Lynnwood undergoes extensive restructuring of city’s development regulations

This article was edited to add the name of the candidate who stepped down from consideration for the vacant city council seat. 

Lynnwood Development and Business Services staff are in the midst of restructuring the city’s development regulations from the ground up. When completed, all of Lynnwood’s development regulations and  guidelines included in the city’s various development plans and state housing laws will be in one place: the Unified Development Code. 

City Planning Manager Karl Almgren presented the details of the code to the city council during its Monday, March 3 meeting. The deadline to adopt the code is approaching quickly, leaving staff and the council only a few months to finalize it. 

Only five of the of the eight top candidates selected to potentially fill the vacancy on the city council remain, as yet another person has stepped out of the race, Council Vice President Binda said. Marie MacCoy was the latest to remove herself from the candidate pool, city spokesperson Nathan MacDonald confirmed in an email to Lynnwood Today.

This announcement came a week after Rebecca Thornton, who the council chose to fill the vacancy Feb.24, stepped down from the appointment only an hour before she was scheduled to take an oath of office. The council is scheduled to take another vote on March 10, hopefully selecting one of the five remaining candidates to fill the vacant seat.

Marie MacCoy dropped out of the run for the vacant council meeting within the last week, leaving only five candidates for the position, Council Vice President Josh Binda said Monday. This marks the third candidate who removed themself since the top eight candidates were selected to move forward in the interview process.

Lynnwood is also one step closer to having its first Youth Board. During the meeting, Councilmember Derica Escamilla and Council Vice President Binda updated their colleagues on the process of bringing this idea to life.

The council also interviewed four candidates for the vacant positions on Lynnwood’s Parks and Recreation Board and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission. 

Unified Development Code 

Lynnwood has until the end of June to adopt a Unified Development Code. If the city fails to do so, it may have to adopt a default code developed by the state Department of Commerce, city documents say. 

City development and business staff are set to “fine tune” the code through April and May. The council is scheduled to discuss the code during a work session, followed by a public hearing and eventually adoption before the June 30 deadline, Almgren said. 

“It will be a very, very big headache if we’re two weeks late,” he said. 

If adopted, the code consolidates Lynnwood’s housing regulations into one title in Lynwood’s Municipal Code. Title 18: Planning, Title 19: Subdivisions, Title 21: Zoning and city design guidelines are set to be merged into a single Tile 8: the Unified Development Code. 

The goal is to increase efficiency and consistency on the administrative end, as required by state lawmaker’s changes to the Local Project Review Act in 2023. The mission is to create a consistent, standardized baseline for development regulations in Lynnwood, Almgren said. 

One of the main goals of developing a UDC is to align Lynnwood’s development regulations with state housing laws, namely those governing middle housing (HB 1110) and accessory dwelling units (HB 1337). The UDC is also set to implement Lynnwood’s local plans: the DBS Strategic Plan,  Housing Action Plan, South Lynnwood Neighborhood Plan and the Connect Lynnwood Plan, as outlined in this summary. 

“Additionally, this effort provides [an] opportunity to incorporate housing regulations, design guidelines, and support transit oriented development principles for the City Center [and] Alderwood in anticipation of the Everett Link Extension,” according to city documents. 

State law requires Lynnwood and other cities to implement at least six of nine different types of middle housing. “Middle housing is defined as buildings that are compatible in scale, form, and character with single-family homes and contain two or more attached, stacked, or clustered homes,” city documents say. 

Common middle housing types include: Duplex, triplex, fourplex, fiveplex, sixplex, townhomes, stacked flats, courtyard apartments and cottage housing (multiple detached units on one plot that share a common courtyard space). A community outreach effort last summer showed that of those nine types, Lynnwood residents prefer duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, stacked flats and cottage housing, Almgren said Monday. 

Title 8– the Unified Development Code– is spit into eight chapters: 

• 8.01 – Introductory Provisions: Establishes regulations regarding authorities, legalities, zoning map and the comprehensive plan. 
  • Combines LMC 21.04 (General Provisions) and LMC 21.40 (Use Zones and Zoning Map). 

• 8.20 –  Subdivision and Neighborhood Design: Establishes regulations for subdivisions and other property line adjustments. 

