At the May 10 business meeting, the Lynnwood city council held a public hearing on the city’s housing action plan.
The city of Lynnwood’s Department of Development and Business Services presented the proposed Lynnwood Housing Action Plan to the council and the community.
The Housing Action Plan serves to identify goals and policies regarding housing affordability, and the strategies that the city may undertake to help address housing affordability said the city’s Director of Development and Business Services David Kleitsch.
The city’s Senior Planner for Development and Business Services Kristian Holdsworth explained that the housing action plan forms Lynnwood’s five-year goals and strategies to promote housing options that are safe and affordable for all community members.
Holdsworth outlined the plan’s four main goals, which include producing housing that meets the needs of the community and preserving existing affordable housing. They also intend to partner with housing educators and providers to find equitable housing solutions while removing systematic barriers and prepare for the city’s continued growth.
Council action on the Lynnwood Housing Action Plan is scheduled to take place during the May 24 business meeting.
City Council Vacancy
In other business, the council held a discussion to review interview questions for candidates for the vacant city council position.
Each applicant interview will be limited to 30 minutes total, and each applicant will be asked to compose a three-minute introductory presentation and a two-minute closing statement. Current council members will have an opportunity to pose one question to the applicant that is relevant to the position.
Councilmembers Christine Frizzell and Ruth Ross stated that one question they would like to ask applicants is if they intend to run for the vacant position or one that is currently occupied.
Interviews will not be private per violation of the open meetings act, so one call for concern from council members was applicants interviewing after others potentially having an unfair advantage through knowing what questions are being asked and having additional time to prepare. In response, the council discussed preparing a set of questions that can be rotated through.
The candidates vying for the vacant council seat left by former councilman Ian Cotton are: Michael Miller, Nick Coelho, Nicole Guenther, Nazanin Lashgari, Patrick Decker, Christine Eck, Neil Weiss, and Michael Wojack.
On May 17, the council will move into a meeting following interviews where council members will vote on the eight candidates, each ranking their top three. Votes will get tallied up, and then-Mayor Nicola Smith will announce how each member voted.
“At the end of the evening, people will know how each council member has voted,” explained councilmember George Hurst.
By June 2, the Lynnwood City Council will have a new council member, who will be sworn in that night.
Future Lynnwood City Council Business Meetings, Work Sessions and Committee Meetings can be streamed live by the public at https://www.youtube.com/user/CityofLynnwood/live.
Author: Erin Freeman
