Do We Have A Trail Plan?

Yes! One of the short-term goals identified at the visioning workshop (joint meeting of City Council, Planning and Parks & Arts Commissions) was a city-wide Trails Plan. The City has an existing plan: a framework for adding additional trail goals. This plan can be found here, on the city’s website.

Two other goals relate to this plan, as well: the short term goal of working to enhance and extend trails at the waterfront, including a promenade along all of the downtown waterfront, and a second mid-term goal of constructing safe and separated pedestrian access along the speedway to the waterfront.
The 2009 Trails plan addresses all trails, including bike paths and pedestrian routes (and sidewalks). The Waterfront Promenade is described in the plan. The plan identifies a minimum 10-foot width for this route, though recent guidance from the Planning Commission encouraged a 15-foot width for this walkway that would take Mukilteans between Lighthouse Park and future tank farm redevelopment.
The Trails Plan cites a recreation survey conducted several years ago by the city where residents identified walking and biking as the number one recreation activity and one of the highest needs for additional opportunities.
One pedestrian or bicycle route that is not identified for improvement in the plan is the pedestrian access along SR525 to the waterfront. The plan identifies the current shoulder along the roadway as an existing trail. There was definite interest in improving this trail at the visioning workshop. It will be important for stakeholders who support this access to remind councilmember’s of the value of this access, and encourage its consideration in future capital facilities plans.

Shoreline Planning

We had our first joint work session on the Shoreline Management Program with the Planning and Parks & Arts Commissions tonight. The Planning Commission will be doing more work on the plan in the next year, with public hearings at City Council planned for February and March in 2011.
The Planning Department has lots of information available at the city's shorelines website.
The shoreline program is important for our waterfront, including Lighthouse Park and the tank farm redevelopment. It’s not as critical for most homeowners in the city: our steep slopes at the waters’ edge means that most homes are outside of the 200 feet of management zone where the Shoreline Management Program will be (and has been) in effect.
The shoreline plan also is being designed to account for the potential annexation areas (more marine shoreline, and Lake Serene).
This plan process is a valuable opportunity to ensure regulations use the best science, protect our environment and ensure water uses and public access are continually allowed and improved.

Vision

Imagine walking out your front door in 2020: what does Mukilteo look like? Are you able to walk safely down the Speedway to the waterfront, separated from car and bus traffic? Is the ferry terminal running from its new location on the former tank farm? What’s across the street from Ivar’s at the former ferry holding area? Farther south in the city, what do we see at the corner of 44th and 76th, known today as the Precht Property (and current home of the Mukilteo Community Garden)? Are there other new parks and trails in the City? If you’re traveling down to Picnic Point Beach, are you still inside the city limits? What kind of development has happened in the ten years since 2010 in those neighborhoods?
The City Council, Planning Commission and Parks and Arts Commission attempted to answer these questions at a Vision Workshop last Thursday. With the help of some talented consultants, we created the beginning of a vision for Mukilteo.
We began with some images created to illustrate the history of Mukilteo. This 4x8 foot illustration should be available soon for perusal: there are great details about important moments in our history! Some of my favorite details include the drawings of the treaty signing and the home of Fowler, one of Mukilteo’s founders, as well as the salmon smoker, brewery and cannery from Mukilteo in the 1870’s through 1920’s, and the images of today: our new City Hall, ranking among the best places to live, and the Sound Transit station on the waterfront!
As we discussed visions, priorities and ideas, we developed future priorities for the city.
Short term priorities (3-6 years) included:
--Create a sustainable Financial Policy in 2010 (Finance)
--Implement Trail Plan (Parks)
--Improve/preserve Infrastructure on an on-going basis (Transportation)
--Develop a Waterfront Master Plan (Transportation)
--Enhance and extend trails and promenade (Waterfront)
--Facilitate Parking & Ride for commuters with bus service (Transportation)
--Clarity on Annexation (Finance)
--Connect decision makers with citizens through technology (Finance)
--Adopt Precht Property Master Plan (Parks)
--Build pedestrian walkway (and bikepath) down SR 525 from 92nd Street Park to Waterfront (WF)

