City Council - Regular Meeting

Okay, so good afternoon. The August 4th, 2026 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order. It is 2 0 5 PM. I'm Joy Hollingsworth, Council President. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Strauss?

Here.

Council Member Foster? Here. Council Member Juarez?

Here.

Council Member Kettle?

Here.

Council Member Lin?

Here.

Council Member Rink? Here. Council Member Rivera? Present. Council Member Saka?

Here.

Council President Hollingsworth?

Here.

Present. Thank you. Nine present.

Awesome. Council Member Rink, we're kicking it off to you. You have a proclamation for signature and presentation today. The proclamation recognizes August 4th as Seattle, Tacoma, Kiki Ballroom Community Day. Did I say it right? Okay. Awesome. I was like, I know I said this right. Council Member Rank, you're recognized to share the comments and proclamation.

Thank you, Council President. The category is governance. Thank you. It is truly an honor and a privilege to offer this proclamation today, honoring our local Kiki Ballroom community and celebrating the mothers, fathers, houses, organizations, artists, and audiences that have shaped the local scene for decades. It is also my understanding that this is the first proclamation of its kind for City of Seattle history. So I'm very proud and honored today to be shepherding this. Queer history is black history, and we all stand on the shoulders of black and Latinx queer and trans leaders who fought for their and our freedom to be our whole selves. And at the heart of Ballroom is a fierce assertion of self-determination and collective care. The mothers and fathers who've led houses are more than performers. They are mentors, surrogate parents, and chosen family. They serve the folks most neglected by our society as fiercely as they serve face on the runway. So kikis and balls are not mainstream queer pop culture references, but they are the foundation. And black and brown leaders who have shaped the scene locally and nationally deserve to be recognized and lifted up as the cultural standard bearers and standard centers they've always been. At this point, I'd now like to read this proclamation, and I ask my colleagues to sign. And following that, we'll have some local celebrities to receive the proclamation, Randy Ford, Midori Monet, Tommy Darling, and of course, Julian Everett, who this proclamation today would not be possible without. Thank you so much for your work alongside my office to bring this forward. And with that, we are honoring the Seattle-Tacoma Kiki Ballroom community, including its leaders, houses, and partner organizations. Whereas the Seattle and Tacoma Kiki Ballroom community is a powerful cultural, artistic, and social movement rooted in Black and Latinx, LGBTQIA+, resilience, creativity, and self-determination, and has grown into a vibrant and visible force shaping Seattle's cultural, public health, and social landscape, And whereas ballroom culture continues to provide life-affirming spaces of belonging, chosen family, mentorship, artistic excellence, and leadership development for LGBTQIA individuals, particularly black, indigenous, and other communities of color who have historically experienced exclusion and systemic inequities. And whereas Seattle and Tacoma's Kiki Ballroom community has expanded significantly through the dedication, leadership, and vision of community icons, organizers, and cultural leaders, including Aisha Noir, Jade Dynasty, Papi Luna, Rocky Princeton, Andrade Allure, Midori Monet, Kylie Mooncakes, Dr. Stefan Wallace, and Julian Teflar, each of whom have contributed strengthening visibility, cultural preservation, and intergenerational leadership within the ballroom scene. And whereas the Seattle region's Kiki Ballroom houses serve as foundational structures of chosen family, cultural preservation, mentorship, and leadership development, including the House of Princeton, House of Luna, House of Monet, House of Noir, House of Moschino, House of Teflar, House of Mattel, House of Sephora, House of Ada, House of Pink Lady, House of Kaos, House of Giuseppe Zanotti, all of whom contribute to the preservation, evolution, and expansion of ballroom culture in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. And whereas community-based organizations and institutions have played a critical role in supporting ballroom culture and advancing equity, health and opportunity for LGBTQIA plus communities, including Swayce Health, CD Forum, Seattle Kiki Sessions, HIV Vaccine Trials Network, Lavender Rights Project, NAACP, Legendary Children, and ACORA Foundation, whose partnerships and advocacy have helped expand the health resources, cultural programming, legal support, and community empowerment. And whereas the Seattle Kiki Ballroom leaders and organizations have advanced critical conversations and action around HIV prevention, public health equity, mental health, housing stability, youth development, racial justice, transgender rights, and LGBTQIA plus visibility, ensuring that ballroom spaces remain not only culturally significant, but also essential sites of survival, healing, and advocacy. And whereas the growth and increasing visibility of Seattle region's Kiki Ballroom community reflects the years of dedication, labor, and brilliance from countless unnamed and named leaders who have built spaces of safety, celebration, and resistance while inspiring future generations to embrace authenticity, excellence, and collective care. And whereas the Seattle region's Kiki Ballroom community continues to strengthen Seattle's identity as a city committed to equity, inclusion, creativity, and belonging, enriching the cultural fabric of the city through performance, fashion, dance, storytelling, and intergenerational leadership. Now, therefore, the mayor and the Seattle City Council proclaim Tuesday, August 4th, 2026 to be Seattle and Tacoma Kiki Ballroom Community Day. Thank you.

Councilmember Rink, I'm gonna pause here to see if any of my colleagues want to comment regarding the proclamation before us before I call for signatures. Okay, awesome. You said it was a beautifully written proclamation. So just really appreciate your time and your energy and your dedication to this. And our guests, I can't wait to hear your comments as well from this. So we will go ahead and call the roll.

Councilmember Strauss. Council Member Foster? Yes. Council Member Juarez? Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Lin?

Yes.

Council Member Rink? Yes. Council Member Rivera? Aye. Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Juarez?

Aye.

Council President Hollingsworth? Yes. Nine signatures will be affixed.

Awesome. And hearing no further comments, if there's no objection to the rules, they will be suspended to present the proclamation to our guests and allow folks to make some comments as well. We are joined by Randy Ford, Midori Monet, Tommy Darling, and Julian Everett. And Councilmember Rink will go and present the proclamation. And then if you all would love to come up to the microphone for your comments, we would love for you to come now. Thank you. And apparently council member Rink has fans for everyone as well. All the council members, we have fans. I want one lavender rights one though. Thank you.

THAT FEELS REALLY OFFICIAL. I FIRST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL THE COUNCILMEMBERS, COUNCILMEMBER REEK, CITY OF SEATTLE, EVERYONE TO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE. THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO ME, IMPORTANT TO COMMUNITY TO REALLY ALSO TO JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT Right now, more than ever, we need to make sure that we're celebrating and making sure that we're uplifting community and culture, especially within this city and beyond this city. And one of the things I wanted to do was to make sure that we were in a history book so none of our efforts, our initiatives, our ideas, our partnerships go into this futile abyss of non-existence. Because I think sometimes what happens is for queer and trans folks of color, we feel like we don't belong. We don't have a space. And within Ballroom, that's a space where you can feel a sense of community when you don't feel like you belong. And more than ever right now with the funding being cut for resources, organizations closing their doors, it leaves a space of refuge and a sense of being able to experience what it means to be in a space of joy, especially black joy, black queer and trans joy, affirming and uplifting that power and that space where folks didn't feel like they have it is important. And so to have this now be official and it be a day that's now beyond myself and others and the next generation, and they can look forward to August 4th and say, this is a day to celebrate those that came before us and those of now to keep moving forward. And I'm just overjoyed and ecstatic to see what happens next. And thank you guys so much.

I have no words. Thank you to the city of Seattle for recognizing Seattle and Tacoma Kiki Day as August 4th, 2026 and this day going forward. Your commitment to black queer trans youth and their ability to thrive and have a beautiful quality of life. We thank you. All we wanna do is see black and queer youth survive in this day and age and now more than ever, especially with the legislation changing, the government showing that they do not want to see black and brown trans youth and adults survive in this upcoming age. It is good to hear your commitment to their ability to live, to live, to live. Thank you. And we will continue doing the work. We will continue providing resources, connecting the youth with adults that are good mentors. And we will continue doing that because we want to see black and brown queer youth become black and brown queer adults. So we will continue doing that on August 4th, 2026 and every year going forward and to many generations onward. Thank you.

Thank you all so much.

The coolest thing about the proclamations is obviously they're put into our archives. So anytime people are doing research, they want to know how many proclamations we've given, who we've given them to. It is in our history books forever. And I think that's really important during this time. Are we also doing a photo, Council Member Rank? Okay. So if whoever's in the photo will come up here on the dais. And we have our phenomenal photographer. Where's Deanna Lee? I found you. She's going to be here in the middle. She's going to count us down. And you will come stand by the most beautiful council members ever of all time. You'll just come up on the dais. People were supposed to laugh at that, but they didn't. It's okay. So you're going to come up on stage. This is not a stage. It's a dais. And then we're going to look right here at the photo.

Thank you.

yeah come together a little bit okay right here oh i think they're still figuring out the spots

Seattle City Police Chief Sean Barnes, who lost his job last week, secured himself a very generous severance package on the way out. Maybe this is just how it's done now. Incredible if you haven't seen the numbers. Back up.

Okay, look right here. Ready, three, two, one, I'm gonna take a couple. Everyone smile, try not to blink. Okay, is everyone good? Thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Nice to see you. How about that good work? Thank you so much. Good work.

All right, we're going to transition right into public comment. I know that we have a ton of public commenters. If you have been waiting online, we do have a total of 38 people in person. I do see one, two, three, four, five, six people online. So we're going to try to get through at least half of the people in person first and then transition online to hear that and back. So we will hear the first 20 people that are in person. Then we'll go online to our six guests and then back to in person. Okay. Everyone's going to have one minute because there are more than 30 speakers. Council rule says if there's more than 30 speakers, it's one minute. Clerk, will you please read the instructions to the public comment period?

Speakers will be called in the order in which they're registered. Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of their time. Speakers' mics will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time to allow us to call on the next speaker.

Awesome. So I'm going to say the first 10 speakers, and then if you all could be on deck. We have Ms. Alice Green, Evan McWilliams. McWilliams, we have Eric Zimmerman, Robert... Pevel, Percival, is it Percival? Sorry, Robert Percival, my apologies. Andrea Suarez, Keith Carpenter, Paul Tomlinson, Sam Kim, Lou, and Miss Yvette Dynish. So Alice, Evan, Eric, Robert, Andrea, Keith, Paul, Sam, Lou, and Miss Yvette. And so you all are next. So Miss Alice Green, welcome.

Congratulations for the recognition. I'm gonna keep it really short. Vote, today's your last chance. If you lost your ballot, go to the library and print one out. Especially District 9, you have a chance to vote out somebody who is somewhat funded by APAC. Next.

Thank you, Alice. Next we have Evan, followed by Eric, and then Robert. Welcome, Evan.

I'm commenting on 121248, which is a public safety bill that's taken out the necessity for body cameras to be worn by societal police departments in dealing with drug issues. As early as last week, I've been followed in a threatening way by government employees in a white car in a park. I have been called nigger in Ravenna. I have lost work due to complaints I'm not allowed to know about, and I have had people threaten to call the police on me at coffee shops. I have found no redress for any of these. In a context where we are pushing, in general speaking, for more camera footage, it is conspicuous to me that police interaction with people who have, for instance, drug problems are not supposed to be wearing their body cameras. I am the most talented poet in Seattle. It is my profession to be in places and to look at things wherever I am allowed to be. And I do not want someone to weaponize this law against me with impunity. Thank you, Evan.

Next, we have Eric, followed by Robert, and then Andrea Suarez. Welcome, Eric.