• • Combines LMC Title 19 (Subdivisions) and LMC 21.30 (Planned Unit Development)
• 8.30 – Subareas and Zoning Districts: Outlines and describes Lynnwood’s zoning districts. 
• 8.35 – Use Regulations: Establishes regulations for uses allowed in each zone. Retail marijuana would be discussed in this article.

• • Currently spread out in 12 chapters of the LMC. The UDC combines regulations into one chapter and corrects any inconsistencies throughout. 

• 8.40 – Development Standards: Updates standards to be “less restrictive” and promotes climate resistance through landscaping and low impact developments. 
• 8.45 – Design Standards: Promotes clear development standards “good design” without delaying the permit process. Also guides design to function well for vehicles, cyclists, public transportation and pedestrians. 

• • Combines four city design guidelines: Citywide design (2001), Design for Highway 99 and Mixed-Use Zones (2011), City Center-Alderwood Transition Area Design  (2014) and City Center Design (2019). 

• 8.90 – Administration and Permit Processes: Establishes methods for how permits are processed and administered. 
• • Combines LMC 1.35 (Application Processing and Review), LMC 18 (Planning), LMC 19 (Subdivisions) and LMC 21 (Zoning). 
• 8.99 – Definitions

Council vacancy

Since another candidate dropped out of the race following last week’s council meeting. A total of 19 people originally applied for the vacancy. On Monday, Binda suggested the council add the next three top-ranked candidates from the original pool of 19 to the remaining five, so the pool would have eight candidates.

This move would establish consistency with existing policy that requires eight candidates to be selected for the interview process, Binda said. Doing so could also expand the council’s options to ensure a diverse pool of candidates. This would create a fair system free from bias, as none of the councilmembers knew who the next three top-ranking candidates were, he said. 

According to state law, the council has 90 days to appoint a new member followingCouncilmember Julieta Altamirano Crosby’s resignation on Jan. 6, giving the council until April 6 to fill the position. If they were to pull up three more candidates and restart the interview process, it would put them dangerously close to the deadline, Mayor Christine Frizzell said.

Lynnwood’s policy on filling a council vacancy says “the eight applicants who receive the most points shall be scheduled for interviews.” Councilmember George Hurst said he believed the council had already done so, and that it was appropriate to move forward in the process. 

After more conversation, the general consensus was to move ahead with the remaining five candidates, with the option to rework the process for filling a council vacancy in the future.

City of Lynnwood Youth Council 

Lynnwood’s first-ever youth board officially has a name: the City of Lynnwood Youth Council, Councilmember Escamilla said Monday. 

Over the course of two meetings in February, Councilmembers Escamilla and Binda – along with other city councilmembers and staff –met with a group of adult stakeholders to establish the structure of the group. 

The stakeholders decided the youth council should have between 15 to 20 youth members, ages 15 to 20 from five Edmonds School District schools, four alternative schools in ESD and Edmonds College. Eligibility also extends to students who are homeschooled or attend private schools in the area. 

Escamilla said she hopes to have representation from each school and a variety of backgrounds and demographics on the youth council. There will not be an essay or a grade point average requirement to apply for the council, Escamilla said, as the goal is to have various application options.

While the task force aims to support Lynnwood youth, Escamilla and Binda didn’t explicitly say applicants are required to have a Lynnwood address. The task force wanted to allow students who go to school in Lynnwood but might not live in Lynnwood to apply for the council. This could include students who live in unincorporated areas of Snohomish County, students who live on the border of Lynnwood and another city, Edmonds College students and students who attend a private school in Lynnwood but don’t live in the city. 

Binda revealed the group’s mission statement: “Our mission is to empower young leaders with a voice in their community. Fostering belonging, equity and purpose through leadership, civic engagement and collaboration, we create an inclusive platform where you are heard and derive positive change.” 

The purposes of the group include: 

• Representation and advocacy: Giving youth a voice in government and decision making. 
• Leadership and growth: Developing skills through mentorship and service. 
• Community and engagement: Building connections and making an impact. 
• Empowerment and agency: Creating opportunities for youth to lead their own future. 

Through a collaborative effort, a group of adult stakeholders, alongside Escamilla and Binda, created the mission statement and purposes and defined the youth council’s structure.

