survey. We're seeking community input on design concepts for the future of the former Wayne Golf Course. Your feedback will help the city refine a preferred design concept as this open space continues to evolve. Share which features, improvements, and experiences matter most to you. There's the Outstanding Artist Award nominations. Do you know an individual or organization that has made a meaningful impact through the arts in Bothell? We want to hear from you. Submit a nomination to help the Bothell Arts Commission celebrate the people and organizations that make Bothell's arts community thrive. Pollinator Week webinar. Get ready for the 20th anniversary of Pollinator Week. Join Snohomish Conservation District and City of Bothell for an exciting free webinar to learn all about how to attract and support pollinators in your own yard. That's Tuesday, June 16th, 6.30 to 8 p.m. on Zoom. And next up, we've got a few proclamations. We have three tonight. We are going to read and then have the people accept. And then at the end, there will be an opportunity to get pictures with council. So we only have to go down there and come back up here once and save some time. Whereas the southern resident orcas were listed as endangered in November 2025 under the Endangered Species Act, and whereas major factors in the decline of the southern resident orca population include dwindling salmon runs, toxic pollution, loss of habitat, and increased vessel traffic noise in the ocean and Puget Sound, And whereas during the month of June, the Orca Network, the Orca Salmon Alliance, and other organizations working on these issues joined together in a month-long focused effort to educate the public and take action to improve conditions for the survival of the southern resident orcas. And whereas bringing attention to the orcas also brings attention to the need to clean up Puget Sound watersheds and restore and conserve important habitats for Chinook salmon, including the Sammamish River and local Bothell streams. And whereas the Bothell City Council's 2040 vision includes environmental stewardship, highlighting verdant habitats, cool streams, thriving salmon, and our community's mental and physical health, because we value and protect our abundant ecological resources. Now, therefore, I, Mason Thompson, Mayor of the City of Bothell, do hereby proclaim the month of June 2025 as Orca Action Month to call attention to the plight of the fragile southern resident community of orcas and urge action restoring rivers and streams which support salmon as a critical food source for whales and clean water for us all. And I believe we have Liz Macias here to accept.

Hello. Can you guys hear me? Good evening, council members. My name is Liz Macias. I'm a field technician for Whale Scout, a local nonprofit based in Bothell. Our mission is to engage communities in actions restoring salmon habitat for endangered orcas. I have been with Whale Scout for a little over a year now, as I first began as an intern and was offered a part-time position. During my time, I've seen this organization grow in so many ways. They have taught me what it means to be a true steward of our lands and that nature takes time and patience. However, I think the biggest lesson I have learned is that it takes dedication. I have witnessed firsthand through many volunteer events and hours out in the field what true dedication looks like. It has taken many shapes and forms. For example, The two volunteers who willingly took time out of their busy work schedules to come and pull bindweed with us, even though many of their coworkers decided to cancel. Or our many returning Saturday volunteers who find joy in creating a better environment for our Bothell community. It truly amazes me how we created a space for people to feel dedicated to a cause that they can resonate with and want to keep volunteering. It brings me comfort knowing that the Douglas fir I planted in the fall will be taken care of for years to come by this community and their collective dedication and love for the environment, as well as a collective understanding that our actions today shape the future we wish to see and the animals we want to protect. Although I'm not originally from Washington, I've lived in Bothell for most of my life now. And Bothell to me feels like home. I'm grateful to be in a position where I can give back to my community by making it a better place. And by being a field technician for Whale Scout means that I have the opportunity to extend my gratitude to the rest of my community and to our orcas. Orca Action Month is a regional effort to draw attention and take meaningful actions to recover endangered southern resident killer whales and the salmon they depend upon. This year's theme is Orcas Can't, But You Can, highlighting the importance of collective action and the impact you can make as a voter. We really urge people to take action in a way that is meaningful to them, as orcas can't vote, but you can. There are many ways to get involved in Orca Action Month in June. The website orcamonth.org lists events and actions where everyone can participate. Whale Scout also regularly hosts community habitat restoration events in partnership with Bothell Parks at the former Wayne Golf Course. We also have really exciting community education events coming this summer, so check out our website for more information. I want to thank City Council, staff, and our community to their dedication to recovering and stewarding endangered species in the ecosystem we live in together. Thank you for your leadership in addressing climate change here in Bothell, reducing stormwater runoff and protecting tree canopy coverage and open space throughout the city. And thank you for listening.

Thank you. All right, next up, we have a proclamation for Juneteenth. And unfortunately, Council Member Miles was unable to make it tonight. She was going to read this proclamation. And I will do so in her absence. Whereas Juneteenth is recognized every year on June 19th to commemorate the day when 250,000 enslaved black Americans in the state of Texas, which acted as the last bastion for slavery during the final days of the Civil War, were declared free by the United States Army. And whereas despite the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation two and a half years earlier, many enslavers continued to hold enslaved black people captive until June 19th, 1865, which became a symbolic date representing African American freedom and liberation. And whereas in order that we may never forget the evils of chattel slavery in the United States and its aftermath, we must acknowledge the injustices and suffering experienced under slavery. And whereas we recognize the significance of Juneteenth and the importance of continuing to engage in dialogue about race and racism in the United States to promote racial healing, reconciliation, and justice. And whereas we know that honoring Juneteenth is a symbolic step towards a more racially just and equitable community that must be accompanied by action to eradicate systemic racism, and we commit ourselves to working together toward this goal. Now, therefore, I, Mason Thompson, Mayor of the City of Bothell, do hereby proclaim June 19th, 2026 as Juneteenth in the City of Bothell. to promote healing, justice, and unity by recognizing the painful origins of this day and reaffirm our commitment to working toward equitable experiences and opportunities for all those in our community. And we have Daryl and Shirley Little here to support, or to accept, not support. I can almost talk.

Thank you. And it's actually Lytel.

It's okay. I appreciate your grace.

I often say, you know, they look at my husband and I say, he's big, he's not little, when they say our name, strangely. But since my previous name was Smith, I make a big deal about my last name. My name is Reverend Shirley Lytle. I'm a licensed mental health counselor and ordained minister with the African Methodist Episcopal Church. I have a private practice in Bellevue and Bothell. For many, Juneteenth is just another day off. For me, it is a reminder of some level of justice that still exists in the world. June 19, 1865 commemorates the true end of chattel slavery in the U.S. for black Americans. It is a solid reminder that resilience, ancestral strength, and the pursuit of liberation continues to define the power of black people. There are some who are confused as to why black people need Juneteenth when July 4th exists. On July 4th, 1776, Independence Day occurred. A vast majority of black people were still legally enslaved and denied citizenship at that time. It would take an additional 89 years before emancipation would occur for enslaved people. Juneteenth is not just about celebrating freedom, but the continued perseverance and tenacity within the black community. Juneteenth provides an opportunity for all races to learn just how far black people have made it over. It reminds young generations of the historical racism of the past are still being challenged today. You see black people continue to carry the trauma of their ancestors in their bodies. It is called post-traumatic slave syndrome. Research reveals that trauma is passed down from generation to generation. Slaves were used to spy on other slaves in order to secure favor. That movie, 12 Years a Slave, depicts an actual history of our lifetime. The field Negroes were pitted against the House Negroes while both of them were being used and abused. Present-day black-on-black disparity looks like a few people in an organization can't even go to the lunchroom without someone calling in an NAACP meeting. I could go on, but I won't. The fact that we still have glass ceilings, redlining, driving while black, microaggressions doesn't really mean that Juneteenth is a token holiday. It means we still have work to do regarding systematic and institutionalized systems. America gathers to enjoy the culture, the food, and the black style. Even while diversity, equity, and inclusion are under attack, we are still reminded in the words of the late Jesse Jackson that we must keep hope alive. Juneteenth provides an opportunity to have courageous conversations and feel empowered to speak truth to power. Our sacrifices are seen and heard. It is a sign of love, hope, fight, strength, resolve, and spirit. More and more black people are entering the commanding political science scene. More and more young people are securing higher education in spite of challenges with financial aid. Yes, we are probably the lowest ethnicity regarding wealth. Yes, there are challenges in finding equity in the workplace. Yet those of whom have lost jobs over the past few years are producing new startup businesses as we speak. Let me see if I can make this celebration more personal. I moved here from Arizona 17 years ago. I opened a private practice in Bellevue. My white counterparts said that I would never make it and I should try working in Tukwila area or downtown Seattle where my people reside. And they actually said that. You see, I decided to enter the counseling field because many black people honestly don't go to counseling. But my colleagues, with shock and awe, they found communities of employers who encouraged their employees to seek out counseling. Individuals like Microsoft, Google, Expedia, and others saw the necessity for mental health support for all their employees, regardless of their ethnicity. They encouraged their employees to find a counselor that looked like themselves. I entered the counseling field because black counselors are underrepresented. My next goal centers on supporting the counseling industry, training other counselors to improve their cultural competence to serve various populations. Counseling should be a safe place. However, there are more times than not where they are devalued and disrespected in the counseling space itself. Juneteenth is a holiday that tells and retells the story of black people's ongoing struggle in a nation that sometimes tends to minimize or devalue our contribution. May this national holiday provide hope and connection to all. Thank you again for your time and your attention.

Thank you. Whenever we have somebody that introduces themselves as a reverend, I know we're in for a treat. Y'all are good with microphones. All right, next up is a very special proclamation for somebody that I have come to enjoy and will be sad to see go, but I'm happy that you get to retire. And I'm really looking forward to hearing your acceptance speech as well. This is Katherine Jansen Appreciation. Whereas Catherine Janjan joined the City of Bothell 30 years ago as an office assistant for the Parks and Recreation Department on February 26, 1996. And whereas Catherine was promoted to executive secretary in 2002, ultimately becoming the executive assistant to the city manager in 2017, and has worked with five city managers, two interim city managers, and 31 council members since joining the executive department. And whereas Catherine has witnessed tremendous change during her career, seeing the geographic and population growth of a community from 26,553 residents to a population of over 52,000, as well as an increase of facilities for city services since working at a desk located in a building that housed fertilizer. And whereas Catherine has distinguished herself throughout her career with her dedication, positive influence, high level of customer service, depth of knowledge, and the respect she has earned from her colleagues, managers, elected officials, and community members. And whereas Catherine has been a friend and mentor to her colleagues, encouraging their own professional growth and raising her hand to help on a vast number of projects and initiatives that delivered improved services for all. And whereas Catherine has exemplified the city's value of welcoming communities as a frontline voice of service to the Bothell community. And whereas Catherine's tenure lasted more than a day, but not quite a lifetime. And as we wish Catherine the best in retirement and all the enjoyment in life's next chapter, we hope Bothell will remain a place that feels like home. Now, therefore, I, Mason Thompson, mayor of the city of Bothell, do hereby proclaim the city of Bothell's appreciation to Catherine Janssen for her many contributions to the city and our greater community. And just for being kind and nice. And we appreciate you. But we do want to hear you give a speech. Mayor well get comfortable because I have had 30 years to prepare I Have notes I have notes

First of all, Mayor Thompson, thank you very much for that proclamation and your kind words. I appreciate that very much. It has been a blessing to serve the city for most of my career, and I am grateful for the opportunities it has provided me. I especially thank the council for hiring City Manager Stannard four years ago. I've had the privilege to work with seven very talented city managers and interims during my tenure, But to finish my career with this incredibly talented man and the best in his field has been a fabulous honor and joy for me. Thank you. I am a very different person today than I was 30 years ago. And for that, I sincerely thank my fellow employees who have served alongside me, guided me, supported me, taught me, and put up with me all these years. The friendships, teamwork, and memories we've shared are what I will cherish the most. Words cannot express the gratitude and love that I feel for each and every one of my coworkers. I especially wish to take a moment to call attention to my fellow admin workers, the unsung heroes of this organization. Their skills and abilities to cut through internal and external red tape while answering emails and phone calls from upset and confused community members, paying the bills, tracking the budget, keeping up with records management, responding to hundreds of public records requests, and so much more, ensure that this organization keeps functioning efficiently. And after 30 years, I still hate public speaking in front of counsel. But finally, I would like to share this moment with my fellow admin, Kathy Farrell, She started work a few months before me and it's also retiring on June 30th. She has served the city most recently and the past quite a few years as the administrative services coordinator in our fire department. I wish her all the best in her retirement as well and thank her for her many years of service. Thank you for this moment and I wish you all the best in your future. Bothell will always be my work hometown. Thank you.

And we are happy for you and we will miss you. We should take some pictures if y'all would like that. Next up is public comment. The city has accepted public comment in writing as well as accepted sign-ups for those who wish to speak at tonight's meeting. Written comments submitted to the city clerk no later than 3 p.m. today were forwarded to all city council members and are part of the record. When the clerk calls your name, you'll have three minutes to speak. Please note that council will receive your input, but we do not engage in discussion of these topics. Staff will make note of items requiring follow-up. City clerk?

