LYNNWOOD, Wash., April 16, 2023—In a rare back-to-back Special Business Meeting and scheduled Work Session for Monday, April 17, the Lynnwood City Council is expected to vote on a moratorium related to substance abuse outpatient clinics, conduct interviews for the Public Facilities District, and discuss parking in front of USPS mailboxes and reimbursement for a councilmember’s unauthorized travel.
Special Business Meeting: Moratorium on the Accepting Applications from Substance Abuse Clinics
Because the City of Lynnwood Municipal Code Title 21, Zoning, has not been amended nor revised to address the desired location of substance abuse outpatient clinics within its boundaries, Council President Shannon Sessions is requesting the Council to preserve the status quo for a six-month period to evaluate the appropriate location for substance abuse clinics and whether separation requirements between substance abuse clinics and schools and other uses are appropriate.
If this emergency ordinance by the Council is approved on Monday, the City of Lynnwood will immediately impose a six-month moratorium on the acceptance and processing of applications for substance abuse outpatient clinics.
The City will host a public hearing within 60 days upon passage of this emergency ordinance.
Work Session: No parking in Front of Mailboxes
Current city and state law does not prohibit parking in front of USPS mailboxes. An ordinance is being proposed making it illegal to park in front of USPS mailboxes during certain times.
If a mailbox is blocked by parked vehicles, the local USPS Postmaster has authorized delivery personnel to defer delivery to the next day. To improve the efficiency of delivery and the safety of the delivery personnel, City of Lynnwood staff recommends creating new city code to prohibit parking in front of mailboxes during days when USPS mail is delivered.
This presentation will be led by Paul Coffelt, Traffic Engineer and David Mach, City Engineer.
Work Session: Public Facilities District board candidate interviews
At its Business Meeting on March 27, the Lynnwood City Council selected four of seven applicants to be interviewed on April 17 to fill the vacancy left by Shawn Walker on the Public Facilities District (PFD), now called The District. The four finalists are: Vivian Dong, Nick Coelho, Angelina Armstrong, and Teresa Bitner.
Council Members will now conduct interviews and decide which candidate to fill the vacancy.
Work Session: Councilman Josh Binda reimbursement for Washington, D.C. travel
At its Business Meeting on April 10, Councilman Binda requested reimbursement for up to $1,000—an amount he told the Lynnwood Times after the meeting—in travel expenses to the National League of Cities Conference in Washington, D.C.
There was some tension amongst councilmembers whether Councilman Binda was authorized to attend the trip. His name was not on a list of 100 delegates from Washington state who officially represented their municipalities.
Binda claims he was “intimidated” and “bullied” by Council President Shannon Sessions to not go on the trip. According to Binda, prior to going on the trip he asked to seek legal advice on the rules for approved travel to the NLC conference for which President Sessions informed him he may contact the City’s attorney for clarification.
“It is not required for the council to approve anybody to go, its required for the permission from financial in our council rules to get that approve,” Council President Sessions said during the meeting on April 10.
After City Attorney Lisa Marshall shared with the council that Councilman Binda never contacted her regarding any travel to Washington D.C. for the NLC conference, the councilman said that he “attended on his own merit” because, as the conference was a week away, he felt there wasn’t enough time for the attorney to respond to his questions.
“The reason I did not have a conversation with the attorney, because I decided it was a week out from the conference and by the time I would have a conversation with Lisa [the City’s attorney], I would already miss the deadline to make it,” Councilman Binda said. “So, that is why I decided to attend on my own merit and now I am requesting reimbursement of that funding.”
The Council will now formally discuss the reimbursement of Councilmember Josh Binda’s travel to Washington, D.C. to attend the NLC conference.