The illustrator supporting our work created some images to communicate these ideas. She’ll be finishing this (4x8 foot) drawing and delivering it to the City later. Great ideas that I liked include daylighting Japanese Gulch Creek so salmon can truly spawn there again, finding a home for a park and ride both for Mukilteo residents and ferry commuters, creating an intentional plan to support retail and commercial business centers in the City (our long geography means that we have several centers).
The final image from the night was the poster portrait of the team assembled to create this idea, featuring the things we love most about Mukilteo. I tip my hat to the great efforts from Mukilteo elected and appointed officials. Our City is lucky to have such smart, caring and dedicated people providing the guidance and vision for the City.
edited on June 15 for layout adjustments

Manufactured Home Zoning

Good article in the Beacon about the issues facing the Carriage Club Estates homeowners. They are in a Manufactured Home Zone inside the county now, and would be in multi-family zoning if they were annexed into the City. Information about the County zone is available here.
I think the zoning is a good solution for homeowners, was created through negotiations with both homeowners and landowners, and fills a need for affordable, detached single-family and senior housing. I'm hopeful that the City can pursue a similar option. There's a sort of awkwardly placed quote in the Beacon article... I'll just add here that "I'm totally on board" with creating a similar zone in Mukilteo and finding solutions for the homeowners in the annexation area!

Waterfront Wednesdays

What a great Wednesday evening on the waterfront! Fresh vegetables, fruits and more at the market. Wine vendors, plants, jewelry, kettlecorn... Good stuff. There was tons of parking available in Lighthouse Park, as well!
Open Mic Night runs every Wednesday, as well, 6-8pm at Red Cup Cafe in Lincoln Courtyard on 4th. Studio Tours run in the Art Building from 4-8pm.

Annexation

We had an interesting discussion about annexation tonight at Council. We don’t take votes at work sessions, and this was meant to be informational. I’m not sure where all the council members are at on this—I guess we will find out in the coming weeks. It does seem like there may still be four votes to move the issue forward.
The staff has prepared a timeline that would take us to the Boundary Review Board (BRB) either in September this year, or February 3, 2011. It’s available here.
We expect the result, assuming it’s affirmative, would be appealed again by Fire District One. They appealed the last decision of the BRB, which brought us to this point of re-set. With that timeline and contingencies, it would take us into 2012 for the annexation to be in effect. With that timeline, we will also turn to our current residents in Mukilteo to discuss, or possibly to vote on, the issue. There are a variety of election dates after the potential BRB decision and before any vote inside the annexation area. Once the BRB decision is rendered, and any appeals are settled, it makes sense to ask Mukilteo voters: that’s when we’ll have a full picture of what we’re asking, both inside and outside the current city limits.
The discussion about annexation is happening in the framework of another process, our adoption of a long-range financial plan. That plan is taking the shape of a variety of policies governing the city’s finances. We also have a workshop to discuss a vision for the future of Mukilteo scheduled for June 10th. I’m excited for that opportunity to talk about a host of issues facing Mukilteo, and to envision what shape the future may take.

One other topic that came up was the zoning for the manufactured home communities inside the annexation area: the biggest one is Carriage Club Estates. Most of the councilmembers present voiced an interest in adopting a manufactured home park zone, similar to what the County has in place now for those properties. This is great news for the residents of Carriage Club, and I'm glad more of the council now shares my interest in taking this action.

Conference: Opportunities!

Next week, I will join more than 200 other young, progressive elected officials in Washington, DC next week at the fifth annual convening of the national Young Elected Officials Network.
This photo is from a few years ago... on this trip, we will also be attending a White House briefing! I'm not sure that I'll be able to visit the West Wing, though, as I did with Mayor Marine a few years ago.

The participants at the conference next week, progressive elected officials from across the country, are all under the age of 35. The young leaders will meet with a number of national leaders in Washington and share with each other their policy ideas, leadership strategies, and best practices.

I’m excited about learning from other young elected officials. Some of the sessions I’m attending include economic sustainability (economic development and job creation), sustainable green policies and e-Democracy (outreach and involvement). I hope to bring back some good ideas to work on in Mukilteo.