Thank you. 60-second version. Eric Zimmerman, representing the Nonpartisan Washington Policy Center. You folks, I think, expect too much from LEAD. I think an unfair amount is put on LEAD, and I'm here to talk about that today. In your packet, there's quotes from presentations that say LEAD has reduced recidivism for all crimes by 58%. and reduced felony charges by 39%. These numbers are not accurate. This relates to an unusual mistake that was recently discovered, an error that's carried over through 11 years of data and reports and presentations. I directly referenced LEAD's research. There was no difference between the LEAD and non-LEAD groups for total charges ultimately filed. The study calculates a 22 percentage point difference in arrest rates, not 58%. The study calculates an 11 percentage point difference in felony rates, not 39%. The lead group's employment status changed by less than two percentage points. That means three more people became employed. If it had been prison as usual, it would have been 81 people. I think this needs to be talked about. Thank you.

Thank you, Eric. Next we have Robert followed by Andrea and then Keith. Is Robert here? Percival? Robert, okay, we'll recall you again. Andrea, welcome.

Thank you, Andrea from We Heart Seattle. Following up with Eric Zimmerman's data analysis in the Washington Policy Center, I concur that what we've seen in the field for more than six years is not working during the time that LEAD has been our strategy for the city as an alternative to incarceration and arrest. We've lost 20,000 people to drug overdose, and we're number one in retail theft. I've written an op-ed in the Seattle Times The writing on the wall says, you ain't gotta kick it. And this was a gentleman named Victor that almost died inside his home while he was allowed to continue to smoke drugs while on the diversion program. Eric also published this yesterday, Monday. Washington is in the running for the worst performing homelessness response. And then of course the Atlantic drew up this on Friday, the cities that said yes to drugs. We have to change the drug friendly culture, we have to go back to old school, check in with your parole officer, wear an anchor monitor, pass your drug test, and go to a high touch system rather than the low test system. Please strike expanding pre-booking diversion in the field, thank you.

Thank you. Next, we have Keith Carpenter. And I apologize. Mayor Zimmerman, I know you're not here in your official capacity, but I apologize. I didn't recognize you as mayor. Next, we have Keith Carpenter.

That's me. Hi, guys. I'm Keith Carpenter. I'm the pastor of Epic Life Church up in North Seattle. And I want to just thank you guys for the hard work you're doing. I recognize it. I know it's difficult and a lot of people pulling in different directions. In light of the time, can I just remind you that compassion does not equal love? Compassion without justice, without accountability, is the worst kind of hatred, and it ends up killing people. If you can make love, compassion, and accountability mix together, you start loving people and caring for them and getting them the help that they need. What we're seeing in North Seattle, thank you that the pimp warfare is gone. Just yesterday, we rescued a girl in our coffee shop, in the restroom there, got her pimp ex, or gotten him out of the parking lot. But what these people really need is some love and accountability mixed together. And if you guys could just remember that and all the things, I'd be really grateful. Thank you.

Thank you, Keith. Next, we have Paul, followed by Sam, then Lou, and then Yvette. Welcome, Paul.

Afternoon, Council. I'll read this. In the last two days, I've read Eric Zimmerman's op-ed on the addiction homeless issue. The area's most recent PIT was 2,000 more. The news and good news is that the King County Council and the City Council are coming together to address this issue. And there's an old saying that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Many of us believe that you as a council can change the formula and will change the formula. We can begin by obtaining positive results like San Francisco and San Jose and many other cities. I'm leaving you a poem with some application to the issue called The Ambulance at the Bottom of the Cliff.

It's about a town losing many people walking and falling over a cliff and debating to build a fence at the top or create an ambulance service at the bottom. I believe you were fenced.

Let's put some of the fence designers with different views together and look at the right material, my policies. All of that is about the people that are falling that we really care about.

Awesome, thank you, Paul. Next we have Sam followed by Lou and then Yvette Dynish. Welcome, Sam.

Good afternoon, council members. Thank you for your time and your willingness to listen to all of us. I want to give a quick shout out to Eddie Lin for helping us with Greater Seattle Korean Association at the cleanup at Hedgehog Park. And Robert Cato as well. I know he's not present, but we've met as well. And I've heard great things about you, Joy, and looking forward to everybody getting to know everybody else in the city council here. I wanted to kind of touch on public safety. I know recently with the tragic shooting at the Bight of Seattle, I know public safety isn't solved overnight, but I hope every staffing and every budget decision the council makes unanimously asks one simple question. Will an ordinary family or business feel safer walking to a Mariners game or maybe a Seahawks or, you know, or maybe even walking downtown. And as someone who loves the city, I hope and my prayer, my hope is that we can work together for the common good of our city and our region. So, yeah, I just wanted to say that and extend a hand and say we want to help as well.

Thank you, Sam. Next, we have Lou, followed by Yvette Dynish. Welcome, Lou.

Hi.

I'd like to thank the council for taking the very first step in funding trans refugees fleeing. What I want to speak to is the cis queer people, especially within the mayor's office, that are undermining trans refugees. And they think they can just because they're queer. Cis queer people who are doing this, have you ever had your license overwritten overnight, driving a felony because of your transgender status? Have you ever taken the bathroom, become a felony because of your transgender status? Are there lists that have your name on it because you are transgender? Have you cared for transgender refugees? Have you housed transgender refugees? Or have you talked them down from suicide? So if you haven't done any of that, how do you know? There is no level of acceptable suffering and death when we are in the middle of a genocide. Please call for the mayor's office to declare a state of emergency on the .

Thank you, Lou. Next, we have Yvette, Miss Yvette. And before you go, Ms. Yvette, I'm gonna call the next 10 people so you all are on deck and ready. We have Doug Palmer, Nina Jackson, Scott Dickerson, Craig Walker, Frances Nguyen, Patty Hill, Randy Banneker, Erin, we have Angie, and then Alicia.

Good afternoon. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all. First of all, I want to let you know I've calmed down since I found out over the weekend that Mayor Wilson forced Chief Barnes to resign. I was livid. I was ready to kick some ass. But I've calmed down since then. And I do appreciate the responses thus far from President Hollingsworth, Deborah Juarez, and Rivera regarding that injustice. As far as I was concerned, that action was an insult and disrespectful, particularly to our black community. And I eagerly await for the truth to come out. And other than that, I still appreciate the work you do. And Council Member Rink, I love the shoes you have on today. Thank you.

Thank you, Miss Yvette. Next, we have Doug Palmer, Nina Jackson. We have Scott. Hello, Doug.

Thank you.

My name is Doug Palmer. I'm a resident of the Skyline community whose SkyBridge proposal is on your agenda today. We're excited to be on the verge of getting a green light for the project. It will make such a difference to our residents, both for safety reasons and the overall quality of life.

We really appreciate all of your support. Thank you so much. Thank you, Doug. I'll break my own rules and clap for that one. All right, next we have Nina, followed by Scott, and then Craig. Hello, City Council. Thank you. Oh, are we good to go? No, no, we'll restart your time. You're good. When you start, we start your time. And go.

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY, CITY COUNCIL. I'M SPEAKING ON AMENDMENT 5 TO CB 121253. THE FUNDS ARE THERE. I HAVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND LOVED ONES THAT ARE NEW TO THE CITY THAT RELY ON THESE QUEER ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP ESTABLISH THEM, TO MAKE THEM I mean, productive members of the city, and we need the funds. Please do not let this amendment just die. Thank you.

Thank you, Nina. Next, we have Scott, followed by Craig. Scott Dickinson, good to see you.

Good afternoon, council members. My name is Scott Dickinson. I'm a resident in Seattle and the president-elect of Seattle King County Realtors. And I'm here today to voice support for the amendment offered by Councilmember Rivera for the Do Not Solicit legislation. This amendment carves out a narrow common sense exception for mailers that are sent in the ordinary course of business. It's a reasonable fix, and I appreciate your efforts behind it, Councilmember. That being said, I want to encourage the Council to slow down and take a hard look at this legislation and add the added time that may be needed in order to make sure that we're crafting legislation that doesn't unintentionally capture realtors when that's not the intention behind this. As it's currently drafted, even with the amendment, the legislation leaves open the door for unintended consequences sweeping up realtors who are simply trying to provide a service to their communities. Thank you, I appreciate all of you.

Thank you, Scott. A minute goes by fast, I know. Craig, I know it does. Craig, you are next, followed by Francis and then Patty.

Thank you, I'm talking on the same subject.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Craig Walker, and I'm VP elective of governmental and public affairs at Seattle King County Realtors, and I'm a licensed real estate broker here in Washington. I appreciate what you're trying to accomplish. We all want to stop the predatory tactics that wholesalers have used against homeowners. On that, we're on the same side. My concern is that in trying to stop bad actors, we don't accidentally make it harder for homeowners to hear from licensed real estate professionals who are held to a completely different standard. Realtors are licensed by the state and bound by a code of ethics and accountable for how we conduct our business. Many of our mail pieces are not just advertisements. They're educational. They provide homeowners with market information, resources, and guidance to help them make informed decisions when the time is right. I respectfully ask for you to support Council Member Rivera's amendment. Good public policy targets the bad actors without creating unintended consequences. And I believe this amendment strikes that balance. Thank you for your time. Awesome.

Thank you, Craig. Next, we have Francis, followed by Patty and then Randy. Welcome.

Good afternoon, Council Members. My name is Frances Nguyen, and I am the current 2026 ARIA Asian Real Estate Association of America Greater Seattle Chapter President. ARIA strongly supports protecting vulnerable homeowners from harassment, coercion, and predatory practices that pressure people into selling their homes below market value. At the same time, we request your support of Council Member Marissa Rivera's amendment. As currently written, the language is broad enough to unintentionally restrict routine good faith communications such as market updates, educational newsletters, multilingual homeowner resources, and neighborhood information. For many Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander homeowners and first-time buyers, trusted community-based information is essential to understanding property rights, market conditions, and consumer protections. If this language remains unchanged, it could have unintended consequences of discouraging legitimate education outreach, making it harder for community.

Thank you so much. Next, we have Randy. Oh, excuse me, Patty. You're next, and then Randy. My apologies. Patty, Randy, Erin, Angie, Alicia.

Thank you. I'm going for the short. Good afternoon. My name is Patty Hill. I'm the designated broker and owner of the West Seattle John L. Scott office. A first-year real estate agent in Seattle earns on average about $25,000 a year before business expenses. One of the few affordable ways a new agent can build a business is by sending monthly neighborhood market updates, sharing recent home sales, local trends, and community information that residents find valuable. Over time, these consistent communications build trust and recognition. I want to thank Council Member Rivera for her amendment to this bill. We all support protecting homeowners from predatory and bad buyers. My concern is that this proposal could unintentionally make it harder for new, honest professionals to compete and grow their business. I respectfully ask you to protect consumers without limiting legitimate neighborhood outreach that helps small business owners succeed and keeps homeowners informed. Thank you.

Thank you, Patty. Next, we have Randy Banneker followed by Erin, Angie, and Alicia. Welcome, Randy.

Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Hollingsworth. Council Members, I'm Randy Banneker here on behalf of the Seattle King County Realtors speaking on CB121259, the Do Not Solicit legislation. Realtors share your goal of stopping unwanted calls and predatory home buying practices that target vulnerable homeowners and strip away hard-earned equity. And we'd like to work with you to stop these wholesalers. We support strong protections for homeowners, but the ordinance should be carefully tailored so it targets deceptive, high-pressure conduct without chilling legitimate, transparent communication from state-licensed, state-regulated real estate professionals. We ask that you support Council Member Rivera's amendment, excluding bulk commercial mailings from licensed real estate agents and brokers. Thank you. Awesome. Thank you.

