Agenda
[1:35]
Proclamation: Susan Han Day
[17:54]
Proclamation: West Seattle Girls' Little League Softball Day
[29:38]
Public Comment
[2:26:07]
Approval of the Agenda; Adoption of Introduction and Referral Calendar, Approval of the Agenda, Approval of the Consent Calendar
[2:27:45]
CB 121254: relating to rental agreement regulation
[3:08:36]
CB 121252: relating to funding from non-City sources
[3:12:19]
CB 121253: relating to Ordinance 127362, which adopted the 2026 Budget
[3:38:38]
CF 314550: relating to Swedish Health Services and an alley vacation
Transcript
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[0:05]
[music] [music]
[0:14]
-- we're going to go ahead and
[0:14]
get started. Bueller. So I
[0:19]
don't want to bang the gavel
[0:22]
hey, council president. Okay.
[0:28]
thank you. That's the first time
[0:29]
I've ever had to use the gavel,
[0:31]
so. Good afternoon, everyone.
[0:33]
the august 11th meeting of the
[0:34]
seattle city council will come
[0:35]
to order. It is 2:06 p.m.. I'm
[0:38]
joy hollingsworth, your council
[0:38]
president. Will the clerk please
[0:39]
call the roll?
[0:41]
-- councilmember foster
[0:47]
councilmember juarez.
[0:49]
-- councilmember kettle here.
[0:50]
-- councilmember lin here.
[0:52]
-- councilmember rinck here.
[0:54]
-- councilmember rivera.
[0:54]
present. Councilmember saka.
[0:57]
councilmember strauss council
[0:59]
president. Hollingsworth.
[1:01]
-- here.
[1:02]
-- seven. Present.
[1:02]
-- awesome councilmember.
[1:05]
councilmember juarez. You said
[1:06]
seven. Present. Okay.
[1:09]
councilmember juarez and
[1:09]
councilmember foster are excused
[1:10]
until they get here. I know they
[1:11]
stepped out today. The council
[1:14]
will present three
[1:15]
proclamations. Will present two.
[1:16]
excuse me, two proclamations.
[1:17]
the first one is presented on
[1:20]
susan hahn appreciation day by
[1:22]
councilmember rinck. And the
[1:22]
second proclamation will be
[1:24]
presented by councilmember saka.
[1:26]
recognizing west seattle little
[1:28]
league day. So we will start
[1:29]
with councilmember rinck.
[1:33]
-- thank you, council president
[1:34]
colleagues. I am so excited to
[1:35]
be presenting this proclamation
[1:37]
today to honor the work of susan
[1:39]
hahn of the seattle channel, the
[1:40]
award winning seattle channel.
[1:44]
-- [applause]
[1:47]
-- now, mayor wilson, along with
[1:48]
eight city councilmembers, have
[1:50]
added their signatures and
[1:52]
proclaimed today, august 11th,
[1:53]
2026, as susan hahn appreciation
[1:56]
day. Now I know I've met susan
[1:58]
in community from labor at
[1:59]
linda's events to also a group
[2:02]
bike ride in chophouse row. But
[2:05]
many know susan out in community
[2:06]
and through her work through
[2:08]
seattle channel, she has
[2:10]
facilitated an empowered
[2:11]
communities and people from
[2:12]
across the city to tell their
[2:14]
stories. So I felt compelled to
[2:17]
bring this proclamation to
[2:18]
fruition after I heard of
[2:19]
susan's retirement from our own
[2:21]
brian callanan. And I want to
[2:21]
give a big thanks to brian for
[2:23]
working with my office in
[2:24]
drafting this proclamation and
[2:26]
bringing us all here today. So
[2:28]
without further ado, I'd like
[2:30]
to read the proclamation, and
[2:31]
then we'll have a couple of
[2:33]
speakers to speak on. Susan hahn
[2:34]
appreciation day, and we will
[2:36]
take a group photo. So whereas
[2:39]
susan hahn, a senior producer at
[2:42]
the seattle channel since 2007,
[2:43]
has retired after an inspiring,
[2:46]
award winning career. And
[2:48]
whereas she was born in london
[2:49]
and raised in singapore and
[2:52]
followed her natural lifelong
[2:52]
curiosity to ask meaningful
[2:54]
questions by pursuing work
[2:56]
overseas in the field of
[2:58]
journalism. Whereas she moved to
[2:59]
the united states in 1987 to
[3:02]
attend the university of
[3:04]
washington, where she earned a
[3:05]
communications degree in 1990.
[3:07]
and whereas she began a career
[3:09]
in broadcast journalism spanning
[3:11]
nearly 40 years, including
[3:14]
nearly two decades at seattle
[3:18]
channel, 15 years as a senior
[3:19]
producer at casey ts9 and as a
[3:26]
researcher at king tv's evening
[3:27]
magazine. And whereas her work
[3:28]
at seattle channel has included
[3:29]
coverage of the pike place
[3:31]
market centennial in 2007, as
[3:32]
well as programs such as art
[3:34]
zone, city stream, community
[3:35]
stories and seattle speaks. And
[3:39]
whereas her ability to speak
[3:42]
four languages english, french,
[3:44]
mandarin and cantonese, and her
[3:46]
international perspective
[3:48]
allowed her to lead production
[3:50]
on a program about seattle
[3:51]
sister cities of knots. And
[3:53]
whereas the bulk of her work at
[3:55]
seattle channel has been
[3:57]
dedicated to producing more than
[3:59]
250 episodes of city inside out,
[4:01]
a public affairs show known for
[4:03]
the tough but fair approach she
[4:06]
developed alongside host kr
[4:08]
douglas and brian callanan. And
[4:09]
whereas she researched topics,
[4:11]
wrote and edited scripts, booked
[4:13]
guests, and became known for
[4:15]
persuading people with opposing
[4:16]
viewpoints to sit down together
[4:17]
for civil conversations about
[4:19]
seattle's biggest and most
[4:21]
controversial issues. From gun
[4:22]
control to homelessness, as well
[4:25]
as spirited debates between
[4:27]
opposing political candidates.
[4:28]
and whereas she has won eight
[4:31]
regional emmy awards and
[4:31]
contributed to seattle channel
[4:35]
station excellence award in
[4:37]
2025, which recognizes
[4:38]
outstanding overall operations,
[4:40]
local programing and community
[4:42]
involvement of a television
[4:43]
station as compared to all
[4:45]
television stations in the
[4:46]
region of washington, idaho,
[4:48]
oregon and montana. And whereas,
[4:50]
she became a u.s. Citizen in
[4:52]
2019 and has had a major
[4:54]
influence far beyond television
[4:56]
with her involvement in the
[4:58]
asian american journalists
[5:01]
association starting in 1991,
[5:01]
where she served as co-president
[5:03]
and has advocated for more asian
[5:06]
american journalists and
[5:07]
journalists of color in
[5:09]
newsrooms. And whereas her
[5:12]
inspiring career and unmatched
[5:12]
contributions have helped shape
[5:14]
the seattle channel into what it
[5:14]
is today, an award winning
[5:18]
municipal government access
[5:20]
television station and digital
[5:21]
media platform that inspires,
[5:24]
informs and connects the seattle
[5:25]
community. Now, therefore, the
[5:27]
mayor and seattle city council
[5:30]
proclaim august 11th, 2026 to be
[5:32]
susan hahn appreciation day.
[5:34]
-- thank you.
[5:36]
-- [applause]
[5:42]
-- awesome. Thank you.
[5:43]
councilmember rinck are there
[5:44]
any other councilmembers that
[5:46]
would like to give comment
[5:48]
before we suspend the rules? So
[5:49]
we're going to go ahead and
[5:50]
suspend the rules. So the
[5:51]
proclamation could be presented.
[5:53]
and then we also have three
[5:54]
guests. We have brian callahan
[5:55]
who's going to speak shannon g.
[5:56]
and then susan herself. Oh there
[6:00]
is someone who wanted oh sorry.
[6:01]
councilmember rivera thank you.
[6:03]
-- thank you, council president.
[6:04]
I just want to say that I was
[6:07]
not present at yesterday's
[6:07]
meeting, but of course, I would
[6:09]
have signed the proclamation. I
[6:11]
really want to congratulate
[6:13]
susan hahn for her service to
[6:16]
the city and at the seattle
[6:17]
channel. So wanted to say that
[6:18]
for the record. And
[6:20]
congratulations to her. Thank
[6:22]
you.
[6:22]
-- cp awesome. Thank you,
[6:24]
councilmember rivera. Okay, so
[6:25]
we'll go ahead and present the
[6:27]
proclamation and then I will
[6:29]
call up brian, are you here?
[6:33]
brian callahan? Callanan I'm
[6:34]
sorry, I always mess up. I'm
[6:36]
sorry. Brian. Yes. Okay,
[6:40]
awesome. Shannon. Then brian and
[6:45]
then susan. Hi, shannon.
[6:48]
welcome. Hey. Hi.
[6:50]
-- I'm shannon g. I'm the
[6:51]
general manager of the seattle
[6:52]
channel, and I am so excited.
[6:54]
that is susan hahn appreciation
[6:54]
day. Every day is susan hahn
[6:57]
appreciation day at the seattle
[6:59]
channel. We are so grateful and
[7:00]
proud to have had susan working
[7:03]
with us and the city of seattle
[7:05]
for nearly two decades. She was
[7:07]
the incomparable senior producer
[7:09]
for our public affairs program,
[7:11]
city inside out, and we all
[7:13]
became sharper, smarter, and
[7:15]
more civically engaged due to
[7:18]
her focus, her persuasive
[7:21]
personality, and her commitment
[7:22]
to finding the voices to speak
[7:24]
about our city. She brought us
[7:26]
all together around that frosted
[7:28]
desk in the seattle channel
[7:30]
studios to discuss, learn and
[7:31]
examine the things that impact
[7:33]
us as a municipality and a
[7:35]
community. I love that this
[7:37]
proclamation is happening here
[7:39]
in chambers, as this is a key
[7:41]
place where susan took her cues
[7:43]
and ran with them, describing
[7:45]
susan as a skilled and trusted
[7:47]
news producer. Doesn't say the
[7:48]
half of it. Her power to turn
[7:50]
the issues discussed in this
[7:53]
building into civic
[7:54]
participation is testament to
[7:56]
her ability to simultaneously
[7:58]
hold clarity and nuance in
[8:01]
complex issues, and her
[8:01]
generosity in inviting many of
[8:03]
us into the discussion helped to
[8:05]
widen our viewpoints and world.
[8:08]
so congratulations to susan
[8:10]
seattle channel. Thanks you for
[8:12]
all your years of service, your
[8:14]
tireless community building, and
[8:15]
your dedication to upholding
[8:17]
media integrity and informing
[8:20]
our city.
[8:20]
-- awesome. Thank you. Shannon.
[8:24]
-- [applause]
[8:28]
-- brian, welcome.
[8:28]
-- brief interlude. Before I
[8:29]
speak
[8:35]
-- hello. I'm josephine chang,
[8:37]
former news reporter at como
[8:39]
reporter at king's evening
[8:41]
magazine. Producer, reporter at
[8:42]
kcts, as well as seattle
[8:44]
channel.
[8:45]
-- I'm lori matsukawa, 36 years
[8:47]
as anchor at king five news.
[8:49]
hello, joy. And also a proud
[8:54]
friend of susan hahn.
[8:55]
-- as you can see, dear city
[8:57]
council, susan has quite a
[8:59]
cheering squad here today.
[9:02]
that's because those of us who
[9:04]
have worked with her and who
[9:04]
have known her for decades,
[9:07]
definitely know that she is
[9:09]
indeed a treasure.
[9:11]
-- at king-tv. Susan was a
[9:13]
producer at evening magazine at
[9:14]
kcts nine. She produced many
[9:17]
award winning documentaries and
[9:18]
shows, and of course here at
[9:20]
seattle channel, where she
[9:22]
produced city inside out, as
[9:23]
well as other emmy award winning
[9:26]
stories and shows
[9:29]
-- hard working, diligent,
[9:32]
creative and thoughtful. Susan
[9:33]
will not quit until the story or
[9:37]
show is booked, until every
[9:40]
component of a shoot is
[9:42]
finalized, until every sentence
[9:44]
of the script is polished, and
[9:45]
until every frame of video is
[9:47]
edited in the best possible way.
[9:50]
given the constraints, she's
[9:52]
really conscientious about
[9:53]
making sure multiple sides of
[9:54]
the story are heard. She is
[9:56]
relentless about excellence in
[9:59]
storytelling, when so much less
[10:00]
than that is considered
[10:02]
acceptable. And she is a strong
[10:03]
advocate for civic journalism.
[10:06]
when there's so much pressure
[10:08]
working against it.
[10:09]
-- we'd like to thank the
[10:10]
seattle city council and
[10:13]
councilmember rinck in
[10:13]
particular for recognizing
[10:14]
susan, who's not only a fine
[10:17]
producer, but she is also a
[10:18]
wife, a mother and a genuine
[10:22]
friend. Thank you so much for
[10:25]
recognizing her.
[10:26]
-- thank you.
[10:27]
-- susan, thank you.
[10:28]
-- [applause]
[10:33]
-- and councilmembers, thank you
[10:33]
for this recognition. During a
[10:35]
busy time. Thank you to
[10:36]
councilmember rinck for
[10:37]
shepherding this through and all
[10:38]
for staff. It's susan hahn
[10:40]
appreciation day, and I
[10:41]
definitely appreciate her. So
[10:42]
for the past 15 years, I've
[10:43]
worked with susan at seattle
[10:45]
channel together. We've
[10:46]
actually produced more than 300
[10:49]
episodes of city inside out.
[10:50]
she's produced more than 500.