Thank you, Mayor Thompson. We do not have anybody signed up to speak this evening, nor do I see anybody online. However, if there's anyone in the audience who does wish to speak, please step to the podium, state your name for the record, and you will have three minutes. I do not have anyone.

All right, then we will move on to reports. First up is the city manager report. City manager.

Well, thank you, Mayor and Deputy Mayor, and I'm recomposed after Catherine's speech. But I do want to just say a few things on behalf of the leadership team, too. I think Catherine is off for dinner, and we'll put it on the record. Just want to follow up the proclamation for Catherine of just acknowledging that, as she called out Kathy as well, we do have employees frequently that we recognize for 30 plus years of service. It's an incredible accomplishment for no matter what profession. It also means that for most of us, that are here we don't know what it's like working at the city without these people and we certainly don't i think speaking for council too right we haven't had an experience of what bothell is like without catherine i know when i joined the organization she mentioned it four years ago this very day um i knew coming in just from email exchanges i had had with catherine and the question she was asking me before i got here that um i was going to be better equipped to do my job because of her leadership and experience and the knowledge that she brings She's been a confidential advisor and someone who has observed many leadership decisions over the past several years. You've heard the five city managers and two interims. So she had perspectives that were invaluable to me. She brings a calm presence to the office and when she speaks up about a problem, people stop and we listen. One thing that doesn't get noticed very often but I've really admired about Catherine is that in the absence of a clearly defined go-to person to take something on, Catherine has regularly volunteered to step in and give something new a try. You'll recall in September when we unveiled the council priorities dashboard, That was a situation of where that was something that I was asking for. And Catherine finally was like, you know, I've never done this, but I'm going to figure out who can help me. And she took that on because she saw the importance to me because it was important to the council. So with her strengths and abilities, the things that she tries to do often get accomplished. Retirement's a happy milestone to reach and we're all going to be happy for Catherine despite missing her frequently. You saw tonight her partner and bodyguard Joe was with her tonight and I also want to thank Joe for being great support to her and for the city over the years and making sure that she had what she needed. And the fun fact about Joe too is he's also a French trained chef who sometimes would experiment on recipes and knew that there was a city manager here who particularly enjoyed a good breakfast burrito from time to time and it would whip up a batch. So I'm thankful for Joe, we'll miss him too. So we wish them well on their new adventures and I'm glad that they'll be able to find their way back home to Bothell any time. With that, I have one quick update, and then also we have a staff report tonight, and I'll welcome Birzmal to come to the table and bring her presentation up while I give this update. The first update I have is I don't often provide ARCH executive board updates, but there was a couple of key things that came up recently at our executive board meetings, which is made up of city managers and administrators and or planning directors from the cities that are part of ARCH. First of all is that we did adopt a recommended 27-28 budget and work plan just at our last couple of meetings. We do this a little bit early so that as cities are preparing for their budgets, we can incorporate in and not have any oops or updates to have to work in at the very last minute as councils are considering your budget. There's a modest increase in this year's budget. There was some conversations about further increases. It's one of those things where sometimes success brings on challenges, right? And so the more units of affordability that are produced in the market, the more overhead there is in terms of making sure that rules are being followed and they're going to the right places. And we're right on that edge of where some further investment of monitoring is in place. But we're going to go into the next year with just some minor increases for for workload, but not any new positions. So it's just something to keep an eye on, and the board is gonna continue having conversations about that. On a positive news too, we also discussed the 2026 Housing Trust Fund allocations. As you'll recall, the city does contribute to this every year, and then most recently in the last funding round, the project from Bothell United Methodist Church and Bridge Housing was awarded $1.5 million. For this upcoming year, the total allocation across our region of our cities is approximately $7.6 million in funding. And the call for that funding round is gonna be released here very shortly. So you may see that on social media, ARCH is getting a little more, open about using different tools to get news out there. And our audience, though, is very specific. One of the things that the executive board did vote on, too, is that there's always some funding priorities that we look at around the region and different things. But in particular, in this funding round, we are specifically looking to prioritize housing needs at the 30 percent and to 50% AMI range. So really looking to help fill that range of category. And you'll be seeing a recommendation come by the end of the year of where things landed. Now, the last thing I wanted to just note to you, because we've had several volunteers from Bothell over the years that have been part of the Citizen Advisory Board or Community Advisory Board, later titled, that has helped prioritize within those funding categories. This year we are trying something new and have formed an Eastside Investment Committee. The CAB function was a difficult one to fill. They were looking for a variety of people with both lived experience and investments experience and different things. And it was a pretty large group, and so quorum was often difficult. And if you think about it, the funding round then is very compressed of where anytime you have a body of people who are appointed for a number of years, but really their action is between the months of September and November, and there's a lot to do in that short period of time. keeping people up to speed and engaged is difficult. We're piloting this Eastside Investment Committee, which is a smaller group of seven to eight people and do come from more expertise in housing finance, development, operations, asset management, and support services related to affordable housing. They're trying that. It opens up more opportunities to meet during different times of day as well, because most of our volunteers were employed in other fields. And we're giving this a try this year. The recommendation will still come to the board, and then the board's recommendation will come to councils. So we feel like it's a fairly safe risk to take to try. But I also want to note that if this was to continue, we do have the CAB processes stipulated in our local agreement. And so a change would need to get ratified by each of the city councils. So we're going to try it. We're going to monitor how things work, and you'll see the results of the work of this board coming to council. But I wanted to preview that for you. With that, we're going to turn things over to, as I mentioned, we have one staff report. And just as I transition into it, I'm going to introduce Berzmal Smith, our citywide procurement officer. Council, you might recall that the 25-26 budget included a new position, and that was the procurement officer position. As we prioritize different positions, Berzmal started with us in September of last year, has been working with staff and key department stakeholders to modernize our practices, improve internal controls, and identify further opportunities for improvement and really strengthening the city's procurement process and also giving opportunities for more people to find contracting work with the city. We've had some pretty significant progress made in these few months, but we know that there's a lot more to come. And then I'll also just give a little bit of background, too. Laura Hathaway, our city clerk, is getting a good reputation for identifying talent. We had a number of Laura hires in the room today. for Catherine's proclamation and working the meeting. But Merzmal originally was a city clerk's office staff member and then moved on to other roles and also to pursue higher degrees and has come back to the city as a former employee and now current employee with a new area of focus and a new area of expertise, and we're thrilled to have her. So with that, I'm going to turn things over to Quan and Merzmal to talk about our procurement process.

Thank you, City Manager. Good evening, Mayor Thompson and members of the City Council. Tonight, I'm joined by Finance Director Quan Wang, in case if there are any additional questions. This is a staff briefing and council action is not requested. Tonight, I'll provide a brief overview of procurement and contract updates and what we have been working on for the past several months and next steps for 2026 and priorities we'd like to achieve until the end of the year and also answer questions, any questions that you may have. On the procurement process improvement, we've worked by way of different ways to improve our processes for procurement, developing resources and guides for staff, as well as engaging and training on specific topics and providing policy guidance and support. conducting vendor outreach for example for resource resource development we have created a purchasing matrix which is based on the policy and which provides further guidance for staff on the procurement requirements that provides the the procedures and tools and contracting options so that staff is able to refer to this tool and be able to finalize their purchases from beginning to end. And it's a quick guide, but it has been really helpful for staff. And further, we have updated our sole source purchasing method. And this also provides staff advance ability to look at and assess what their options are in terms of the procurement methods when they think about their purchases and what are the requirements from the procurement policy standpoint. As well as, as you know, we do a lot of purchasing through cooperative agreements that we have through other public agencies and group of public agencies. And so we have been working with staff to standardize our processes for these purchases, making sure that it aligns with the requirements from the state auditor's office and aligns with our financial controls. And in terms of the staff engagement and training, we have focused mainly on around the rosters. As you know, we are part of the statewide rosters and we utilize small works roster, vendors rosters, and consultant rosters. These are the informal ways of soliciting bids, proposals, and quotes. In an effort to raise the awareness for utilizing these tools, as well as building staff capacity, we have developed resources around using these tools and training and helping staff to draft and review the RFP's request for proposals and invitation to bids and yeah and going through the the whole process one thing that I want to highlight here is the small works roster there is a direct negotiation method for small works construction projects and improvements that is awarded to small businesses through direct negotiation rather than competition and so for this state has specific requirements that are need to be in place before we can utilize this and so we have we have met that requirement we've built in the utilization plan rotation plan for this and Providing you know successful ways for staff to be able to utilize this method And I've seen a lot of the staff across the city be interested in this option and Yeah and another another point is for vendor outreach, we have worked with communications staff to reach out to vendors specifically for the rosters to have the businesses in the community to be aware of us using this tool and be able to register and participate in the public contracting. The roster is annual registration, so we want to invite the businesses back and invite more new businesses to sign up. Currently, we have around 3,500 vendors, consultants, and contractors in our rosters. And so it being an annual registration, we'd like to continue having a good pool of businesses for our bidding and proposals for our projects. So a lot of the procurement activity then leads us to signing contracts. And as you can see on the left, the contracts in the past three years have gradually increased in numbers. Keeping that in mind, as well as other factors, we have worked on streamlining processes for reviewing contracts and approving them. And based on the current tools, the technology tools we have, we have put in place improvements as well as developing resources and guides for staff to utilize when they are ready to route their contracts. We've also improved the record keeping in terms of when we purchase from the cooperative purchasing, improved the record keeping and making sure that we are covered in terms of insurance for risk management. We've also identified a few areas where we can bring in new contract templates as the city's templates, so that's also been put in place. Looking ahead, next steps and goals for the 2026 are the beginning of this year, finance have moved to SharePoint. And our goal is to build SharePoint sites per different types of procurement types that are outlined in the policy, dedicated pages to centralize information and guidance for staff and that can also include the processes that we are mapping out that we can share with staff and continuously improve those processes internal processes and based on the staff feedback provide targeted training such as a request for proposals process how do we how do we conduct this process from beginning to end and Really looking into details and standardizing processes across the across the city As well as keeping an eye on different state and federal regulation changes and bringing that into our updates of our processes. Currently we are also keeping in mind those state and federal changes that have occurred since the current policy has been adapted last year in July. We do have a couple of updates that need to be incorporated into the new updates. to align our policies with those changes, as well as addressing some of the adjustments that possibly need to be made in the thresholds to reflect inflation changes, and possibly make or propose minor changes to our procurement policy to improve operational efficiency. That's all from us. We're open for questions.

Council Member Curt. Thanks. Thank you for the presentation. This is a very niche topic, but it's one that I'm really interested in because I want to make sure that the partners that we have in the private world see us as a good partner to work with and that we can continue to secure competitive bids from the industry for any project that we're looking at. So I'm wondering about, you mentioned that we have thousands of potential people on a roster, businesses on a roster, and some of these rosters are like regional, they're not our roster, but is there a possibility of extending the roster to be a biennial process to sort of match our budget timeline too, or is that just creating more work to do a biennial roster rather than each individual year?

So the rosters are actually based on the statewide roster, but what it means is that the businesses will select Bothell to work with. So 3,500 businesses that are signed up to work with Bothell are specifically showing up for our roster. It is basically the city's roster, and it gets updated every year. So it's sort of outside the budgeting process. It's basically like annual roster list that businesses sign up as they are interested.

That makes sense. Thanks. Then I've noticed since before you were working in your position, so this is not a reflection on you, but just that we're a growing city, there have been a number of rebids that we've had to approve. And whenever something goes to a re-bid, I think of all the process and the time that was lost having to bring it all the way up to council level decisions and then back down to the practitioners on the ground and just thinking about the time that could have been spent implementing a project rather than going through process. So what you're doing is really important and I'm hopeful that you have ideas or have been engaging in process improvements like debriefs when something when we have to sort of reject all bids for a reason whether it's our end or the the bidders just weren't responsive I'm wondering if you have kind of an ongoing lessons learned or do you do sort of a debrief with the staff that were involved with putting that bid together I have because it's a decentralized set up for our our city as a procurement

I haven't been deeply involved in certain departments processes, internal processes, but that is my intention and plan for this year to be more closely working with departments and learning internal processes and I do have lessons learned record that I keep record of and so we will address those and this is part of making our processes more standardized, more efficient, and we learn from what happened and address those specific areas.

That's great. I'm so thankful that you're working with the city because we have so many vendors, we have so many bids, so I'm glad that we're sort of centralizing this stuff. Thank you.

Council Member Dodd.

Thank you. Thanks for the presentation. I wanted to check for the Small Works roster. Is that the MRSC Small Works roster? It is. Okay. So I obviously don't work with this in my day job, but I know that NPRSA has had a lot of luck using the Small Works roster, and being on that board is where I heard of it first. So if anyone's like, how did she know that? I'm cheating. But I really like the idea of getting more local businesses to join that. I think that that's really, like that alone, like welcome to the city, thank you so much. But I really love this. And since I was thinking about NPRSA, I am wondering, so we have the interlocal agreement where we and I'm going to say this wrong and I'm going to look at Kyle and he might correct me, but where we hire staff that we loan to them for a fee, you know, and then they staff NPRSA, do we share best practices like the ones you're developing with them? I love a best practice. I just don't know if we would go that far in the sharing, but like in my mind it can't hurt, but I wasn't sure what the process was there.