Thank you, Randy. Next, we have Aaron. And if you are listening online, we're coming to you. We have three speakers from this first batch, and then we're going to go to you. So Aaron, Angie, and Alicia, welcome. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council. Erin Variano. As General Counsel for John L. Scott Real Estate, a fourth-generation Seattleite and a District 3 homeowner, I have seen these predatory practices increase in frequency, not only in the Seattle area, but across the nation. To be clear, I wholly support prohibiting these types of practices and supporting homeowners. In that same vein, I appreciate Councilmember Rivera's proposed amendment because I believe it moves the ordinance in the right direction and focuses towards the conduct that you guys are trying to protect. However, I still have concerns because the definition of solicit remains so broad and includes any type of service or assistance to help a residential property owner make a decision about selling a property. That could wrap in advice by a CPA, an attorney, a financial advisor, and it's not the type of conduct that we are seeking to prevent here. The second issue is with notice. Notice can be provided in three different ways. On the list, oral or written. That creates confusions. Homeowners should understand they can put themselves on that list and be protected. Oh boy, that went really fast.

I know, I'm sorry. If you have more comments, you can put them in the basket or shoot us an email as well. Awesome, thank you so much. Next we have Angie followed by Alicia.

Hello, Council. My name is Angie Michael. I'm the owner of Keller Williams Greater Seattle and a very proud queer woman. I am so excited to be here on this day. And I'm burning my time with celebration. Just not to reiterate everything that my colleagues have already said, but I want to say again that we wholly support the spirit of this ordinance. And we ask, I'm asking personally, as somebody who represents a lot of real estate in Seattle and sees the impact of what realtors do in the community by reaching out and providing information, I ask that you support Council Member Rivera's amendment to the Do Not Solicit ordinance. My grandfather will turn 99 on Friday. My grandfather thinks that a million dollars is the most money he's ever imagined in his life. And I know that without the protection of realtors to build that relationship with someone like my grandfather, he could be the victim of what we call equity skimming. Equity skimming is when wholesalers come in and basically take the equity that these generational homeowners have built over years. So please give us that access so that we can continue to protect our local citizens.

Thank you, Angie. Next we have Alicia, and then we will go online to Mr. Alvarez.

Good afternoon, President Hollingsworth, the members of the council. My name is Alicia Ruiz. I'm here today representing Habitat of Humanity, Seattle King and Kittitas Counties. I'm here to express Habitat support of Council Bill 12-1259, For many families, especially in communities that have already faced decades of displacement, a home is the single largest asset they'll ever hold. It's retirement security. It's what gets passed down. When a predatory offer convinces someone to sell under pressure or misinformation, that's not just one bad transaction. It's generational wealth gone permanently. We also stand in support of the bills expanding utility bill assistance. At Habitat, we believe housing stability doesn't end at the deed. It depends on families being able to stay in the homes they've worked so hard for. Protecting homeowners from predatory solicitation and helping families stay current on basic utilities are both part of the same mission, keeping families rooted in their communities. We urge you to pass these bills. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Now we're going to go online. Mr. Alvarez, you're going to press star six to unmute yourself. And we have Joe, Lois Martin, Magdalena, Rose, and Isaac. And then we'll come back in person. Welcome, Alberto.

Thank you. Thank you. Recently, some of you went on a media blitz against our mayor, playing along with Juarez, slinging mud on right-wing media, trying to lay down political covers. Today, the men on council went into childish emotional tirades. Is this really the path any of you want to try and take? Do you know how angry and organized people are ready to wipe you all out next election? Your duty as council is to the common people, not the blind loyalty you give to anyone with a uniform and a badge. you a lot better than this. Have a good day.

Thank you Alberto. Next we have Joe followed by Lois and then Magdalena. Welcome Joe.

Oh hi President Hollingsworth it's Joe Kunzler one of your fans. I really would encourage the council to at the earliest possible opportunity move a motion of no confidence in Mayor Kitty Wilson's who may or may not be successful in building tiny homes, but cannot keep Seattle safe. I'm not talking just about the bite of Seattle. I'm talking about the continued obstructionist opposition to having security cameras in public places to make sure that the public is safe. It is important these cameras be put up. If the mayor keeps blocking this, get her out of there. Find her having moral turpitude or something. You're allowed to do that for your city charter in an emergency. I encourage you to break glass and protect the region. And finally, about these security cameras that CFARE and other leaders are asking you to put in, we're asking you put them at street corners. Those are public places. Thank you. And thank you for your public service. It is much appreciated. Now let's go get rid of this mayor legally. Thank you.

Okay, next we have, thank you, Joe. Next we have Lois Martin, followed by Magdalena, Rose, and Isaac, and then we'll come back in person. Welcome, Lois.

Good afternoon, Council President and members of the Council. My name is Lois Martin. I am a lifelong resident of Seattle Central District and a founding member of the Black Homeowners Policy Council and as part of the Embrace movement. I urge you to adopt Amendment A and pass Council Bill 121259 today. Thank you Council Member Foster for sponsoring this bill and thank you Council Member Rivera for coming to Community for Language. That's how this should work. And the concerns about legitimate professionals have been answered in the bill and again in Amendment A. There's nothing left to wait for. Meanwhile, our elders report 40 or more solicitations in two years and testify they feel hunted in their own homes. Every month a delay lands on them. A central district home is generational wealth as well as in other communities. Adopt Amendment A passes bill today. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Ms. Lois. Next we have Magdalena followed by Rose and then Isaac. Star six, unmute yourself, Magdalena.

We see you online, just star six.

Star six, Magdalena, we'll come back to you if you're having technical difficulties. It's kind of difficult sometimes online. We have Rose. We'll go ahead and bump Rose up to panelists. Star six, unmute yourself, Rose.

Hello. I would like to thank the council, the members of the council that were in committee and passed through the legislation, at least to put on the amendments that will hopefully reach full council next week for the trans refugees. It is something that is very much needed. Along with that, Council Member Hollingsworth, I still have not heard from your office about police harassing trans people in Cal Anderson. I would still like to hear so. In addition to that, ICE is engaging in more and more raids across our city and is seeming to surveil people. Even someone's taken from an Amazon truck this morning. We need to have more and better understanding of what's going on so we can crack down and keep our neighbors safe because right now we're not doing a whole lot to keep people safe. Things are getting worse and we need to rise to the occasion. A lot of us have histories of people that have and our ancestors have been chased out of places or harmed or taken in a variety of different circumstances. We need to honor their memory by making sure we're keeping other people safe. Thank you.

Thank you, Rose. Next, we have Isaac, followed by Magdalena. We'll give you another shot online. Welcome, Isaac. Star six.

Hi, my name is Isaac. I'm a transgender woman living in Capitol Hill. I work for housing, physically affordable housing. I see hundreds of people every single day constantly trying to be refugees in this state to get away from persecution in the South as well as other places that are just horrible. The amount of trans people that have been murdered and gone missing this year alone is unacceptable. There's a massive influx of them in the city. We have not done enough to provide any resources for this. We claim ourselves to be a safe haven. And we claim this place is for everyone. So it'd be safe and free. I don't believe that we're actually doing enough to support the actual, the signal you're putting up. Please take consideration on people that are being hurt.

Thank you, Isaac. And I do see that you're here in person. More than happy if you want to say them in person, if you would like to. More than happy to have you come up. But just so we could hear them. Do you feel comfortable doing that? Okay, awesome. Thank you, Isaac. Because I do want to hear your comments. It was a little muffled at the end. And then before you go, Isaac, let me see if Magdalena, they're online, and then I'll come right to you, okay? Just give me one second. Magdalena? I am online. Yep, go right ahead. Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you.

Council, many white people love black people like the fox loves the hen. They call for fences which make concentration camps. They quote poetry over corpses. They step over the bodies of the dead. They use cameras to stalk minorities. Tell them today, not one more black death to satisfy white business owners. Not one more sweep to disappear our neighbors off the streets. What will you be remembered for? For the sweeps which disappear my black and indigenous siblings, cis and trans? If you don't fear God, fear posterity. Fear your own judgment in years to come. Fear your children's judgment. When you fight for black people's rights, when you fight for indigenous rights, you are fighting for trans rights too. Stop the sweeps. Stop the cameras. Stop the killing. What do you care about, counsel? White frailty or black existence? Choose today. Choose black existence. ignore white frailty, support Tree Ends Live, pass this 300K next week and continue to do more. Thank you. Thank you, Magdalena.

Next, we have Isaac. Following Isaac, we have Jacqueline Ware, Clive, Jordan, David, Jeff, Chad, Paul, Audrey, Hannah, and Michael Woodward. Hi, my name is... We'll turn it on. You're good. Give us one. Hi, my name is... Go ahead.

Hi, my name is Isaac. I actually am a transgender woman living in Capitol Hill. I work in affordable housing in the city. I do help people get into homes every single day. I am talking to people every single day. They're coming in from out of state. They're here trying to find a better place to live, trying to stand for what they believe is the safest place, the refuge, an actual oasis away from everything that's going on in this country. I do see that there's a lot of violence going on in my community. The amount of violence that's been happening in Capitol Hill alone just around the city in Belltown is unacceptable, but I do understand that The amount of trans people here that are coming here with nowhere to live, that are living in their cars, that are struggling every single day, that are the most vulnerable people in the country right now as far as no one caring. I understand that there's a lot of racial inequity amongst that factor, but there is a loss that we're having. As many people are coming here, it seems like we're just putting into a barrel. It seems like we're being targeted to be placed in one small area so they can round us up.

Thank you, Isaac. And next we have Jacqueline. This is Jacqueline Ware, followed by Clive, Jordan, David Haynes, Jeff Rogers. Welcome.

Thank you so much. Yes, my name is Jacqueline Ware, and I'm a member of Coexist, which is 1,200 people strong. I'm a parent. I'm a biker. I'm a hiker. I'm a walker. And so I have nothing against bicyclists. But what I do, the problem I have with is Eddie Lynn and the mayor choosing to close three miles of Lake Washington Boulevard. I am a South End resident. And I didn't hear one word about it. 1,200 people did not hear one word about closing those three miles of Lake Washington Boulevard every weekend all summer long to cars to the point where they have actually installed heavy gates across the entire length of Lake Washington Boulevard in the areas that are closed where you cannot get through quickly Here's an emergency. Police officers cannot get through. First responders cannot get through. This is a locked gate, and we had no notice. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Jacqueline. Next, we have Clive, followed by Jordan, and then David. Welcome, Clive.

Clive Hayward, Seattle street performer on the waterfront. I want to thank Eddie for meeting with me after yesterday's Arts Civic Council meeting. Before this meeting, I sent everyone an email. This can't be covered in a minute. Please read the email. Please watch the videos. I'll be outside after I can show people videos and show how

egregious your city employees act. Thank you, Clive. Next, we have Jordan, followed by David and Jeff. Welcome, Jordan, David, Jeff.

Hi, we have we are providing drug the drug addicted homeless with needles, food and shelter, which creates a system of perpetual addiction that destroys their lives. They are free to continue this lifestyle with no mandate to get better. We are promoting this system as compassion, but that's not what it is. It's toxic compassion. They need real help that lets them end their drug use and not be rewarded for doing it. New systems need to be created that create pathways to recovery. This system requires a mandate. Instead of investing in building houses, giving food and needles, we could be sending them to rehab, which gives them everything they need to improve their lives. Please work to change laws and focus on this problem more. What we are enabling isn't good, it's cruel. Thank you.

Thank you, Jordan. Next, we have David Haynes, followed by Jeff Rogers and Chad.

Hi, David Ains. Why is it that a 911 repeat offender constantly gets to be exempted from jail and get on housing list first, while innocent houses citizens are still racially discriminated and subhuman mistreated? Remember when Erica Evidence and Andrew Lewis were prosecutors and they lobbied their boss, Pete Holmes, a city attorney, to exempt all misdemeanor drug crimes and society imploded rapidly and violence escalated? It's part of the reason why we have problems in our society because a lot of baked in the budget priorities are still exacerbating the crisis. It's like the police chief was fired because he keeps misleading the community about public safety. Well, all he did was he wrapped some chain link fences around the alleyways where evil was operating and pushed all these low light pieces of crap up the bell town. And then he claimed that there's a 20% drop in crime in specifically downtown Seattle, like he's appeasing the politics of the Chamber of Commerce and the building owners. And yet the whole time, I think it's like 1.8% is the amount of crime that's been dropped. So spare us the propaganda about how you all are collaborating.