The Young Elected Officials (YEO) Network, organized by the People For the American Way foundation, consists of over 550 young, progressive city, county, state and federal officials from all 50 states. Most are at the start of their political careers; 89 percent are interested in running for higher office in the future.

“These young elected officials play a critical role in our local, state, and national governments,” said Andrew Gillum, Tallahassee City Commissioner and executive director of the YEO Network. “They are leaders in policy debates around the country, and manage billions of dollars in public funds. They are passionate, innovative, and committed to helping their communities be places of freedom, fairness, and opportunity. The YEO Network National Convening is a great way for them to work together to share ideas and empower each other as they continue their careers in public service.”

One great thing about this conference is that the costs are pretty minimal—my council travel budget will pay just for the airfare. The conference covers lodging, workshop costs and most meals. Another great thing-- our State Representative, Marko Liias, is attending as well!

EMS Levy

Just an update-- last week's open houses weren't adequately noticed, which is unfortunate, but some good news-- you get another chance to participate!
Next Tuesday the 11th, come to Fire Station 24 in Old Town, from 6-8pm, and on Wednesday the 12th, come to Fire Station 25 in Harbour Pointe from 6-8pm, to share your views and learn more about the potential EMS Levy reauthorization.

Countywide Vision

Last week, I attended a discussion about countywide planning policies at Snohomish County Tomorrow’s Steering Committee (SCT). SCT is a body of elected officials in the county who advise on vision and frameworks for the future of Snohomish County. Often, that results in sending direction or advisory motions to the County Council for their consideration. It might also result in advocacy for certain policy ideas.
The Countywide Planning Policies are an important piece of growth management policies in the region. All the different comprehensive plans and planning policy documents link together, from the city level up to the state level. This review of these countywide policies is a ten-year update to the policies. The image attached shows how these policies are linked and supportive of other regional planning policies.
As you might imagine, I love this stuff. It’s exciting to see the opportunities to shape the vision of the county’s future, to consider new ideas.
At this particular meeting, we discussed proposed policies for Development Pattern Policies. The materials on the topic are available here.
Some of the more controversial policies (the ones with minority and majority views from the technical advisory committee that is working on drafting the policies) relate to expanding urban growth areas. This doesn’t relate to Mukilteo directly because our urban growth area (areas outside the city that could and probably will be annexed someday) are all contiguous with other such areas. In cities like Snohomish, Lake Stevens, Marysville, and other cities in the north, their urban growth areas abut rural lands. So, at certain times, these cities or landowners might ask the county to expand the urban growth area, which allows more development in these rural areas.
There are some divided opinions on when this should be allowed. Snohomish County has been challenged by the regional goals of keeping future growth in urban areas, and keeping rural areas rural. The County has improved over the last few years. I think it makes sense to keep pushing that line and not provide many exceptions for expanding the urban growth areas.
This is an issue that will come back to Snohomish County Tomorrow in May and later in the year, as well, with the Steering Committee likely voting in late fall. Eventually, these policies will be adopted by the County Council.

Consider the Context

Today I learned more about a Washington State Department of Transportation (WDOT) strategy that has been in place for several years. This is a tool for transportation project development that helps involve communities and moves beyond just considering transportation mobility. An executive order from the Governor requires that every WDOT project consider context sensitive solutions. This strategy should be applied to any consideration of SR 525 in the future. The last time SR 525 north of 76th was studied by WDOT it was in 2001, before the requirement to consider Context Sensitive Solutions.
Context Sensitive Solutions have been pushed by the U.S. Department of Transportation since 2002. This process requires that transportation projects consider “effects on the aesthetic, social, economic and environmental values, needs, constraints and opportunities.”
Context Sensitive Solutions have allowed for city gateway creation, sensitivity to existing uses, and safety improvements. Examples include improvements along SR 527 in Mill Creek, improvements along SR 99 in Des Moines, and improvements to Route 395 in Colville.
These new strategies consider local needs, and local priorities for corridors. Proponents of an alternate access route through Japanese Gulch have often made the case that the other option is to widen the Speedway beyond what seems acceptable to Mukilteo. This is based on the last study of the 525 in 2001. Perhaps it’s time to ask DOT to apply context sensitive solutions to the future of the Mukilteo Speedway?