[10:50]
so we'll make sure we get that
[10:52]
correction out there. And I'm
[10:55]
talking about conversations with
[10:55]
each of you as candidates. As
[10:57]
you might remember there. I can
[10:59]
say without hesitation that
[11:00]
susan is one of the finest
[11:00]
journalists and colleagues I've
[11:02]
ever known, and a fierce and
[11:03]
loving friend. Before there was
[11:05]
ai, there was susan. If you
[11:08]
wanted the cell phone number of
[11:10]
the press secretary for a
[11:10]
candidate that was on seattle
[11:11]
channel nine years ago, you
[11:12]
would ask susan if you wanted
[11:15]
opposing voices to speak out
[11:17]
about transgender bathrooms or
[11:18]
immigration policy. You'd ask
[11:19]
susan or work to research
[11:20]
issues, book guests with
[11:22]
competing voices to sit next to
[11:23]
each other and sharpen. The
[11:24]
questions that I wrote have set
[11:26]
the standard for fairness at
[11:27]
seattle channel, guests knew
[11:29]
they might face hard questions,
[11:30]
but they also knew they'd be
[11:32]
treated with respect. You don't
[11:33]
often hear that word in relation
[11:34]
to government affairs reporting
[11:36]
in today's world, but susan
[11:37]
lives out that ethic every day.
[11:39]
susan earned eight emmys in
[11:40]
career. In her career, you
[11:42]
probably heard that, but I'd say
[11:44]
at least nine because the emmy
[11:44]
that I won for best tv host a
[11:46]
few years back is completely
[11:47]
thanks to her. I hope her
[11:49]
legacy, though, isn't completely
[11:50]
measured by the awards she won
[11:51]
or her decades of volunteer
[11:53]
service to the asian american
[11:55]
journalists association or the
[11:57]
bellevue school district. Her
[11:58]
legacy is truly all around you.
[12:00]
from informing people about the
[12:01]
work of local government to
[12:02]
educating people about what's on
[12:03]
their ballot. For nearly two
[12:06]
decades, susan always had an
[12:07]
exacting approach on the job
[12:09]
because she knows the work of
[12:11]
public affairs matters. She's
[12:12]
persistent because the public
[12:13]
deserves answers, and she sees
[12:16]
the humanity in every issue,
[12:18]
too. I recall working with her
[12:19]
on a fentanyl documentary three
[12:20]
years ago. She set up an
[12:21]
interview with a mother who had
[12:22]
lost her child to an overdose.
[12:23]
it was susan who talked with
[12:25]
this mother and helped her find
[12:27]
the courage to open the door.
[12:28]
she kept closed to her
[12:30]
daughter's room since her death.
[12:31]
talk to us about how her
[12:32]
daughter died, and tell her
[12:34]
important story to the world.
[12:36]
seattle is better informed
[12:36]
because of susan seattle channel
[12:38]
is stronger because of her and
[12:39]
all of us who have worked beside
[12:40]
her are better because of her
[12:42]
example. I'm going to keep
[12:44]
working on city inside out at
[12:45]
seattle channel to honor
[12:46]
susan's legacy with her spirit
[12:47]
in my heart, susan, you have all
[12:50]
my love and thanks.
[12:51]
congratulations on your
[12:53]
retirement and happy susan hahn
[12:54]
appreciation day. I will
[12:55]
appreciate you for every day to
[12:56]
come. Thank you counsel.
[12:57]
-- thank you brian.
[13:00]
-- [applause]
[13:06]
-- and now we have miss susan
[13:08]
hahn. Welcome your day.
[13:10]
-- thank you.
[13:11]
-- councilmember rinck, first of
[13:12]
all, for this nomination.
[13:14]
where'd she go?
[13:17]
-- [laughter]
[13:18]
-- there you are. I'm just so
[13:20]
thrilled and relieved that the
[13:21]
city council and mayor wilson
[13:22]
found something to agree on.
[13:24]
-- hey, hey
[13:29]
-- [laughter]
[13:29]
-- oh.
[13:29]
-- seriously
[13:31]
-- blown away by this
[13:34]
proclamation. For the last 19
[13:34]
years, my goal as seattle
[13:35]
channel producer has simply
[13:37]
been, to be fair, thorough and
[13:40]
balanced. Journalistic integrity
[13:45]
is my north star, and it means
[13:45]
the world to be recognized for
[13:46]
it. A huge thank you to my
[13:48]
family and friends who have
[13:49]
supported me every step of the
[13:50]
way, including those who are in
[13:52]
the room here today to my first
[13:56]
seattle channel station manager,
[13:57]
gary gibson. Thanks for hiring
[13:59]
me to the amazing seattle
[14:01]
channel team, especially my two
[14:03]
inside out co-hosts, brian
[14:05]
callanan and kr douglas, who are
[14:08]
both here. Thank you so much for
[14:09]
your dedication and hard work
[14:11]
over the years. It's truly been
[14:12]
an honor working with both of
[14:14]
you I'm hopeful the station
[14:17]
will continue its excellent work
[14:19]
and keep winning those emmys.
[14:21]
and to the city employees,
[14:22]
elected officials, and community
[14:25]
members who have said yes to our
[14:28]
interview requests over the
[14:29]
decades, our shows would not
[14:29]
have happened without you. Thank
[14:33]
you very much.
[14:33]
-- awesome. Thank you. Susan.
[14:36]
-- [applause]
[14:42]
-- and.
[14:42]
-- [applause]
[14:46]
-- tep.
[14:47]
-- [applause]
[14:47]
-- joy.
[14:50]
-- [applause]
[14:50]
-- joy.
[14:51]
-- [applause]
[14:54]
-- we're going to take this
[14:55]
microphone and now we're going
[14:55]
to take a group photo. So we'll
[14:58]
have susan and everyone come up
[14:59]
to the front. Not everyone in
[15:01]
the audience, but the folks.
[15:02]
-- [laughter]
[15:02]
-- sorry, just letting you all
[15:04]
know only the only the people
[15:06]
that are coming up, I guess they
[15:07]
know. And then deanna lee will
[15:09]
take a photo. We'll pause here.
[15:11]
it will be quiet.
[15:14]
-- [laughter]
[15:17]
-- thank you, thank you.
[15:18]
-- [laughter]
[15:18]
-- no no no no.
[15:19]
-- [laughter]
[15:19]
-- no, I know.
[15:20]
-- [laughter]
[15:20]
-- what you mean.
[15:20]
-- [laughter]
[15:21]
-- I know what you mean. Yeah.
[15:26]
-- [laughter]
[15:27]
-- thank you for letting us do
[15:27]
this.
[15:29]
-- [laughter]
[15:30]
-- yeah.
[15:30]
-- [laughter]
[15:34]
-- I think we should do two rows
[15:36]
at least.
[15:38]
-- squish, squish.
[15:39]
-- one more on this side.
[15:40]
-- [laughter]
[15:40]
-- who's running the show?
[15:42]
-- [laughter]
[15:44]
-- people in the back.
[15:47]
-- please. Okay, we're gonna
[15:49]
-- so everyone. So everyone. So
[15:52]
if everyone I have. I have a
[15:53]
microphone. Councilmember
[15:55]
kettle. We're good. So this is
[15:55]
what we're going to we're going
[15:57]
to do. We're going to scrunch
[15:59]
in as best as we can. And we're
[16:00]
going to look at this camera
[16:01]
right here at deanna lee. So
[16:02]
we'll scrunch in. We'll scrunch
[16:06]
in, everyone scrunch in as much
[16:08]
as you can.
[16:09]
-- go right here.
[16:11]
-- as much as you can. We're
[16:12]
scrunching in as much as you
[16:15]
can. All the people that might
[16:17]
be a little shorter. You'll be
[16:18]
in front. Okay, awesome
[16:23]
-- [laughter]
[16:27]
-- can I go down?
[16:27]
-- do want to count us down and
[16:29]
tell us what to do?
[16:30]
-- okay.
[16:30]
-- any more triple up
[16:34]
-- all right, here we go. Okay.
[16:37]
-- everybody can look over here
[16:38]
at the camera. I'm going to
[16:39]
take a couple. Try not to blink.
[16:43]
-- hey, susan.
[16:45]
-- [laughter] [applause]
[16:58]
[laughter]
[17:03]
-- I wasn't here yesterday.
[17:04]
-- sounds wrong. So maybe.
[17:06]
-- thank you. All right. Thank
[17:08]
you all for indulging us. For
[17:09]
the record, we also have
[17:11]
councilmember foster and
[17:12]
councilmember juarez who have
[17:12]
joined us. They have been here
[17:13]
for a long time. I apologize, I
[17:15]
did not recognize y'all when
[17:17]
y'all came in.
[17:17]
-- [laughter]
[17:18]
-- oh, this guy, this guy?
[17:21]
-- [laughter]
[17:21]
-- yeah. Thank you guys. Thanks
[17:22]
so much.
[17:24]
-- okay, so now we will
[17:26]
transition and we have one more
[17:28]
proclamation as well. So thank
[17:30]
you all. And then right after
[17:32]
the proclamation, we'll jump
[17:33]
into public comment. So if you
[17:34]
are online and listening, we
[17:35]
have one more proclamation and
[17:37]
we will jump right in online.
[17:41]
councilmember sok,
[17:41]
congratulations, susan and team
[17:43]
in seattle channel. Thank you
[17:43]
for all the work that you all
[17:46]
do. We're so grateful for our
[17:47]
seattle channel, emmy award
[17:49]
winning seattle channel. All
[17:51]
right. Councilmember saka will
[17:53]
now address the proclamation
[17:53]
recognizing august 11th, 2026 to
[17:55]
be west seattle little league
[17:57]
softball day. Councilmember saka
[17:59]
you are recognized.
[18:02]
-- [applause]
[18:02]
-- thank you, madam council
[18:04]
president, colleagues, members
[18:05]
of the public. So today we get
[18:07]
to honor and celebrate
[18:09]
achievement and journalism and
[18:14]
girls softball in west seattle
[18:17]
today, I am incredibly proud to
[18:20]
introduce a proclamation to
[18:22]
celebrate the historic
[18:23]
achievement of the west seattle
[18:24]
little league girls 11 u
[18:26]
softball team for winning the
[18:27]
whole dang thing. The whole
[18:30]
state tournament at this year's
[18:32]
championship. Their hard work,
[18:34]
teamwork and dedication truly
[18:37]
embody the spirit of our
[18:39]
community and that of our city.
[18:41]
they played seven games in seven
[18:44]
days and defeated the same team
[18:47]
that handed them their first and
[18:49]
only loss. Not once, but twice
[18:51]
to claim the state title. And
[18:55]
now I'm honored to read a few
[18:57]
select passages from this
[19:00]
honorary proclamation. I'll just
[19:02]
share that I was a I was a fan.
[19:04]
I'm a fan of all u sports
[19:07]
across district one. I'm a proud
[19:09]
resident of district one, so
[19:11]
I've been following along on
[19:13]
the sidelines, cheering on
[19:15]
reading west seattle blog
[19:17]
articles, articles from west
[19:20]
side seattle about our various
[19:22]
youth sports teams, and really
[19:24]
excited to be able to cheer them
[19:25]
on as a fan. This one is
[19:29]
particularly proud because I got
[19:29]
to cheer them on as a member of
[19:32]
the community and cheer the team
[19:34]
on and the coaches on. As a
[19:35]
proud father of one of the
[19:37]
players. So I'm going to read a
[19:40]
few select passages of this
[19:42]
proclamation right now. Whereas
[19:45]
the west seattle little league
[19:48]
11 u. Girls softball team has
[19:50]
demonstrated exceptional talent,
[19:53]
teamwork, accomplishment and
[19:56]
sportsmanship throughout their
[19:57]
2026 season. And whereas the
[19:57]
team achieved an outstanding
[20:00]
combined record of 55 and ten,
[20:03]
going six and one in the state
[20:06]
tournament, playing seven games
[20:08]
in seven days and securing a
[20:09]
decisive victory to win the 2026
[20:12]
washington state championship.
[20:14]
and whereas this marks the first
[20:15]
ever state championship won by a
[20:17]
west seattle little league
[20:20]
softball team first ever.
[20:24]
-- [applause]
[20:25]
-- one of 23.
[20:26]
-- west seattle little league
[20:27]
teams and the only girls
[20:29]
softball team to earn a state
[20:30]
title. Whereas the girls
[20:34]
captivated the hearts of those
[20:36]
following their historic run,
[20:38]
inspiring a wave of community
[20:40]
pride and excitement in west
[20:43]
seattle and beyond. And now,
[20:46]
therefore, the seattle city
[20:49]
council does hereby proclaim
[20:52]
august 11th, 2026 to be west
[20:55]
seattle little league softball
[20:58]
day.
[20:59]
-- [applause]
[21:03]
-- congratulations on this
[21:04]
historic run, colleagues. I'll
[21:06]
note that not many teams from
[21:08]
the city of seattle little
[21:09]
league or rec teams from the
[21:10]
city of seattle ended up winning
[21:12]
major state championships like
[21:14]
this. And and so we're
[21:16]
incredibly, incredibly proud of
[21:17]
the west seattle little league
[21:20]
team because their
[21:20]
accomplishments and achievements
[21:21]
reflect not only great credit
[21:22]
upon the west seattle community,
[21:25]
but from a citywide perspective
[21:27]
as well. And again, first girls
[21:29]
softball team at in west seattle
[21:32]
history to to do it, joining
[21:34]
only two other baseball teams
[21:36]
over 20 years. So
[21:39]
congratulations. Would love the
[21:39]
opportunity for a few speakers
[21:41]
to say a few words. Madam
[21:43]
council president, if it's
[21:44]
okay. And then we'll present
[21:47]
the proclamation.
[21:47]
-- absolutely. You got it,
[21:48]
councilmember saka I will. I'll
[21:49]
pause here to see if any other
[21:50]
councilmember would like to say
[21:52]
some comments. Councilmember
[21:53]
rivera.
[21:55]
-- thank you, council president.
[21:56]
like the last proclamation, I
[21:58]
was not present when signatures
[22:03]
were needed to be added. So
[22:04]
congratulations. I would have
[22:06]
added my signature had I been
[22:07]
here. And I'm so excited for
[22:09]
you all. Thank you.
[22:10]
-- awesome. Thank you,
[22:11]
councilmember rivera. And then
[22:12]
now, if there are no objections,
[22:15]
I'm going to suspend the rules.
[22:17]
so councilmember saka can
[22:18]
present the proclamation and my
[22:21]
understanding. You have the team
[22:21]
manager, brant here, coaches
[22:22]
brooke fox and james frazier
[22:25]
that are here as well. And then
[22:28]
other speakers.
[22:28]
-- yes, that's correct, madam
[22:30]
council president, shall they
[22:31]
speak first before we do the
[22:32]
official presentation?
[22:33]
-- or you could do the. Yeah.