Thank you, David. Thank you, David.

Thank you, David.

Next we have Jeff Rogers, followed by Chad and Paul. Thank you, David. Thank you, Mr. Haynes. Now we have Jeff Rogers. I'm sure you can follow that one.

Yeah, yeah. I did last time, too. Actually, last time I was here. So, Jeff, it's nice to see you. We're in a little prayer group for you guys. And first of all, just kudos that you can pay this close of attention to person after person. I just applaud you. It's a hard job. And you're here so much. So thank you. Last night I went to Earth Wind and Fire concert, super fun, joyful. We had the World Cup, joyful. And I was at Seafair on Sunday watching the Blue Angels. So one, I just want to thank our city for continuing to provide celebratory environments where people can come together. And there's a lot of talk about the Blue Angels. So that's going to be a future conversation. But I just encourage you to support it. But at that, I was on this boat with a friend whose husband, Jerry, is here, who's a multi-generational resident. And his wife was telling me one of the hard things in Seattle is she gets near assaulted going to her local QFC. We need to support law enforcement for the average citizen. Thanks. Thank you, Jeff.

Next, we had Chad, followed by Paul, Audrey, Hannah, Michael. Welcome, Chad.

Good afternoon. My name is Chad Winfrey. I actually work for Purpose Dignity Action and want to talk about the LEAD program real briefly. One of my main duties for them is to go around the country and teach police officers and police departments how to utilize the framework. I'm going to be a little self-serving to do that on half of PDA. I also come to the organization after 17 years in law enforcement and was one of the champions and main law enforcement stakeholders at the table with the original LEAD initiative for eight years. LEAD, I THINK, GETS MISCONCEIVED AS AN OVERLY COMPASSIONATE SOCIAL SERVICES FRAMEWORK OR PROGRAM WITH NO ACCOUNTABILITY. AND WHAT IT ACTUALLY IS IS A PUBLIC SAFETY FRAMEWORK THAT HAS A LOT OF ACCOUNTABILITY. AND I WILL SAY IT TAKES LONGER THAN WHAT PEOPLE WANT IT TO TAKE, AND THAT IS THE CHALLENGE. SOMEBODY LIVING ON THE STREET FOR TEN YEARS, IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF COORDINATION. and a lot of things to get them there. But there are pieces of coordination and accountability in place while they're getting where they're going. Thank you.

Thank you, Chad. Next, we have Paul, followed by Audrey, Hannah, Michael. Welcome.

Hi. It is estimated that in the year following Trump's reelection, about 400,000 trans people were located across state lines. This is huge. This is 14% of the trans population. And you know why. You know that a lot of them are fleeing laws that are threatening their access to healthcare, threatening them by outing them. condemning them to being raped if they ever get incarcerated, and so on. Laws that pushed the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention to raise three red flags regarding transgenocide in the US. So we know that a lot of queer people move here out of survival, so much so that many move without housing solutions. So the situation is simple at this point. Recognizing that those people need support is about recognizing the situation within the U.S. in other states and just doing the right thing. Thank you.

Followed by Hannah and Michael. Audrey, Hannah, Michael, welcome.

Hello, City Council. My name is Audrey Wong-Gousslin. I'm a member of the LGBTQ plus community and I live in District 2. I'm here today to urge you to approve the emergency funding to support trans refugees. I am originally from Texas and my husband and I moved here in 2023 from Georgia. There are many reasons to move to Seattle, but one of them was concern about the political situation in the South. But we're very privileged that we had the financial resources and family support to make our move up here very smooth. But many people who are trying to move up here for a better life, they don't have those resources. But they still come here because it's worth it to survive the anti-LGBTQ plus laws and violence in the South. In addition to trans people coming here, there are lots of other people coming here, women, friends of mine who come here because they want to know that when they're pregnant, if they have a medically necessary abortion, their doctor won't let them die on the table. That's a real concern. There are climate refugees coming here because it's untenable in Texas. So all that to say, our systems are overburdened, and I do encourage us all to provide that support to...

Thank you, Audrey. Next, we have Hannah. We have Hannah followed by Michael. Colleagues, we have probably 12 more speakers.

Hi, I'm Hannah from Pioneer Square, and I'm here to make sure it's a beautiful place and a great space for walking. I'm especially here to make sure these real estate deals go through and watch over until the empty lots are filled in downtown and until the construction is completed. There is a lot that goes into making a thriving city and economy, and I want to thank City Council for paying close attention and coming up with lots of creative solutions and standing on business. There's a lot of predatory calling to buy people's homes, and it's even a concern when kids get their first cell phones that they will receive these calls to buy their home, and it's confusing for them. I ask council to please stand up for the local economy, public trust, and interests. There is a petition of the U to take land out of the public trust and place it into an LLC for their development. I agree that they need the vacation of the alley to complete the much needed apartment construction, but Seattle can't afford to give land away to private interests. An elderly community got a much needed sky bridge that they will build and they have to build a park on top of that. Please negotiate better for the public trust and don't allow it to be taken away.

Thank you, Hannah. Next, we have Michael. Michael Woodward followed Michael. One second. Then we have Melissa, Sam Wolf, Lexi, Eden, Genevieve, Ashley L, Amanda, and then David Long. Welcome.

Thank you, President Hollingsworth, council members. A special thanks to Council Member Rink and Council Member Strauss for this afternoon. I wanna thank all the Finance Committee for the unanimous vote this morning to support organizations like mine who are struggling to support the exploding growth of trans migrants coming to Seattle. My name is Michael Woodward, I'm Executive Director of Traction, which is one of the organizations that's been helping all these refugees. This is an incredible, historic step forward, and while we all know it will only scratch the surface, this is just the beginning. Nonetheless, I'm personally grateful for opening the door. I look forward to next week's full council vote and continuing discussion. Thank you. Now I gotta dash, because I gotta move my car.

Thank you, Michael. Next we have Melissa. Is Melissa here? Followed by Sam, Lexi, and Melissa, Sam, Lexi. If you folks could start getting up. Is Melissa here? Yeah, awesome, all right, come on, you are up, then Sam Wolf is next, I see Sam, we have Lexi is next, and then Eden, and then Guinevere, Ashley, Elle, Amanda.

Oh my God, I'm way out of my comfort zone here, but I wanted to thank you guys, and I needed to let you guys know that not too long ago, I was homeless, and I have, oh, I came away from my keys, to my apartment. I now have an apartment, I'm getting a divorce finally from my psychotic ex-husband. I'm a licensed notary. Did I mention I'm getting my driver's license back? And it's all because of the LEAD program. The LEAD program helped me. I mean, they moved mountains. You would not believe... I had tickets from just being in my car, you know. And I had never, they told me I wasn't going to get my driver's license back until, I think it was like November of 38. So, you know, and really, it's not because I'm a bad driver, but it's because, long story about that. Anyways, I just wanted to let you guys know, please support the LEAD program. They've done miracles for me. Miracles.

Thank you, Melissa. Good job. All right, next we have Sam, followed by Lexi Eddin. Welcome, Sam.

Good afternoon, council. My name is Sam Wolf. I work for PDA, one of the nonprofits within the LEAD framework. I'm here regarding the drug enforcement legislation. In the past few weeks, you've heard a multitude of voices from a lot of LEAD clients telling their own personal stories of change. I hope that these have been useful data points. And I know we've got a lot of work ahead of us. But one thing I want to say I appreciate about this legislation is that it partners neighborhood enforcement with long-term case management, creating partnership where no one strategy can do it alone. This notion is also true at an individual level and is built into LEAD's case management strategy. No one recovery strategy is going to work for everybody, but everybody has a strategy that will work for them. LEAD will work to find that, and being in LEAD doesn't preclude other approaches. What it does mean is that when something's not working, a LEAD case manager will work with that person to figure out what will, re-strategize, coordinate with partners, whether law enforcement or community, and get us to a better place. Thank you to council for continuing to build a scaffolding through which we can keep working towards a Seattle that's safe and healthy for all.

Thank you, Sam. Next, we have Lexi, followed by Eden, Guinevere, Ashley L., Amanda, and David Long. Welcome.

Hello, I'm Lexi. I'm here in favor of increased budget allocation towards trans refugees and the trans community in Seattle. I am constantly meeting new people who have recently moved here to flee red state repression. Many of these people face unemployment, housing insecurity, social isolation, and healthcare inaccess. Within Seattle, which is one of the most expensive cities in the US to live in, Seattle is safer than other places in the US, but it should do much more to receive red state refugees with open arms This is a real state of emergency, and it should be declared as such and given the budget to help everyone who needs it. We should not harm the community further by continuing the sweeps or propping up Orwellian surveillance cameras on our street corners. Thank you.

Thank you. Next, we have Eden, followed by Guinevere. Eden, Guinevere, Ashley L, Amanda, David, welcome.

Hi, my name's Eden. I'm here to both congratulate the committee on passing the amendment to allocate money for trans refugees and also to encourage y'all to pass that next week. I think that the proclamation today was very great. And I think that the way to follow through with that is financially to help our community. I know that there are a lot of girls who are missing these days, right? I know that we all mourned when Juniper Blessing was murdered. But there are a lot of girls out there who you see missing posters for, and eventually you just start seeing less and less. And that's unfortunately the reality for a lot of trans people who end up here and aren't able to find jobs immediately because, as everyone knows, the market's a little rough right now. So yeah, I want to say that I am excited about the way that this amendment is going forward.

Thank you, Eden. Next we have Guinevere, followed by Ashley, Elle, and then Amanda, and then David. Welcome, Guinevere.

Council members. I want to impress upon you the seriousness of the crisis transgender people are facing in this country. If I were in Idaho right now, I would be in prison for using the bathroom as a trans woman. This is an offense which can be punished with a sentence up to life. This is a genocide. Trans people are fleeing by the tens of thousands to Washington and Seattle because we are being systematically exterminated in states like Idaho. This morning you passed an amendment providing $300,000 for the trans refugee crisis. That is a start. I now urge you to pass the budget as amended without delay and declare a state of emergency for the trans refugee crisis now. Thank you.

Thank you. Next we have Ashley. Where's Ashley? Followed by Elle and then Amanda and then David Long. Welcome, Ashley. Good to see you.

Hi. Thank you, guys. I'm here on behalf of Purpose Dignity Action and the LEAD program. In the last month, like Sam said, you've heard more than a dozen people come and tell you about how LEAD changed their lives. They were able to secure housing, rejoin the workforce, reunite with their families and kids, and achieve their recovery goals. LEAD alumni who left the program several years ago came back to talk to you all because of how deeply they believe in this program. Many of those participants talked about jail time, compliance-based treatment programs, and outstanding warrants, old school strategies that failed to change their trajectory. Lead participants in the program don't gain immunity from prosecution. What they gain is a constant connection to continuous care and a framework for collaboration between law enforcement, service providers, and neighborhood leaders, all who invest in supporting our participants and holding them accountable. It's really, really powerful to come out from jail and keep seeing someone standing there and telling you that they're there to help. and this program really makes a difference in people's lives, so I hope you consider that. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Ashley. Next, we have Elle, followed by Amanda and David. Welcome, Elle. Good to see you.