Yeah. I have been in talks with the program manager for NPRSA and learning from them, and whenever they do a different type of contracting, I have been talking with her of saying, can I get involved and learn from your processes for us as well. So, yes, that is in my mind, and we are talking together of how can we learn from each other. Also, This question came up because we were talking about can they use our contracts, and so we've built a relationship and trying to learn from their processes as well.

That is wonderful. Thank you so much, and I should say welcome back to the city. Thank you. Really appreciate it. Thank you.

Council Member Alcabro. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you so much for taking the time. It seems like you did just a little bit over the past nine months. I'm just kidding. It's a lot of work. And it's a lot of work. It's like, you know, public works, streets, sewers, you know, and all these things that people take for granted. But within our organization, having come from a work that a large organization, if you don't have things like this set up, it's going to make a lot of people's lives miserable. And then you have your boss. uh talking to you about it you know so so thank you for organizing this and setting this up i really appreciate all the work you did thank you deputy mayor

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for this presentation. Thanks for coming back to Bothell and all of your work and studies that brought you back here. I'm specifically interested in the vendor outreach that you mentioned, especially for, like Councilmember Dodd said, reaching out to local vendors. Because if I understand correctly, if they are able to, if the city can help them navigate the MSR, oh gosh, I'm going to get that wrong. MRSC. MRSC, yeah. We're not shopping right now. But if we help them navigate that process, then we're actually helping build a stronger community by empowering our local vendors to not just be able to be hired by the city, but also hired by other cities who are also using that roster. Is that correct?

Sorry, could you repeat the question, last one?

So if through your vendor outreach somebody is able to get on to the small vendor roster or any of the rosters that are maintained by state bodies, is that helping a local business gain access to potential customers in other cities as well as Bothell?

I'm not sure. I'm not sure because it's based on the businesses themselves, who they select. What they do is when they sign up, they can select multiple jurisdictions usually, and that will show up on our end of who they're working with. So it's... We can inform them and help them to sign up. I've been talking to staff. If you're seeing your vendors not being on MRSC rosters, then please invite them to sign up. But when they select, it's entirely up to the businesses which jurisdictions they would like to work with.

And that's great to understand that it's not like they're signing up for business across the state, but they can say these are the areas that they serve. It just seems to me like this is a very meaningful contribution that your team is making to our community by empowering local businesses. And I'm always interested in the efforts that are being made to recruit businesses that are owned and operated by diverse people. you know, women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community. And so I would just encourage you to keep doing that work. It's really making an impact. So thank you for what you're doing.

Thank you. Another thing that is... When we work with the cooperative contracts, for example, through the state, they do show on their contracts small businesses. So we are aware of when we're purchasing off of the state contracts, we are also given the option of different, like small businesses, businesses owned by minority and women and veteran-owned businesses. So they do give the preference when they award contracts. we do end up working with them as well, and through that channel.

Awesome, thank you.

I just want to say thanks, and I really appreciate that this function exists, that you're doing it. I don't know that people watching understand how impactful this is, because everything that we do through the city, most of it runs through procurement, through an RFP. And if we can get those RFPs in front of the right people, if we can you know learn how to you know look for the kind of people we want to hire for us and how to write something that we can get like really good people for like that's all really important um and um i'm really appreciative of it so thank you for your work and thank you for coming here tonight and talking about it thank you mayor and that completes the city manager report tonight i'll turn it back over to you all right next up is council reports and conversations colleagues counselor

Thank you, Mayor. Just very briefly, I'm still marinating on this. This morning we were at the large business roundtable, is that the official term for it? Where we had representatives from Life Sciences, Evergreen Hospital, North Shore School District, the space systems, which is very, very cool. Hopefully they can take me on their next rocket testing. Well, maybe not testing, maybe once they launch it. But we have really cool organizations and companies that serve the larger, you know, our city, that are in our city, serve our residents and serve the region as a whole and, you know, hopefully the country as well, when we talk about life sciences as well, and the world even. And it made me think of the line, the connection between how we are extremely fortunate as a city to have an amazing school district, K-12. Then we have great higher learning institutions, Cascadia College, UW Bothell. And then you have those large employers that create this ecosystem of hopefully we have an adjacent role of economic development where it works also with housing, where you have young folks who grew up, maybe go to college, go to schools here, go to college here, maybe start working here, and they need to live here. So, which helps to create this whole ecosystem. And I felt very, you know, I feel like we're very fortunate to have such a We're very lucky and unique in that we have all those things happening at the same time for us over here. And they seem to be willing to partner with us and have continuous conversation thanks to city manager Ashish and whoever the resident staff members who are, have been conversations with those folks. And they're very, very willing to talk to us because they haven't gotten the same experience from other cities. You know, I'm not going to name names, but they start with the letter Seattle. So we are very fortunate, and hopefully we can capitalize on that, and they can capitalize on us willing to work with them. So that's what I wanted to mention. Anything else you would like to add, City Manager?

No, I think it was well said. The combination of themes was very helpful, and housing really did. It came up in all of those sectors. And just a reminder of when we talk about housing and the challenges that we have and the goals and targets that have been set for Bothell, you know, it can't can't go stated enough that we're talking about teachers and we're talking about nurses. And as we heard from Evergreen Health, we're talking about primary care physicians. These are individuals who are looking across the country and see the quality of life of our region, but are sometimes the obstacle of moving here is housing. And so as we continue to work on the legislative priorities,

priorities here at home so to speak the things that are within our control and housing it's a good reminder of the voices who are on the other side of that discussion I don't have anything new to add but I wanted to add some color to what you're talking about with housing so I just bought a ticket to my 20-year high school reunion and we can talk about that another time but in 2001 or 2002 I I was in eighth grade and my gym teacher at Canyon Park, then junior high, was on the news because the North Shore School District was trying to do a program to make it easier for teachers to buy houses where they worked because she worked in Bothell and she couldn't afford to live there despite her and her husband both having full-time jobs. I think they were both teachers. So we're still talking about it. So I appreciate that we're still talking about it, but I hope... at my 40-year reunion, good night, that we're not still talking about it. But I really appreciate you going to that, Council Member Alcabro.

We've moved from teachers are having trouble affording to live here to doctors are having trouble affording to live here. And if the primary care physicians aren't being recruited here or going somewhere else because of housing costs, oh my gosh, how much worse does it need to get?

I want to just add a little bit. We talk about schools, firefighters, primary care physicians, but one thing, we have manufacturing facilities here as well, and folks working in the manufacturing facilities also would like to not commute an hour each way, you know, or two hours. So it would be good to think about those folks as well.

All right, next up is projected agenda discussion. Does anybody have something they would like to discuss? And if not, I would love to accept a motion to approve the consent agenda. Council Member Dodd?

I move to approve the consent agenda. Second.

I have a motion from Council Member Dodd and a second from Council Member Kerr to approve the consent agenda. Would anybody like to speak to the motion? Seeing none, City Clerk?

Thank you. Please say yes or no when I call your name. Mayor Thompson?

Yes.

Deputy Mayor Alder? Yes. Council Member Kerr?

Yes.

Council Member Dodd? Yes. Council Member Alcambra?

Yes.

Passes 5-0.

Thank you. All right. We are, it is 7.01 p.m. We are going to adjourn to executive session to discuss litigation or potential litigation pursuant to RCW 42301101I. This executive session is anticipated the last 15 minutes with potential action to follow. Counsel will come back at 7.16 p.m. We are going to extend executive session until 7.30. Yes. All right, welcome back. We have a resolution approving possession and use agreements for the Bothell Way Multimodal Improvements Project. City Manager.

Thank you, Mayor. And this item is for action tonight. And as you mentioned, it is to discuss possession and use agreements for Bothaway and Northeast multimodal improvements. We have Senior Capital Projects Engineer Brenda O'Neill. It looks like perhaps we have public works leadership in total. But in reality, Brenda is going to lead the presentation on this project and has others to support as well. You'll recall that back in September of 2025, the City Council approved an ordinance authorizing the acquisition by eminent domain, if necessary, for properties. Tonight's conversation is separate but related to possession and use agreements, of which staff will explain a little bit more and why they're necessary. With that, I'm going to turn things over to Brenda to walk you through the presentation and answer any questions.

Thank you, City Manager. Good evening, Mayor Thompson, Deputy Mayor Alderks, and Council Members. My name is Brenda O'Neill, and I will be presenting the Bothaway Multimodal Improvements Project Possession and Use Agreements. Rita Hu, Supervising Capital Project Engineer, Jason Torrey, Capital Division Manager, and Eileen Kiefer with Madrona Law are also at the table with me. Tonight, I am requesting council adopt a resolution authorizing the city manager or his designee to execute a possession and use agreement with Daniel and Linda Lotzis and authorize future possession and use agreements for the project when the amount of payment is supported by the city's just compensation evaluation. The Bothell Way Multimodal Improvements Project spans Bothell Way from Reeder Way at the southern extents to 240th Street Southeast at the northern extents. and aims to improve mobility and safety throughout the corridor for all users. Project components include, but are not limited to, increasing the number of travel lanes from two to three to four to five, sidewalk and planters on both sides of the roadway, two-way protected bike lanes on the east side of the roadway, controlled access with protected U-turns at select locations, and associated utility, stormwater, and traffic signal improvements. The entire project is in three phases. Tonight, this discussion will focus on phases one and two, the south and north portions of the project. which are the first two phases that will be constructed under one construction contract. Phase three will follow. Phase one and two of the project is currently at 90% design. For right of way acquisition, 30 of the 37 parcels are settled or verbally accepted. Seven are currently in condemnation. Phase 1 and 2 construction is scheduled to begin in 2027. To construct the project, the existing right-of-way must be widened, which requires the acquisition of additional property rights. The project has received both federal and state funds. To meet the federal funding obligation deadline of June 1, 2027, the city must complete the right-of-way certification by February of 2027. If we don't get possession and use agreements and don't make the June 1, 2027 deadline, we lose $8 million in federal grants. To help the project remain on schedule and meet all funding requirements, the City Council adopted a condemnation ordinance in September 2025, authorizing staff to use eminent domain if necessary. Since then, we have been in constant communication with the property owners and have successfully obtained agreement, including the amount of compensation with 30 of the 37 property owners in phase one and phase two. As we proceed, in some cases we will agree on possession and use prior to going to court, such as with LOTSIS. If that occurs, we pay the property owner the fair market value of the property that the city has determined using an appraiser and we continue to negotiate on the compensation amount. This allows the city to proceed with the project even while continuing the negotiations. If we don't come to an agreement, the court process will determine the amount. We will continue to negotiate before we get to court, and even as we work through the court process. In a few cases, the property owner may not agree to possession and use, and the court will determine whether this applies. At that point, assuming the court agrees with the city that this is a necessary project, The property owner is compensated the fair market value determined by the appraiser, and we get possession and use. We continue to negotiate until such time as the court process determines the amount. The LOTES' possession and use agreement is in phase one of the project. A final settlement hasn't been reached, and the city is continuing to negotiate with the property owner. By signing the agreement, this will allow the city to obtain possession of the property. Potentially, this could go to court. The property owner is not contesting the right to the necessary property, just what just compensation is. Future possession and use agreements in phase one and two, specific to the Bothaway Multimodal Improvement Project, this would not apply to other city projects. It is time sensitive because if the owner doesn't voluntarily agree to give us possession and use, then we will have to go to condemnation to ensure that we can get possession and use, and then we can obtain WSDOT certification in order to meet the construction funding deadline of June 1st, 2027. Of the seven remaining parcels, the city hopes to get an agreement and not use the possession and use agreement. In summary, The city will get a project that will improve a major north-south corridor with protected bike lanes, sidewalks, planters, transit access, and additional travel lanes. This will enhance mobility and safety on a major arterial through the city. The right-of-way acquisition is going well for the project. We have successfully negotiated 30 of the 37 parcels with property owners. And we are doing everything we can to negotiate with the owners and reach mutually beneficial agreements. The federal construction funding obligation deadline is June 1, 2027, making timely completion of right-of-way certification critical. Construction is currently anticipated to begin in fall of 2027. This concludes the presentation. I'll now open it to questions.

Council Member Alcabra. Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for the presentation. So just to clarify, Some things. The reason why this has come to us now versus the other 30 is that there's a disagreement on the price of the part we want to use or take ownership of. Is that correct?

For the seven parcels that are currently?

At least the Lutz's one. What's the disagreement? Why are we now having to vote on condemnation?

I think I'll let Eileen handle that one.

I understand why we condemn things, but I'm just asking.

