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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-27-2025 - Minutes MEDINA, WASHINGTON MEDINA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING Hybrid – Virtual/In-Person Medina City Hall – Council Chambers 501 Evergreen Point Road, Medina, WA 98039 Monday, January 27, 2025 – 5:00 PM MINUTES 1. REGULAR MEETING - CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL Mayor Rossman called the regular meeting to order in the Medina Council Chambers at 5:03 PM. PRESENT Mayor Jessica Rossman Deputy Mayor Randy Reeves Councilmember Joseph Brazen Councilmember Mac Johnston Councilmember Michael Luis Councilmember Heija Nunn ABSENT Councilmember Harini Gokul STAFF Burns, Robertson (online), Kesler, Sass, Osada, Wilcox, Wagner, Kellerman 2. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Mayor Rossman added a new Agenda Item 4.1 Process of Overlake Golf and Country Club Variance Application. ACTION: By consensus, the meeting agenda was approved as amended. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD Mayor Rossman opened the public comment period. The following individuals addressed the Council: 1. Alex Tsimertman spoke on local fascism. 2. Steven Goldfarb spoke in opposition to the Overlake Golf and Country Club proposed fence height variance application. 3. Mike Peters spoke in opposition to the Overlake Golf and Country Club proposed fence height variance application. 4. Christian Gerron spoke in opposition to the Overlake Golf and Country Club proposed fence height variance application. 5. Ben Magnano spoke in opposition to the Overlake Golf and Country Club proposed fence height variance application. 6. Mike Willingham spoke in opposition to the Overlake Golf and Country Club proposed fence height variance application. With no further comments, Mayor Rossman closed the public comment period. 4. PRESENTATIONS ADDED AGENDA ITEM 4.1 Overlake Golf and Country Club Variance Application Process Planning Manager Jonathan Kesler gave a brief explanation of the variance process, including the role of the hearing examiner and the timeline for decisions. Council asked questions and staff responded. 5. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT None. 6. CONSENT AGENDA None. 7. LEGISLATIVE HEARING None. 8. PUBLIC HEARING None. 9. CITY BUSINESS 9.1 Middle Housing Update a) Final Review of Preliminary Commerce Draft Ordinance b) Forum Recap and Feedback Recommendation: Discussion and direction. Staff Contact(s): Jonathan G. Kesler, AICP – Planning Manager and Kirsten Peterson, Senior Project Manager, SCJ Alliance Mayor Rossman introduced Middle Housing and discussed scheduling a workshop meeting with a subset of the Council or if a quorum is interested in scheduling a special meeting to review subdivision requirements and have a Q&A session with staff and consultants. SCJ Alliance consultant Kirsten Peterson provided an overview of the preliminary Middle Housing ordinance. Council asked questions and staff responded. Lastly, Peterson provided an update on the community survey and the most recent community forum on Middle Housing. Preliminary survey results indicated that the top concerns among residents were property values, parking, and traffic. There was strong support for adopting design guidelines in the future, with an emphasis on alleviating traffic concerns and enhancing design standards. ACTION: By consensus, Council directed the following changes in the ordinance: Definitions:  Remove footnotes from definitions for Administrative Design Review and Major Transit Stop  Middle Housing definition - reword last sentence.  Single-family dwelling and single-family dwelling, detached - noted for language clarity clean up going forward. Requested new definitions:  Apartments  Development Agreement  Affordable Housing At this time, Mayor Rossman amended the agenda to include an Executive Session under RCW 42.30.110(1)(g) as Agenda Item 12, with an estimated duration of 20 minutes. Additionally, the order of City Business was adjusted, moving Park Board Goal Setting for the Joint Meeting to Agenda Item 9.2, while the 2024/2025 Council Workplan Overview was shifted to Agenda Item 9.3. ACTION: Without objections, the meeting agenda was reapproved as amended. 9.2 Park Board Goal Setting for Joint Meeting Recommendation: Discussion and direction. Staff Contacts: Stephen R. Burns, City Manager Mayor Rossman introduced the Park Board Goal Setting for the meeting and provided a brief overview of the background. City Manager Steve Burns presented recommended discussion topics for the upcoming City Council and Park Board joint meeting. The primary goal of the meeting is to foster collaboration, prioritize the Park Board Workplan and incorporate success metrics to measure progress effectively. Council asked questions and staff responded. Park Board Chair Collette McMullen noted that the Park Board’s focus has shifted from generating ideas to improve the parks toward event planning. She expressed a desire to refocus on higher-level strategy, considering key questions such as what the parks should provide for the community, what future needs should be anticipated, and finding a balance between high level planning and maintenance. ACTION: This was a discussion item only, with no action taken. By consensus, the Council agreed that the primary focus of the joint meeting will be strategic planning and visioning. Staff will schedule the meeting for mid-year. 9.3 2024/2025 Council Workplan Overview Recommendation: Information only. Staff Contact: Stephen R. Burns, City Manager City Manager Steve Burns provided a brief overview of the 2024/2025 Council Workplan, noting that the remaining items will be discussed in greater detail at the upcoming Council retreat. Councilmembers asked questions, which Burns addressed. ACTION: Council directed the removal the St. Thomas Crosswalk request and add fiber and trash management. 9.4 Medina Legislative Priorities Agenda Recommendation: Discussion and direction. Staff Contact: Stephen R. Burns, City Manager City Manager Steve Burns presented the draft Medina Legislative Priorities agenda, highlighting recommendations from the city's lobbyist, SoundView Strategies. He noted that the city should focus on three key priorities: 1. Washington State Housing Legislation Mandates 2. WSDOT Partnership 3. Advocating for Budget Reforms Council asked questions and Burns responded. ACTION: This was a discussion item only; no action was taken. Councilmembers were encouraged to submit any additional feedback directly to the City Manager before the next meeting, when the agenda will be brought back for adoption. 10. REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND COUNCIL ROUND TABLE a) Requests for future agenda items. b) Council round table. None. 11. PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Rossman opened the public comment period. The following individual addressed the Council: 1. Mark Nelson commented on the importance of understanding the Planning Commission’s recommendations before decisions are made. He requested that, in the future, Councilmembers seek clarification on the rationale behind the Commission’s recommendations before questioning or acting on them. Additionally, he noted that parks are included in the Comprehensive Plan and should be considered in discussions during the joint meeting with the Park Board. Specifically, if any changes or amendments are needed in the Comprehensive Plan. 12. EXECUTIVE SESSION Council moved into Executive Session under RCW 42.30.110(1)(g) for an estimated time of 20 minutes. RCW 42.30.110(1)(g) To evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for public employment or to review the performance of a public employee. However, subject to RCW 42.30.140(4), discussion by a governing body of salaries, wages, and other conditions of employment to be generally applied within the agency shall occur in a meeting open to the public, and when a governing body elects to take final action hiring, setting the salary of an individual employee or class of employees, or discharging or disciplining an employee, that action shall be taken in a meeting open to the public. ACTION: No action was taken following the Executive Session. 13. ADJOURNMENT By consensus, Council adjourned the regular meeting at 7:58 p.m. Meeting minutes taken by Aimee Kellerman, CMC, City Clerk