EDMONDS — The Edmonds City Council will no longer consider recent controversial comprehensive plan amendments — including selling Hummingbird Hill Park and the Frances Anderson Center.
On Tuesday night, the council unanimously voted to remove these amendments and several others.
The chamber overflowed with residents once again Tuesday night. Some carried signs that said “Save our parks!” and “Children of Edmonds ask you to vote for us!” Twenty-nine of them spoke during a 90-minute public comment session.
Some spoke out against the expansion of the medical district — the area surrounding the Swedish Edmonds Campus. The comprehensive plan proposes two options for the area’s development. The first, Alternative A, proposes increasing height limits in the existing area, creating an estimated 750 housing units. Alternative B expands the medical district to include 220th Street, areas west of Woodway High School and areas east of 76th Street, creating an estimated 1,500 housing units.
“Developers are already calling us in the medical district, asking to buy our homes before zoning has even been finalized,” resident Kathleen Lester said. “This is extremely troubling. We are not opposing growth. We are here to demand a fair, transparent and truly public process.”
Medical district residents gathered 79 signatures for a petition to urge the council to adopt Alternative A in the comprehensive plan.
“That’s a small number for you citywide elected officials,” Millette said, “but it was fairly easy for us to talk to our neighbors. We had a very high success rate in terms of people that were willing to sign.”
Four years ago, resident Christine Hurley purchased her home in the medical district because it was small, affordable and had a yard for her dogs. She said she doesn’t believe the city is being equitable in the distribution of growth.
“Please consider leaving a few affordable, single-family neighborhoods, allowing this to be an option for all residents, not just wealthy residents,” Hurley said.
Others continued to speak out against the idea of selling Hummingbird Hill Park and Frances Anderson Center. Heather Knouse, director of Main Street Kids at the Frances Anderson Center, spoke in honor of the center’s namesake.
“If we destroy this community center for a temporary profit, what will it be replaced with?” Knouse asked. “Where will all the families go for necessary child care? How will the lost jobs be replaced? Where will the multi generations go that gather there? How will the legacy of Frances Anderson be honored? Will her memory and legacy be forgotten and lost forever?”
Another amendment, which the council later removed, proposed selling the Wade James Theater. The Edmonds Driftwood Players, a nonprofit community theater program, has operated out of the Wade James Theater for 57 years, said David Ahlvers, vice president of the board of directors. The program has drawn customers to Edmonds for decades, Ahlvers said.
“We’ve operated this theater sustainably for decades, including through the unprecedented realities of a global pandemic,” he said.
Since the April 1 council meeting that resulted in a two-and-a-half hour public comment session, Edmonds residents have been mobilizing to find other ways to address the city’s budget crisis. One Facebook group, Edmonds Activated, gathered 700 members in one week, said Chelsea Rudd, one of the group’s moderators. Another community group, Keep Edmonds Vibrant, held a budget visioning workshop last week and plans to hold another next week.
Resident Kat Woodham called for clearer communication from the council when it comes to important decisions, such as the comprehensive plan amendments.
“I appreciate that some of our council members are making an effort to be more accessible to the community, but the city cannot solely rely on community volunteers to do the heavy lifting of transparency,” she said.
During his budget update, Mayor Mike Rosen responded to a Seattle television news report that attributed city leaders as saying the public was “misinformed” before the April 1 council meeting.
“You were not misinformed,” Rosen said. “For over a year, I personally have been stating on a number of occasions that everything must be on the table, absolutely everything must be on the table because we have a very bad financial crisis.”
In addition to Hummingbird Hill Park and the Frances Anderson Center, the council removed amendments to consider selling the Meadowdale Clubhouse and rezoning City Hall. The council also removed four amendments that were better suited for the development code than the comprehensive plan.
Council member Jenna Nand made a motion to table the 13 remaining amendments — including revising the medical district expansion — indefinitely in an effort to save city resources.
“My motion to table is not a comment on the validity or the worthiness of these topics,” Nand said. “Rather, it’s a reflection of the fact that we are in a fiscal crisis presently.”
The city has laid off dozens of employees in an effort to address its budget emergency, she added.
“If we don’t have to do them this year, because this is a hair-on-fire year, I think that would be a better use of staff time and taxpayer money,” Nand said.
The motion passed 4-2. Council members Chris Eck, Neil Tibbott, Susan Paine and Nand voted yes. Council members Will Chen and Michelle Dotsch voted no. Council member Vivian Olson was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.
Council President Tibbott made a motion to draft a resolution confirming the council would move the previously approved amendments to readdress the North Bowl Hub and establish a Critical Areas Program. The vote ended in a 3-3 tie, effectively killing the motion.
While the motion to draft an official resolution failed, the planning department will still consider the two amendments for further study, said Council Executive Assistant Beckie Peterson.
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
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