Thank you, Council Member Alcabra. Eileen Keefer, Madrona Law Group. You're correct that the disagreement is about the just compensation for the amount of property to be taken. You're not voting again on whether to initiate condemnation proceedings. The reason this has come before Council is just because it does relate to the payment of money over the procurement policy amount. What will happen is upon signing the possession and use agreement, that amount of money will be put into the court registry, and then negotiations will continue and or a court process to figure out what the final amount will be.

And what about the 30, the other 30 that we already, there was agreement with those under the limit or threshold?

Those have been, as I understand it, those have been those offer packages that you have been seeing. I think we're up to offer package six, seven or eight. I'm losing track because this is just a, I really want to call out, this has been a monumental feat by staff. This has just been a giant effort. But yeah, those have been coming to you through the offer packages, through your packets.

How long has the negotiation been happening for?

I think it depends on, it depends for each for each parcel, and I haven't been privy to those negotiations. We do have our right-of-way agent here from Goodman Strath, if you have more detailed questions, but it's going to vary parcel by parcel.

It's about the Lutz's one specifically.

Okay, well at that point I will, I don't know, staff may know that, or I could defer to our right-of-way agent, Hutch Goodman, who I believe is in the audience.

Hi, Hutch Gibman, Gibman Strath.

Can you get to the mic so that the audience can hear? Thank you.

Hello, Hutch Gibman, Gibman Strath, owner of the firm and project manager for the program. In general, about a year and a half negotiations for all the parcels. For Lautz, I think we're at about six months or so. We're a little bit guided by WASDOT's constraints as to when we can file. So WASDOT, our funding certification entity, says that we have to give each property owner at least a month to two months. There's not a strict rule to that. So we, as just a general rule, try to give them plenty of months. This particular property owner has a council, the eminent domain council, and so the possession and use agreements then are primarily to deal with an impasse in the compensation amount. So

And the basis of the compensation, is that like an appraiser that we both agreed to or is it, who provides the appraiser for the amount that we're offering?

Project team provides the appraisal and then the WASDOT protocols that has to be reviewed by another third party appraisal.

I see.

And then a fair market.

And that was approved by the third party?

That's right, yeah. So they don't, now they can, we can offer them $750 to get their own appraisal if they want to. Some property owners take advantage of that, some people don't, yeah.

Okay.

And the status of the other, so this is one of the seven, right? So we have six more. Are those also going okay? Or are we going to have to, or I guess that's part two of the resolution is to answer that, to get that going. But how is the status of those negotiations, I guess, so that we can address the second part of this?

Council Member Alcabra, I mean, I think we can follow up because each negotiation is its own thing and they are a little sensitive, right? This is people's property. I'm not sure we really want to get into the nitty gritty of each or each negotiation is in an open meeting.

I appreciate that. I just, a lot of folks, this has come to us before, eminent domain in general, and I am usually not for eminent domain, you know, so I'd rather have a mutually agreeable thing. That's why I'm asking, like, what's the status of the others? If I'm agreeing to part two of this, or the second resolution, then I'm agreeing to us potentially going to eminent domain as well, right? So that's why I'm asking. And maybe in general, you don't have to go into the details of every single one of them.

Yeah, I can speak to that. So in general, if they're at this point where they're requiring a possession use agreement, I think that all of them have eminent domain counsel specifically, and they haven't disagreed with the project or what we're acquiring. So that's kind of an important consideration. So they don't disagree fundamentally with the project. It just is a matter of they have an appraiser that has a disagreement on the value, and so when you get to the point where there's an impasse, then... you either enter into a possession use agreement or you file condemnation and that's sort of the process. So in terms of agreement, they're not in agreement with us on price, but they're in agreement that we can proceed with our project and that's why they're willing at this point to grant possession use. So I think that's an important part of this. Okay.

And I just want to add on that Brenda had mentioned this earlier is that discussions with the property owners continue and they will continue throughout this process no matter what. So I just want to give council that assurance that working with the property owner is of utmost importance to staff per council's direction.

What's our deadline before the big deadline that comes? When would we decide to pull the... Trigger, for lack of a better phrase.

I have to hold this. So there's kind of a few deadlines. One of them is if they sign a possession use agreement, then there's a period of time before there's a trial, and that's a long period of time. I guess that would be the ultimate deadline, if that's what you mean.

Now when do we decide that we're going to do a possession? Yeah, force the situation.

Well, usually it's just at some point where we realize like, hey, we think this is the number and that you think a totally different number. So are you up for doing a possession use agreement and then we can continue to And then we move our project based on our schedule, which is driven by what Brenda was presenting for our WSDOT certification. So that's the big driver here is we have to make our certification deadline. We're trying to file in October and hit it in January. So that's what kind of motivates the, all right, I think we've talked about this enough. Let's see if we can just move forward with the position. Thank you.

Councillor Dodd.

Thank you. Just to distill that discussion a little bit and make sure that I'm on the same page. The possession and use agreement is, it signifies an agreement that everyone agrees that this is proceeding. It's just we don't agree on the final price of the land. This isn't like we're taking your land, have a good day. This is we are still negotiating.

Councilmember Dodd, you're exactly right. So what it does is it grants immediate possession for the city and the stat, if they agree, this is an agreement. So they do not have to sign a possession and use agreement. But by doing so, the statute does provide the property owner some incentives. Thank you. I appreciate it.

Deputy Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor. So to that point from Council Member Dodd, the possession and use agreement does not change ownership of that portion of property. It just grants the city the opportunity to move forward with the project and continue negotiating.

Okay.

I'm getting nods. Thank you. Cool. Just make it real clear. Appreciate it.

Councilmember Curd.

Thanks for the presentation. I move that we adopt a resolution authorizing execution of a possession and use agreement with Daniel and Linda Lutzis and authorizing future possession and use agreements for the Bothaway Multimodal Improvements Project.

Second.

I have a motion from Councilmember Curd and a second from Councilmember Dodd. Would anybody like to speak to the motion? Seeing none, City Clerk.

Thank you. Please say yes or no. I want to call your name. Mayor Thompson.

Yes.

Deputy Mayor Alderks. Yes. Council Member Kerr.

Yes.

Council Member Dodd. Yes. Council Member Alcabra.

No.

Passes 4-1 with Council Member Alcabra descending.

All right. Next up, we have a new agenda bill for King and County and Snohomish County Urban County Consortiums. City Manager. Yes.

Thank you, council. So as noted in the agenda review last week, I had a brief preview on an item related to the city's eligibility for community development block grants or CDBG funds. through the federal government. And essentially the bottom line of it is that we're coming up on a deadline of to continue participation in a county administered program of which the city has been part of due to our population size being under 50,000. But now that we are over 50,000, we are coming up on becoming a entitlement city, which is a designation that will be ultimately given to us through HUD, and we're in conversations with them. With a deadline approaching of July 7th, we're going to need some direction on whether or not to continue in the county programs or if we would like to administer a program directly from the city. And to walk us through the complexities and ins and outs of that is Jason Greenspan, our Community Development Director.

Jason. Thank you, City Manager. Good evening, Mayor, City Council members. Tonight, Council is being asked to adopt a resolution and provide direction regarding the City's participation in the King County and Snohomish County Urban County Consortiums. These consortiums administer Federal Community Development Block Grant funding on behalf of numerous participating cities in the region. And from this point forward, you'll hear me refer to Community Development Block Grant as CDBG. The decision before you is time-sensitive because both interlocal agreements will automatically renew for another three-year period unless the city provides notice by July 7th, a mere three weeks from now. Staff is recommending that the City provide notice of its intent to not renew the agreement so that Bothell can preserve the opportunity to pursue direct CDBG entitlement funding from HUD if HUD confirms our eligibility later this summer. So tonight I will briefly cover a few topics, how Bothell currently participates in these county consortiums, why the city may now qualify for direct federal funding, the advantages and disadvantages of each option, and staff's recommendation and net steps. For more than a decade, Bothell has participated in both county consortiums through interlocal agreements. Those agreements have allowed Bothell residents to benefit from federal housing and community development programs without the city having to administer them directly. However, Bothell's population has now exceeded 50,000 residents and under HUD regulations, cities that exceed 50,000 in population may qualify as what are termed as metropolitan cities and become eligible to receive CDBG funding directly from HUD. HUD has indicated that a formal determination is not going to occur until later this summer. And the challenge that we have this evening is to decide whether to allow the consortium agreements to automatically renew before HUD actually makes that determination. But I'm all thumbs this evening. Hold on. Here we go. First, I just want to describe a little bit what CDBG is. CDBG is one of HUD's most flexible federal grant programs. Its purpose is to benefit low and moderate income residents by providing decent housing, creating suitable living environments, and expanding economic opportunities. There are a number of eligible activities with CDBG funding, including home repair and housing rehabilitation, but it typically does not include new housing construction. Accessibility improvements, public facility improvements, community and human services, neighborhood revitalization, and economic development activities. Unlike some housing programs, CDBG gives local governments significant flexibility to address locally identified community needs. The current consortium model, right now, King County and Snohomish County administer HUD funding for projects in participating cities. Projects compete through county funding processes and administrative responsibilities like reporting, procurement, performance monitoring, those largely remain with the counties. And the primary benefit there is simplicity. The city can receive access to CDBG as well as other funding from HUD, such as home funding and emergency shelter grants, as well as other resources without having to administer a federal grant program directly. Now, historically, King County's investments benefiting Bothell residents have averaged maximum 50 to 60,000 on average per year. And those have been primarily supporting scattered site home rehab programs and projects throughout the city. And based on our research, the Snohomish County Consortium has not made any recent investments in the city of Bothell. What you see here is a table that shows you some of the different options that are available under the remaining in the consortium under yellow and becoming an entitlement community individually in the green. If Bothell remains in the consortiums that guarantees access to funding, it remains competitive funding. Administrative burden remains low and project selection is largely county driven. If Bothell becomes an entitlement community, funding would come directly to the city through a formula allocation. Current estimates estimate that that would be approximately $200,000 per year. And the city would have substantially greater control over project selection and funding priorities. But the trade-off here is increased responsibility. The city would become responsible for HUD planning requirements, environmental review, federal reporting, compliance monitoring, and ongoing program administration. So, in short, the consortium model does offer simplicity, and its entitlement status offers greater funding and greater local control, along with greater local responsibility. One thing I just want to add, that after a very late afternoon conversation that I had today with King County and HUD, I learned some details about a potential third option for a consortium joint agreement where either county could administer Bothell's direct entitlement grant on our behalf, and that would be for a fee. That could reduce our city's projected administrative obligations, but Given the timeframe that we've been provided by the counties to make a decision, I'm not confident that this joint agreement option with either county is practical, viable, or would really be more beneficial to the city. With that, staff recommends positioning the city to pursue entitlement status if HUD confirms eligibility later this summer. And there are several reasons for this recommendation. First, the estimated allocation of approximately $200,000 is substantially greater than the amount that has historically been invested in Bothell through the consortium structure. Second, direct funding would allow the City to align investments with City Council priorities and locally identified needs. Third, it would create a dedicated and predictable funding source for community development activities. And importantly, tonight's decision does not obligate the City to create a new program immediately. Rather, it preserves our ability to move forward if HUD confirms eligibility. If we allow the agreements to automatically renew, that opportunity may not be available again until the next consortium cycle, which would be in 2029 for the period 2030 through 2033. We also anticipate that Bothell projects would remain eligible for home, emergency shelter, and other regional housing and homelessness funding opportunities, although details would still need to be coordinated with HUD as well as with the counties. If Council approves the recommendation, staff will provide notice to HUD, King County, and Snohomish County before the July 7th deadline. HUD will continue to review Bothell's eligibility and staff will work with HUD and both counties regarding the transition process. and continued participation in other regional housing programs. Staff will return to Council with additional information as HUD provides formal direction, which we anticipate by, I would say, August of this summer. However, if Council prefers to stay with the consortiums, no action is needed because the interlocal cooperation agreements contain auto renewal clauses. So in closing, staff believes the prudent course of action is to preserve Bothell's opportunity to pursue direct entitlement funding while HUD completes its determination on our metropolitan city status. Therefore, staff recommends adoption of the resolution directing notice of intent not to renew the interlocal cooperation agreements beyond December 31st of this year. And I'd be happy to answer any questions. Councilor Dodd.

Thank you. Thank you for the presentation, Director Greenspan. I have about 5,000 questions, but I'm going to start with maybe two. So the secret third option that you uncovered today, is that something we could take advantage of at a later date if we get into this and we're like, whoa, and then we need to figure out something new?

The decision on that is also bound by a July 7th deadline.

Okay. trying to figure out how to phrase this. So is that consideration something we could revisit in two years or I guess like, and I don't know that this will ever come up, but could we rejoin the consortium and at what cadence do we get to make that decision?

I can confirm this and circle back. However, it is my understanding that when we do not renew, that does not preclude our rejoining during the next three years. So, we could opt to rejoin perhaps in 2028 and 2029. I don't think we would have to wait all the way till 2030. Gotcha.