[22:35]
you could present the
[22:36]
proclamation and then they can
[22:37]
speak whichever whichever way
[22:38]
you'd like.
[22:39]
-- maybe we'll let them speak
[22:39]
first.
[22:40]
-- yeah. All right. So we're
[22:42]
having a team manager brant and
[22:45]
then coaches brooke and james.
[22:49]
welcome.
[22:57]
-- I'm I'm a coach of the west
[22:59]
seattle.
[22:59]
-- talking the microphone brant
[23:00]
or use your coach.
[23:01]
-- I'm the coach of the west
[23:03]
seattle little league along with
[23:05]
coach james and coach brooke
[23:10]
councilmembers, coaches,
[23:10]
families and community members.
[23:12]
thank you for this incredible
[23:13]
honor. On behalf of our u11
[23:16]
girls softball team, we are
[23:18]
proud and grateful to accept
[23:20]
this proclamation recognizing
[23:21]
our state championship season.
[23:23]
these young athletes showed
[23:25]
tremendous dedication, teamwork,
[23:26]
resilience, and sportsmanship
[23:28]
throughout the year. Their
[23:30]
success resulted in countless
[23:31]
hours of effort, along with the
[23:33]
support of their coaches,
[23:34]
parents and the entire
[23:36]
community. Most importantly,
[23:37]
they learned a great thing, a
[23:38]
great thing that can happen when
[23:40]
you work hard, believe in each
[23:41]
other, and have fun along the
[23:42]
way. Thank you for celebrating
[23:44]
these amazing girls and this
[23:46]
special achievement with us. We
[23:48]
are truly honored.
[23:48]
-- awesome. Thank you.
[23:51]
-- [applause]
[23:55]
-- I'm going to let mckenzie
[23:57]
heartbeat now.
[23:58]
-- she is one of our star
[24:00]
pitchers of the team.
[24:00]
-- awesome. Welcome.
[24:04]
-- hello hello. My name is
[24:07]
mackenzie hart and I am one of
[24:09]
the pitchers for the west
[24:09]
seattle little league 11. You
[24:12]
all star state championship
[24:13]
team. Thank you for giving me
[24:15]
the opportunity to share what my
[24:17]
teammates and I accomplished
[24:17]
this season. Last year as the
[24:20]
eight nine, ten year old all
[24:22]
star team, we came just one game
[24:24]
short of our goal. We had a
[24:27]
heartbreaking 2 to 1 loss in the
[24:28]
championship game at the state
[24:29]
tournament. Instead of letting
[24:32]
that loss discourage us, we used
[24:33]
it as motivation. We came back
[24:36]
this year ready to work hard,
[24:38]
play together and give it
[24:39]
everything we had. With the
[24:41]
support of our coaches, parents,
[24:43]
families and friends. We worked
[24:45]
hard all season during the
[24:47]
district and state tournaments.
[24:49]
we played ten games, collected
[24:51]
90 hits and scored 86 runs. We
[24:55]
won the district championship
[24:57]
and headed into state tournament
[24:58]
with a lot of confidence. Our
[25:00]
first state game ended in a
[25:02]
tough 3 to 1 loss, which put us
[25:04]
into the consolation bracket. At
[25:06]
that point, we knew that if we
[25:08]
didn't keep winning, our season
[25:09]
would be over. So we kept
[25:11]
fighting. We played almost every
[25:13]
day. We grew stronger as a team,
[25:16]
supported each other and never
[25:18]
gave up. Then on championship
[25:20]
saturday, we had to win twice to
[25:22]
become state champions. We won
[25:24]
our first game 2 to 1 in an
[25:27]
extra inning thriller. Then we
[25:28]
came back and won again, 4 to 1
[25:29]
to secure the championship. We
[25:32]
finished the district in state
[25:35]
championships with a nine and
[25:35]
one record. We outscored our
[25:39]
opponents 55 to 10 and went six
[25:40]
and one at the state
[25:42]
championship state tournament.
[25:43]
during the state tournament, I
[25:44]
threw 433 pitches, recorded 48
[25:50]
strikeouts and allowed just four
[25:51]
earned runs. But the biggest
[25:53]
accomplishment wasn't the
[25:54]
numbers. We made history as west
[25:57]
seattle's first little league
[25:57]
softball state champions. To my
[25:59]
teammates, I'm so proud of
[26:01]
every one of you. Our
[26:03]
outfielders made game saving
[26:04]
catches. Our infielders made
[26:07]
incredible plays, including some
[26:09]
that I honestly didn't think
[26:10]
were possible. And carmen, our
[26:11]
catcher, caught all seven of our
[26:13]
state tournament games. What
[26:15]
makes this team so special
[26:17]
isn't just that we won, it's
[26:19]
the way we played, the respect
[26:22]
we respected our opponents,
[26:23]
supported each other, stayed
[26:25]
positive through the tough
[26:27]
moments and carried ourselves
[26:28]
with class, dignity wherever we
[26:31]
with whether we won or lost. I
[26:32]
am incredibly proud to have been
[26:34]
part of this team. It has been
[26:37]
an honor and privilege to be the
[26:39]
starting pitcher for the west
[26:40]
seattle little league. 11 you
[26:42]
state championship team. I also
[26:45]
want to thank our coaches,
[26:46]
brant, james and brooke for your
[26:49]
dedication, encouragement and
[26:51]
countless hours you spent
[26:52]
helping us become better players
[26:54]
and better teammates. Thank you
[26:56]
to our parents, families,
[26:57]
friends, and everyone in our
[26:58]
community who supported us,
[27:01]
cheered for us and believed in
[27:02]
us along the way and most of
[27:04]
all, thank you to my teammates
[27:07]
for believing in each other,
[27:09]
fighting for each other, and
[27:11]
never giving up. Last year we
[27:12]
came up one game short. This
[27:14]
year we finished the job. We
[27:16]
didn't just win a championship,
[27:18]
we made west seattle history.
[27:20]
thank you.
[27:22]
-- [applause]
[27:30]
[applause]
[27:31]
-- and then the rules have been
[27:34]
suspended. Councilmember saka
[27:35]
will come to present the
[27:37]
proclamation. And then would you
[27:38]
also like a picture?
[27:40]
councilmember saka as well?
[27:41]
okay, awesome. And then we will
[27:43]
invite the young girls to come
[27:44]
up. We're going to take a photo
[27:47]
to together. So if you all just
[27:49]
start making your way right here
[27:51]
to the right. Just this way,
[27:56]
just follow awesome. And then
[28:00]
right after this photo, we will
[28:03]
jump right into public comment.
[28:05]
okay, awesome. Thank you all. So
[28:05]
we'll come up here, we'll take
[28:08]
a photo with our young girls
[28:10]
from the 11. You the state
[28:12]
championship team. Hey,
[28:14]
congrats. Congrats
[28:20]
-- congratulate. Awesome.
[28:21]
-- you guys, come on.
[28:21]
-- this way. Congratulations.
[28:24]
congrats, congrats, congrats.
[28:25]
thank congratulations. Thank you
[28:31]
thank you.
[28:33]
-- I'm gonna give these to you.
[28:34]
-- okay, guys, come over here.
[28:35]
you guys come over here. Yeah,
[28:36]
yeah. You guys, come over here.
[28:38]
scooch down oh, yeah.
[28:42]
-- [laughter]
[28:42]
-- double up there.
[28:43]
-- [laughter]
[28:43]
-- I'm doubling up. How about
[28:45]
you stand forward and then your
[28:46]
coach can stand.
[28:47]
-- in.
[28:47]
-- the back and then we can get
[28:49]
a little closer. I'm not even.
[28:51]
okay, slide that way. How do we
[28:54]
look? Right.
[28:58]
-- take a couple still smile.
[29:02]
-- perfect. Thank you.
[29:05]
-- [applause]
[29:13]
[applause]
[29:13]
-- so cool.
[29:14]
-- [laughter]
[29:14]
-- that's incredible there.
[29:18]
-- awesome.
[29:19]
-- there we go.
[29:21]
-- congratulations. I heard I
[29:23]
heard the the girls up here
[29:24]
talking about back to back.
[29:25]
that's what I did. I heard I
[29:27]
heard them say back to back
[29:28]
titles. That's what I heard
[29:30]
someone said back to back. Okay,
[29:31]
I know we're going to jump
[29:34]
right into the public comment.
[29:36]
colleagues, at this time, we're
[29:36]
going to open up our favorite
[29:38]
time, which is our hybrid public
[29:39]
comment period. Public comment
[29:41]
is limited to items on today's
[29:44]
agenda. The introduction,
[29:44]
referral calendar and the
[29:45]
council's work program. The
[29:46]
council cannot accept comments
[29:49]
on quasi-judicial items or
[29:51]
campaign related matters. Clerk
[29:52]
how many speakers do we have
[29:53]
signed up today?
[29:54]
-- we have 75 in person and 30
[29:57]
remote.
[29:59]
-- you said 75 in person, 75 in
[30:01]
person, plus 3530 remote. Okay,
[30:05]
awesome. So we are going to go
[30:08]
over time and for that's
[30:09]
allotted for our public comment
[30:10]
period. So I am going to ask my
[30:11]
colleagues, we're going to hear
[30:13]
everyone speak today. Is that
[30:14]
cool? I will not continue to
[30:16]
extend the time. We'll go as
[30:17]
long as it takes. Is that cool?
[30:19]
I'm looking left and right.
[30:20]
awesome. All right. So because
[30:23]
we have over 100 people, we have
[30:26]
about 100 people. We're we are
[30:27]
going to do one minute. If you
[30:29]
have 60 or less, it's less than
[30:31]
one minute. I think that would
[30:32]
just be ridiculous to do. 30s.
[30:34]
so everyone's going to get one
[30:35]
minute. Will the clerk please
[30:37]
read the instructions to the
[30:39]
public comment period?
[30:41]
-- the public period will be
[30:43]
moderated in the following
[30:44]
manner. Speakers will be called
[30:45]
in the order in which they
[30:46]
registered. Speakers will hear a
[30:47]
chime with 10 seconds left of
[30:50]
their time. Speakers will be
[30:51]
muted if they do not in their
[30:52]
comments within the allotted
[30:53]
time, to allow us to call the
[30:54]
next speaker. The public comment
[30:55]
period is now open and will
[30:56]
begin with the first speaker on
[30:57]
the list.
[30:58]
-- awesome. If you're waiting
[30:59]
online, we're going to do the
[31:00]
first 30 in person. We're going
[31:01]
to bounce to you online and
[31:02]
we're going to come back. So if
[31:03]
you're online, we're going to
[31:05]
do 30 in person and then we will
[31:06]
come to you. So that will be
[31:07]
about around 3053 ten is when it
[31:11]
looks like we'll jump back
[31:13]
online. All right, we have
[31:14]
yvette dinish followed by
[31:17]
josephine chang, samantha poe.
[31:19]
then we have powell, julian
[31:22]
mantei el aaron and josh. And I
[31:26]
apologize if I miss if I said
[31:27]
your name wrong, I apologize.
[31:29]
but first we have miss yvette.
[31:31]
come on up. All right.
[31:33]
josephine, samantha. Poe. Paul.
[31:34]
julian mante, el aaron and josh.
[31:38]
-- impressive intended today,
[31:39]
isn't it? I pledge allegiance
[31:42]
to the flag of the united states
[31:44]
of america and to the republic
[31:45]
for which it stands. One nation
[31:48]
under god, indivisible, with
[31:52]
liberty and justice for all. I
[31:54]
also want to, in support of
[31:56]
councilmember rivera's urging
[31:57]
the mayor to work with the
[31:59]
national network for safe
[32:00]
communities, widely recognized
[32:02]
for delivering results, I
[32:03]
encourage her and to keep
[32:05]
pushing on that. And there's a
[32:08]
program in philadelphia called
[32:09]
the a gbic that's had very much
[32:12]
success in reducing gun violence
[32:12]
and keeping our kids from dying
[32:17]
unnecessarily. And the only
[32:19]
other thing I have to say is
[32:21]
bravo to the parents and the
[32:22]
support team who support these
[32:23]
girls in becoming state
[32:27]
championship and baseball,
[32:27]
baseball. I wish I'd had those
[32:29]
programs when I was a kid. Girl
[32:30]
sports. Thank you very much.
[32:31]
-- thank you, miss.
[32:33]
-- chair, regarding that
[32:34]
program.
[32:35]
-- thank you, miss yvette. Next
[32:36]
we have josephine, followed by
[32:37]
samantha and po. Josephine chang
[32:43]
here, josephine. No. Okay, next
[32:44]
we have samantha. Samantha.
[32:46]
good. Welcome.
[32:48]
-- hi. Councilmember samantha
[32:49]
grad here on behalf of teamsters
[32:51]
117 in support of the rental
[32:53]
junk fee legislation for many
[32:54]
years as a renter in the city, I
[32:56]
remember that dread and
[32:56]
frustration when your lease was
[32:59]
up and you were trying to figure
[32:59]
out, is it going to go up too
[33:00]
much? I'm not going to be able
[33:02]
to afford my place. You then
[33:03]
have to start looking online,
[33:04]
scouring the internet, trying to
[33:05]
find a place that is in your
[33:07]
price range. You go do the
[33:08]
tours, you find something that
[33:10]
works, you feel that relief
[33:11]
except for weight. When you go
[33:12]
to fill out the paperwork. All
[33:13]
of these surprise fees suddenly
[33:14]
kick it out of your budget. Our
[33:16]
members are feeling that same
[33:18]
squeeze right now. It is
[33:20]
incredibly hard to find that,
[33:21]
and it is incredibly challenging
[33:24]
to go through the entire
[33:25]
process, only to then be met
[33:27]
with that surprise at the end.
[33:29]
we are seeing folks all across
[33:31]
our community experience this
[33:32]
death by a thousand cuts, and
[33:33]
that's what these rental junk
[33:34]
fees feel like. You feel like
[33:35]
you finally found something that
[33:37]
is in your budget, only to then
[33:38]
have the rug pulled out from
[33:40]
you. And it's confusing at
[33:41]
best. And at worst case
[33:42]
scenario, it's dishonest. Please
[33:44]
pass this legislation to ensure
[33:46]
transparency in renting.