Thank you all very much. I'm going to get that out of the way. Okay, so thank you for passing the ordinance, and I want to tell you that it is an honor to be here. The one thing that I want to ask for is something a little bit different. I want to see the SGLVTC Commission broken out away from the Office of Civil Rights to stand on its own and give us an enforcement item that we can go to directly and they can report directly to you so you're not going through the back door anymore. pay the folks that are on that commission more than what they're getting, and give us a community engagement officer of our own. Stop rejecting us, Mayor Wilson, and I would like to say, excuse me, President Hollingsworth, that in Mayor Wilson's last term, let's stand up against her and let's help support our rights. And if you want to see how mutual aid's done without law enforcement diversion programs, come to Capitol Hill Excuse me, coming to Cal Anderson every Wednesday night, 7 to 9, and get some stew from Stone Soup Crew. We're mutual aid without any politics or religion or law enforcement. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Elle. Next, we have Amanda, followed by David Long. Welcome, Amanda. Amanda.

Hello. Thank you for hearing me today. I just wanted to be one more voice in favor of extra funding for trans refugees. Thank you to Council Member Rank for introducing that amendment, and I'm just urging you to pass that bill, that funding as amended. Too many people in the community are spending their own resources just trying to keep people alive. My partner and I have had people on our couch too many nights, and it's just, we don't have enough funds, so thank you for your support.

Thank you. Next, we have David Long. David, welcome. Thank you, thank you.

Thank you, City Council. My name is David Long, tpwglove.org. We are a nonprofit that helps youth that are battling fentanyl and forced homelessness. And talking to our youth as well as talking to business owners, one thing that has to happen is enforcement. Helping people, as you've heard, is a wonderful thing. But allowing people to kill themselves because we are calling it compassion is not allowed. Seattle, as a fifth generation Seattleite, is a city that stood on discipline. And disciplining people is a sign of a love. So if we can figure out a way to bring back discipline, bring back order to the city, allow people to travel through the city on foot without being afraid, would be wonderful. I know that we have the power. I know that we have the people. And I know we have the resources. So please, let's enforce what we already know is right. I appreciate you.

Thank you, David. Are there any other public comment folks at this time? I don't know if we had a paper.

No?

Okay, awesome. Well, thank you all for being here. Thank you all for your public comments. Thank you to the people who came down, took off work. to be here as well, and folks major way all the way downtown, the folks on the phone, online, through email, and the folks that stop us every day for your comments. We really appreciate it, and we're always gonna have a space of respect, love, and you know, public comment time for folks, because we know that we are the front porch of City Hall. So really appreciate you all, and we're gonna jump right into our agenda. So if there is no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted. Hearing no objection, the introduction and referral calendar is adopted. If there's no objection, the agenda will be adopted. Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted. We'll now consider the consent calendar. Items on the consent calendar include minutes of July 28th, 2026, council bill 121265, payment of the bills. Are there any items council members would like to remove from today's consent calendar? Hearing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar. Will someone please give me a second?

Second.

I shouldn't ask. I should just say if there's a second. Okay, there was a second. Thank you. It's been moved and second to adopt the consent calendar. Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the consent calendar?

Council Member Strauss? Aye. Council Member Foster? Yes. Council Member Juarez? Aye. Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Lin?

Yes.

Council Member Rink? Yes. Council Member Rivera? Aye. Council Member Saka? Aye. Council President Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Consent calendar is adopted. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes and legislation on my behalf? Will the clerk please read item number one into the record?

Agenda item one, Council Bill 121-262, an ordinance relating to city employment adopting a 2026 citywide position list.

Awesome, okay, I move to pass Council Bill 121265. Is there a second?

Second.

Pardon me? Excuse me, 121262, is there a second?

Second.

Awesome, it's been moved and second to pass the bill. Council Member Rink, as sponsor of the bill, you're recognized in order to address it.

Thank you. I apologize, Council President, which bill, which item are we on right now?

Oh, I apologize. It's Council Bill 121262, an ordinance relating to city employment adopting the 2026 citywide position list. I believe. Give me one second. We're going to be at ease real quick. So when we're in at ease, we're still doing the meeting, but we're just checking up information to make sure we have the correct info. So we have the uncomfortable silence now, and that's what you will hear for the next 30 seconds, thank you.

Council President, I'm happy to speak to this, just briefly. I see it. I'm happy to speak to that.

May I, Council President?

Thank you. Apologies, colleagues, for the confusion. This particular piece of legislation, while it pertains to human resources for the city, it does come straight to council and does not flow through a committee, which is why I do not have a committee report prepared for it today. This is straightforward, routine legislation related to city employment and establishing and adopting a 2026 citywide position list. Apologies, colleagues, for the confusion.

Awesome, thank you, Council Member Rankin for catching that. I forgot that came straight to committee, or excuse me, to council and not through committee. So colleagues, are there any comments regarding Council Bill 121262? Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Strauss?

Aye.

Council Member Foster? Yes. Council Member Juarez? Aye. Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Lin?

Yes.

Council Member Rink. Yes. Council Member Rivera. Aye. Council Member Saka. Aye. Council President Hollingsworth. Yes. Nine in favor, none opposed.

Bill passes. Chair will sign it. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf? Will the clerk please read item number two into the record?

Agenda item two, council bill 121264, relating to parking payment devices, coin revenue collection, amending section 11.16.480, the Seattle Municipal Code to transfer responsibility for the physical collection of coin revenue from parking payment devices from the Department of Finance and Ministry of Services to the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Awesome. I move to pass council bill 121264. Is there a second? Second. It's been moved and second to pass the bill. This is another bill that was bypassed committee and came straight to council. So I'm not, I can recognize you council member Saka as sponsor of the bill. You're recognized in order to address it.

Thank you, Madam Council President. Colleagues, this is a fairly routine, ordinary bill that implements a unique and important policy change locally. Specifically, this ordinance amends a specific section of the SMC to, among other things, transfer responsibility for the physical collection of coin revenue from parking payment devices. from the Department of Finance and Administrative Services, so FAS, to the Seattle Department of Transportation to implement an operational change made via the 2026 adopted budget. It'll also permit SDOT to temporarily store collected coins in secure facilities prior to transfer, while the coin payments account for about 1%. of all paid parking revenue coins are an important option for those who may not have access to credit cards, smartphones, banking, and the like, or would just prefer to make these small payments. So thank you. Pretty routine, ordinary, mostly technical piece of legislation to implement prior budget decisions. Ask for your support. Thank you.

Awesome. Thank you, Council Member Saka. Are there any other comments regarding the bill? Council Bill 121264. Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Strauss. Aye. Council Member Foster.

Yes.

Council Member Juarez. Aye. Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Lin.

Yes.

Council Member Rink.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera? Aye. Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council President Hollingsworth? Yes. Nine in favor, none opposed. Bill passes, chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf? Yay for parking meters. Thank you, Ms. Yvette. Will the clerk please read item number three into the record?

34, the Housing, Arts, and Civil Rights Committee. Agenda item three, Council Bill 121-259 relating to unfair housing practices, adding new protections for homeowners. from unwanted solicitation of residential property by establishing a do not solicit list providing an enforcement process prescribing penalties. The committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

Awesome. Now, this bill did go through committee. So, Councilmember Foster, as committee chair, you're recognized in order to address it.

Thank you so much, Council President. I'm thrilled to have this bill up for a vote today in full council after having it in committee three times starting back in June. But I want to acknowledge that the idea and the need for this approach didn't start with me and my election or the process that we started in my committee, but it started with community leaders in the Central District trying to keep their homes safe. amidst an onslaught of incredible over solicitation and undervalued options being presented to them. It started with a report from Rainier Beach Action Coalition about disaster gentrification and requesting intervention from the city. It started with community leaders who self-organized to communicate that their homes were not for sale because they were unable to put an end to the predatory practices that they were continuing to be at the other end of. And because they were receiving unwanted solicitation from, yes, as we heard today, wholesalers, but also from end buyer representatives who were seeking to get their clients into specific homes or neighborhoods that were becoming more desirable. This bill is, I think, evidence of when we start with working to support one protected class or one group of residents who are receiving unwanted outreach, we actually have the opportunity to benefit all of our residents. Since we started working on this, we have communicated with residents from districts all around the city and heard the stories and the experiences that they've had. And I want to share some of those with you today, colleagues. This is from a District 3 resident. I received a completed and signed purchase and sale agreement with a letter that said, per our conversation, please sign and return, except there was no conversation. It was a scam. It was my understanding that an elderly disabled couple on another street lost their home under similar circumstances when a family member signed, and they didn't have the means to hire an attorney and fight the sale. The previous year, they had installed a very high-grade wheelchair ramp. They had no intention of selling their home. From another resident, I've received multiple page purchase and sale agreements, spoken with people who want to buy my property, and offered to reserve a unit for me on the land that I would no longer own. It is relentless. I've received at least one solicitation a week, typically two or three the entire time I have owned the house, except for a brief period during the Great Recession. We've heard stories like this and many more. And we've also heard from people who have really just said, You know, at the one end, at the worst end of this, these kind of practices result in people getting into bad deals and selling their homes for undervalue and not being able to recuperate the equity that they've put into their homes. But at the other end, we've heard from people just how exhausting and demoralizing it is to receive these unwanted benefits. calls, these unwanted letters, no matter who they come from. And that's part of the reason why we took this approach to create a Do Not Solicit list. And I want to stress, this is an opt-in list. It's not required to participate in this. We're just giving people the opportunity to say, we don't want to receive this kind of solicitation. We're giving people the opportunity to say they want to reclaim a little bit of their privacy and giving people the opportunity to say they want to reclaim a little bit of their peace. This legislation builds on work, and I want to appreciate the previous counsel and the mayor for the consumer protections that were implemented last year requiring disclosures for homeowners and requiring and allowing buyers to have the ability to cancel purchase contracts within 10 days of signing. I think this is a smart next step to build on that legislation and to continue to ensure that we are protecting our homeowner residents, particularly at a time where homeownership is dwindling in our city. I want to lastly say I think the enforcement mechanisms that we're putting forward here are really important because this is part of what's been missing is that so often there's been no recourse for people when they're trying to get these calls to stop. I know we're going to wait and we're going to hear the amendment from Council Member Rivera, so I'll speak to that when that comes forward. Thank you, colleagues.

Awesome. Thank you, Council Member Foster. So at this time, I think we can go ahead and move the amendment. I would ask Council Member Rivera, would you like to move your Amendment A?

Yes. Thank you, Council President. I move to amend Council Bill 121259 as presented on Amendment A.

Second. It's been moved and seconded to amend the bill as, seconded, excuse me, to amend the bill as presented on Amendment A. Council Member Rivera, a sponsor of the amendment, you are recognized in order to address it.

Thank you. I want to thank our colleague Council Member, oh my gosh, I'm having a moment. foster for bringing forward the do not solicit list. Colleagues, we all know, and I'll say I can speak for myself as a Latina woman whose first language is Spanish, we have a lot of elders in community and a lot of folks who get wanted solicitations in a very aggressive manner so I understand councilmember Foster's wanting to bring this legislation forward to really address this issue of folks who are really honestly getting taken advantage of and we've all seen that and that is not okay. So I understand the concept and the importance of this legislation. I also understand that whenever council takes an action, there are unwanted or unintended consequences rather that can result from actions. So we really need to be thoughtful when we are putting together an ordinance and looking at the language and seeing if it would result in unintended consequences. So this Amendment A, what it does is specifically call out an exemption for written flyers that I know folks in the industry use when they are reaching out to folks and letting them know both about, it's informational about the work that they can provide and the successes they might have had in different neighborhoods across the city, and then how to get in contact with them. And it's really one of those industries where it still relies on advertising to provide their services. So in that vein, I thought that putting together an amendment to exempt the ability for real estate agents to be able to send out these bulk mailers would strike a compromise and a balance between, of course, our collective interests to protect our residents from unwanted solicitations and still allow for real estate agents to be able to send out in a generic way their advertising of their services. And that is the intent behind this amendment. And I will say that I really appreciate community members for working with me to make sure that we crafted the amendment to also not have unintended consequences. And so it was very narrowly tailored and crafted in partnership with community to come up with language that they felt did not erode the underlying bill. At the same time, I really appreciate their support because they said to me, we're not trying to inhibit folks' ability to earn a living, if you will, in this way. So really appreciate community for that partnership. That's the amendment that you see before you today. Happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Council President.