I don't think we would leave and go back like that, but I just was curious. When it comes to growth targets, we get them for both counties. We spend them, for lack of a better term, in both counties. There's nothing like that with the CDBG grants. It's the whole city at large.

That's correct.

Okay. I think I'm going to stick to that for now and let other people have a turn, but thank you very much.

Deputy Mayor.

Thank you. Thank you for this presentation. I really do appreciate that you included in the presentation the potential eligible activities. And it sounds like staff is enthusiastic about moving towards becoming an entitlement city. It feels like a big milestone in terms of like the growth of our community. And so I'm glad to see that the work is being done to consider the alternatives and also provide us some kind of inspiration for what's possible. My question is, like, are there some specific, like, demonstrations of well-used tools like appropriate uses that you are very drawn to in terms of CDBG monies that cities have used. Like what's a good example that you look to and aspire to?

I would refer to a grant program that I administered for another city on the East Coast which had a similar amount of entitlement, perhaps a little bit more, but it was scaled to the grant allocation and that was a home rehabilitation program where we offered opportunities for eligible households who met certain income requirements throughout the city to opt into loans for rehabbing their homes. We would place a lien on a property equal to the amount that was spent from the grant so that it was not used as a fix it and flip it program. And so that after 10 years, if the homeowner did not transfer title, we would forgive that loan. However, if it was sold during that period of time, that grant or the loan was owed back to the city, it became sort of a revolving loan program. We rehabilitated between 10 and 15 homes per year for variety of issues that related to code, three layers of shingles on a roof for a household that was unable to afford to replace it, failing plumbing systems, sometimes structural issues, sometimes even lead paint abatement, although that gets very expensive. So it creates a safe and suitable living environment, particularly for households where their household maintenance budget has gotten away from them. whether it's related to personal circumstances, physical disabilities, and it just lets people stay in their home and empowers people to stay in their home. It's often a difficult process for someone to ask for help, and so we had to create a really open process to make people realize that this is something that they should avail themselves of. And that's a program that the county does run in Bothell. We just haven't seen a real big uptake of that. And I feel like if we did have that option, one of the options available to us locally, we really could do a lot more direct community outreach and decide whether that's something that is needed here.

Yeah, thank you for one, having a really great example to share that it's personal to you as well. And so I guess you kind of answered the question, my next question, which is, do we know how many households in Bothell might benefit from a renovation program like that?

At this moment, we do not have a specific count. If we were to opt into looking into working with HUD as an entitlement community, we would do a action plan, a consolidated plan, which would reveal that need very specifically. Our comprehensive plan housing element does identify the need for housing rehab throughout the city. It isn't specific to a particular neighborhood or location. But we know that households are spending an inordinate amount of their household income on housing costs, and this would really provide more flexibility to address some of the most basic needs. And it would not surprise me if the need is high and awful.

I moved into a fixer-upper. I get it.

I think a lot of the older housing stock is getting to the place where things need to be improved. And then you sort of mentioned like what the study might look like. Would that be able to draw from the human services needs assessment that we've done or be like a more in-depth version of that?

It's exactly what it would be. It would draw all the demographic information and appendices in the comprehensive plan, the human services demographics that we have and utilize those as resources to reveal what the needs are at the local level now.

Okay. And is that, it's like in the past when we did the human services needs assessment, we were able to contract with a consultant who was able, who like led the process of that. Would there possibly be a similar process like that for this new assessment?

There could be a similar option. Some of the resources available could be used for consulting services. We would have to look at how detailed the consolidated plan process itself needs to be. In my experience, it has been something that staff has been able to lead for this size grant, but we could look into expanding that to make sure that we're covering all bases.

Yeah, just a comment is that I think that being able to have a better understanding of what needs exist within our community is always good information for us. If we are able to get a more kind of comprehensive view of the challenges and struggles that low-income folks are facing, we're more informed. up here. And so that isn't necessarily the be all end all of what this project, what, you know, uh, black grants are for, but I do think it would be a good side effect, um, on the way to being able to implement some programs that would, um, that we could use to benefit our community. So, um, thank you for answering my questions and going down the lake, the what ifs of if we were to follow this process, what it might look like a few steps down the, down the road.

Council Member Acabro.

Thank you, Mayor. It's so good to see you again on this Director's Greenspan. Usually you have your team do the work, and now they put you on the hot seat. In the hot seat. In, not on. Maybe it's both. So one thing I was looking at from the agenda item, the renewal, if we decide to continue in the consortium, can we make the decision or can it come to us again in 2029? Because it looks like the agreement is until 2029. Did I read that correctly?

We may be able to opt back in if we, for example, if HUD were to announce our entitlement grant and we decided to defer taking that, I do not believe we would have to wait all the way until 29 or 30 to rejoin the consortium. Again, I can reconfirm that, but I think even though we would not be renewing it now potentially, I think we could rejoin during that three-year period.

It says option two, renew the ICA, continuing with the consortia is currently structured through 2029. So if we do nothing right now, we're in the consortia, it renews until 2029. That's correct. Is that correct? So in 2029 or 28 or whatever the date is, can we have this conversation again at that time or is it like it's a one and done deal?

We we could in 2029 when the consortium seeks to renew with all the communities Yes, we could we could start that conversation again at that time. Absolutely as a matter of fact, we've been told by HUD and the counties that the auto renewal lever is this is the last time that can be pulled and they would have to renegotiate the agreements from the beginning and Starting in 2029.

And the consortia, when it says consortia, it's King County and Snohomish County?

Yeah, two parallel and separate.

Why has Snohomish County not invested in Bothell yet? Have they not received grants?

I don't have an answer for that question. I don't know if it's a matter of... outreach. I don't want to speculate, but I don't know for sure.

What would that number have been? It's 40 to 60K from King County or whatever the number is. Sorry, thank you. 50 to 60K. What would it have been from Snohomish County? Would it have been similar or no?

It's not really on a proportional basis. It's usually related to projects and need, so they'll do a call for projects. And I mean, I would say between the two counties, there's roughly annually between $6 and $8 million available to the entire consortium. I don't really know how much would be eligible in the Snohomish County portion of Bothell. But again, it's not calculated based on population. It's usually based on identified need and projects that apply.

Which is interesting, because you mentioned, Deputy Mayor mentioned, when you guys were talking, there could be a study done on the need, doing a specific needs assessment for this particular thing. And I feel like maybe that would be a good direction to take before we actually make a decision. Because if there's no need to have more than 60K, then why are we looking to have more than 60K? go through the hassle of spending the money because it's a 20% cost or maybe even more. Does that make sense? I'm saying, do we know, we're saying we want to leave the consortium because potentially we could make, request 200K and potentially we could make 200K minus whatever expenses for compliance and reporting and all that stuff. Can we wait until we do a study? Would it make sense to wait to do the study before?

Well, I mean, obviously the decision point that we've been provided by the counties is July 7th to opt out of the interlocal. So there wouldn't be time to do that study now, but it is something that if city council decided that they wanted to pursue something independently, we would certainly do that. But it's not something that we'd be able to do before we have to let the counties know what we decide, what we want.

Jason, would it be possible to approach the question from a slightly different angle of do we have any way of knowing what the proportional contribution to the counties are because of Bothell's inclusion in that. So how much is allocated to the counties to distribute because Bothell is part of the consortium compared to then how much is coming back into our community? Do we know how much is received based on our participation?

Based on my conversations with the HUD office in DC, we were able to determine that our participation in the consortium adds value of nearly $400,000 to the overall allocation to the consortium. If we were to get an entitlement grant, independent, it wouldn't be equal to that amount, but our participation and our involvement in the county consortia contributes nearly $400,000.

So council member, the reason I brought that up is I appreciate your question of, do we know what the total need is in our community? No, like hearing stories about, you know, Jason mentioned roofing, like hearing how much it costs to get a reroof, a house of this, that's, you know, maybe like three houses. Um, so I'm presuming the answer is yes. I think though, at least tangibly of what, without a study of what we know is, is that there's, there's more money that the community could be eligible for even within the consortium. Um, And so really the question this becomes of do we want to find, in order to find out one way to do that would be to pull the trigger on doing this and doing the study if council was interested in doing that either way. But ultimately, yeah, the funding that's available, if we continue to the consortium, I think if nothing else, we would need some outreach and help and including some council pressure and conversation with the counties to try and increase the messaging to the Bothell community about this program and tool that's eligible or that is available to them because it's not being utilized right now.

So one last question. So why have we not spoken to, or have we spoken to King County and Snohomish County saying, hey, give us a piece of that action or a bigger piece? Why are we having to now force an action versus having conversation with the counties to get more money? Or has it happened?

I mean, we have had communications with King County. We do join their monthly meetings. And it is something that I would say both counties can improve on outreach and what is eligible and their process for requesting proposals. It's not just from cities, it's also from non-profit. from CBOs, from other types of organizations. I just, I would say that their focus has not necessarily been in Bothell as much as it could have been. And staff really hasn't had the bandwidth or the mandate to really engage in this space to date.

So how would we have a mandate now if we decide to pull out? Like why would we have the mandate to do the work? Because there's no mandate to have the conversation with counties and to get what we thought.

So what the director was saying was really more about bandwidth of the opportunity of pursuing that. if we do the math of what's contributed to the counties versus what we'd receive directly, there is a cost that the counties are receiving to administer the program. So we rely on them to administer the program and find, again, none of this money would be coming to the city. It would all go to people who needed the services. And so, yeah, we're not, we have not been doubling up of, helping them run their program. We do rely on them to do it. From the materials and from the presentation, what I understand is that if we become direct recipients, then a portion of the money goes towards administering the program. So we would use that to find the staff capacity to do outreach to our community, to do these studies and that sort of thing. It's a portion and it may take time to build momentum. We would not promise that in year one we would see a vast increase in utilization, but it gives us the opportunity of doing the outreach directly to our community as opposed to having two counties who are communicating with two parts of the city as well as several other communities within the counties. So Bothell just becomes one of the cities that there's outreach to. by two different organizations as opposed to us taking it on. So it's really, in some ways it's an experiment, and the question just becomes is the potential value of directly administering this program and potentially having funding available through the city program, is that attractive enough to give it a shot?

And we won't have to pay the administrative expenses anymore if we pull out right now, is that correct?

Well, a portion, up to 20% of the entitlement grant itself, should we receive that, can be spent for administering the program.

No, I meant to King County and Snohomish County, because they administer on our behalf. We'll save that expense if we decide to pull out, and then we'll just use that money.

At present, there's no expense to the city to be in the consortium.

Oh.

they're receiving their portion from the money that's being committed on our behalf.

Oh, so they're just taking a percentage, so just on paper. Correct. Oh, I see. Okay, thank you.

Council Member Dodd?

Yeah, I did want to kind of, surface a few things. We don't know every need in the city, but we know a lot of needs. The fact that these can be used for accessibility is huge. I think many of us have had parents who've needed accessibility updates in their homes, or in my case, in my home. Ramps are expensive. The thing that gets you up the stairs is, I don't know the name of it, we didn't do that at my house, but the thing that moves you up the stairs, like in the movie Up, is expensive. These kind of improvements are a big deal. And also, I think we've all had different periods of cash flushness and not um... and as someone who's been employed for a year like i am trying to be best friends with my roof right now because i cannot afford a new one uh... and we have residents who are who have been and will be in that boat and the other thing is as we look at the comp plan we just passed and that the growth targets by income bands that we are responsible for making possible having more access to this kind of money and ensuring that it's spent here and not part of a giant pool that goes all over the county which sometimes we get some of sometimes we don't I think really helps us serve those residents in the best possible way in the ways that I don't think these county programs could possibly match because there's more need broader need all over the two counties. the other thing that's come up with these county programs. So I don't know a lot of the ways that the grants have gone out, but up in Snohomish County, where I live, one of my neighbors, that bomb cyclone thing, something horrible happened to their house. They couldn't live there for a while. It's still under repair. And the only recovery program I saw that came through was actually from Council Member Perry's office, which is nowhere near St. Homers County where I live. So I couldn't recommend my neighbor apply for it. But we end up with these weird barriers with the county programs too that we won't have in a program for all of Bothell. So I just wanted to put encouragement for us to think about what this makes possible and the need is already there. If we got, I know this isn't how it works, Jason, so don't panic, but if we got $200,000 tomorrow to help people with, I think we could find a lot of people in the city who need that. So I am really excited about this opportunity, even though there's a lot of growing that we need to do as a city. I'm really appreciative of all of our staff that have worked with bigger cities, less cool cities, but bigger cities, so that we can really get a cool program hopefully going with this because I think it's... it's rare to feel so optimistic about what this can do, but I think this could be really transformational, not just now, but as we face just such a more diversifying and larger population. Um, even just being able to remove the county line from the application process feels like a big deal. Um, so yeah, I just wanted to kind of have us maybe think about things that we've all been through that, um, our residents definitely face that we could help with.

Deputy Mayor.