[33:48]
-- thank you. Next we have poe,
[33:50]
followed by paul poe, paul
[33:54]
julian is poe polypi. Yeah. All
[33:56]
right. Welcome.
[34:00]
-- thank you.
[34:00]
-- hello, paul. Happy here with
[34:02]
the washington housing alliance
[34:03]
in strong support of the
[34:04]
proposed ban on junk fees. Thank
[34:06]
you, councilmember foster, for
[34:08]
your leadership. And to all five
[34:09]
councilmembers on the committee
[34:11]
who voted yes, please vote yes
[34:13]
today and ensure that no
[34:14]
amendments are added that will
[34:16]
weaken protections, including
[34:18]
anything that allows pet rent or
[34:19]
requires tenants to opt out.
[34:21]
power dynamics are a significant
[34:23]
factor in opt out requirements
[34:25]
for tenants into very difficult
[34:27]
situations. No tenant should be
[34:27]
forced to pay these unfair,
[34:29]
expensive and often deceptive
[34:31]
fees. Renters in seattle are
[34:33]
sharing that fees are oftentimes
[34:35]
added after move in at lease
[34:37]
renewal, trapping tenants who
[34:39]
can't afford to move and the
[34:40]
fees they are, the fees they are
[34:43]
being charged are ridiculous.
[34:43]
seattle renters are paying a fee
[34:44]
to pay rent fees to cover
[34:48]
utilities and management fees,
[34:48]
to submit maintenance requests,
[34:50]
fees that cover their
[34:52]
landlord's insurance and more.
[34:53]
but these are just a few
[34:54]
examples of unfair and costly
[34:55]
fees that tenants are being
[34:57]
forced to pay. You have an
[34:58]
opportunity to stop this today.
[35:00]
please vote yes today and no on
[35:02]
any harmful amendments. Thank
[35:04]
you.
[35:04]
-- thank you. Next we have paul.
[35:08]
paul here. Julian, miss paul
[35:10]
here, paul okay. Welcome. Then
[35:14]
julian, then mante.
[35:22]
-- I'm paul thomas and I'm a
[35:23]
leader of the republican party
[35:25]
of king county. Earlier I came
[35:27]
here to speak about the
[35:28]
corruption and criminality of
[35:30]
the homeless industrial complex.
[35:33]
today I'm going to address
[35:34]
something deeper. Instead of
[35:37]
treating crime and drug
[35:38]
trafficking as matters of law
[35:40]
enforcement, we are treating
[35:43]
these as behavioral health
[35:44]
matters no belief could be more
[35:48]
damaging to our city and its
[35:50]
permissiveness to crime, but
[35:52]
also in its rejection of the
[35:53]
dignity of the criminal by
[35:57]
rejecting the principle of
[35:59]
personal agency and
[36:02]
responsibility. If this
[36:05]
continues and people continue to
[36:07]
think that that's how we solve
[36:10]
the problems, taxpayers who are
[36:12]
now leaving in trickles will
[36:14]
later be leaving in droves,
[36:16]
leaving behind poverty and
[36:17]
misery in our neighborhoods.
[36:19]
-- thank you paul. Next, we have
[36:22]
julian, followed by mandy
[36:24]
julian, followed by monte. And
[36:25]
this is just a just a reminder
[36:27]
when people are speaking, if we
[36:28]
could just be respectful, no
[36:30]
booing. I'm not going to let
[36:31]
them boo you either. So like,
[36:32]
let's just try to keep it cool.
[36:34]
all right. So next we have
[36:36]
julian.
[36:37]
-- I'm julian.
[36:37]
-- julian you're julian
[36:39]
blackthorn.
[36:39]
-- yeah. That's me. Hello.
[36:41]
-- hold on. Julian blackthorn
[36:42]
and then we have manty and then
[36:45]
el, aaron and josh. Julian.
[36:50]
-- hello. My partner and I moved
[36:51]
here in 2014. I am trans and
[36:52]
non-binary and I was raised
[36:53]
maga. We fled florida in the
[36:55]
middle of the night because we
[36:56]
weren't treated like humans.
[36:58]
I've been told my whole growing
[36:58]
up life that seattle was a
[36:59]
liberal paradise, and it sounded
[37:01]
like paradise to me, a place
[37:02]
where queer and trans folks like
[37:03]
me and my partner could be
[37:04]
accepted and just live.
[37:06]
unfortunately, it's truly only
[37:07]
a haven for the richest white,
[37:08]
cisgender gays among us. Anyway,
[37:11]
our car alternator died and I
[37:12]
lost my job. We became houseless
[37:14]
the first time in my life, and
[37:15]
it was 18 months of hell. We got
[37:17]
a hand up from nickelsville and
[37:18]
lived in the same apartment now
[37:19]
for ten years. So why can't we
[37:21]
have trans refugee villages? Why
[37:23]
can't we use the millions of
[37:24]
dollars harold was spending on
[37:25]
sweeping our houseless neighbors
[37:27]
from street to street, when an
[37:28]
inordinate amount of them are
[37:28]
queer and trans, and especially
[37:29]
if they happen to also be black,
[37:32]
indigenous people of color. Why
[37:32]
can't we use some of the
[37:33]
millions going to the cops for
[37:35]
surveillance when it didn't
[37:36]
stop? Juniper blessings, public
[37:37]
murder, nor the shooting
[37:38]
murders? That bit of seattle.
[37:39]
this is one of the richest and
[37:40]
poorest cities in the world. We
[37:42]
need more than 300 for this
[37:43]
influx of refugees, transgender
[37:45]
and otherwise. And an office of
[37:46]
county affairs. Please. You'll
[37:48]
be invested in a poor queer and
[37:49]
trans folks. And we need that
[37:50]
right now. Thank you.
[37:51]
-- thank you, julian. And then l
[37:57]
welcome.
[37:59]
-- you may call me monty. I'm a
[38:00]
spiritual leader in the seattle
[38:01]
trans community. And I am here
[38:02]
to speak truth. Two weeks ago, I
[38:04]
said seattle was like the
[38:06]
innkeeper who promised my people
[38:06]
rooms. Yet when they arrived had
[38:07]
no rooms available. I asked you
[38:09]
for mercy. Now you have shown us
[38:11]
a small mercy. While a pile of
[38:12]
hay in the stable loft may not
[38:13]
be adequate accommodations, it
[38:15]
is, in fact, a room. And it is,
[38:16]
in fact, at the end. For this I
[38:19]
express small gratitude with a
[38:20]
0.3 million equivalent to the
[38:22]
salary of about two and a half
[38:24]
junior police officers. Our
[38:25]
local mutual aid orgs could
[38:25]
house 16 trans people for a
[38:27]
year. To those who complain
[38:28]
about how even this is too much,
[38:30]
I ask you, why do you care about
[38:32]
so much about so little money?
[38:33]
the chief of police alone has 19
[38:35]
million budgeted. The spd
[38:37]
overall, 488 million. Think of
[38:39]
the 20,000 people that money
[38:40]
could be housing rather than
[38:41]
being used to ruin lives with
[38:43]
violence. Yet ruining lives is
[38:45]
what the critics are here to do.
[38:46]
they claim to be budget hawks,
[38:47]
but they are vultures who prey
[38:48]
upon me and my community for fun
[38:51]
and profit. I ask the city
[38:52]
council not to heed the words of
[38:53]
such godless people. Pray they
[38:56]
someday find love and do not
[38:57]
make their shame your own by
[38:59]
countenancing their bloodlust.
[38:59]
and ari, please don't pull guns
[39:00]
on people in the park.
[39:02]
-- so next we have el. Thank you
[39:05]
mantai. Now we have el followed
[39:06]
by aaron and then josh. Welcome.
[39:09]
-- hi. Thank you. I am from
[39:12]
stone soup crew and I am a
[39:15]
transgender refugee. And I'm
[39:16]
here and I'm here to say thank
[39:16]
you to all everybody that's on
[39:18]
this panel. And as a member of
[39:20]
this district, you're going to
[39:21]
vote today on something that's
[39:23]
very near and dear to my heart.
[39:24]
we are a community based
[39:26]
organization in stone soup crew.
[39:29]
every wednesday, we're out there
[39:29]
meeting and greeting and feeding
[39:31]
many of the refugees that are
[39:33]
coming here. Don't tell me that
[39:35]
we're not putting ourselves on
[39:36]
the line, and we deserve our
[39:37]
recognition. And as such, we've
[39:39]
invited you all to our
[39:41]
anniversary dinner that is going
[39:43]
to be held on the 26th of
[39:43]
september. And I put that in
[39:44]
your your basket. And I just
[39:47]
wanted to show something real
[39:49]
quick. This is the stone
[39:50]
donation that I received on
[39:51]
wednesday that was whizzed by my
[39:53]
head on 12th and howl while I
[39:55]
tried to help a unhoused
[39:59]
transgender person. And this is
[40:00]
the reality that we face. We
[40:03]
deserve our place in the sun
[40:04]
too. Thank you for letting me be
[40:05]
among these transgender giants
[40:08]
that are sitting here behind me,
[40:09]
and that will lead this world
[40:10]
someday. Thank you very much.
[40:13]
-- thank you. Next.
[40:16]
-- [applause]
[40:22]
-- josh.
[40:23]
-- hi. Hard to follow that. My
[40:28]
name is josh freese. I'm the
[40:28]
treasurer of seattle's lgbtq
[40:29]
center. And kawaguchi o'connor
[40:30]
initiative at trans faculty
[40:31]
network. My opinions are my own.
[40:33]
you're going to hear you've
[40:34]
already heard some of the the
[40:37]
the experiences, the lived
[40:39]
experiences of trans folks here.
[40:40]
you're going to hear so much
[40:41]
more after me. What I'm going
[40:42]
to tell you right now is the
[40:44]
financial and logistical part.
[40:45]
we are ready for this money that
[40:48]
you appropriated last week. We
[40:49]
have budgetary controls, we have
[40:51]
spending controls. We ready to
[40:53]
deal with hsd grants. So for all
[40:54]
those that are behind me that
[40:56]
say that we don't know how to
[40:57]
spend this money, that we don't
[40:58]
know what to do with it, I say
[41:00]
we're going to show you so much
[41:02]
joy and, and community care than
[41:04]
you'll ever see. And if you
[41:05]
have a question about a budget,
[41:06]
ask me, I can tell you how to
[41:08]
balance a balance sheet. Thank
[41:10]
you.
[41:10]
-- thank you.
[41:11]
-- [applause]
[41:12]
-- josh.
[41:12]
-- [applause]
[41:12]
-- next, we have. Are you are
[41:14]
you, are you aaron. Okay,
[41:16]
awesome. All right. Aaron,
[41:17]
welcome. Before you go, let me
[41:19]
tell the next ten people. So
[41:22]
we'll have jillian, ruth,
[41:25]
craig, we have miss torres. I
[41:28]
can't read your first name. I
[41:29]
apologize, miss torres. We have
[41:31]
michael. Danica, victoria,
[41:33]
rachel, alexia and caroline. You
[41:35]
all are up next. Okay. Welcome.
[41:38]
all right.
[41:40]
-- my name is aaron. I'm here to
[41:41]
talk about the amendment,
[41:42]
allocating funds to provide
[41:44]
resources to trans community. I
[41:46]
am a trans person who relocated
[41:49]
here from the dakotas to find
[41:50]
community and a better life for
[41:52]
myself. I'm not going to lie.
[41:53]
this search for a better
[41:55]
existence has partially eluded
[41:56]
me since losing my corporate
[41:58]
job. It's hard enough to find
[42:00]
consistent work as a trans
[42:01]
person, especially when there is
[42:02]
more variety in a chip aisle
[42:03]
than the city's job market. I
[42:07]
did, however, find community and
[42:09]
I would not be standing here
[42:10]
today if it wasn't for this. I
[42:13]
have met people who are willing
[42:15]
to donate out of pocket what
[42:16]
little money they had to help
[42:17]
trans people with rental
[42:18]
assistance, food, medical costs
[42:21]
and other basic needs. Which
[42:22]
leads to the question what
[42:24]
message does it send that those
[42:26]
with barely ascent to their name
[42:28]
are doing more to help the trans
[42:29]
community than our own
[42:32]
government? You can claim to
[42:32]
care for and protect trans
[42:34]
people, but actions speak louder
[42:35]
than words. I plead with the
[42:36]
city council to find in their
[42:39]
hearts to vote yes on that
[42:41]
amendment.
[42:41]
-- thank you aaron. Next we have
[42:45]
jillian, followed by ruth craig.
[42:49]
welcome.
[42:49]
-- council members. My name is
[42:51]
jillian england. Seattle face is
[42:55]
shrinking business activity,
[42:55]
high office vacancies and rising
[42:58]
property taxes. The commercial
[42:58]
tax base is under pressure, yet
[43:02]
we're being asked to expand
[43:05]
spending on discretionary
[43:05]
programs for a narrow category
[43:07]
of newcomers. While the city's
[43:09]
more core services and fiscal
[43:12]
foundation remain strained.
[43:14]
every new obligation competes
[43:17]
with public safety,
[43:18]
infrastructure and the basic
[43:19]
conditions that keep employers
[43:20]
and residents here. Compassion
[43:23]
that ignores the budget is not
[43:25]
compassion. It is deferred.
[43:27]
costs shifted to the people
[43:29]
already paying higher taxes.
[43:31]
stabilize the tax base first,
[43:35]
then consider expansions.
[43:35]
please. My name is jillian
[43:36]
england. Thank you.
[43:38]
-- thank you jillian. Next we
[43:39]
have ruth, followed by craig.
[43:41]
miss
[43:42]
-- to.
[43:42]
-- the signs be lowered while
[43:44]
I'm talking.
[43:45]
-- they have the freedom to do
[43:47]
that to lift those up. Yeah.
[43:48]
-- it doesn't seem right
[43:49]
because then they're taking
[43:50]
away from my voice.
[43:51]
-- they can't block the person
[43:52]
behind them, but they are
[43:54]
allowed to hold the signs. Okay.
[43:55]
thank you. Ruth.
[43:56]
-- yeah. My name is ruth baraga.