Awesome. Thank you, Council Member Rivera. Colleagues, Amendment A is on the table. Are there any comments regarding Amendment A? Council Member Foster.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, Council Member Rivera. I'll just start by saying, you know, after having worked on this for a while, I was initially reluctant, but what I really appreciate, Council Member Rivera, is the work that you did and the communications that you just mentioned with the groups that we had been working on over the last several months, and I just want to really express my appreciation to you and your office for doing that engagement and that follow-up. And it really means a lot to me, so thank you for that. And I'll say, part of my initial reluctance was a concern that you just mentioned at the end, which is that in sort of solving for one issue, we would be opening up another loophole. And I believe that the work that you did over the weekend to really narrowly tailor this solves for that. So thank you for that. And I will be supporting this amendment today. And I will also say we'll be making sure that we are communicating with Office of Civil Rights in terms of the implementation to track that we are not creating an unwanted loophole. And I appreciate the offer and Randy and other folks for continuing to work with us because I know we share the same goal here. So thank you. Thank you, Council Member Rivera.

Awesome, thank you Council Member Foster. Are there any other comments regarding Amendment A? I will be supporting this. Great job Council Member Rivera on the work that you've done to thread a very thin needle and to make sure that we have protection for our realtors who often provide education and awareness for our community and the residents as well. I know I heard from a lot of them, but I will be supporting this amendment. I think you did a great job, so thank you for that. Councilmember Rivera any final comments about amendment a before we call the vote.

I'll just say again I really appreciate that community also wanted to make sure that they weren't creating and that we weren't creating collectively unintended consequences for folks who Are real estate agents in this town? So that says a lot about the community members that we worked with and again, I really appreciate their partnership on this. And, you know, I want to say, like I always say, when we work together, we get better outcomes. And this amendment is a result of that. So thank you, Council President.

Awesome. All right. Awesome. Thank you, Council Member Rivera. Okay. Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the amendment? Letter A.

Thank you. Council Member Strauss. All right. Council Member Foster.

Yes.

Council Member Juarez?

Aye.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Lin?

Yes.

Council Member Rink?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera? Aye. Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council President Hollingsworth? Yes. Nine in favor, none opposed.

Motion carries. Amendment A is adopted. Are there any further comments on the bill as amended? These are final comments on the bill. before, okay, Council Member Foster.

Thank you so much, Council President. I need to thank my staff. So I really want to appreciate Sage Lawrence from my office. This is something we started thinking about doing a long time ago, and it's been really exciting to get to see it from concept to hopefully full passage today. So I want to express that appreciation. I want to express my appreciation to the Black Homeowners Policy Council and to the Rainier Beach Action Coalition, as well as the leadership in the Beacon Hill Community Council. And I want to express my appreciation deeply to Shakundi Salisbury, who was just a really incredible advisor and support and history holder as we worked on this process. None of this work would have been possible without the leadership of those folks and the time and engagement that they spent with my office. So I just want to express my gratitude to those folks and colleagues I ask for your support.

Awesome. Thank you. Council member Foster and all the work that you did on this fully supporting this supported it in committee and looking forward to supporting it today, especially in as amended. All right. Well, the clerk, please call the roll on the passage of the bill as amended.

Council member Strauss. Council member Foster. Yes. Council member Juarez. Aye. Council member Kettle.

Aye.

Council member Lynn.

Yes.

Council Member Rink. Yes. Council Member Rivera. Aye. Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council President Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes as amended. The chair will sign it. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf? Will the clerk please read item number four into the record?

I report the Public Safety Committee agenda item four, Council Bill 121-248 relating to controlled substances, updating city policy for the enforcement of the crimes of known possession and use of controlled substances. The committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

Council Member Kettle, chair of the committee, you're recognized in order to present the committee report.

Thank you, Council President. Colleagues, today we take another step to move forward in public safety by bringing different elements together and as part of our strategic framework plan. To date, the public drug use and possession ordinances has not succeeded. You know we do have drug markets across our city oftentimes with co-located stolen goods markets. They seem they are seemingly chronic. In District 1 this morning we heard about North Beacon Hill and Little Saigon and the broader CD. We also heard about the Central District and Cap Hill. and then down into downtown and Belltown, and then further north across districts four, five, and six. We have neighborhoods in crisis harmed by these illicit markets, and also, and importantly, neighbors in crisis. Sadly, oftentimes also seemingly chronic. Here's the issue, we don't have the data. We started this process earlier this year with the Office of Inspector General coming to committee Uh, to provide a report, they could not. There's basically no data. All there was were some interview reports presented at the end of the report. This bill addresses that we've had an issue where police officers do not have confidence or belief in diversion process on 1 hand. and frustration with the medical declines, on the other hand, at KCJ, King County Jail. A frustration, by the way, that is not just with police officers alone. This bill works on both by improving the diversion process and getting the data to improve it further, along with getting insight to address the medical decline issue. We have worked closely with all the key entities, stakeholders. If you heard them today, Public Dignity in Action, the PDA and their LEAD program, multiple public commenters. I thank them for being there and speaking. SBD, very important. And then also the Community Police Commission, the Care Department, and the Mayor's Office. It is clear there's differences between the Council and the Mayor on a number of Public safety issues, but we continue to work closely with the mayor's office with the director of public safety with the deputy mayor to push key legislation forward to include this. I want to thank central staff. For their work on this, and my team, and then all the your teams that help coordinate to include the, the amendment that will be coming up an amendment by the way that has an element. from the director of public safety, from the mayor's office. So this is another example where it's all about the North Star and how do we improve our public safety in our city. And this work builds on, I know each of us have been in community, have been in neighborhoods. And so we know these truths and we know that these issues are out there and that we have to take action. And so with that colleagues, I ask for your support of this bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Kettle. Before we have any, are there any comments on the bill before we jump into Amendment A? So we're gonna go ahead and Council Member Rivera, do you wanna move your amendment?

Yes, thank you, Council President. I move to amend Council Bill 121248 as presented on Amendment A. Second.

It's been moved and seconded to amend the bill as presented on Amendment A. Council Member Rivera, sponsor of the amendment, you're recognized in order to address it.

Yes, thank you. And thank you to our colleague, Council Member Kettle, for bringing forward the underlying bill before us today. This particular amendment just clarifies there is a provision that passed out of committee that underlying bill reference that we had to collect data about the number of times the diversion service provider responded timely to the request and the word timely was not defined and it's really important that the word timely be defined so we know you know what we're talking about here what do we mean by timely so this amendment eliminates the word timely and instead requires the officer and diversion service providers to record the actual time that it took to respond to a and officers call for diversion services as Councilmember Kettle was speaking about and speaking to earlier. We don't have data by which we can, you know, collect information and make informed decisions about what we're doing in terms of diversion and this particular amendment includes that officers shall include in the arrest report any attempt to contact diversion service providers for field-based diversion and indicate the amount of time that officer waited for the in-person transfer of an individual. It further states that officers shall indicate in the arrest report if they left the scene to respond to a more urgent matter and as determined by that officer based on their assessment of the circumstances and conditions of the time. So that is to say, if there is a priority one call, for instance, and the officer should have to leave before that lead person leaves, was able to come on the scene, that lead provider, then they would just record, you know, whether or not, sorry, I think someone was online.

Just one second, Council Member Juarez, your sound is off.

Oh, I apologize.

That is okay.

I was mumbling to myself and flipping papers. I apologize. Just didn't want you to slip up there.

No worries. In any event, at the end of the day, it's so that we're not just saying timely, but we're actually defining what we mean by timely as we're collecting this information. Folks have a better understanding of what the expectation is. And again, I think that will lead to better data collecting and better information by which we can make decisions in the future. Thank you, Council President. Happy to answer any questions colleagues may have.

Awesome. Thank you, Council Member Rivera. I do see Council Member Kettle followed by Council Member Foster.

Thank you, Council President. Thank you, Council Member Rivera. Again, this highlights the work amongst the committee members and, to be frank, across the whole of the council engaging on these topics and elements from the mayor's office on this as part of their engagement, too. So I thank Council Member Rivera for this amendment and including those different pieces so that we can move forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Kettle. Council Member Foster.

Thank you so much, Council President. And thank you, Council Member Rivera, for bringing this forward. I just wanted to share briefly. So after our office got this amendment, we looked at it and we're like, oh, I want to understand the impacts of this. And I was really pleased to learn after reaching out and having discussions with providers that they reported back that over the 15 years of implementing LEED, they believe they've maybe been outside of the target referral time three to four times, which I thought was great news to hear. And, you know, heard feedback from them that they're excited to share and report the data from their end back to the city, because I think it's an important part of information that I think the providers have, but that we haven't been requiring or receiving. So I was pleased to hear that, and I'll be supporting this amendment today. And I just wanted to share that story because I think at first I had sort of a question of, will they be able to get this data? What will this mean for their staffing? Some of those other pieces. And just wanted to share that we learned they do collect it and are looking forward to reporting it. So thank you, Council Member Rivera, for bringing this forward.

Thank you, Council Member Foster. Are there any other comments regarding Amendment A before we call the roll? Council Member Rivera, do you have any closing comments?

Yes, thank you, Council President. I mean, the underlying legislation is our interest to make sure that we're doing what we say, quote, is a warm handoff. And so we want to make sure that that's actually happening. I think it benefits the folks that we're trying to help with this diversion program. And so it's really important to know the instances when providers are called and how long it takes folks to show up. because it gives us, like I said, information by which to make informed decisions in the future about how to best help in this regard. I will say that, you know, I want to thank central staff, Greg Doss for helping with this, and I know with this particular amendment, and I know that he worked with the city attorney's office and SPD to make sure that we were crafting a piece of legislation, an amendment rather, that defined timely in a way that did not cause unintended consequences as we do with all the things. So really appreciate central staff's diligence, due diligence. As they were crafting this amendment so it really it goes to the interest of making sure that that warm handoff is actually Happening and and how long it takes for that to occur Thank You council president.

Awesome. Thank You councilmember Rivera.

I see council member Juarez your hand is up I Apologize I meant to get it up sooner than I went off mute So I just want to thank councilmember first of all customer kettle being on your committee doing the public safety and the people that presented on this and And then the council member Rivera, your amendments. So I had made some comments in committee and then did some follow-up calls and had some conversations. And I just wanted people to know that my comments about a warm handoff, people have been saying that for at least nine years. And so we were just, you know, we wanted to just say, look, that's more of a term of art. So what is a warm handoff? Theoretically, we can say, oh, the officers will be in field and they'll divert. And then we can do a warm handoff. Well, we're finding out that it doesn't actually work like that. Is it a minute? Is it two hours? Is it three hours? Is it when the person leaves? Do they come back? So that's why I want to thank customer Rivera for putting in this amendment so we can have some data back while recognizing that addiction and recovery, of course, has relapsed. And of course, not everyone is going to take cues or want to go to have this infield diversion. We understand that. I think it's just after me hearing for almost a decade, the terms of, you know, do no harm, harm reduction, warm handoff, that we're now starting to see the results and the byproducts of whether or not these things are working. So I think it's good governance to come forward and just say, can we just see the numbers? And what can we gain from that? And what can we learn from that? So thank you, Chair Kettle. And thank you, Councilman Rivera. And thank you, Council President. Okay.