Thank you. I'm taking a slightly different perspective on this, and I'm going to ask you a question that you may not know the answer to, but I'm wondering, well, okay, let's just level set. As far as I recall, there are no unincorporated parts of Bothell and King County anymore. They've all been incorporated.

That's correct.

Okay. So we do have unincorporated Snohomish County parts of... And I'm wondering if any of the consortium funds have benefited unincorporated Snohomish County.

Like, in our MUGA. And our, in the Bothell component of unincorporated Snohomish County, I don't know.

I think it might be, like, they're just chronically underserved in a lot of ways. And so I'm wondering if there might be some, like, unintended consequences of that. Like well, I don't and maybe Bothell funds wouldn't even go to unincorporated Snohomish County anyway, but I would like I'm always Also trying to think of how is unincorporated Snohomish County in our like Bothell Muga area being served for like future annexation and and how are like What might they lose by us making that decision? And so that might be a research question that I'd be curious to learn more about later. Thanks.

Councilman McCurt.

Thanks. I move to adopt a resolution to request city staff provide notice of intent to terminate participation within the interlocal cooperation agreement regarding the community development block grant program with King and Snohomish counties by July 7th, 2026. Second.

I'm impressed you made it through that without taking a breath. I have a motion from Council Member Curd and a second from Council Member Dodd to move the recommended action. Would anybody like to speak to the motion? Yeah, Council Member Alcabro.

Thank you, Mayor. And the questions I ask are not because I don't think there are... There are no needs in our city. We all know there are a lot of needs, and we need every penny, given also the budget conversations we've been having. So we do need this. The question I ask is because we are facing a deadline, and this is coming against a deadline, And I don't know what happened before this meeting right now. So I just want to know what we've been talking about with the counties. Why haven't we pushed the counties to give us the money? They've been like 400K. If you split it 50-50, like why haven't we been getting 200K from King County, for example, you know? So... That's all. I think I like the city manager's framing that this is an experiment and we can always go back if there's a benefit for the residents in the future to go back to a consortium. I think that's fair. We can have that conversation. Maybe I won't be around, but maybe the next city council will have that conversation.

I just want to say I really appreciate, I had a couple questions, but they were handled by my colleagues' comments as well, and I really like what Council Member Dodd had to say about, like, this is something that we can make sure gets distributed in our community if we have control over it. So I like that, and I will be voting yes. City Clerk?

Thank you. Please say yes or no, and I'll call your name. Mayor Thompson?

Yes.

Deputy Mayor Alderks? Yes. Council Member McCurd?

Yes.

Council Member Dodd? Yes. Council Member Alcabra?

Yes.

House is 5-0.

Thank you. Thank you. It is 8.25. We are going to take a quick break until 8.35, and we will reconvene down there for a study session. All right, welcome back. We're here for a study session about transfer of development rights, landscape conservation, and local improvement program. City Manager.

Thank you, Mayor. And, yeah, we have a study session tonight on transfer of development rights, and I know there's some familiarity with Council. We've had some discussion generally. Many of you are Planning Commission alumni, but then also more specifically related to our – growth area in Canyon Park and the Sound Transit bus base being sited in the middle of it. So we'll have a little refresher on that. But tonight, in this particular topic, this is the first touch with Council to bring you up to speed on a program that we're taking part in. The Planning Commission was briefed on this earlier in March, and so they've seen this. Essentially, we're exploring tools that see if it would help Bothell as we balance the need for growth and protection of some land and for infrastructure and all of those things as they come together as we plan a well-built city. So with that, I'm going to turn things over to our Deputy Director of Community Development, Christian Goetz, who will then provide further context and introduce the team. Christian.

Thank you, City Manager, good evening, Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Council. And thank you, Mayor, for giving the full name of the LCLIP. I appreciate it. So I can just say, tonight we're gonna talk about TDR, Transferred Development Rights, and the LCLIP program.

It was written down before, so the acronym was after the written down, so I got there and I'm like, well, we're gonna just skip the acronym part of that, because that seems redundant. I don't know what I was thinking.

Yes, I appreciate it and appreciate the time. I just want to do a quick intro to the topic and then I'll kick it over to Jacqueline who will walk us through with Morgan and Mackenzie from EcoNorthwest who've been working on this. Last year, the Department of Commerce started a program to seek out interested jurisdictions who might want to participate and study. Is this a tool that you want to add to your toolbox? I raised my hand. We raised our hand along with a couple other cities like Burien. who are going through this study to figure out, is this something that could work for us? Is it a way to create some potential revenue in a bank to pull from for infrastructure projects over a long term where we want to focus development, retaining the development, the protected areas out in the county areas, bringing it into the urban growth area? And so I'm going to let Jacqueline, Morgan, and Mackenzie walk through this and give you guys a whole bunch of information, ask a few questions, and then see where the discussion takes us.

Hello, everyone. We can go ahead and get started. It's a little bit of lag. All right, so no action required tonight. City Council will be briefed by staff, Washington State Department of Commerce, and ECO Northwest on the Transfer Development Rights, or TDR, and Landscape Conservation and Local and Infrastructure Program, or LCLIP, feasibility analysis. All right. So here are some discussion questions that we have for tonight. Um, these are also in your packet as well as we'll be at the end of this presentation, but essentially these questions revolve on, um, what sub area do we want the, um, the local improvement project area to be up to be as well as how should we spend our 365 credits and what type of development incentives, um, do we want to look at during the study? So this will be an overview of the presentation. We'll start with the project context, move over to some policy background around DDR and LCLIP, the different policy choices, as well as question and discussion. Okay, project context. So in 2025, the Washington Department of Commerce selected Bothell as a pilot city to evaluate the potential use of TDR in the LCLIP program. Commerce contracted EcoNorthwest to conduct a feasibility analysis and develop a roadmap outlining potential improved implementation options. The project is currently in an exploratory phase, so no decisions will be made regarding program adoption tonight. TDR and LCLIP are an implementation tool that can help advance goals already identified in the city's comprehensive plan. and other planning efforts. These tools can help direct growth to appropriate locations while supporting land conservation and infrastructure investments. The study is to evaluate whether those tools should be effective within Bothell's existing policy framework and development market. The final outcome of this project will be a roadmap outlining whether and how a TDR identical program could be implemented in Bothell. The roadmap will identify potential receiving areas, evaluating incentive options and outline next steps should the city choose to pursue the program in the future. Tonight's discussion is intended to gather council's feedback that will help inform the final analysis and recommendation. So I will pass it over to Eco Northwest.

Hello, council members. Thank you very much for your time this evening. My name is Morgan Shook. I'm director at ECHO Northwest and the lead for this project. I'm joined by colleague Mackenzie Visser, who has been doing all the heavy lifting. And so we want to cover some just real level setting topics today. What is TDR? What is LCLIP? Why are we studying this for the city? What may be the benefits? And where do we need some specific focus? So hopefully we can give you enough detail there. that you can have some informed feedback and advice to us on our potential local improvement project area, which is basically the bounds of which the city would choose to accept development rights and use money from participating county to build infrastructure within that area. Let's take a step back. What is a regional TDR program? So, when the Growth Management Act was put in place back in the late 90s, one of the sort of core, call it OG, implementing measures was transfer of developmental rights. It is a market-based mechanism that allows third parties, the city doesn't necessarily have to participate, to basically transfer density from working rural and resource lands into more urban places where we want to actually implement. So this is at the core of the Growth Management Act, preserve our working landscapes, at the same time grow and intensify our urban places. And so, TDR has been used fairly extensively in both the western and central parts of Washington. I think there are roughly 20 jurisdictions that have active Transfer Development Rights programs. The Department of Commerce, and particularly now where this grant is coming from, from the Ecosystem Services Division, wants to sort of find ways to amplify this because in 2011, a consortium of cities and other sort of growth and environmental protection advocates came together to say, well, is there a way for us to potentially expand the use of transfer development rights? And they created the ELCLIP program, which I'll talk a little bit more about. So what is a regional TDR program? It's simply a way in this context for any of the participating cities within Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties to accept a predefined list of development rights within those counties that are primarily our working lands on agriculture and forest and retire any excess development rights within your cities on the condition of some other type of incentive you may offer. We'll talk a little bit about that. But that is simply TDR in the most simple form, right? Let's say I'm a farmer working out in the Snohomish River Valley and I have one extra housing unit that I could build on my property. but I want to keep my farm going, I choose to come to the City of Bothell and say, is there some mechanism for a developer to buy my additional right and place it within your city? And that is, in essence, all TDR is, is that some transfer of that right. And so, what this program does here, it simply already defines where you can sell those rights, and it's part of that regional program. Okay. Okay. The city, right, as the city manager noted, is not new to the transfer of development rights mechanism. The city has an existing program, although it is a little more unique than a broader regional program. in that it has an arrangement on a Sound Transit bus-based property where they have, think of it as their own sending credits that they can then sell into a range of different areas within the Kenya Park subarea. And so that program is really the only active program that the city currently has, but it's operating on a much more localized and very specific context than what we're going to be talking about here. So what we see here, right, is that map of those sort of regional properties that can actually transfer development rights into any of the participating cities in those three counties. Cities have choices around, participating in the program means you have to accept all of them, but the city does have choices that it could prioritize those, but the choice around prioritizing, say, like, oh, we really want lands that have this type of, you know, maybe landscape or water quality benefit or are located within this area, There are ways to do that from a policy perspective, but they will have implications on the LCLIP program, which is on the tax increment side. So just to know that those are kind of relationships of sort of diving into that when we're having those conversations with staff. Okay, so what is LCLIP? And this is really kind of the new part. So in 2011, what the legislature did is create the LCLIP program. And all it did was saying is like, okay, if you are participating in this regional TDR program, Your county of which the development would be taking place will send a portion of their incremental property tax to you on the condition of this TDR program being created and functioning over 25 years. So a simple way of saying it is it's kind of both an incentive and a reward. for creating the program and actually seeing material conservation take place as measured by the retirement of development rights within that regional program. And so this money is pretty flexible. We'll talk a little more about it, but the way I think, the way to think about this is in creating a TDR program, participating in LCLIP, you're really opening up a 25-year window of additional cash flows from revenue sharing that are coming from the county's current expense levy that would be flowing to the city for the purposes of paying for infrastructure.

Like from day one, we sign off today, like tomorrow we start getting a portion of that, or is it actually there's a waiting period?