[43:58]
I live in seattle. I reference
[43:59]
the song I t by christine and
[44:01]
the queens on the album chaleur
[44:04]
humaine to my comments on august
[44:05]
4th, this council voted on
[44:10]
amendment 5cb121253 amending
[44:13]
ordinance 127362. This proposal
[44:16]
is about sex and that word
[44:16]
describes both a body type and
[44:17]
an activity. This proposal
[44:20]
adopts the current definition
[44:21]
this week of lgbtq, which
[44:23]
includes something different, an
[44:25]
identity, not an identity that
[44:27]
can be proven through court or
[44:29]
hospital records. Simply the
[44:31]
identity and an individual has
[44:33]
chosen for the day the
[44:34]
equivalent of about 60 single
[44:36]
family homes would donate their
[44:39]
entire hard fought property tax
[44:40]
to fund a slush fund for people
[44:42]
for people who can't even prove
[44:44]
what they are, what they claim
[44:46]
to be.
[44:46]
-- who pot, pot, pies, pot.
[44:48]
pause, pause your time. Hold on.
[44:51]
pause time. We'll put 15
[44:52]
seconds back so she can finish.
[44:53]
I'm just going to ask really
[44:54]
nicely. That would be respectful
[44:56]
to everyone. I will not let them
[44:57]
boo you every. I will not let
[44:59]
anyone get booed no matter what
[45:00]
their comments, how we disagree,
[45:02]
agree, whatever it is, we just
[45:03]
got to be respectful. I, I, I
[45:06]
hear you, I hear you, but I'm
[45:08]
going to protect your right to
[45:09]
speak as well. And I got you. I
[45:11]
hear you all 15 seconds. 15
[45:14]
seconds. You already talked just
[45:15]
15 seconds replaced.
[45:17]
-- I'm being respectful to
[45:18]
everyone.
[45:18]
-- no, just give me one second.
[45:20]
one second. Let let us hold on
[45:22]
one second. We'll start your
[45:23]
time, and then you'll be able to
[45:25]
continue.
[45:25]
-- okay.
[45:25]
-- thank you. Yeah. You're
[45:28]
welcome.
[45:29]
-- so I said, for a slush fund
[45:31]
for people who can't even prove
[45:32]
that they are what they claim to
[45:33]
be, this city already sets aside
[45:37]
millions for the homeless and
[45:37]
more millions for immigrants.
[45:39]
yet this subgroup of people come
[45:41]
asking for a special handout.
[45:43]
they want this money without any
[45:44]
strings and with their own
[45:45]
definition.
[45:46]
-- thank you ruth. You can give
[45:47]
your you can put your comments
[45:48]
in the basket as well. You're
[45:50]
good. No worries. Thank you
[45:51]
ruth. Okay, now we have craig
[45:53]
followed by miss torres.
[45:55]
welcome, craig.
[45:58]
-- thank you, president
[46:00]
hollingsworth. My name is craig
[46:01]
thompson. I'm a long time
[46:04]
advocate and activist on
[46:07]
northwest beacon hill. I am also
[46:09]
called the jungle guy there.
[46:13]
how's that? Thank you. You're
[46:14]
welcome. Okay, so I'm here today
[46:16]
to support councilmember lynn's
[46:20]
amendment to council bill
[46:22]
121253. This would create two
[46:25]
positions that would help
[46:29]
coordinate the outreach and
[46:31]
other efforts that are taking
[46:34]
place today in little saigon.
[46:35]
north rainier the north rainier
[46:37]
valley, and also northwest
[46:40]
beacon hill. These positions
[46:43]
will help make a whole program
[46:48]
possible so that there will be a
[46:51]
public safety component taking
[46:54]
place in our neighborhood, and
[46:55]
there will be real outreach. So
[46:57]
I hope that all of you will
[46:58]
support council lind's
[47:00]
amendment. Thank you.
[47:01]
-- thank you craig. Next, we
[47:06]
have miss torres. I miss.
[47:11]
-- your great.
[47:12]
-- no worries.
[47:12]
-- that's my mouthful.
[47:14]
-- yeah, yeah.
[47:14]
-- hi, everyone. My name is
[47:17]
amarantha torres from the
[47:17]
coalition ending gender based
[47:18]
violence. We support the ban on
[47:21]
hidden fees and amendments a and
[47:22]
e, as well as the amendment
[47:24]
supporting the trans community.
[47:25]
I'll be reading remarks from
[47:26]
tosh hansen, who couldn't be
[47:28]
here today. They support deaf
[47:30]
and deaf blind survivors at
[47:32]
member program. Abused deaf
[47:34]
women's advocacy services in d
[47:34]
five. Tosh says survivors
[47:37]
experienced trauma from the
[47:38]
abuse they go through, including
[47:39]
financial abuse. People who
[47:41]
cause harm will often use
[47:43]
finances to control survivors
[47:44]
and force them to stay in
[47:46]
abusive relationships. This
[47:46]
could look like ruining their
[47:47]
credit, sabotaging their job or
[47:50]
for deaf survivors taking their
[47:51]
monthly social security checks.
[47:54]
sometimes abusers take over
[47:55]
survivors finances so they never
[47:56]
learn how to budget or manage
[47:58]
money sufficiently. The result
[47:59]
is often poor credit,
[48:01]
homelessness and poverty. Most
[48:02]
survivors subsequently struggle
[48:04]
to find stable housing after
[48:05]
fleeing abuse. Add the
[48:07]
exorbitant housing costs in
[48:08]
seattle, and the situation is
[48:09]
often impossible. Oh my gosh,
[48:10]
survivors deserve a transparent
[48:12]
move in process where all fees
[48:13]
are stated clearly. Join our
[48:14]
work to end gender based
[48:15]
violence by leading by example.
[48:18]
do not continue practices that
[48:20]
mirror financial abuse such.
[48:21]
-- thank. Thank you. Thank you
[48:23]
so much. Next we have michael is
[48:25]
michael would. Is michael is
[48:27]
michael woodward here? Michael
[48:29]
michael woodward. No. Okay. Dan.
[48:32]
oh my bad. I'm sorry michael I
[48:33]
missed you.
[48:35]
-- sorry.
[48:35]
-- hello again councilmembers
[48:37]
michael woodward from traction.
[48:38]
I've been living in the world
[48:38]
as a trans man since the 1990s.
[48:41]
I'm here to urge you to vote
[48:43]
yes on cb 121252, as amended
[48:46]
last week, trans displacement is
[48:48]
a civic emergency. You've
[48:49]
already heard the numbers. More
[48:51]
than 50,000 displaced trans
[48:52]
people are already here or on
[48:53]
their way. The need is only
[48:56]
growing. In the three years
[48:57]
since we started this work,
[48:59]
we've received one $10,000
[49:00]
foundation grant for all this
[49:02]
work. Just one. I'm still
[49:04]
standing here as traction sole
[49:06]
paid staff member only because
[49:08]
some individual donors came
[49:08]
through. Just as our account
[49:10]
balances were sliding from black
[49:12]
to red. We all know 30 $300,000
[49:15]
is not enough. But I want to
[49:17]
come back here and thank you. I
[49:19]
want the city to be the first to
[49:21]
say trans people who flee here
[49:22]
deserve help. Sharon mcmahon
[49:25]
wrote the arc of the moral
[49:28]
universe doesn't doesn't bend
[49:29]
itself. Someone has to pull it.
[49:31]
that can be you vote yes. Let us
[49:34]
thank you. Then let us get back
[49:35]
to work. Thank you.
[49:40]
-- thank you michael. Next we
[49:41]
have danica is
[49:41]
-- [applause]
[49:42]
-- danica. I got you danica.
[49:45]
next by victoria. Rachel, alexia
[49:47]
and caroline. Danica. Victoria.
[49:48]
rachel. Alexia. Caroline.
[49:51]
welcome.
[49:52]
-- hello, my name is danica
[49:54]
noble. I spent 20 years with the
[49:56]
federal trade commission and the
[49:57]
last ten years as the chair of
[49:58]
our state bar association's
[50:00]
antitrust, consumer protection
[50:01]
and unfair business practices
[50:02]
section. I am in favor of the
[50:04]
junk fee ban, and it's more than
[50:06]
a question of just an extra fee.
[50:10]
it's more than the invisible
[50:12]
tax raising prices across the
[50:13]
economy. It's more than all the
[50:15]
convenience fees that we've all
[50:16]
paid and have never found
[50:18]
convenient. It asks a question
[50:19]
about whether our markets can be
[50:22]
fair in an increasingly digital
[50:24]
world. And it's something that
[50:26]
we absolutely need. The digital
[50:29]
markets promise transparency for
[50:31]
consumers. Junk fees hide those
[50:32]
and prevent that. Chaircom at
[50:35]
the federal trade commission
[50:39]
assumed 54,000,000 hours would
[50:41]
be saved by a nationwide junk
[50:42]
fee ban. The other problem is it
[50:45]
incentivizes dishonest business
[50:47]
practices and punishes those
[50:48]
that would make those
[50:49]
transparent. So if a consumer
[50:50]
should pay it, they should see
[50:51]
it before they decide to buy.
[50:53]
that's how we make this not
[50:56]
deceptive.
[50:56]
-- thank you danica. Next we
[50:57]
have victoria, followed by
[50:59]
rachel. Alexia. Caroline,
[51:03]
welcome.
[51:04]
-- hello, council. My name is
[51:05]
victoria palmer and I am a
[51:08]
district six resident and
[51:09]
executive board member of the
[51:10]
king county republican party.
[51:11]
I'm here today to speak against
[51:13]
funding for the trans and queer
[51:15]
community, like the $300,000
[51:18]
proposed in today's budget
[51:21]
amendment bill. Cb 121253. Mayor
[51:24]
wilson's office rejected the
[51:24]
request for an emergency.
[51:26]
there's no reason to spend
[51:28]
money. Public money to pay
[51:28]
expenses for what is simply
[51:30]
adults moving to seattle. The
[51:32]
videos I've posted on this
[51:34]
topic have drawn much public
[51:36]
attention and outrage, with over
[51:38]
330 views, 330,000 views on all
[51:43]
platforms. It's time to put an
[51:44]
end to our reputation for being
[51:47]
free at all, and return to
[51:49]
funding projects that build our
[51:52]
cities and our city, and benefit
[51:53]
all gauging by primary election
[51:57]
results. And danny west needs
[51:59]
analysis in the times. This
[52:01]
whole socialist movement thing
[52:03]
actually isn't catching on
[52:05]
here. And while we republicans
[52:07]
don't get much respect in
[52:08]
seattle.
[52:08]
-- thank you victoria. Victoria.
[52:10]
thank you. Thank you so much,
[52:13]
rachel. I, I can I can control
[52:16]
the meeting. Okay. You guys are
[52:16]
all good. Okay. We have rachel
[52:19]
followed by alexia and then
[52:20]
caroline. And then after that,
[52:21]
we'll go to the next ten people
[52:23]
and then we're going to go to
[52:25]
online. So that's 30 in person.
[52:26]
and we'll go online and we'll
[52:27]
come back. Rachel snell welcome.
[52:29]
-- thank you council president
[52:31]
joy hollingsworth and.
[52:32]
-- members of the city council.
[52:33]
my name is rachel snell, and I
[52:35]
am here to advocate for banning
[52:37]
a junk fees in a time where
[52:41]
rents already are unbelievably
[52:42]
expensive. No one should have to
[52:43]
choose between medical bills,
[52:46]
groceries, or rent, let alone
[52:50]
adding junk fees on top of it
[52:51]
all. I mean, are you kidding?
[52:53]
anyway, this piece of
[52:55]
legislation will provide much
[52:56]
needed relief to renters like
[52:57]
myself and many other vendors
[52:58]
that are in this room today, as
[53:00]
well as other people that are
[53:01]
not in this room today. And just
[53:05]
a friendly reminder that to be
[53:06]
an elected official is an honor.
[53:09]
it is an honor to be an elected
[53:11]
official because you are voted
[53:12]
on by the people. And so it is
[53:14]
your job. It is your job to
[53:17]
enact and enforce legislation
[53:21]
that help make improve the lives
[53:22]
of your constituents, not harm
[53:25]
your constituents. Thank you.
[53:28]
-- thank you rachel. Next we
[53:29]
have alexia, followed by
[53:32]
-- [applause]
[53:32]
-- caroline. Alexia. Welcome
[53:33]
then. Caroline. You're up. Thank
[53:35]
you.
[53:36]
-- and hello guys. Hi. My name
[53:39]
is alexia sattler and I'm a
[53:40]
renter living in south lake
[53:41]
union. I urge the council to ban
[53:44]
rental junk fees and take
[53:47]
meaningful action to protect
[53:49]
renters in seattle and oppose
[53:50]
amendment c and d. When I lived
[53:53]
in eastlake, I was charged a $15
[53:57]
administration fee and $50
[53:59]
technology technology fee on top
[53:59]
of the advertised rent, and
[54:01]
these charges may seem small,
[54:07]
but housing is already very
[54:09]
expensive for a lot of people. A
[54:10]
lot of my friends, my coworkers
[54:11]
to for every single apartment I
[54:12]
rented in seattle, I found
[54:13]
myself going back and forth with
[54:15]
property managers trying to
[54:17]
negotiate or question what these
[54:19]
charges were, only to be told
[54:20]
that there was nothing they
[54:21]
could do about it. I'm a college
[54:24]
student with two jobs. This is
[54:27]
this is really unfair. Renters
[54:29]
should not have to fight their
[54:31]
landlords just to understand or
[54:32]
challenge the true cost of their
[54:34]
housing. I ask the council to
[54:36]
stand with the majority of
[54:37]
seattle households who rent
[54:38]
their homes. Please support the
[54:38]
bill to ban rental junk fees and
[54:42]
oppose harmful amendments.
[54:43]
-- thank you alexia. Next we
[54:44]
have. Thank
[54:44]
-- [applause]
[54:45]
-- you.
[54:47]
-- [applause]
[54:49]
-- next, caroline. You go the
[54:49]
next people up before you go.
[54:50]
all right. It's going to be
[54:53]
chris apostate. Did I say that
[54:54]
right? Apostate. Apostate.
[54:57]
anyway. I'm sorry. Anitra.
[54:59]
ivan. Heather. Tennessee aiden.
[55:04]
kristen. Lexi and vera. And I
[55:08]
apologize if I mess up your
[55:10]
name. Caroline. Welcome.
