City Council - Committee Of The Whole

City of Bellingham Committee Of The Whole Minutes February 12, 2024, 1:20 PM Mayor: Kimberley Lund Contact: (360) 778-8100, mayorsoffice@cob.org Council Members: Hannah Stone, Hollie Huthman, Contact: (360) 778-8200, ccmail@cob.org Daniel Hammill, Edwin H. “Skip” Williams, Lisa Anderson, https://cob.org/council Michael Lilliquist and Jace Cotton Call to Order Council President Hammill called the meeting to order at 1:21pm. Roll Call Present: Council President Daniel Hammill, Third Ward Council Member Hannah Stone, First Ward Council Member Hollie Huthman, Second Ward Council Member Edwin H. "Skip" Williams, Fourth Ward Council Member Lisa Anderson, Fifth Ward Council Member Michael Lilliquist, Sixth Ward Council Member Jace Cotton, At-Large Council Standing Committee Meetings: Open to the public to attend. Note: there is generally no public comment period for Committee sessions. Standing Committee Members receive reports and information, ask questions and, when appropriate, vote on a recommended action for consideration by the full Council at the Regular Meeting. The notice of Committee Meetings identified below also serves as notice of Special Meetings of the City Council at the times identified as Council Members who are not members of the committee routinely attend and participate in the Committee Meetings. Committee Chairs give a report of the Committee Meeting at the Regular Meeting in the evening prior to deliberation and formal vote. Please be advised that if the City Council is ahead of schedule, they may start with old/new business before the official Committee of the Whole meeting time. 23995 1. An Ordinance Relating to the Rental Registration and Safety Inspection Program; p. 3 Amending BMC 6.15.020, 6.15.030, 6.15.040, 6.15.050, 6.15.070, 6.15.080, and 6.15.170; and Adding a New Section to Chapter 6.15 James Erb, Deputy City Attorney, and Blake Lyon, Planning and Community Development Director, returned to discuss an ordinance modifying the rental registration and safety inspection program and updates to the City's tenant resources page based upon Council feedback at the December 4, 2023 meeting. Council Members discussed the ordinance and asked questions. Edwin H. "Skip" Williams / Lisa Anderson moved to recommend approval of the ordinance relating to the rental registration and safety inspection program; amending BMC 6.15.020, 6.15.030, Committee Of The Whole Minutes Page 1 February 12, 2024  6.15.040, 6.15.050, 6.15.070, 6.15.080, and 6.15.170; and adding a new section to chapter 6.15 BMC. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 2. Old/New Business Council Member Huthman and Council Member Cotton would like to discuss parking minimum requirements in the City. Hollie Huthman / Jace Cotton moved to request the administration work with relevant staff to bring forward a work session regarding the removal of citywide parking minimum requirements and related parking policies, including but not limited to, bike parking standards, increasing ADA parking requirements, street parking management strategies, and related parking design standards. Lisa Anderson / Michael Lilliquist moved to amend the motion to include, "opportunities for inclusionary zoning in exchange for affordable housing." MOTION AMENDMENT CARRIED 7-0. AMENDED MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Michael Lilliquist / Edwin H. "Skip" Williams moved to direct the policy analyst to undertake a study on the effects of removing parking and its impact on housing affordability. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Council Member Lilliquist recently met with Port Commissioner Bell who is looking to propose a workgroup to focus on industrial lands to examine economic development countywide and lands available for industrial activity. He expects additional information from the Port on the workgroup in the near future and a request for a Council Member to participate. Council Member Williams and President Hammill also recently met with Port officials to discuss economic development. Daniel Hammill / Edwin H. "Skip" Williams moved to request representatives from the Port to present to City Council their plans for economic development and clean-up at the waterfront. The discussion should also include representatives from the Northwest Washington Central Labor Council and/or AFL-CIO to discuss labor impacts from economic development projects. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Committee Of The Whole Minutes Page 2 February 12, 2024  Lisa Anderson / Hannah Stone moved to request the City administration to formulate stakeholder conversations to discuss the noise ordinance so that they run concurrently to meetings with workgroups about economic development. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Council Member Stone inquired about next steps with public comment since Council has a temporary suspension on receiving public comment online via Zoom. Council discussed the change. Council moved into Executive Session at 2:28pm to discuss six items until 3:10pm. 1. Potential Property Acquisition 2. Potential Property Acquisition 3. Potential Litigation 4. Litigation: DeBruin et al. v. City of Bellingham 5. Potential Property & Sale Acquisition 6. Potential Property Acquisition Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:10pm. Committee Of The Whole Minutes Page 3 February 12, 2024