EDMONDS — Residents filled the Edmonds City Council chamber to overflowing Tuesday evening as many urged the council to preserve Hummingbird Hill Park and the Frances Anderson Center.
About 250 people attended the meeting, where council members were set to discuss amendments to the city’s comprehensive plan. Sixty-two residents spoke in a public comment session that lasted about 2 hours and 30 minutes. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 6,200 people sent letters to the council through an online letter-writing campaign.
The outcry came after the community learned about an idea for the comprehensive plan from council member Vivian Olson. In her amendment, Olson wrote that Hummingbird Hill Park is “potential surplus” due to four other parks in a half-mile radius. She suggested looking into how many housing units the site’s infrastructure could handle.
Residents of all ages made emotional pleas to the council, sharing their families’ treasured memories at the park.
“I don’t want anyone to destroy it,” 5-year-old Juno said at the podium.
Edmonds resident Jaimie Gouge read a quote from her 7-year-old daughter.
“I would love for you to not sell my favorite parks,” she said. “Think about the kids not being on iPads, but enjoying nature. Think about my fun friends and these playgrounds, and think about the bugs and the birds. That would make me sad.”
One speaker was Edmonds resident Lindsay Mead, whose father designed Hummingbird Hill Park. His family has lived above the park since 1951, he said.
“It’s part of my family, my children’s lives,” Mead said. “If you take away a park and you build on it, it will never be that again. That is irreplaceable.”
A number of residents also spoke about amendments from Olson and council President Neil Tibbott to explore other uses for the Frances Anderson Center, a community hub that houses recreation programs, a child care center, public art installations and more. The center has already seen cuts to its programming. In December 2024, the council decided to eliminate the center’s gymnastics program as part of its budget. Now, the center is in need of a $9 million HVAC replacement among other improvements, Olson said.
“The community deserves to know when they say ‘Yes, we want to keep the Frances Anderson Center,’ that you know how much that’s going to cost you, and that you’re saying yes to that expense, and that you’re willing and able to take that on,” Olson said.
But the building holds many memories for community members, such as Kylie Wright, an employee at child care program Main Street Kids at the Frances Anderson Center.
“I’ve had countless art projects. My brother won an award in photography. The last time I saw my my grandma was when she came to my art event,” Wright said. “There’s so many memories, there’s so much history, there’s so much life in that place.”
Angie Bahm, owner of Main Street Kids, said the program currently serves 80 to 90 families. There are 500 more on the waitlist.
“Families need quality care,” she said. “We’ve been providing that for a very long time.”
In December 2024, the council passed the comprehensive plan — a 20-year development plan — to meet the state’s deadline with the intention of passing minor amendments this year. Last month, council members submitted potential amendments to send to the planning department for study.
“I want to emphasize that we are introducing possible amendments to the comp planning process,” Tibbott said. “This is a very important distinction. There was never a time when we said we were going to sell Frances Anderson Center, for example. There was a suggestion that we amend the comp plan in order to have a community discussion.”
During council comments, Olson apologized for suggesting the Hummingbird Hill Park amendment and said the council is in a “fearful position” due to its budget deficit.
“I recognize the inconsistency of the amendments that I proposed in light of my ‘why,’ and then I also recognize other things that have happened on my watch, like the loss of the gymnastics program, that are also inconsistent,” she said.
If residents do not pass two cost-cutting ballot measures this year — annexation into South County Fire later this month and a levy lid lift in November — the council has said it may have to look into making cuts to police, roads and parks.
Council member Jenna Nand said she plans to abstain from every comprehensive plan amendment vote. The council’s proposals were an “illegitimate” use of the amendment process, she said, and it was a “questionable” use of staff time and city resources. The planning department has two vacancies, and each amendment would take about 50 hours of staff time, interim director Shane Hope said.
“I find that it’ll be a more appropriate use for our limited staff time and resources in the planning department, especially during this time of fiscal emergency and extensive layoffs, to address the long-delayed tree code updates,” Nand said.
On Monday, the city cut down a 103-year-old, 80-plus-foot-tall California coast redwood tree residents had nicknamed “Big Red.” Several meeting attendees held signs that said “Save Big Red,” in protest of the city’s decision. Some residents argued that tighter tree codes could have saved the tree.
Nand’s decision to abstain drew criticism from the public.
“I would like to remind you that if you believe that the way it’s proceeding is incorrect, there’s only one way to stop it from moving forward, and that’s to vote ‘No,’” said Edmonds resident Jordan Rudd.
Another batch of public commenters urged the council to reconsider its decision to designate the North Bowl as a neighborhood hub, allowing for increased development. The small area cannot accommodate for more development, residents said. The North Bowl includes the area surrounding Puget Drive, Olympic View Drive and Grandview Street, just north of Edmonds Elementary School.
The council approved unanimously amendments from council members Olson, Chris Eck and Will Chen to revisit the North Bowl Hub designation and an amendment from council member Michelle Dotsch to establish a Critical Areas Program. Nand abstained from both amendments.
The council tabled discussions on the other amendments, including Hummingbird Hill Park and the Frances Anderson Center, to a future meeting. Hope recommended that the council move four groups of amendments to the study process. In August, after the planning department studies the amendments, the council will hold a public hearing. In September, the council will hold a final vote on whether to add the amendments to the comprehensive plan.
Council members commended the community for coming out to voice their concerns.
“I’m very proud of our community,” Nand said. “These were very passionate topics and, by and large, everyone was very respectful in expressing their disagreement with city decisions. This is what democracy is.”
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
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