EMS Levy

Last week, the council’s Public Safety Committee met. We discussed the proposed Emergency Medical Services levy and two upcoming open houses. Next week, residents are invited to attend either meeting: Tuesday the 27th, 6-8p at Fire Station 24 (in Old Town on 5th St) or Wednesday the 28th, 6-8pm at Fire Station 25 (in Harbour Pointe: 10400 47th Pl W). These open houses are opportunities to learn about the EMS levy that voters passed in 2004, and what has happened with the department since then. That levy expires at the end of this year, and the City Council is deciding what to do. The revenues from the EMS levy are needed in the future—the type of levy as well as the amount is being debated.
The City Council will make a decision about the levy at the May 3rd council meeting next week.
At the Public Safety Committee, we discussed a variety of things, including the fire department’s future. When the first levy was passed, there was discussion about future regional partnerships. There have been great strides towards this goal. Today, the City has working automatic aid agreements, so that the closest unit throughout the area can respond. This functions well for areas in the south like the Possession Bay neighborhood and Beverly Park Road. It also works well for areas of Everett along Mukilteo Boulevard. The City also has a strong partnership with the City of Lynnwood: Lynnwood has a Medical Services Officer who also supports Mukilteo.
The committee, at our meeting last week, recommended that the City pursue regional options further. At the May 3rd meeting, the Council will receive a recommendation from the Public Safety Committee that the Mayor and Public Safety Committee should pursue discussions with the City of Lynnwood about long term fire service options, such as expanding our existing partnership or consolidating service, and discuss with any other potential partners the possibility of a future Regional Fire Authority. This should be an ongoing conversation, and it makes sense to look at ways to provide good service for a good value for the taxpayers.
The committee also looked at other improvements in the Fire Department that have happened in the last six years. We have a fully functioning paramedic unit, and Fire Station 24 in Old Town is now fully staffed 24 hours a day by career firefighters.
I look forward to the open houses this week and hearing from residents. The future of the Fire Department and its funding structure is an important discussion.

Attention History Buffs

The Council discussed Mukilteo’s Historic Preservation Commission tonight—it doesn’t exist now, but it could in the future (it's in the city code, but has no members right now). We discussed some things that are already being done in the city, as well as what commissions can do. The Historical Society already gathers historical information, but primarily about Old Town. They also work very hard as caretakers of the lighthouse. Other groups have done historical work as well: for instance, the Mayor is working with a volunteer group to identify historical photographs to help decorate Council Chambers.
Some of the topics identified at our meeting that a commission could address include providing information and education about historic register requirements, inventorying historic or nearly historic properties, and assisting in developing design guidelines for the downtown business district in the future. There aren’t specific plans to pursue these, but they fit within the scope of a historic preservation commission.
As a result of our discussion, I, Councilmember Vanderwielen, Councilmember Tinsley (or Councilmember Stoltz, if Councilmember Tinsley is not available), and the Mayor will pursue meeting with the Historical Society to assess their perspectives on a commission. We’ll report back to the Council and potentially discuss it again. I'm also hoping that work group can inventory what’s already being done, and what a Historic Preservation Commission could do. The other part of our discussion was to have an open house or workshop for other interested Mukilteans. Keep an eye out for that opportunity—or just email me and let me know if you value the city investing in historic preservation activities. Let me know if you have ideas about what those activities could be!

Improvements for Pedestrians

On Monday, April 5, the council took action to allow Washington State Ferries to move forward with installation of a new right turn lane on the Speedway, onto Front Street at the ferry dock. This should allow traffic stuck at the intersection while the ferry offloads to take a right turn rather than waiting for the ferry offloading to finish.
We also took action allowing WSF to install a walk signal for pedestrians at the Speedway, tied to the cars offloading from the ferry.