Well, yeah, you're right on top of it. I'll take the question from the gentleman in blue. Okay, so just before we get into some of those specifics, why are counties willingly giving up scarce property tax revenue? It's because counties have pretty broad set of interests, obviously on land conservation, support their own sort of growth goals, but also growth in those rural areas, right, aren't really set up for the county to support it financially. They are a rural service provider and intensification just doesn't mean they can deliver those kinds of services that are more appropriate for sort of urban areas. For cities, right? What you've done is given yourself a flexible tool. You're supporting both your own infill urban intensification as well as supporting some of the broader county goals and hopefully making your communities more resilient, particularly on the funding side. I think, as the city knows, building these kinds of wonderful communities where you have a lot of people and employees densely living together is not inexpensive from both the building the infrastructure and operating it. And so those additional funds at the margins can be very helpful in helping communities make that next piece. So I don't want to belabor too much time on this, but this just basically shows kind of what happens, right? The county is simply saying, okay, For new growth that are coming out of an area that we designate, we'll give you up to 75% of that value. So all to say is like there's no new tax. These are all existing taxes and they're simply allocating a portion of that. And it's a really important distinction around sort of new versus the sort of reallocation, given that we have different kinds of tax increment laws. Okay, now into the program specifics. So, when they created the program in 2011, they directed the Puget Sound Regional Council to kind of look at how much growth was going to be happening in all the cities. And they basically said, well, how many development rights do we have in the region? And they basically allocated them. And so, the result of this allocation meant that Bothell had 365 rights that it was allocated. And why this number is important? is in sort of two respects. You have to design a program that is meant to retire at least 20% of those things, and that's just kind of getting into the door. But then designing a more expansive project program, so basically trying to get up to that 365, is a regulator on the revenue. So think of it as if you choose to design a program that can retire all 365, you can get 100% of that 75% from the county. If you chose 50%, so like 180 of that, you would only get 50% of that potential 75%. So basically 50 cents on the dollar versus... you know, that whole dollar on the dollar. And so the allocation is really trying to sort of tie the strength of the program to your growth goals. All right, the next piece here is about the money. So technically, you have a 25-year window. Year one does not start until the city has reached 25% of its allocation. But once you hit 25, you can see there's these thresholds, 50% by 10, 75 by 15, and then all of it by year 20 to get the last five years. This call it a performance clause, right, is really meant that the city is paying attention to this. It's working in partnership with your sort of spot, you know, your jurisdictional county to make sure that you are actually making progress as opposed to kind of the sort of more call it Machiavellian of like, well, why don't we just say we're going to go all these things and start the money, right? They actually wanted to have a performance clause. I will say, depending on the county you work with, they will want to implement this through some form of ILA, at which point, in terms of the 20% start, the 25% will be pieces that the city and the county can have some conversations on. I would say these all feel like very sort of harsh, or not harsh, but very specific thresholds, but I think there's an acknowledgement here that nobody really knows what the future looks like and that growth kind of have some leaps and bounds and that some sort of partnership and sort of it's important in kind of making sure it, but I think these rules are here just to sort of keep both parties working in good faith towards those goals. Okay, so The report in our analysis is really trying to look at four things. The first one is really important and one that we want some feedback on is our sort of growth area. And the growth area is important for three reasons. First, the region has to be the sort of area what is called a LIPA, a local infrastructure project area. And the city can have multiple of them. It doesn't have to be one or continuous. You can simply say, hey, there's an area over here, there's an area over here. And that area cannot be more than 25% of the city's overall assessed valuation. So it operates at a pretty big scale. And it also has to be the area where you are accepting those development rights. It is also the area where you have to build the infrastructure. So you can't sort of like say, hey, we're going to raise the money here, but we're going to build this park over this area. The projects have to be within that LIPA. And also, that's the basis of which the county will be calculating its property tax contributions. So when it looks at that whole big area, whether a project uses... TDR or not, it looks at the amount of new construction that happens and then rolls that over year over year. And so when you think about your cash flow, right, it's going to compound over time because once it's added to the base, right, it grows with inflation and then another project happens on top of that. So over time, your revenues are going to look something like this as that sort of compound growth happens. And so the nice thing about LCLIP in the sense is, instead of being very small and approximate like a tax increment project, it's much more district based and meant to be sort of cultivated over time. So that's one big piece. The other big piece is figuring out how do we actually create incentives, and we'll talk a little bit briefly about that, but basically what gives a developer an area a voluntary incentive to say, hey, I want to go out to, you know, the Snohomish River Valley, find that farmer, buy that thing so I can do something in Bothell, right? We have to figure out what that incentive is. And then once you figure that incentive, we look at that area, we basically can come back and say, well, city, should you take 180? Should you take 200? Should you take 365? Based on sort of the tools, the growth profile you're in, where we're looking. And then finally, right, we figure out how much money is going to come out of that. And then we basically work with your public works and community development program to specify what kinds of projects are we trying to build. And for here, cities are really kind of thinking about it as, are there new things that these areas can need? Or can we use that additional dollars to sort of prioritize key projects, get them done earlier? And so the way cities have operationalized this has been like, great, there's one big project. We're going to get it done. you know a bike lane or something like that or it's like or a pocket park or in other places it's like hey we have already a list of projects in these areas and now we have you know x millions more that we can dedicate to it so we can get it done faster. So and some of them are just simply saying oh no we have a sidewalk program and this is a main conduit for us to do our sidewalk program in this area so that's a little bit of the the way we think through that sort of infrastructure funding plan. Great. So we've been sitting down with staff and we basically looked at the city's big three urban areas, right? We've got the Canyon Park, we've got downtown, and the North Creek area. And here we've been doing some preliminary market analysis, some preliminary sort of economic analysis to figure out, and policy analysis to figure out what we think is the best place. And based on that initial analysis and conversation with staff, We decided to focus that area in the North Creek 195th Street sub area. And part of that is, it is a region that still has tons of development capacity and potential, as opposed to downtown, which has its development and its incentives already in place. Canyon Park is a little more sort of commercial oriented. It's also the place where you have the Sound Transit TDR program. And so that's really the basis of kind of why we're singling out that area. And our analysis here is really taking a look at two kinds of incentive programs. The first one is the ones that you're probably very familiar with, land use based incentives. Like can we give people additional density, additional height? reductions from something in our code and use that as the basis of an incentive for a developer, right? Oh, could I get another floor if I bought a TDR or something like that? That's an example. The other one is the use of the city's eight-year MFTE program. So think of this as a much more sort of defined way to kind of offer a voluntary participation in a property tax abatement program on the condition of participating in the TDR program. And as you can imagine, there is a little bit of trade-off if you're granting a property tax exemption and also trying to get property tax out of a project. And so we have to look at that sort of tension. Okay. So basically all that, right, looking at, and this is kind of where we are right now, is looking at the trade-offs between these different types of incentives, right, land use or MFTE-based incentives. How much development rights could we get given the scale? How much absorption development do we think is going to happen in the area? what kind of type of development happens and when, how much revenue do we think that looks like over the period of time, so that we can come back and provide that feedback both to Planning Commission and then ultimately to this council. On the positive side, Washington has actually a handful of actual tax increment laws in place. There are really only three that are functionally alive, and LCLIP actually is the one that provides probably some of the most flexible ability to spend. As you can imagine, it's a lot of the traditional roads and pipes and utilities and parks. You can have some flexibility to support infrastructure. on affordable and historic preservation projects, but not the projects themselves. But one of the key pieces here that differentiates Elk Club from others is it allows for maintenance and operations of those facilities. So think of it as, oh, we built that pathway or that bike lane. Well, we now can use Elk Club Daughters to actually do maintenance and preservation and even public safety. So if you build like a park, you could actually pay for operations and maintenance as well as public safety and those facilities. So you have a much more flexible tool with respect to sort of how you can use those dollars. Great. So where are we today? So right now we are here providing a briefing to you on basically level setting, trying to answer your questions, take any feedback that we have. We will be moving to brief the Planning Commission on the first round of our results here on July 1 in two weeks, I guess. And then we are working with both Christian and Jacqueline then to, based on that feedback, we have a planning commission to come back to this council with some additional analysis, feedback, and direction. Great. Oh, there's one more slide. Look at this. I knew there was more. But generally, yes, based on that sort of feedback, we're looking to get back to Council here in the July-September. I know we're looking for a window and a very tight Council calendar. But ultimately, by the September timeframe before your budget season gets too hot, presenting you this implementation roadmap. Just a reminder that in as part of participating in the commerce study, there's no commitment to buy. The commitment is simply for city full faith sort of effort and really evaluating this as a potential tool. for the city and we would at the end if there is a viable path forward we will have that road map to kind of spell out the ways that the city can move forward internally as well as participating with your sponsoring county i'm gonna go first because i can um thank you for raising our hands for a pilot um jason if you're still here too thank you there you go awesome

I love this because we know that building more housing here protects rural areas from development, but we can't always show a one-to-one relationship for that. We can't say, see, this is the land that was saved because this apartment building went up. This gives us a way to do that, which is pretty cool. I have a couple of questions. What is a credit?

Is that a housing unit? I would say for shorthand, yes, but not always because of when counties are designing their sending areas, so basically the areas of which you can transfer those rights, sometimes there are policy choices to basically think of as amplify the number of rights you could sell that might be in excess of truly how many units you could buy. So, for example, some areas might say, oh, great, I can build one housing unit, but because I'm very much in an environmentally sensitive or an important watershed, we want to prioritize you, so we'll give you like 1.5 credits you can sell. So, you can kind of see how policy kind of puts the thumb on the scale for some properties.

Okay.

So, but I would say for the most part, it is kind of a more one-to-one relationship.

Okay. And... Do we get, you mentioned kind of spreading out the whole area. Do we get additional tax revenue from the entire area that we are looking to receive credits in?

Yeah. So think of it as, you know, you were, I mean, you want to be maximalist in a program like this. So say you were to try to get to that 25% sort of assessed valuation of real property. And so think of it as, it's just not looking at all assessed valuation growth, but just looking at new construction growth. So only is counting stuff that for the purposes of our, your property tax collections, when the assessor comes around and does new construction, which is inclusive of building new but also substantive rehabilitations and renovations. It counts all of that regardless of whether or not it used TDR or not. This is, but within that LIPA, just within that LIPA, but that LIPA also has to be the places that you are implementing the receiving area, right, of taking those credits. Yeah.

when you're paying for stuff, you have to pay for it in the same area that took the growth, which logical sense.

Yeah. So, so for example, say you had $10 million of new construction value, but only a million of that was big on a TDR project. You still got to count that 10 million.

Got it. Help me understand why we're looking at limiting it to North Creek. Because we're judged on how many total credits we can take. And we are incentivized based on the whole area. So why would we not try to maximize the number of spaces that we do this in to try to maximize our ability to receive all 365 credits and get a bigger area in which we can get more revenue from?

Do you want me to take a crack at that or do you want to take a first bite?

So we can expand it to the 25% of the total city's assessed value. So that could expand beyond North Creek. We focused on North Creek because Canyon Park already has the TDR program as an area that we might think density will take place. But that would likely draw down the ability for it to function there. And then in the downtown where there is as another center, There is the opportunity there, but a lot of the infrastructure projects are already in our coordination with Public Works, and we can come back and we can bring more information on this when we return. We didn't want to include the downtown in the LIPA, but we can consider it. And then we also need to look at what incentives could actually be applied. Say in the downtown we had heights to the sky, I don't know what else we could incentivize to get the program to take foot here.

I would say we are trying to design it to be maximalist. I think part of the North Creek is because it's so large in the capacity that Don't hold me to this, but you're probably close within that area to the 365. And I think as Christian, 365.

The whole thing. But you mean, but it's, I thought the limit was 25%.

Oh, sorry. 25% of the total assessed valuation of the city. But you said, why don't we try to make it as big as possible? I thought you meant you have to try to get to that 365 credit allocation. Yes. Yeah. So we are trying to figure out, think of it as basically... what's the biggest area we can get to design the incentives that can retire all 365? Because that way you get 100% of all the potential revenue. And so our first look at this is, I would say, if I orient it in terms of big opportunity to less opportunity, like... North Creek, right? Development capacity. We think we have some incentives that could work and you've got scale there. Downtown, right? Your focus of your opportunities, the opportunity isn't as big as it today as it was 10 years ago, right? But there are still some opportunities, but they come really at a challenge of can we really find a way to implement it?

And basically we can't do all of those areas without bumping up against the 25% of assessed value. So we're going to maximize the 25% of assessed value and we want to do it in North Creek and then if we go somewhere else, great.

You actually, so the assessed value of those three areas, I think, off the top of my head is roughly like 22% of your assessed value. But that is also accounting for, there's some MFTE projects that are currently not counting towards that, that will come online at some point. So that might fluctuate in the next few years. We'll get the actual numbers for you, but the LIPA can be larger than the receiving area. The receiving area just needs to be within it, but there is capacity within those three areas.

Okay. So if we design this to maximize and try to retire all of our credits, we're going to, It's going to be a 25%. Oh, yeah. And it's just a question of where.

Okay. Perfect. Yeah. I think, you know, you want to design it. I mean, there's kind of the constraint is the 25. Can you get credits in there? Can you design the implementing measures? But then there are also, right, the projects, right? You know, can you, there's a question of like how focused, right, versus kind of more, you know, should you build one big thing or kind of. peanut butter things spread about a little bit across the area. So that's something we're going to be thinking about. But I would say all those kind of ideas are on the option, but I would say just realistically, probably those are where the opportunities are in some order like that.

Perfect. I think I understand better. One more question is, how does requiring participation in the MFTE incentivize credit use? Like, wouldn't a requirement make it less flexible and less likely to be used? Yeah, sorry.

I didn't mean to use the word requirement option. Okay.

Perfect.

Yes, exactly. So, think of it as, like, can you design a way that somebody would choose to opt into this and to say, like, yes, that exemption sounds great and you're only making me do this. Thumbs up. Cool. Yeah.

I am all for designing a program that is maximized, that brings us the most additional housing units and the most additional revenue.

Thank you for the presentation. Sorry, my questions are all over my notes. So a lot of this, so I appreciated the layout of how the revenue comes through after five years, 10 years, 15 years. Can the future revenue be bonded against if we need some of the projects to get the growth?

Yeah, so this is a question of funding versus financing, right? And whether you should sort of choose to finance that like in your home.

I don't love the idea.

Yeah, exactly. Versus do some pay-as-you-go method. The challenge with L Club Revenue is, as I say, it looks something like this versus when you're issuing debt. You can have some structure, but you're really... looking at some kind of, at some point in time, level payments. And cities that have done this or are in similar situations, right, think of it as basically, oh, it's just another revenue source that I'm mixing with other revenue sources if I have to bond because I don't want to have to go after a revenue bond, which if they looked at those stream of benefits, they would be like, oh, we're going to charge you this interest rate. And you're like, wow, why are we doing that? So the long battle answer is typically no. Like you would not bond against it directly, but you would potentially bond to do a project where you're using LCLIP dollars, perhaps with other city infrastructure dollars to actually make the project work.

Okay. For the infrastructure dollars, could we use them? So we have like four wastewater utilities, for example, because of... Because of annexations and nonsense, to put it very simply. Could we use it to grow some of the urban services? Again, in North Creek, there's no bus service really, right? And we're looking at actually the wrong counties. Bus agency may be starting service there. Like King County Metro isn't even planning on it. Community transit is. could we help fund more bus service to get over the jump? Like, is that an acceptable use of it? Could we build out sewer infrastructure or help create sewer infrastructure to happen there when it's not our wastewater utility?