And I will now go on mute. Thank you, Council Member Juarez. If there's no other further comments about the amendment A, that's what we're voting on, then we'll save comments for the final bill. Let's call the roll on amendment number A. Letter A.

Council Member Strauss.

Aye.

Council Member Foster. Yes. Council Member Juarez.

Aye.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Lynn.

Yes.

Council Member Rink. No. Council Member DeBetta. Aye. Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council President Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Eight in favor, one opposed.

Motion carries. Amendment A is adopted. Are there any further comments on the bill as amended? Council Member Kettle, I'll come to you last for final comments. Is there any other comments regarding Amendment A? Or excuse me, the bill as amended. Okay, Councilmember Kettle, closing remarks.

Again, thank you, colleagues, and thank you to the PDA, SBD, CPC, CARE, Director of Public Safety, the central staff team, my own team, It's interesting, you know, we're addressing this in a professional engaged manner. We're going to get pieces that we can further improve the process using that data and so forth moving forward. And, you know, I draw a contrast here in 26 to 23, and I think this shows that we're moving forward and we need to continue to move forward, continue to improve again for those neighborhoods in crisis, but most importantly for our neighbors in crisis. So, colleagues, I ask for your support in this bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Kettle. Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill as amended?

Council Member Strauss. Aye. Council Member Foster. Yes. Council Member Juarez.

Aye.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Lin.

Yes.

Council Member Rink. Yes. Council Member Rivera? Aye. Council Member Saca?

Aye.

And Council President Hollingsworth? Yes. Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes as amended. Will the clerk please sign, will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf? Will the clerk please read item number five into the record?

I report the Governance and Utilities Committee, Agenda Item 5, Council Bill 121-247, relating to City Light Department's Emergency Bill Assistance Program, amending Section 21.49.042 of the Seattle Municipal Code to adjust program terms and conditions and expand eligibility guidelines for emergency bill assistance. The committee recommends the bill passes amended.

Awesome, colleagues, as chair of the committee, I will present the committee report. We've heard this bill twice in our Governance and Utilities Committee. This bill passed unanimously out of our committee as well. This takes crucial steps to address affordability for Seattle City Light rate payers and Seattle, excuse me, for Seattle City Light rate payers and also the rate increases that are coming. I also wanna thank Councilmember Strauss offering the amendments that ensures that the utility discount program THAT WAS PASSED BY COUNCIL, AND COUNCIL MEMBER STRAUSS WAS THE SPONSOR OF, MADE SURE THAT THE DATES ALIGNED WITH THE START DATE, THAT THE UTILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM DATE ALIGNS WITH JANUARY 1ST. SO IT WILL START RIGHT AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR, AND HE CAUGHT THAT. SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, COUNCIL MEMBER STRAUSS. I GOT MY a tongue tie on those words, so I apologize. SCL, SPU, rates, all the things. Colleagues, this is a really important program that we have for our city as rates are increasing, as we know, and offering the emergency payment FOR FOLKS AND THAT PROGRAM IS SOMETHING, ASSISTANCE IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT IN OUR CITY AND JUST HELPS CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY AND RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE TO CONTINUE TO ACCESS THEIR CRUCIAL UTILITIES. ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS ABOUT THE BILL BEFORE US, BEFORE WE CALL THE ROLL? COUNCIL MEMBER?

NO?

ANYONE?

OKAY, AWESOME. THANK YOU. WILL THE COURT PLEASE CALL THE ROLL ON THE PASSAGE OF THE BILL?

Council Member Strauss.

Aye.

Council Member Foster. Yes. Council Member Juarez. Aye. Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Lund.

Yes.

Council Member Rink. Yes. Council Member Rivera. Aye. Council Member Saka.

Aye.

And Council President Hollingsworth.

Aye.

Nine in favor, nine opposed.

Thank you, colleagues. Bill passes. Chair will sign. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf? Will the clerk please read item number six into the record? Clap for Seattle City Light.

Agenda item six, council bill 121, 245 relating to rates and charges for water services of Seattle Public Utilities. Revising water rates and charges, revising credits to low income customers, authorizing withdraws of funds from the water fund revenue stabilization sub fund. Committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

Awesome, so we heard this bill twice in Governance and Utilities Committee. This bill unanimously passed out of committee. This bill is for the 2027 to 2029 Seattle Public Utility water rates. SPU has a modest rate increase over the rate path with 4% every year. This is what they do, is they figure out a rate path that comes every two years, or excuse me, as they're trying to figure out projections. I also want to thank council member Strauss amendments, the utility discount program that council passed earlier this year as well. I will also take this time as I have anytime we talk about water rates, understanding that about 25% of your water bill is because of King County and their wastewater rates. So as they are trying to figure out their infrastructure and their wastewater rates, COLLEAGUES, WE SENT A LETTER TO THE KING COUNTY COUNCIL ASKING THEM TO FIGURE OUT AND READJUST, LOWER SOME OF THEIR RATES THAT THEY HAVE BECAUSE THERE'S A DOUBLE DIGIT RATE INCREASE FOR KING COUNTY WATER AND THAT'S WHY YOU SEE A LOT OF OUR RATES GOING UP IN SEATTLE AND IT IMPACTS US AS WELL. SO I WANTED TO STATE THAT FOR THE RECORD BECAUSE OFTENTIMES PEOPLE ATTRIBUTE SEATTLE CITY WATER WITH RATE INCREASES THINKING THAT'S JUST A CITY, THAT'S JUST US. But the county impacts us as well when they increase their rates for wastewater. So just a thought there. Council Member Strauss, I see your hand. Are there any other comments regarding the bill? Council Member Strauss.

Thank you, Council President. Just want to highlight what you just said beyond the cost that King County passes on to Seattle residents. There's also additional fees for hookup charges. For new ADUs or DADUs, and this is where we're talking about housing affordability, when King County is charging exorbitant rates to hook up for ADUs and DADUs, it can become prohibitively expensive to provide a new dwelling unit for your family member that you are just trying to keep an intergenerational household. So I just want to highlight that these affordability issues from King County are beyond just the cost of our wastewater. And no matter who you are with these rates going up, even if you're on the utility discount program, your rates are going up. I've been really impressed with SPU in keeping their average rate increase below what their strategic plan was. originally provided. And other than Redmond, we have the lowest water rates in the region. And on top of that, we've got the best quality water in the nation because we are the only water provider that owns an entire watershed from the mouth of the river all the way to the top of the peaks. And so all of this to say, I'm really impressed with SPU keeping our rates down. I'm really disturbed by the... pass through costs that King County is providing. And for the 31,000 new households that are going to be eligible for the utility discount program. And in the next two years, the 81, 83,000 households that will be eligible for the utility discount program. Even if you're on the UDP, your rates are still, you still have to have a rate increase. So all of that said, we are making good strides at affordability with this program. King County catch up and I approve this bill.

Awesome. Thank you, Council Member Strauss. Can you repeat how many households for next year? Because this is a big deal. And then the year after that.

I'm off the top of my head. It's 31,000 this year and 83,000 by the time we get all the way up to 80% AMI.

That is amazing. Thank you, Council Member Strauss. It's a pretty big deal about affordability. Thank you. Council Member Kettle.

Thank you council president I just wanted to say, thank you to you council president and also council member Strauss and really everybody for for for this work and it highlights what we've been talking and I've been talking about related to affordability and what our role is in it from the city. But also, in terms of what happens at the county and the state across property tax sales tax and public in this case, public utilities, it's really important for this work. It's really important to have the bigger picture to really see these impacts. And with that said, I'd like to thank Council Member Strauss for his comments just talking about exact, you know, from the county perspective and the hookups piece. We need to be cognizant of every little pieces that has these affordability impacts that has the unintended consequence maybe of having less housing, less intergenerational, less displacement. You know, these are the things that we need to be thinking about, not just at the city, but the county and the state level to across these main areas of property tax, sales tax and utility rates. So thank you for this program and the comments there today. Thank you.

Awesome. Thank you, Council Member Kettle. Are there any other comments regarding the bill before us? Will the clerk please call the roll in the passage of the bill?

Council Member Strauss.

Aye.

Council Member Foster. Yes. Council Member Juarez. Aye. Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Lin.

Yes.

Council Member Rink. Yes. Council Member Rivera. Aye. Council Member Saka.

Aye.

And Council President Hollingsworth. Yes. Nine in favor, nine opposed.

Bill passes. Chair will sign it. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf. Will you please read item number seven to the record.

Agenda item seven relating to emergency assistance for Seattle Public Utilities customers amending section 21.76.065 of the Seattle Municipal Code to adjust program terms and conditions and expanding eligibility guidelines for emergency bill assistance. The committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

Awesome, colleagues. This bill takes crucial steps to address affordability. As we've talked about, all the bills that are coming to you are about affordability, whether it's Seattle City Light or Seattle Public Utilities. This is regarding a lot of the wastewater piece. I kind of jumped the gun and talked about wastewater before, but would love your support on this bill as well. Are there any other comments? Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Strauss. Aye. Council Member Foster. Yes. Council Member Juarez.

Aye.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Lin.

Yes.

Council Member Rink. Yes.

Member Rivera. Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

And Council President Hollingsworth. Yes. Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes. The chair will sign it. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf and thank you to Seattle Public Utilities, all the great people that work there and Seattle City Light. Land use, item number eight. Will the clerk please read item number eight into the record?

The report of the Land Use and Sustainability Committee, Agenda Item 8, Council Bill 121-243 relating to land use and zoning, adopting temporary regulations previously in Ordinance 127309 for six months to exempt housing projects that meet mandatory housing affordability requirements using onsite performance units from design review and allowing permit applications for all housing subject to full design review, the option of complying with design review pursuant to administrative design review. The committee recommends the bill pass.

Awesome. Thank you, Council Member Lynn. As chair of the committee, you are recognized to offer the report.

Thank you, colleagues. This is... primarily an extension of a temporary program we had for design review. Longer term, there's new state law that we need to update our permanent design review program to meet more objective standards. That work is ongoing. And in the meantime, it's important for us to have an interim design review program to allow folks like our affordable housing projects to get departures. And so with that, we came out of committee. We did not hear any significant objections to the temporary program. We got comments about, you know, wanting to, from members of the public who want to participate in the permanent sort of design review program. But with that, I'd urge your support.

Awesome. Thank you. Council Member Lynn. Are there any of the comments regarding the bill before us? All right. Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Strauss. Aye. Council Member Foster. Yes. Council Member Juarez. Aye. Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Lin.

Yes.

Council Member Rink. Yes. Council Member DeBetta. Aye. Council Member Saka. Aye. And Council President Hollingsworth. Yes. Nine in favor, nine opposed.

Bill passes. Chair will sign. Will the clerk please affix my signature into the legislation on my behalf? Will the clerk please read the short title? It's a short title already. I should ask you for the first one. Okay. Item nine into the record.

The report of the Transportation, Waterfront, and Seattle Center Committee, agenda item 9, Council Bill 121-242, an ordinance granting FH, LLC, doing business on Skyline, permission to construct, maintain, and operate pedestrian skybridge over and across 8th Avenue. The committee recommends it will pass.

Council Member Saka, Chair of the Committee, you're recognized in order to present the committee report.