These improvements will ensure predictability and more safety for pedestrians at this busy intersection. I also pushed for better signage making it clear to non-ferry-related cars that they should be aware of pedestrians crossing. I also encouraged WSF to remove the posts discouraging pedestrians from crossing at Ivars toward the Lighthouse Park. When the ferry is not loading, that is a safer place to cross!

The right hand turn lane should be installed by late fall this year. The pedestrian signal should be in by next year, April, 2011. Both items will come back to council one more time once the designs are final.

Transportation Committee

Councilmember Kevin Stoltz invited to be a second alternate and attend this week’s Council Transportation Committee. What a hard working group! We talked about which roads the public works department expects to apply chip seal to this summer (Beverly Park Road and Harbour Pt Blvd in front of Kamiak, generally), parking on the waterfront, and improvements WSFerries plans to do at the Front Street/525 intersection at the ferry.
The state Department of Transportation is working with our staff on designing the traffic signals for the Front Street and 525 intersection. The goal is to install some signals for pedestrians, so that intersection can be safer for them. However, the mechanics of the intersection, including ferry offloading (and loading), the regular traffic movement and pedestrians, is complicated. Just remember when the lights go in—DOT engineers, city engineers, and also some councilmembers spent a lot of time thinking about how it might work. This issue will be discussed more by the entire council at our April 5th meeting.
We also discussed parking on the waterfront and in the downtown. Staff should be presenting new strategies in early May, I think. I felt like the plan we have now is coming together and can really work. Whidbey Island commuters will obviously be troubled, but Mukilteans should enjoy more parking at Lighthouse Park during the busy weekend hours and early evening hours (when commuter parking and park user parking would most conflict). There should be more parking available during Mukilteo Farmers’ Market, as well as Waterfront Wednesdays in general. This topic will be discussed more by the full council at our May 3rd meeting.
Remember, the best way to get to the waterfront is on the Community Transit 113 bus, running every twenty minutes, for $1.50.

openness

I attended a great conference last week, OpenGovWest. We discussed open government initiatives, involving citizens by opening up government data, using social media to be more open and involve everyone in their government.
People attending the conference included city-level representatives: a few councilmembers, Walter Neary from Lakewood (@wtneary on twitter!) one from the Vancouver, WA area, and many city IT staff members from all around the region. For instance, the chief information or technology officers (or representatives) attended from the cities of Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Vancouver (BC) and Edmonton, Canada. There were also state-level representatives, mostly from Canada. Private sector and nonprofit tech people also attended. It was a great gathering.
One thing that I took away from the conference was the concept of risks and opportunities with being more open. I’m particularly interested about open government as it relates to communication and my position as a councilmember. There are great opportunities in the use of social media. It’s incredibly open and universally easy to access. Openness is a critical component of government in Washington. As Ramsey Ramerman, an Everett city attorney, said at the conference, “our open government laws are as important to our democracy as the first amendment… These laws are one of the best tools we have to build public trust.” However, there are some risks: for instance, issues with legal risks for cities, and the laws related to open public meetings related to council discussions. We must comply with the law, but not to the exclusion of being open and responsive. That’s why I choose to use twitter and facebook as one more way to being accessible to citizens.
There is more that can be done—blogging here is part of that for me, too. I enjoyed the conference and will be thinking more in the future about opening up government data as an concept related to this topic.

Sustainability Committee

We had our second meeting of the Sustainability Committee of the Council on Monday night. Our goal is to find constructive actions to take in the next six months, and identify some longer-term goals that might become part of a larger plan in the future.
We discussed identifying the actions that City has already taken. Staff, Planning & Community Development Director Heather McCartney and Senior Planner Glen Pickus, will be creating a list that we’ll be discussing. The Gold LEED-certified City Hall is our most obvious accomplishment, as well as the efficiencies and features of the new community center (including a green roof). We also recently began publishing the city newsletter using recycled paper. I’m sure the list of green, sustainable actions the city is taking will be much longer.
We also talked about identifying some policy priorities and guidelines for routine project selection. The Council regularly approves annual funding for street improvements, stormwater projects, and other projects. Though city staff likely has systems in place to prioritize these projects, the Committee agreed it would be appropriate to bring in some concepts of sustainability in how projects are designed or selected. We discussed a checklist as a possible tool for staff. We don’t want to introduce some extra bureaucracy, but some documentation to demonstrate consideration of the concepts would be useful.
Finally, planning staff is working with a consultant who specializes in visioning. We hope to have a meeting in May at some point, bringing the council, parks and planning commissioners, and staff together. One of the consultants specializes in strategic illustration. That process entails one of the facilitators illustrating the concepts and discussion, resulting in a graphic representation of the group’s ideas. I’ve seen other examples and they are a great result that is easy to use in the future and communicates the vision well. The photo is from a company called Alchemy—the first google result, and a good example of this concept.