Yeah, I think the provision has to be publicly owned and utility infrastructure is an eligible expense. We'll have to think about, we'll get back to you on the complication piece of like city versus, assuming it's another district that is the provider, around how that typically would work. It's a little different wrinkle. I don't believe transit service is on the list of eligible uses, but we'll have to double check that as well. Transportation facilities and transit facilities, but whether additional service hours are, I'm not sure. I'll have to double check that. It's a good question.

That would be... I'm not a city planner and I don't know if that's what we would choose to spend it on. I don't want our staff to be like, what does this woman doing? Um, but like a lot of the struggle when trying to create a less car dependent, more climate friendly, more dense city is when do we, it's like chicken and egg with all this stuff, right? So I'm trying to think how could we really use the funding to grow an area like North Creek and it lacks some of the services that we do have downtown. Um, but you're right, it has lots of land and potential. Um, Oh, hi.

It's interesting that you're mentioning this. Good evening. Erin Lenhart, Public Works Director. When we met with these folks virtually, hi, good to see you, one of the things that we were thinking of for this particular area was exactly that. We anticipate there will be some road improvements necessary to get community transit to serve this area, so like an intersection improvement that could potentially be funded with the LCLIP funds.

I love that. Well, even just thinking about there's parts of, I'm going to mess up the name of the road. I am real bad with King County road names compared to Somerset County, but there's like five lanes and it's just like a, please stop when the light flashes. Like there are lots of near misses and things like that. I used to live along Highway 527 in unincorporated Snohomish County, and it was a disaster as a pedestrian. And so what I don't want is us to put a bunch more people there and them not have a way to get across the street. So I really appreciate that note. I do have a question about this program. So like picking on Snohomish County, but King County has this too. There are areas that the county has up zoned that are urban areas that they struggle to provide services for. So what does the county get out of this in a sense if they have rural areas and agricultural areas they want to preserve, and I understand that, but they also have urban areas they can't serve.

I won't comment on the land use and policy direction of the county, but I will say from an intent of LCLIP, it is particularly centered in their land conservation and stewardship, particularly in those sort of working landscape lands, and trying to reduce pressure. I know a lot of the intensifications are probably a few islands and closer in, so a little differentiation, but yes. think a good question for the county.

They're sick of me asking. Cool and then I think this is maybe more for our staff but I have 10,000 questions I won't ask about how this layers with like our density floor area ratio bonus and our MFTE program that nobody has used and I have it's all exciting but I have a lot of concern about how do we actually make it happen given where we're at with our other incentive programs that we're sort of reevaluating and just seeing hints of use, but still not a lot of, you know what I mean?

Yeah, and I think the tool in the toolbox that I mentioned at the beginning, this is really another opportunity. We're going to sharpen the tool of MFTE this summer and in the fall, and so... With this in mind, the direction follows it. We're building the plane while we're flying it Not in a storm, it's fine. But we're continuing to add things to it. We're adding, you know, a rack here and another engine here. We're trying to really expand what we can do with MFTE, with the affordable housing incentives, with TDR and what incentives it could have. and bringing all those together as options that maybe they work together, maybe they work independently, but creating a path for a developer to choose this incentive program is gonna be more beneficial to me than that incentive program and I'm going to be producing residential, commercial, mixed use, whatever it may be in North Creek or in the defined LIPA area or throughout the city that we're hoping to create that canvas for them to build on. Gotcha. Does that help?

It does. I think the concern is partially rooted in the fact that if this one doesn't get a lot of adoption, then we lose the funding, right? If we build an MFTE program and no one uses it, we've lost the staff time. It's disheartening and we lose out on affordable units, but there isn't revenue that's lost. You know what I mean? Like it's a different sort of dealio, to use a technical term. But more is coming and I'm willing to be patient. This public infrastructure plan that was mentioned, Everybody loves a plan, and they're very important. We also have our capital facilities plan, our TIP, which I can't even, there's so many acronyms, but like, yes, thank you. Can we kind of cobble that together from what's in the geographic area of our other plans? Would it have to be a fully separate thing?

Yes, you're basically saying in the LIPO, we have our capital facilities plan, we have all of these projects.

the project list we can just filter our spreadsheet yeah I know it's not that put them into this into this this this plan okay the mayor got a couple of my questions okay I'm cautiously optimistic not even nauseously optimistic cautiously optimistic so I appreciate that

Can I circle back real quick to the North Creek subarea?

Yes, but it's a $5 fee for saying circle back.

May I return? It is on the work plan following Canyon Park subarea, revamp, update North Creek to reimagine what does that look like in the next 20 years. So this kind of fits really well with... Pretty decent timing in the grand scheme of things in a 25 year scale To say well, we're going to be planning this out and we're going to be reevaluating. What does North Creek look like? Supporting transit with infrastructure projects looking at the community transit Their recent 20-year, their next capital plan that they came out with that shows having an added loop, a potential loop within North Creek. They weren't defining it in there, but it is there. They want to go there. And so we want to make it happen. So that work is on the table coming up in the near term. And when we're talking about 25 years, it is a long time, but hopefully this works out and we do have this revenue to support continuous, sustainable project support.

Awesome, thank you.

Alright, one of my questions is sort of a tangent to Councilmember Dodds. She asked about utilities, but I'm going to ask about the future community center in Woodinville that is dreamt of at this point, like through the NPRSA. Would that be

Can be considered as like part of the applicable infrastructure plan that could community facilities are an eligible expense So even if so the NPRSA is a special-purpose parks and recreation member. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah, so Well at the lawyers inside but since cities party to that as a sort of participant in tax I'm guessing the residents are paying taxes for that. I'm guessing would probably fall within the eligible expense and

And then I think I also had a similar question around the, like, if MFT is already underutilized in our community, as in not being utilized, what is the benefit of requiring, like, I think it said require in this slide, but you said it was not required. It's an option. Option. Okay.

We hope we design it so well it feels like a requirement.

I just wanted to make sure that that correction applied to that, that I was making the correct connection there. Thank you.

If we wanted to fund something that Like the legal answer is no. Is there like an RCW that would need to be changed to allow, like let's say we can't fund service hours for buses. Is it just changing state laws?

I would say if it's clearly not allowed, then yes, RCW. If it falls within a gray area in terms of the spending, I think we just would want to work with city leadership and county leadership. This is kind of where the ILA can be helpful in just saying like, hey, we're agreeing to use the money this way kind of thing within the intent of the law.

I agree that North Creek has a deficit in transit infrastructure and also transit in general, like service. But because this is a land use transfer, I would be looking for the infrastructure plan to provide eternal benefit for lack of a better, like service is something that can be taken away once the funding runs out. And I don't want to be, I don't want the people who live in North Creek to say that we traded away whatever for something that maybe could be taken away from them in the future, too. And that gets to my other point about North Creek being chosen. I think that it's great because it has a lot of that development capacity. It has a great amount of need for infrastructure, as well. And so it It's a great idea and sort of a frontier, but it also kind of experiences additional social vulnerability on all of our maps that we show. We just looked at maps in the PROS plan, and this whole neighborhood is somewhat economically disadvantaged compared to the wider city. It has impacts from tree canopy loss. It has flooding, weird flooding issues too. I'd really look to the Planning Commission, I guess, to craft an infrastructure plan that's not just pulling from the tip to say this road needs sidewalks, but how are we leveraging that plan and these generational dollars to make it a more livable place for the people who already live there and who will be experiencing the effects of the transfer of development. I am cautious about selecting North Creek because of the potential for environmental injustice there. However, because the possibility is so high, and I'm an optimist, in the end of the day, I think that it's okay to keep moving in that direction. but just with the caveat that planning commission should really investigate sort of the, um, the eternal benefit to the people who live there now. Um, I agree with the mayor of being ambitious with our approach. Um, and, um, uh, Yeah, I just also thank you for listening to, for listening to, you didn't just write the comprehensive plan, you know it. And I think this is in solid alignment with our goals and making habitat for people here in our town and protecting habitat for wildlife outside our borders as well. So thank you. This is awesome.

I'd argue I'm wildlife, too, sometimes, so not just people. I need the habitat. The North Creek question, I think we've talked about it. The question I had about maximizing credits, what kind of revenues are we talking about if we do this? Is there a low, medium, high number?

Yeah, so that'll be what we're going to be bringing to the Planning Commission here the next... What day? July 1st. July 1st. A little preliminary assessment of kind of credit use, development, and then the revenue. So, just to give you a benchmark, and this is kind of a high watermark because LCLIP has only been, while we have many examples of TDR in the region, LCLIP has only been used in one city, the city of Seattle. And it was used in their, when they up-sowned South Lake Union, right? So kind of a bit of a perfect storm of, you know, right before everything took off and all that got built. The city of Seattle had an allocation of like, I think, 4,500 credits. So, you know, factor of 10 greater. They chose to only accept, I think, around 1,500 of those or a little less. And they exhausted that credit allocation within like the first 10 years. And so they were like, oh, we should have picked a bigger number, right? And I think they are 10 years into their revenue program and it's, I think, generated somewhere in between $25 to $30 million thus far. And that's just, I mean, that's just 10 years of revenue. There's going to flow for another 15, just to give you a sense of kind of where they are on that curve. And so, ultimately, all this is really a function of trying to, one, maximize the credit use so that you can get 100% of the county's allocation. And then the second piece is really about how much scale of development are we talking about, because that's really the basis of which it's going to happen. And the X factor is, is what happens with the, you know, whether it's Snohomish or King County, what happens to the levy rates, right, through time? You know, will things kind of, you know, through levy or other choices to keep the rate a little higher? I mean, that has, you know, for a dollar by, it normalized on a dollar by dollar basis, that will also, you know, really define how much revenue we're talking about. So, we'll have that with you and we'll have some of that sensitivity of kind of like, well, what is absorption? This is kind of moving at a city average. What if it's a little better? What if we achieve kind of full build out and have that just to give you some, you know, nobody knows what the future looks like 25 years, but to give you some benchmarks of what we think that might look like.

One thing I know for sure, in 25 years, I won't be sitting at this table. That's for sure. That question you had about uptake and how many folks are going to use this program, I know it's a tool in the toolbox. So the question is, as part of the conversation with the planning commission and reviews with your, you know, doing the research, is that going to include the supply side of things as well? Like developers and builders?

Yeah. So, yeah, so we want to, the way we think about this is, you know, given the area, the types of intense, what kind of things are going to get built? Luckily, we have some examples right next door in the Avalon project of, like, what the intensity of the development is. And then our task is really to figure out, like, well, if people were building this type of thing over time, if we offered an incentive that they would choose to voluntarily participate in, how could that then determine how many credits might get built, right? So if I was going to use, like, let's say an MFT program on a 100-unit project, would that mean I would buy 20 credits, 10 credits? That's what we have to try to figure out. And then you can think of it as like, well, if we can do it 10 per building, that means we've got to get to 30 buildings, right? And that's generally how we think about those little Lego building blocks and doing the analysis.

Cool.

Thank you.

What other programs did the City of Seattle have while they were rapidly using up all these credits?

They have basically everything now, right? So at the time, right, South Lake Union was a lot like North Creek, right? A lot of single-story industrial buildings, and now we've got high-rise towers. Not that North Creek will be that way, but At the time, they rezoned, they kept a fairly low base area, and they had basically a lot of land use incentives, and that's how they chose to deliver it. TDR is one of multiple options that existed at the time between affordable housing, TDR and other kinds of more, you know, sustainability incentives that they had in place. And so, you can kind of see why they were kind of thinking of splitting the baby as they were kind of figuring out how much, I mean, the incentive value is really kind of a limited thing. There's only so much that's there and how they were going to divvy up those sort of benefits.

Does, I do want to acknowledge that I don't see North Creek as the next South Lake Union. Maybe we could get our own WNBA team, but I, would there be projects we could take a look at that show multiple programs being used all in one project, just to see what was done? Whenever this comes back, just to help us kind of digest what the overlapping looks like.

Yeah, I think we can look at some examples of what it could be, what's been built, what that might look like when we get to what the incentives may be if it's so much floor area or so much height, what that could equate to. So then we can start to picture the building blocks of, oh, well, that's just like Block D and Avalon and maybe one other project if those three were built. they would equate to that bonus or that incentive of that many units in each of those buildings and that would achieve the 365, half of that, kind of what it might look like so everyone can start to picture what are we talking about with buildings and what does the current zoning allow for. So, yeah.

Yeah, awesome. Did you get what you need?

All right. In that case, I think we are ready for me to pull out this and read what I'm supposed to say. Thank you for your time. We really appreciate it. We really appreciate the presentation, the work, and I'm really looking forward to what you guys bring back and how we can build the biggest, coolest program that takes advantage of as much of this as we can. With that said, it is 9.31 p.m. Council will now adjourn to executive session to evaluate the performance of a public employee pursuant to RCW 4230.110.1G for 45 minutes with no action expected. Council will adjourn at 10.16 from there.