[55:11]
-- hi, council. My name is
[55:13]
caroline russell. I'm a renter
[55:13]
in district three, and I'm here
[55:15]
in support of banning all rental
[55:17]
junk fees. But I want to talk
[55:19]
specifically about pet rent for
[55:19]
a moment. I've been renting in
[55:20]
seattle for seven years, and in
[55:21]
that time I've paid thousands
[55:22]
of dollars in rental fees, with
[55:24]
most of that coming from pet
[55:25]
rent for my cat. She has cost me
[55:26]
as much as $75 a month in pet
[55:29]
rent, despite never doing any
[55:30]
damage to my apartment, let
[55:31]
alone the building itself. This
[55:32]
money has been pure profit for
[55:35]
my landlord. Landlords have
[55:36]
tried to pitch pet rent as an
[55:37]
equity issue to give this fee
[55:38]
the veneer of progressivism, but
[55:39]
it is the poorest and most
[55:41]
marginalized people in the city
[55:42]
who are the most impacted and
[55:43]
the most at risk of eviction
[55:45]
over the inability to pay an
[55:46]
extra monthly fee, especially
[55:47]
since these fees are not covered
[55:49]
by housing vouchers. Pet rent
[55:50]
prices on tenants love for their
[55:51]
pets to extract every last drop
[55:52]
of profit from them. This is a
[55:55]
majority renter city, and we're
[55:56]
all tired of being nickeled and
[55:57]
dimed by landlords. While rent
[55:58]
prices skyrocket and threaten
[55:59]
our housing stability, I urge
[56:00]
you to ban junk fees to pass
[56:02]
amendments a and e and to vote
[56:03]
no on amendments c and d, which
[56:05]
will weaken this bill and hurt
[56:07]
renters and protect trans people
[56:07]
now and forever.
[56:09]
-- thank you
[56:10]
-- [applause]
[56:10]
-- caroline.
[56:10]
-- [applause]
[56:11]
-- chris.
[56:12]
-- it's chris,
[56:12]
-- [applause]
[56:13]
-- chris chris. Paul.
[56:17]
-- good afternoon. And freeman.
[56:19]
-- hold on, hold on one second.
[56:20]
we're looking for chris. Chris
[56:24]
is up next. Chris and then.
[56:25]
-- chris paul said, I'm a renter
[56:26]
living in madison park.
[56:30]
-- yeah. Go ahead.
[56:32]
-- my name is chris. I'm a
[56:33]
renter living in madison park. I
[56:35]
urge the council to support the
[56:38]
proposed ban on rental fees. I
[56:41]
oppose amendments c and d most
[56:43]
renters getting stuck with these
[56:45]
fees don't have the luxury of
[56:46]
taking time out of the middle of
[56:47]
a workday to testify at city
[56:48]
hall, so I want to use my time
[56:50]
for them as much as myself. I
[56:52]
currently pay $30 a month to
[56:53]
keep our cat, which I already
[56:56]
pay a damage deposit for, and
[56:59]
the landlord bears no additional
[57:03]
costs simply for the presence of
[57:04]
my cat in the unit. I also get
[57:07]
charged 250 a month for just
[57:09]
paying the rent, so I'm just
[57:10]
going to surrender the rest of
[57:11]
my time just to say that I
[57:14]
support the bill and oppose the
[57:16]
amendments. And thank you.
[57:17]
-- thank you, chris
[57:21]
-- [applause]
[57:22]
-- apostate.
[57:22]
-- [applause]
[57:22]
-- okay
[57:25]
-- hello. Hi. My name is ari. I
[57:26]
came in to talk about the
[57:28]
$300,000 that you guys want to
[57:29]
give to the trans and queer
[57:30]
community. I just think it's
[57:32]
absolutely ridiculous that in a
[57:34]
city that has a housing crisis,
[57:37]
sex trafficking problem, in a
[57:37]
city that has a serious drug
[57:41]
problem, you guys want to give
[57:42]
$300,000 away in the name of a
[57:44]
fictional genocide that's not
[57:45]
occurring. Okay. I think it's
[57:47]
really insulting to people who
[57:48]
have actually suffered and
[57:49]
attempt by governments to
[57:50]
systemically erase their
[57:52]
existence from this land. I
[57:53]
think it's insulting to this
[57:55]
nation. What's really happened
[57:57]
is trans migrants have moved
[57:58]
from state to state, just like
[57:59]
me. Like I came here ten years
[58:01]
ago for the same thing, just for
[58:03]
opportunity, rebuild my whole
[58:03]
life, found love. But they've
[58:06]
moved because women, adult human
[58:08]
females have said they're not
[58:09]
comfortable with males in their
[58:11]
bathrooms, in their prisons and
[58:13]
their rape shelters. Okay. And
[58:14]
so they've come here to hide so
[58:16]
they can oppress women. That's
[58:18]
what it's really about. And I
[58:20]
just think it's absolutely
[58:22]
ridiculous to see a city council
[58:23]
with this many women on it who
[58:24]
do not know what women are. I
[58:25]
think it's absolutely
[58:27]
ridiculous. You have trump's fbi
[58:29]
breaking up sex.
[58:30]
-- thank you. Thank you, ari.
[58:32]
thank you ari. Next. Thank you
[58:34]
ari. So all right. So we're
[58:36]
going to go to the next speaker.
[58:39]
okay. Anitra is next, followed
[58:42]
by ivan anitra. We're still
[58:44]
doing public comment. Y'all hold
[58:45]
on.
[58:46]
-- we're still speaking in
[58:49]
favor of the junk freeze
[58:50]
legislation. For one thing, all
[58:54]
agreements should be opt in as a
[58:55]
matter of simple fairness, you
[58:58]
shouldn't have to, you know,
[59:00]
sign a lease and find out that
[59:03]
you've obligated yourself to 30
[59:04]
extra expenses that you didn't
[59:07]
know about. And the other thing
[59:10]
I I've had a cat for 30 years.
[59:16]
I'm used to putting a deposit
[59:16]
down. I don't know any apartment
[59:23]
dweller in seattle who takes
[59:25]
their cat outside at all.
[59:29]
there's that cat is in our
[59:30]
apartment. I have a deposit for
[59:33]
any damage it does. I don't need
[59:35]
to be charged for anything. That
[59:40]
cat that happens anywhere
[59:41]
outside the apartment. So keep
[59:43]
it fair. Thank you.
[59:45]
-- thank you. Next we have ivan,
[59:47]
followed by
[59:50]
-- [applause]
[59:51]
-- heather.
[59:51]
-- ivan,
[59:52]
-- ivan, heather. Welcome, ivan.
[59:54]
heather. Tennessee. Aiden.
[59:57]
kristen. Lexi, vera. And then
[59:58]
we'll go online. Welcome.
[59:59]
-- yeah. My name is ivan. I'm
[1:00:02]
in district five. I am homeless,
[1:00:06]
but you know, I really would
[1:00:08]
love to be able to afford rent.
[1:00:10]
I am on disability, which means
[1:00:14]
pretty much I can't afford
[1:00:18]
rent. The landlords are adding
[1:00:20]
fees and other predatory billing
[1:00:23]
practices to skirt protections
[1:00:26]
designed to protect protect
[1:00:28]
renters from price gouging. And,
[1:00:30]
you know, like I always say,
[1:00:34]
jesse james needed a gun
[1:00:40]
-- thank you. Now we have
[1:00:41]
heather, followed by tennessee
[1:00:42]
aiden, kristen, lexi, welcome.
[1:00:45]
-- hi, my name is heather. I
[1:00:48]
live in tent city three, located
[1:00:49]
in district four. Our tagline
[1:00:52]
today is we can't afford the
[1:00:53]
rent, so we live in a tent. Urge
[1:00:55]
the council to take action today
[1:00:57]
to ban unnecessary housing
[1:00:59]
costs, but strongly oppose
[1:01:01]
amendment c and d. My biggest
[1:01:03]
hurdle in acquiring traditional
[1:01:06]
housing is rent. There's no way
[1:01:07]
a single mom with a pet making
[1:01:08]
less than 60,000 a year can
[1:01:11]
afford rent in seattle, let
[1:01:13]
alone pet rent and other
[1:01:16]
predatory, unnecessary,
[1:01:17]
unnecessary housing fees. Thank
[1:01:18]
you so much.
[1:01:20]
-- awesome. Thank you. Heather,
[1:01:21]
we have
[1:01:21]
-- [applause]
[1:01:22]
-- tennis and did I say your
[1:01:24]
name right? Tennessee. Yeah.
[1:01:26]
okay. Awesome. Aiden. Kristen.
[1:01:27]
lexi. Vera. Welcome.
[1:01:29]
-- hi, I'm terence macgibbon.
[1:01:31]
I'm a long time resident of
[1:01:35]
rainier north. First, I want to
[1:01:38]
thank councilmembers lin and
[1:01:40]
foster for all their help in our
[1:01:42]
neighborhood and stuff. They've
[1:01:44]
been real champions helping us
[1:01:46]
out. I'm here to support and
[1:01:49]
ask you to support amendment a.
[1:01:52]
I don't have all the answers,
[1:01:53]
but I will tell you this. This
[1:01:56]
money is appropriated. You have
[1:01:58]
myself and the trash walkers
[1:02:01]
around rainier avenue north. You
[1:02:02]
have boots on. You know what
[1:02:04]
I'm saying? Boots on the
[1:02:06]
pavement, whatever. You'll have
[1:02:09]
a lot of support from us because
[1:02:10]
I want to get our neighborhood
[1:02:12]
back to where it should be. And,
[1:02:15]
you know, I want to thank a few
[1:02:17]
people beside the
[1:02:20]
councilmembers, jenny franco,
[1:02:22]
adopt a street. You know, tracy
[1:02:24]
from find to fix it. I'm to find
[1:02:26]
to fix it. King. And I'm
[1:02:29]
adopting first street king. So
[1:02:30]
appreciate all the help that
[1:02:32]
everybody does. Thank you.
[1:02:34]
-- thank you king. Next we have
[1:02:35]
aiden, followed by kristen.
[1:02:37]
lexi. Vera will go online.
[1:02:40]
welcome. Hello.
[1:02:40]
-- my name is aiden. I'm a
[1:02:41]
renter in district five off of
[1:02:43]
lake city. And I want to comment
[1:02:44]
on the junk fee ban, the
[1:02:46]
proposed ban on junk fee is what
[1:02:47]
they call an easy win. Make a
[1:02:50]
little splash in the news about
[1:02:52]
being a representative. You
[1:02:53]
know, normal people, your voters
[1:02:54]
get to keep a little bit of
[1:02:55]
their hard earned wages on your
[1:02:58]
behalf. And I'm sorry, how
[1:02:59]
exactly is my pet supposed to be
[1:03:00]
paying rent again? Todd the cat
[1:03:02]
supposed to get a job, I
[1:03:04]
suppose. Todd the cat needs to
[1:03:05]
set aside a little money every
[1:03:06]
month from his social security
[1:03:07]
check so he can pay his rent.
[1:03:09]
todd, the cat is going to be
[1:03:09]
evicted for failing to pay his
[1:03:11]
rent on time, and needs to plead
[1:03:13]
his case in court so he can keep
[1:03:14]
a roof over the head for his 14
[1:03:17]
kittens. What are we talking
[1:03:18]
about? What kind of evil dr.
[1:03:20]
eggman type think type thinks
[1:03:22]
pet rent is something we would
[1:03:24]
tolerate. Pets can't pay rent,
[1:03:26]
pets don't pay rent. Don't let
[1:03:27]
landlords make up nonsense fees
[1:03:28]
so they can squeeze every last
[1:03:30]
dime out of the hardworking
[1:03:31]
voters of the city. Please vote
[1:03:32]
yes on amendments a and e, which
[1:03:35]
will strengthen this bill and
[1:03:36]
vote no on amendment c and d,
[1:03:39]
which will weaken renters
[1:03:39]
protection. Thank you.
[1:03:40]
-- thank you. Next we have
[1:03:41]
kristen, followed by lexi and
[1:03:42]
then
[1:03:45]
-- [applause]
[1:03:45]
-- kristen. Welcome and then
[1:03:51]
lexi and vera.
[1:03:51]
-- hi.
[1:03:52]
-- just for the record, my name
[1:03:53]
is pronounced kirsten kirs.
[1:03:56]
-- my bad, let's restart our
[1:03:57]
time.
[1:03:57]
-- no worries. Restart your
[1:03:59]
time.
[1:03:59]
-- okay, restart our time. Okay.
[1:04:01]
-- starting my time. Okay. I am
[1:04:03]
an intern at byrd barr place.
[1:04:04]
it's a nonprofit, and we help
[1:04:09]
at. We just help the community.
[1:04:11]
and I'm not speaking on their
[1:04:13]
behalf, but I'm speaking on what
[1:04:16]
I see and what I hear from my
[1:04:17]
own personal experience working
[1:04:19]
in social services. We get about
[1:04:24]
one soft numbers. We get about
[1:04:26]
one four calls asking for rental
[1:04:29]
assistance due to evictions. So
[1:04:30]
we are facing a crisis in
[1:04:33]
housing and evictions right now
[1:04:35]
in king county right now in
[1:04:36]
seattle. Not just north, not
[1:04:38]
just south all over, even in
[1:04:41]
bellevue, even shoreline. So
[1:04:43]
it's sort of this western part
[1:04:45]
of seattle. Anyways, I want to
[1:04:48]
invest in the community. We want
[1:04:49]
to invest in the community. So
[1:04:51]
we can't have these fees
[1:04:53]
because we want to invest in
[1:04:55]
families, communities,
[1:04:58]
education.
[1:04:58]
-- thank you. Kirsten. Next, we
[1:04:59]
have lexi, followed by
[1:05:00]
-- [applause]
[1:05:00]
-- vera welcome, lexi.