Envisioning a New Future

I recently studied the oldest building in Mukilteo, which was built in 1904. The Smith family who lived and worked at 801 Second Street were part of an America where 8000 cars were owned in the early 1900’s. Twenty years later, there were 10 million cars in America. Every state had a highway department. America changed drastically in those twenty years.
Today, our country demands similar changes and choices for the future. We have to invest in these options, for housing choices, transportation options, efforts to create sustainable, livable communities, economic development, and a better future. At today’s National League of Cities session on Sustainable Development, Beth Osborn, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation described livable communities as places “where people at all stages of life can live close to one another.” It’s really inspiring that the US Department of Transportation understands and is working with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency on these issues. Connecting housing and destinations to transportation planning is so important. Mukilteo needs to do the same wherever we can.
At another session here, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood talked about the need to not force people into communities where the car is a necessity rather than a convenience. That is such an important distinction. I have heard fears about government forcing people to get out of their cars. It’s more about investing in other transportation modes the way we have subsidized car ownership and infrastructure for nearly a century. It’s about giving people choices.

Info Tech

I can't guarantee that it won't be another year before I post here, but this seems like the best way to communicate for right now!

This morning, I attended the policy advisory meeting of the Information Technology and Communications Committee (ITC) for the National League of Cities (NLC). We heard from Blair Levin, the Executive Director of the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Initiative. The FCC will release the National Broadband Plan in two or three days. He discussed elements of this plan with the committee. The ITC Committee consists of city councilmembers and mayors from around the country. I am a member of the Steering Committee, as well, which works on policy creation that is later adopted by the Policy Committee, and eventually also adopted by the National League of Cities Executive Board.
The National Broadband Plan was requested by Congress. Mr. Levin explained that the main philosophy of the plan is deployment: getting broadband access to all communities and all Americans.
He pointed out that public service providers are the sectors that are really lagging in adoption of these technologies. He pointed out: “At a bank, you don’t communicate the way that you did ten years ago. Now, you often communicate online at home. At the hospital, information is shared the same way as twenty years ago, you talk, and they write down information on a piece of paper. In high school, kids still carry around their backpack with the same 30 pounds of books. That is going to change.” I would add that it’s already changing: in Kent, the middle schools that I work with in my real job, as a yearbook printer, already provide laptops to every student. They carry those from class to class, along with a backpack of books.
Technology use makes jurisdiction complicated. You can see that in application of sales tax. Amazon recently stopped working with companies in Colorado, I believe, because they needed to apply the state sales tax.
Sometimes state and federal regulations create barriers to technological innovation. Part of the National Broadband Plan addresses some of these barriers and the need to tackle them and reduce barriers. I am personally interested in how open government transparency laws in Washington have impacted adoption of technologies by cities. The need to be completely open often results in councilmembers who say they would never blog, are afraid to communicate by email or with constituents through Facebook or Twitter. I want to see state laws that encourage adoption of technology and use of technology for more transparency and open government. Our residents are becoming more and more familiar with these tools and government should be right there with them.
Mr. Levin closed by saying “We need to make sure our broadband connections are second to none in the world. We have led the world as a country by leading in railroad, electricity infrastructure. We need to that with broadband or our children and their children’s children will suffer.”
I think this is so true. I am looking forward to the release of the National Broadband Plan this week (available at www.broadband.gov).