Thank you, Madam Council President. So this is a proposed piece of legislation that passed unanimously out of committee last week. The petitioner is specifically proposing to construct and operate a private pedestrian skybridge over 8th Avenue between Columbia and Cherry. This connects Districts 3 and 7. The Sky Bridge will provide an above-grade pedestrian connection for staff and residents between two residential properties, Cascade Tower and Olympic Tower. The Sky Bridge will occupy approximately 726 square feet. Of the right-of-way, the term is for 15 years with one renewable 15-year term. Public benefits include open space improvements along 8th Avenue, integrated public art in the enhanced 8th Avenue landscape area, and pedestrian improvements at 8th Avenue and Marion Street, along with interpretive wayfinding signage for the park-to-park loop project. And we heard at least one public commenter share their enthusiastic support for this earlier today, Mr. Doug. Thank you, Mr. Doug. Really appreciate you, sir. And who, by the way, had a very terrific fanny pack on, and I want to figure out where you got it so I can get my own. But in any event, colleagues, we often don't hear... A ton of public feedback, you know, at this – at the council level, you know, for these kind of matters that would otherwise be characterized as, you know, routine, ordinary course of business things that – comprise the nuts and bolts of committee work. By the way, it's not routine for the people that live there. This is really important stuff. That is to say, we otherwise, we generally still don't hear a ton of public engagement at the council level for this. But I'll say at committee level and even here today, it's very clear there's strong public support for this. And, you know, I really honored, really want to thank the community members who've taken the time to share their feedback with us throughout this whole process. And again, reminding that it passed committee unanimously and therefore respectfully urge a yes vote here today. Thank you.

Awesome. Thank you, Council Member Saka. Are there any comments... Councilmember Kettle.

Thank you, Council President. I just wanted to thank the community for their work. I love the community, the Skyline community, great people that cross district boundaries, District 3 and 7. And, you know, it's the pieces here that are important, is that community, but also the medical piece. You know, it's an elder place with people that have medical challenges, and there are different types. And so It's so important to have this connection of the sky bridge, because it allows a husband and wife to be together when 1 may be going through some medical and challenges and some difficulties. And, you know, it's the humanity of it. And I just wanted to thank them for raising their voices, speaking out, engaging council president and I has, uh. As we reached across the district boundary, shook hands to help this Skyline community to move forward. And again, thank you to all involved for your support.

Thank you, Council Member Kettle. Council Member Rink.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, Chair Saka, for shepherding this legislation to bring us to this today. I just wanted to take a moment to say how excited I am that we've reached this moment. And I recalled my first meeting with the Skyline community in 2024, so a couple years now to building up to this moment. But I am just so excited that we'll be taking this action today because it's, while we're voting out of SkyBridge, we're really talking about connecting folks within the Skyline community. And one of the most important things for our elders is social connection. And so I'm glad that we're taking these steps today. I support it in committee. I'll be supporting yesterday and just really excited that we're here. Thank you, Council President.

Awesome. And before I turn it back over to you, Council Member Saka, for closing comments, just a A BIG THANK YOU AND GRATITUDE FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS AND KNOWING HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS OBVIOUSLY TO THE COMMUNITY AND I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER KETTLE AND I AND YOU HAVE HAD GREAT CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS AND JUST REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS AND SHEPHERDING THROUGH AND JUST CHAMPING IN IT AS WELL FOR SKYLINE COMMUNITY. I DO WANT TO SAY I HAVE THE BETTER TOWER WHICH IS CASCADE IN MY DISTRICT. and the Olympic is in Councilmember Kettle's side, and we like Cascade better, is that correct? I see everyone shaking their head in the committee. Council, in the room, Councilmember Saka, any closing comments?

Nothing further, Madam Council President, thank you.

Okay, awesome. Thank you, will the clerk please call, this has been a long time coming. I'm looking at y'all like, hello. Okay, will the clerk please call the roll on the bill?

Council Member Strauss. Aye. Council Member Foster. Yes. Council Member Juarez. Aye. Council Member Kettle.

Okay.

Council Member Lin.

Yes.

Council Member Rink. Yes. Council Member Rivera. Aye. Council Member Saka. Aye. And Council President Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Bill passes. Chair will sign it. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf? Congratulations. Skyline has a sky bridge. Yay. You all got a sky bridge, the Moreno got a curb cut, so you all won on that one. All right, will the clerk please read item number 10 into the record.

Agenda item 10, clerk file 314530, petition of ULLC for the vacation of a portion of the alley. The committee recommends that the clerk file be granted as condition.

Council Member Saka, chair of the committee, you're recognized in order to present the committee report.

Thank you, Madam Council President. Colleagues, if the alley vacation is approved pursuant to the proposal, the petitioners plan a seven story residential project with about 101 market rate units over two levels of parking, including townhouse style units at street level. Vacating the alley would consolidate the parcel, enable a unified development with larger units and publicly accessible street level open space at the location. If the petition is granted, the ULLC has proposed to provide benefits as follows, the following public benefits. A sidewalk widening, a new six-foot sidewalk with a six-foot landscape planter strip, specifically on North 87th Street. Sidewalk shoulder expansion along First Avenue Northwest. Ecological enhancements and restoration on the conservation site immediately west of the project. A decorative metal fence, panels, and birdhouses. at the conservation site, and public benefits do not end there folks, a public realm enhancement on First Avenue Northwest and North 87th Street. This proposal passed unanimously at a committee and respectfully ask for your support here today, thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Saka. Any comments regarding the bill? Council Member Strauss.

Thank you, Council President. This used to be in the heart of District 6, and now it's on the border after some strange decisions were made a few years ago. All that to say, we're glad to still have it in District 6. To the public commenter that was talking about alleyways and public access, I can assure you the alleyway that is there is an alleyway to nowhere right now and so this is actually going to provide some really great public benefit with the widening of the sidewalks as councilmember Saka said as you may or may not know a number of years ago I provided some money in Estat to get them to build the sidewalks sooner they have yet to do so so I'm really glad that this is passing because this is an area that it is the only stretch between 3rd Avenue and Greenwood and that doesn't have a sidewalk on the southern side of the street. On the northern side of the street, there are no sidewalks, period. So there's a, sorry, Council President Emeritus Juarez, we've got some work to do in D5 regarding these sidewalks. All that to say, I'm really excited about the yew tree that will be planted in its place. And this is gonna be a benefit because currently it's a vacant lot. It is an unofficial dog park, so we might have to find another one of those. But really excited to see this turn from vacant space into active space.

Awesome. Thank you, Council Member Strauss. Are there any other comments regarding the bill before us? All right, will the clerk please call the roll on granting of the, excuse me, not a bill, Council Member Saka, do you have any closing comments?

No.

Awesome, will the clerk please call the roll on granting the clerk file as conditioned?

Council Member Strauss. Aye. Council Member Foster. Yes. Council Member Juarez. Aye. Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Lin.

Yes.

Council Member Rink. Aye.

Yes. Council Member Rivera.

Aye. Council Member Saca. Aye. And Council President Hollingsworth. Yes. Nine in favor, nine opposed.

The clerk filed grants as conditioned in petition and the chair will sign the city council conditions. Will the clerk please affix my signature on the conditions of the city council on my behalf. There were no items removed from the consent calendar. There are two resolutions for introduction and adoption today. I'll ask the clerk to read both items so they can be discussed together. Then we will vote on the items separately. Will the clerk please read items number 11 and 12 into the record?

Items 11 and 12, resolution 3-2-2-1-2 and 3-2-2-11, declaring the intent of the City Council to hold a public hearing relating to clarifying provisions on assessments escalations for the Ballard... business improvement area and the intent to modify the boundaries and assessment structure of the Capitol Hill business improvement area and fix a date and place for a hearing thereon.

Awesome, Council Member Rank, your sponsor of both, you are recognized.

Wonderful, I'll speak to both of these resolutions together. So, taking the first one, Resolution 32212 is a declaration of the intent of City Council to hold a public hearing. The public hearing itself will be to solicit feedback to a proposed technical edit to the Ballard BIA's ordinance clarifying the language to ensure consistent, predictable implementation of inflationary adjustments. While this is not technically legally required, we feel it's good governance to hear directly from folks who will be directly impacted by even small changes to BIAs. Now, Resolution 3-2-2-1-1 is illegally required. of the intention of the city council to hold a public hearing. This hearing will be to solicit input on five proposed adjustments to the Broadway BIA's ordinance intended to stabilize Capitol Hill BIA's, pardon me, CHBIA's budget and to better align the district boundary with the current commercial activity. So to be clear, we are voting today to hold public hearings. This is not a vote on any of the proposals, just a procedural step that we need to take. Thank you.

Awesome. Thank you, Council Member Rink. Are there any comments regarding the resolution before us? We will now proceed to a vote on item number 11. So I'm gonna move to adopt resolution 3-2-2-1-2. Is there a second? Second. It's been moved and seconded to adopt the resolution. Are there any other final comments? Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of resolution 3-2-2-1-2.

Council Member Strauss.

Aye.

Council Member Foster. Yes. Council Member Juarez.

Aye.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Lin. Yes. Council Member Rink. Yes. Council Member Rivera. Aye. Council Member Saka. Aye. And Council President Hollingsworth. Yes. Nine in favor, none opposed.

Motion carries. Resolution is adopted. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf. I'm going to move to adopt resolution 3-2-2-1-1. Is there a second? Second. It's been moved and seconded to adopt the resolution. Are there any final comments? Awesome. Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of resolution 3-2-2-1-1. Council Member Strauss. Aye.

Council Member Foster. Yes. Council Member Juarez. Aye. Council Member Kettle. Aye.

Aye.

Council Member Lin.

Yes.

Council Member Rink. Yes. Council Member Rivera. Aye. Council Member Saka.

Aye.

And Council President Hollingsworth. Yes. Nine in favor, none opposed.

Motion carries. The resolution is adopted. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf. Colleagues, is there any further business to come before the council before we move into our executive session? Council Member Juarez.

Yes. Thank you. Oh, good. You already knew. Council President, can I be excused from full council Tuesday, August 18th?

Are there any objection to Council Member Waters being excused on August 18th? Council Member Stroud? Oh, I thought there was an objection. You are excused. Thank you. You're welcome. Council Member Saka.

Thank you, Madam Council President. I too ask to be excused on Tuesday, August 18th from full council.

Okay, got it. Is there any objection to Council Member Saka being excused on August the 18th? Seeing none, Council Member Saka, you are excused. Awesome. Sounds good. All right. If there's... Okay, so great. Colleagues, is there any further business to come before the council? We will say that I do know, and I'm just monitoring, we do have poor quality air here in Seattle right now because of the wildfires that are going on in Spokane. I know a lot of people, I saw at the rate, there was over 700 buildings and homes that had been destroyed on the east side. It's just absolutely devastating and terrible. And our thoughts and prayers... and support and positive energy are sent to the people that have lost homes, people that have been displaced, impacted, the firefighters, the people that are on the front lines, the EMT workers, the hospital workers, the police, everyone who's keeping that community safe. We are grateful for your support and just you have, we are a state, Washington state, so it doesn't matter if you're on the east side, west side, north, south, We are the state of Washington and Seattle is sending their love to the east side right now as we are now seeing a lot of that air that's been brought over here because of the wildfires affecting air quality. So we can only imagine what it's like in Spokane right now. So I will stop there. Colleagues, any further business to come before the council? Awesome. All right. I have a quick question. Council Member Morris. Do we stay on this Zoom for the... Executive session? No, you're gonna have to sign in on the new link because we have other guests joining us. Thank you, Council Member Juarez. Thank you. Hearing no further business, we will now move into executive session. As presiding officer, I'm announcing that the Seattle City Council will now convene into executive session. The purpose of this executive session is to discuss pending potential or actual litigation. The council executive session is opportunity for council to discuss confidential legal matters with the city attorney as authorized by law. A legal monitor from the city attorney's office is always present to ensure that council reserves questions for policy for open session. So we only talk about legal matters. I expect the time of the executive session to be done by 5.15, one hour from now if we need to extend it Beyond that time, I will announce the extension and the expected duration as well. At the conclusion of this executive session, the city council meeting will automatically adjourn. The next regular scheduled meeting is August the 11th at 2 p.m. sharp. The council is now in executive session. Thank you, colleagues.