[1:05:04]
-- hello, I'm lexi salas, I'm a
[1:05:06]
renter in district three, and
[1:05:08]
I'm here today to urge our
[1:05:09]
council to vote to ban junk fees
[1:05:10]
without amendments. C and d
[1:05:12]
council president. You met my
[1:05:13]
dog, zombie. You thought he was
[1:05:14]
so cool. So please don't make
[1:05:17]
him pay rent. Seattle is a
[1:05:19]
majority renter city and it's
[1:05:20]
about time we have a council
[1:05:22]
that represents our interests
[1:05:22]
and doesn't uphold the status
[1:05:24]
quo, privileging property owners
[1:05:26]
over tenants for too long,
[1:05:28]
landlords and developers claim
[1:05:29]
that any additional protections
[1:05:31]
for tenants will result in the
[1:05:32]
sky falling. However, renters in
[1:05:34]
our city experienced the sky
[1:05:35]
fall on us whenever we have to
[1:05:36]
choose between food for our pets
[1:05:39]
or pet rent. This guy falls on
[1:05:40]
renters when we are slammed to
[1:05:41]
pay or vacate notices, and we
[1:05:43]
don't have money for moving
[1:05:44]
costs. The sky falls on renters
[1:05:45]
when we are evicted and left to
[1:05:48]
fend for ourselves. On the
[1:05:49]
streets of seattle, the sky
[1:05:51]
falls disproportionately on
[1:05:52]
trans renters, which is why the
[1:05:53]
council must also fund resources
[1:05:56]
for our trans neighbors. So
[1:05:57]
seattle city council, you have
[1:05:59]
the opportunity today to be a
[1:05:59]
national leader for renters by
[1:06:01]
banning rental junk fees without
[1:06:03]
amendments c and d, so please
[1:06:04]
make the right choice and side
[1:06:06]
with renters who make up the
[1:06:06]
majority of our city. Thank you.
[1:06:08]
-- thank you lexi. Next we have
[1:06:10]
vera.
[1:06:11]
-- [applause]
[1:06:11]
-- welcome
[1:06:14]
-- hello, my name is vera. I'm
[1:06:15]
an organizer at got green. And I
[1:06:17]
urge the council to support the
[1:06:19]
proposed ban on rental fees
[1:06:20]
while opposing amendments c and
[1:06:23]
d through hundreds of
[1:06:25]
conversations with our working
[1:06:25]
class black and brown neighbors
[1:06:26]
in south seattle got green has
[1:06:28]
heard that rent increases
[1:06:30]
housing insecurity,
[1:06:32]
displacement, unsafe and
[1:06:32]
unhealthy living conditions and
[1:06:34]
disrespect are what renters
[1:06:35]
contend with every day.
[1:06:37]
meanwhile, landlords and real
[1:06:39]
estate tycoons amass wealth, and
[1:06:40]
there's less and less public
[1:06:42]
investment in healthy housing.
[1:06:44]
landlords have the power to make
[1:06:45]
business decisions, including
[1:06:47]
setting rental rates. With that
[1:06:49]
power, they must bear the costs
[1:06:50]
and the risks. Just like any
[1:06:52]
other business, this bill, which
[1:06:55]
reduces hidden and unnecessary
[1:06:57]
housing costs, and staffs sdci
[1:06:59]
to enforce them, is an important
[1:07:00]
step in the right direction.
[1:07:02]
support the bill to ban rental
[1:07:03]
fees and oppose harmful
[1:07:05]
amendments c and d, and, moving
[1:07:06]
forward, keep strengthening
[1:07:08]
rental protections and
[1:07:09]
enforcement. Thank you. And I
[1:07:10]
want to say trans rights are
[1:07:11]
human rights, trans rights
[1:07:13]
forever
[1:07:14]
-- thank you.
[1:07:14]
-- very next we're going to go
[1:07:19]
-- [applause]
[1:07:19]
-- online. All right. Now we're
[1:07:20]
going to go online. So we have
[1:07:21]
angie, wes, mr. Alvarez, ryan,
[1:07:24]
you're going to press star six
[1:07:25]
to unmute yourself. Welcome,
[1:07:27]
angie star six to unmute
[1:07:34]
yourself. You're on mute, angie
[1:07:37]
star six. We'll bump up wet.
[1:07:40]
oh, there you go. Go ahead.
[1:07:44]
-- hi. My name is angie. I'm a
[1:07:47]
small ballard and a co-founder
[1:07:49]
of seattle grassroots landlords.
[1:07:51]
we are opposed to the bloated
[1:07:53]
and flawed rental fee
[1:07:54]
legislation we participated in
[1:07:56]
the mayor's charade of a
[1:07:58]
stakeholder process renters?
[1:08:02]
excuse me. I just had to run in
[1:08:03]
from working outside and out of
[1:08:09]
breath. One moment. Renters
[1:08:12]
deserve transparency of costs,
[1:08:13]
not an expensive, over idealized
[1:08:16]
approach that makes lofty
[1:08:17]
promises without grounding in
[1:08:18]
the actual costs, risks, and
[1:08:21]
complexities of providing rental
[1:08:23]
housing in seattle, this moved
[1:08:25]
out of council's committee with
[1:08:27]
a five zero vote and not one
[1:08:30]
meeting involving housing
[1:08:32]
providers or q&a about rental
[1:08:35]
operations. You haven't even
[1:08:38]
publicly released the 2025 end
[1:08:38]
of year real report. This is
[1:08:40]
poor governance in action.
[1:08:42]
please vote no. Please work on
[1:08:44]
collaborative problem solving.
[1:08:46]
-- thank you, thank you angie.
[1:08:47]
next we have wes, followed by
[1:08:48]
mr. Alvarez, star six to unmute
[1:08:49]
yourself
[1:08:57]
-- good afternoon, members of
[1:08:59]
the city council. My name is
[1:09:01]
west mills and I'm a renter in
[1:09:02]
northgate with my wife and our
[1:09:04]
adorable dog. I would have
[1:09:05]
joined you in person today, but
[1:09:05]
while I am to the left, I'm also
[1:09:07]
employed, so I have to call in
[1:09:09]
during work hours. And thank you
[1:09:09]
for the auction and committing
[1:09:11]
to support of the overall
[1:09:13]
proposal to ban fees, and
[1:09:14]
particularly in opposition to
[1:09:16]
amendment p and d, nobody likes
[1:09:17]
jet skis, and if we did,
[1:09:18]
everyone would be lining up
[1:09:20]
singing the praises of comcast
[1:09:21]
and would speak highly of the
[1:09:21]
process of financing a car. But
[1:09:24]
housing is different. I can
[1:09:25]
choose not to go to some
[1:09:27]
businesses and ask to have, but
[1:09:27]
I have to have somewhere to
[1:09:28]
live. And disclosure is not
[1:09:29]
enough because by the time we've
[1:09:30]
gotten 80 pages deep and release
[1:09:34]
only discover the convenient opt
[1:09:34]
out for some valuable program or
[1:09:36]
worse, that a junk fee is
[1:09:37]
actually required. It's already
[1:09:38]
too late. My wife and I pay
[1:09:41]
almost $100 a month to rent. My
[1:09:42]
dog is unemployed, so we're
[1:09:44]
covering it for her amenity fees
[1:09:46]
for things like use of the
[1:09:47]
building access control system
[1:09:49]
and charges for common area
[1:09:50]
stuff. And that's after we've
[1:09:52]
managed multiple times to beat
[1:09:53]
back the sneaky opt out, but
[1:09:53]
only if you notice fees for
[1:09:55]
stuff like liability. Lake city.
[1:09:57]
please pass the bill without
[1:09:59]
amendment and do us the renters
[1:10:00]
in town.
[1:10:02]
-- thank you wes. Next we have
[1:10:04]
mr. Alvarez, followed by ryan,
[1:10:07]
and then to luna.
[1:10:13]
-- thank you.
[1:10:14]
-- I'm strongly against
[1:10:16]
amendment c and d for the junk
[1:10:18]
fee legislation. What's most
[1:10:20]
egregious with the pet rent
[1:10:21]
carve out is that the amendment
[1:10:23]
ties it to inflation in the
[1:10:24]
economy. When do renters get any
[1:10:27]
such benefit into law? Landlords
[1:10:30]
don't care about the rates of
[1:10:33]
unemployment or layoffs, or that
[1:10:35]
wages don't keep up with sales
[1:10:38]
taxes, medications, grocery
[1:10:40]
prices? The rent is always due
[1:10:42]
no matter what the consumer
[1:10:45]
price index reports. And so we
[1:10:47]
have excuse me, and so we have
[1:10:49]
rent discounts to help with dips
[1:10:52]
in consumer income. Landlords
[1:10:53]
should have no such benefit for
[1:10:55]
themselves. No on all junk fees
[1:10:57]
that nickel and dime us into
[1:11:01]
crisis and homelessness. Thank
[1:11:02]
you. Have a good day.
[1:11:04]
-- thank you. Next we have ryan,
[1:11:06]
followed by talena and then
[1:11:07]
kelsey. Star six to unmute
[1:11:10]
yourself.
[1:11:10]
-- hi council, my name is ryan
[1:11:12]
talon. I'm a registered nurse
[1:11:13]
at harborview and I'm a renter
[1:11:14]
in capitol hill. I urge this
[1:11:17]
council to ban rental junkies
[1:11:20]
and to oppose amendments c and d
[1:11:22]
honest markets require honest
[1:11:23]
pricing. When I moved into my
[1:11:24]
building, I budgeted carefully
[1:11:25]
based on the advertised rent,
[1:11:27]
but hidden pet rent and
[1:11:28]
recurring administration fees
[1:11:30]
caught me completely off guard.
[1:11:31]
the true cost was buried in fine
[1:11:33]
print, making it impossible to
[1:11:35]
compare options accurately or
[1:11:36]
plan my finances. This lack of
[1:11:38]
transparency hurts renters, and
[1:11:39]
it distorts the entire housing
[1:11:41]
market. Banning fees is a simple
[1:11:43]
step towards a fairer market
[1:11:44]
where advertised prices reflect
[1:11:45]
real costs. Renters deserve to
[1:11:47]
know what housing actually costs
[1:11:49]
before signing a lease. Please
[1:11:50]
support this bill to increase
[1:11:52]
transparency and ban deceptive
[1:11:54]
junk fees and oppose harmful
[1:11:56]
amendments. C and d also.
[1:11:57]
lastly, I just want to say that
[1:11:58]
the trans community trying to
[1:11:59]
move seattle by making housing
[1:12:00]
costs more transparent is a way
[1:12:01]
to help them. So please support
[1:12:05]
the legislation.
[1:12:05]
-- thank you. Thank you. Ryan.
[1:12:06]
next, we have talena followed by
[1:12:11]
kelsey, susan.
[1:12:12]
-- hi. My name is talana read
[1:12:14]
with the tenants union of
[1:12:15]
washington state. Please vote
[1:12:16]
yes on the junk fees ordinance
[1:12:18]
and reject amendment c and d of
[1:12:20]
the callers. We get over $200 a
[1:12:23]
month with different issues and
[1:12:26]
approximately 80% of those are
[1:12:27]
about junk fees. Pets do not
[1:12:29]
have jobs and cannot afford to
[1:12:30]
pay their rent either. It is
[1:12:34]
very important to to ensure that
[1:12:35]
seattle residents are able to
[1:12:36]
afford the rent. These are
[1:12:38]
hidden costs that renters are
[1:12:39]
already paying and renters
[1:12:40]
deserve straightforward pricing
[1:12:41]
that reflects what they will
[1:12:43]
actually be paid out of pocket.
[1:12:44]
pet rent is predatory. It
[1:12:46]
exploits the love people have
[1:12:48]
for their pets, and landlords
[1:12:49]
should not be allowed to find
[1:12:50]
new and creative ways to get
[1:12:51]
money from the people who rely
[1:12:52]
on them for housing. Please vote
[1:12:55]
yes on this ordinance.
[1:12:57]
-- thank you. Next we have
[1:12:59]
kelsey, followed by susan star
[1:13:00]
six.
[1:13:06]
-- hello, my name is kelsey
[1:13:07]
timmer and I'm a renter in
[1:13:08]
district three, as well as a
[1:13:09]
city worker and member of
[1:13:11]
protect 17. I'm speaking today
[1:13:13]
to ask city council to support
[1:13:14]
banning junk fees to support
[1:13:17]
amendments a and e to allow
[1:13:18]
renters to be fairly compensated
[1:13:20]
for harms and to oppose
[1:13:22]
amendments c and d. It's hard
[1:13:23]
enough to afford living in the
[1:13:24]
city I work for, and junk fees
[1:13:26]
only make it harder to. Junk
[1:13:28]
fees I have paid the most are
[1:13:29]
pet rent. Each year I pay over
[1:13:31]
300 extra dollars in rent
[1:13:33]
because I have a cat. This just
[1:13:34]
doesn't make sense. Any extra
[1:13:36]
risk of damage should be covered
[1:13:38]
under a refundable pet deposit,
[1:13:40]
and any utilities. My cat is
[1:13:42]
somehow using. I'm already
[1:13:44]
paying for. Pet rent is just one
[1:13:45]
of many junk fees, and another
[1:13:48]
excuse for landlords to increase
[1:13:49]
their revenue, which makes it
[1:13:50]
harder for people to afford
[1:13:52]
housing in our city. I urge you,
[1:13:55]
please support the bill to ban
[1:13:56]
junk fees, support amendments a
[1:13:58]
and e and oppose amendments c
[1:14:00]
and d. Finally, trans rights are
[1:14:02]
human rights. Please support our
[1:14:03]
trans neighbors.
[1:14:04]
-- thank you. Thank you kelsey.
[1:14:06]
we have susan followed by ken
[1:14:08]
and then rose. Susan.
[1:14:11]
-- good afternoon, susan riggs
[1:14:13]
with the aspca. I'm speaking in
[1:14:16]
support of rental fees.
[1:14:17]
ordinance is currently written
[1:14:19]
and against the proposed
[1:14:20]
amendment fee. As it stands
[1:14:21]
today, landlords have at their
[1:14:23]
disposal both security deposits
[1:14:24]
and pet deposits to address any
[1:14:27]
pet related damages.
[1:14:28]
furthermore, there's little
[1:14:29]
evidence that landlords incur
[1:14:31]
widespread pet related costs
[1:14:31]
that justify ongoing monthly
[1:14:34]
costs. Specifically, recent
[1:14:36]
research has found that only 9%
[1:14:37]
of pets cause any damage, the
[1:14:40]
majority of which is repaired by
[1:14:41]
tenants prior to vacancy, with
[1:14:43]
the average damage costing just
[1:14:47]
$210, which is easily covered by
[1:14:48]
the current requirements.