The adult stakeholders are a group of volunteers known for their work in mentoring local youth:

• Wally Webster – The ACCESS Project. 
• Olympia Edwards – Project Girl. 
• Thomas Garrard – Edmonds School District. 
• Ruth Cassidy – Alderwood Boys and Girls Club.
• Sally Guzman – Edmonds School District. 
• Councilmember George Hurst. 
• Louie Aroche – Western States Carpenters Union and Hoops for Homies. 

Binda said he recruited two young people to provide input: Brandon, a student at the University of Washington, and Fanielle, who is closely involved with Edmonds School District and other youth commissions. City Council Executive Assistant Estee Avalos and Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Director Joel Faber were also present for the meetings. 

Escamilla said there are one or two meetings left in which the group will finalize meeting frequency, adult involvement and application requirements. After the framework is in place, the next step is to launch the application and conduct public outreach, she said. Outreach efforts could involve collaboration with school district representatives to hold assemblies at local schools to inform students about the youth council. Escamilla also plans to advertise the youth council at upcoming city events. 

In December, the city council set aside $10,000 in the city’s budget for the youth council. In early January, Escamilla said Council President Nick Coelho gave her the green light to move forward with the project. A timeline for the application process hasn’t been finalized yet, but in previous Lynnwood Today reporting Escamilla said she hopes to have applications open sometime in the spring and a fully-staffed youth board in the fall.   

Parks and Recreation and DEI candidates 

The Lynnwood City Council interviewed four candidates who had applied for two positions on the city’s Parks and Recreation Board and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission at its meeting Monday. 

For the parks board, Mayor Christine Frizzell recommended David Barber for the vacant position No. 5 and Quinn Van Order for position No. 2. The mayor also recommended that the council appoint Rosa Murillo for the vacant No. 3 position on the DEI commission, and Zachary McGhee for the No. 5 position. 

Faber introduced David Barber as a “very active member of the community.” Barber regularly volunteers at park board events and frequently attends the board meetings and other events citywide, Faber said. With a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Central Washington University, Barber plans to take a data-driven approach if chosen for the position, he told the council. He also plans to hone in on community outreach, focusing on partnerships with local media to promote parks events. He also stressed the importance of staying up to date with the state Legislature to understand how state laws could affect park operations in Lynnwood. 

Quinn Van Order is also an active resident, having participated in the city’s budget process and regularly attending events at the Lynnwood’s Recreation Center, Faber said. Van Order’s background in system and infrastructure engineering gives him technical experience that could be valuable to the parks board, according to his application, adding that, his job is to build things made to last. If chosen for the position, he said he’d focus on building things with longevity in mind, avoiding spending money on short-term issues. Van Order also wants to improve biking infrastructure and walkability in Lynnwood’s parks. 

Although Rosa Murillo is a new resident of Lynnwood, she was very proactive in reaching out to city staff to find ways to be involved. Members of the DEI committee “knew off the bat that they wanted her,” Lynnwood Equity and Social Justice Advisor Doug Raiford told the council. Her professional background is in mental health services and social work, having worked in jails and specializing juvenile rehabilitation. She also has experience as a legal assistant. Murillo believes her professional background positions her to be empathetic to what residents experience, giving a voice to people who may not feel comfortable speaking up on their own behalf. 

As a Lynnwood resident since 2017, Zachary McGhee said he felt a need to emphasize representation and diversity in city leadership, in light of DEI initiatives being “stripped away” on a federal level. With a degree in accounting, McGhee has experience with budgets and social issues from his work as an accountant for the Low Income Housing Institute. He also has experience in patient care from his time as a pharmacist for Harborview Medical Center. If chosen for the position, McGhee said he’d like to foster a partnership between the city and the Low Income Housing institute to build more “tiny houses” in Lynnwood to help address the homelessness crisis. 

The applicants are scheduled to be confirmed at the March 10 council meeting, City Administrator Julie Moore said in an email. Before coming before the council, board and commission applicants are vetted by city staff and the mayor, who then chooses which applicants to recommend to the council for confirmation, Moore wrote. 

In other business, councilmembers who attended the Association of Washington Cities conference in Lacey last month provided a summary of the conference. 

The council also approved consent agenda items from the Feb. 24 meeting as power outages at city hall prevented them from doing so at the time. 

A recording of the meeting can be found on the city’s website. 

— Contact Ashley at ashley@myedmondsnews.com.