[1:14:50]
opponents of this ordinance
[1:14:52]
argue that eliminating pet rent
[1:14:53]
and nonrefundable fees will
[1:14:55]
force landlords to raise rent
[1:14:55]
for everyone. However, data from
[1:14:58]
denver, colorado, where pet rent
[1:14:59]
rental fees were capped
[1:15:02]
effective january 2024, soda
[1:15:04]
significant reduction in rents
[1:15:05]
following the law's enactment
[1:15:06]
and no change in pet friendly
[1:15:07]
rental inventory. Thank you.
[1:15:10]
-- thank you susan. Next we have
[1:15:11]
ken, followed by rose ken star
[1:15:13]
six.
[1:15:16]
-- hello, my name.
[1:15:17]
-- is ken timmons. I strongly
[1:15:19]
support amendment a to council
[1:15:20]
bill 121253. I have lived in
[1:15:24]
mount baker for 34 years. I last
[1:15:25]
spoke to you on april 7th and
[1:15:27]
described the crisis in our
[1:15:28]
neighborhood. Well, the crisis
[1:15:30]
continues. In the past four
[1:15:32]
months, we've had arsons,
[1:15:34]
shootings, overdose deaths, more
[1:15:36]
encampments, drug dealing, theft
[1:15:38]
and vandalism to businesses and
[1:15:40]
property, and a recent home
[1:15:41]
burglary. And now suspected
[1:15:44]
prostitution. We have made
[1:15:46]
multiple 911 calls filed many
[1:15:49]
scientific reports, and
[1:15:50]
contacted metro numerous times
[1:15:51]
to address drug use at our bus
[1:15:54]
stops. We have been trying to
[1:15:56]
improve our neighborhood, but we
[1:15:57]
are exhausted and we are
[1:16:00]
frustrated. Councilmember
[1:16:00]
lindsay will bring a focused
[1:16:02]
effort on a problem that is too
[1:16:03]
big for us. Pass this amendment.
[1:16:06]
thank you.
[1:16:07]
-- thank you. Next we have rose,
[1:16:08]
followed by steve and then
[1:16:11]
alice.
[1:16:16]
-- hello. Thank.
[1:16:17]
-- you. Council president
[1:16:19]
hollingsworth. I was able to
[1:16:19]
meet with your office yesterday
[1:16:21]
and have some productive
[1:16:22]
conversations. I look forward to
[1:16:23]
having more conversations in the
[1:16:25]
future. The trans community is
[1:16:27]
in crisis. I came here 20 months
[1:16:29]
ago hoping that there would be
[1:16:31]
more support here for the
[1:16:32]
community, but my, myself and
[1:16:34]
many others paid out of our
[1:16:35]
pocket to help the community
[1:16:37]
with resources that the city
[1:16:38]
should have been providing.
[1:16:39]
there are many individuals that
[1:16:41]
are at the breaking point, both
[1:16:42]
mentally and financially. We
[1:16:44]
need the support, and the
[1:16:45]
support is good that we have
[1:16:48]
today. We. I would encourage the
[1:16:50]
council to not just see this as
[1:16:52]
a one time financial measure,
[1:16:53]
but to look forward to how we
[1:16:54]
can help the community going
[1:16:56]
forward, because this is an
[1:16:58]
ongoing issue that is only going
[1:16:59]
to consider. It's only going to
[1:17:01]
get considerably worse as the
[1:17:04]
years go on. So please support
[1:17:07]
our communities. We deserve it.
[1:17:08]
it is. It is what we all need.
[1:17:11]
thank you.
[1:17:13]
-- thank you. Rose. Next we
[1:17:15]
-- [applause]
[1:17:15]
-- have steve followed by alice.
[1:17:18]
welcome, steve.
[1:17:21]
-- hello. My name is steve. I've
[1:17:22]
been a resident of north rainier
[1:17:26]
for 34 years. Today I'm urging
[1:17:28]
you to support councilman
[1:17:29]
lynn's amendment a to
[1:17:30]
supplemental budget to establish
[1:17:32]
a community fund intended to
[1:17:34]
bring public safety outreach
[1:17:36]
programs to our neighborhood on
[1:17:38]
april 7th, a group of us
[1:17:39]
attended your council meeting
[1:17:41]
and presented an impact study
[1:17:43]
that we conducted along north
[1:17:46]
rainier. We asked you to address
[1:17:47]
issues of crime, general safety
[1:17:50]
and to help dionne house. We now
[1:17:52]
feel that you've listened to our
[1:17:55]
concerns because this proposed
[1:17:56]
amendment addresses these
[1:17:58]
issues. Councilman lin foster
[1:18:00]
and hollingsworth, you've been
[1:18:02]
on the ground in this area many
[1:18:03]
times, and you understand the
[1:18:05]
urgency of implementing this
[1:18:07]
plan. And, councilman strauss,
[1:18:09]
you've spoken of its success in
[1:18:11]
other districts and your
[1:18:13]
willingness to expand to north d
[1:18:15]
two. We want to thank you all.
[1:18:17]
we also want you to know that
[1:18:18]
once this community fund is
[1:18:20]
established, we're ready to go
[1:18:21]
to help the outreach staff.
[1:18:27]
-- thank you. Steve. Next, we
[1:18:27]
have alice, followed by dr.
[1:18:29]
janice and then james wu.
[1:18:39]
-- good afternoon council, this
[1:18:41]
is alice lockhart calling from
[1:18:44]
district five. And I wanted very
[1:18:47]
short to urge you to please pass
[1:18:50]
the b 12125 for the junk fee ban
[1:18:54]
and keep it a complete ban by
[1:18:57]
not passing weakening amendments
[1:19:00]
I'm sorry, c and d, I believe
[1:19:05]
the last two amendments. You
[1:19:05]
know it's the right thing to
[1:19:08]
do. Stay strong. Thank you so
[1:19:11]
much.
[1:19:12]
-- thank you alex. We're gonna
[1:19:13]
do doctor janice and then james.
[1:19:13]
and then we're going to come
[1:19:14]
back in person. So dr. Janice
[1:19:20]
clark and james wu.
[1:19:21]
-- good afternoon. I'm dr.
[1:19:23]
janice clark founder of and
[1:19:25]
president of safe homes. I rise
[1:19:30]
today in strong support of the
[1:19:33]
five appointments to the
[1:19:33]
indigenous advisory council. And
[1:19:35]
with deep gratitude to the
[1:19:37]
department of neighborhoods,
[1:19:40]
president of seattle council,
[1:19:43]
mamu and all councilmembers for
[1:19:45]
their work process that selected
[1:19:49]
safe homes, women veterans
[1:19:52]
program pilot for food security
[1:19:55]
and resiliency initiative, this
[1:19:56]
pilot, funded through the
[1:19:59]
sweetened beverage tax, affirms
[1:20:00]
that food is culturally,
[1:20:03]
emotionally, and intellectual
[1:20:05]
nourishment. If these. The
[1:20:08]
brains and shapes decisions that
[1:20:09]
affect the safety of those who
[1:20:11]
live, work and worship in our
[1:20:13]
city as we move forward, it is
[1:20:16]
essential that indigenous women
[1:20:18]
veterans are also identified and
[1:20:20]
given an opportunity to
[1:20:22]
participate. Thank you for your
[1:20:24]
leadership.
[1:20:25]
-- thank you, dr. Clark. Next,
[1:20:27]
we have james. Before you start,
[1:20:29]
james, this is just a time
[1:20:29]
check. We still have about 60
[1:20:30]
more speakers. So I'm going to
[1:20:33]
say the next ten speakers that
[1:20:35]
are in person. We're going to
[1:20:36]
have james wu go online but
[1:20:39]
before. So we can kind of get
[1:20:40]
set with people in the queue. We
[1:20:42]
have kate rubin followed by
[1:20:43]
casey. We have andrea, we have
[1:20:46]
margaret, we have ben wong,
[1:20:50]
samuel wolfson, megan, steph,
[1:20:52]
aaron, and then ruby, rubai,
[1:20:58]
ruby. So we have those people
[1:21:00]
that are next. James you will go
[1:21:02]
and then we'll go to kate rubin.
[1:21:07]
welcome. James.
[1:21:07]
-- hello.
[1:21:09]
-- my name is james wu. I'm a
[1:21:11]
homeowner in d five. I urge the
[1:21:12]
council to support 121254 and
[1:21:16]
the amendments a and e as well
[1:21:17]
as the budget elements for
[1:21:19]
transfer refugee funding. I find
[1:21:21]
it very interesting that only
[1:21:23]
homeowners get 30 years of
[1:21:26]
permanently stable housing price
[1:21:26]
control, but that in the middle
[1:21:27]
of a housing crisis, a climate
[1:21:29]
refugee crisis and a refugee
[1:21:32]
crisis, renters instead get
[1:21:33]
creatively hidden, layered fees
[1:21:34]
like pet rent. I also oppose
[1:21:37]
amendment c and d. I know that
[1:21:39]
councilmember kettle have no
[1:21:40]
qualms criticizing fees that
[1:21:41]
are, quote, one off and
[1:21:43]
piecemeal as long as they're
[1:21:44]
called taxes. Last july, he
[1:21:46]
criticized one off tax
[1:21:47]
solutions. This march, he railed
[1:21:49]
on the layering of tax, on tax
[1:21:51]
and piecemeal taxes. Last month,
[1:21:53]
he argued taxes are being passed
[1:21:55]
individually, with no notion of
[1:21:56]
cumulative financial burden.
[1:21:57]
well, rental one time off fees
[1:22:01]
are fees on fees and piecemeal
[1:22:03]
fees when it's for private
[1:22:03]
profit, just not to fund public
[1:22:07]
services. Thank you.
[1:22:08]
-- thank you james. Next we have
[1:22:10]
kate rubin, casey, andrea,
[1:22:11]
margaret, ben. Samuel, megan,
[1:22:14]
steph, aaron, ruby
[1:22:17]
-- my name is kate rubin. I am
[1:22:19]
the co-executive director of
[1:22:22]
seattle and I am co-facilitator
[1:22:24]
of the state house stay healthy
[1:22:25]
coalition, a group of about 40
[1:22:28]
organizations that have been
[1:22:29]
working on this bill. The
[1:22:31]
coalition supports amendments a
[1:22:34]
and e that would help renters
[1:22:38]
get some of the money back that
[1:22:39]
their landlords have taken from
[1:22:41]
them. And we are opposed to
[1:22:43]
amendments c and d. We think
[1:22:46]
that pet rent is exploitative.
[1:22:48]
there is no justification for
[1:22:51]
charging renters $300 per year
[1:22:53]
plus inflation, and there is no
[1:22:59]
justification for opting renters
[1:23:02]
into optional fees. We urge you
[1:23:04]
to stand with renters and pass
[1:23:06]
this common sense bill. Thank
[1:23:07]
you.
[1:23:08]
-- thank you kate. Next, we have
[1:23:09]
casey, followed by andrea and
[1:23:11]
then margaret. Welcome.
[1:23:14]
-- thank you for having us this
[1:23:16]
afternoon. My name is casey. I
[1:23:17]
am a vice chair of the seattle
[1:23:19]
renters commission. I'm also a
[1:23:21]
member of the state house. Stay
[1:23:23]
healthy coalition and a former
[1:23:25]
tenant attorney. I'm asking that
[1:23:26]
you support this junk fee ban,
[1:23:27]
with the exception of amendments
[1:23:29]
c and d. The fact that there's
[1:23:33]
even a cap that is being
[1:23:35]
proposed suggests that what
[1:23:36]
landlords have been charging,
[1:23:38]
they don't need, and frankly,
[1:23:40]
they don't need to charge it,
[1:23:41]
period. They've got security
[1:23:42]
deposits, they've got pet
[1:23:44]
deposits. Your landlord can go
[1:23:46]
after you if there's damage to
[1:23:47]
the unit. When you move out,
[1:23:49]
seattle renters spend hundreds,
[1:23:52]
sometimes thousands of dollars
[1:23:53]
just to make sure that they can
[1:23:54]
keep their companion with them.
[1:23:56]
and for landlords, this is
[1:24:00]
dollars and cents. But for
[1:24:01]
renters, this is their home,
[1:24:02]
their family, and their support.
[1:24:07]
simply put, pet rent is not
[1:24:08]
fair. It's a scam. And we ask
[1:24:12]
that you pass this bill without
[1:24:13]
c and d.
[1:24:13]
-- thank you casey.
[1:24:16]
-- [applause]
[1:24:16]
-- andrea welcome. Followed by
[1:24:20]
margaret.
[1:24:24]
-- hello. My name is andrea and
[1:24:27]
I am I've been a resident of
[1:24:29]
renter of in seattle for 19
[1:24:32]
years. I'm also a proud dues
[1:24:34]
paying member of the carpenters
[1:24:36]
union for eight nine years now.
[1:24:41]
and I'm also a proud, longtime
[1:24:44]
single mom of a trans young
[1:24:45]
adult. As other people have
[1:24:47]
mentioned, junk fees are a way
[1:24:48]
for landlords to squeeze more
[1:24:50]
out of us tenants without being
[1:24:52]
subject to regulation. This
[1:24:54]
council has the power today to
[1:24:56]
end that. Starting now. As a
[1:25:01]
renter and mother of a beloved
[1:25:03]
trans person, our interests as
[1:25:06]
as people who are trans, who
[1:25:07]
love trans people and our
[1:25:09]
renters should not be pitted
[1:25:11]
against each other. So I urge
[1:25:13]
council to grant the proposed
[1:25:15]
funding for trans support now,
[1:25:18]
and to look for other ways that
[1:25:22]
don't. Add to housing costs for
[1:25:23]
working class people, cis and
[1:25:25]
trans. Thank
[1:25:26]
-- [applause]
[1:25:26]
-- you.
[1:25:28]
-- [applause]
[1:25:29]
-- thank you.
[1:25:29]
-- [applause]
[1:25:31]
-- followed by ben. Welcome. Hi,
[1:25:35]
I'm margaret.
[1:25:35]
-- shoreline from d five and
[1:25:37]
I'm here in support of
[1:25:38]
councilmember foster's bill to
[1:25:40]
prohibit unfair, unregulated
[1:25:42]
rental fees. So I'm a homeowner
[1:25:44]
now, but during the 20 years I
[1:25:45]
was a renter here, landlords did
[1:25:48]
not use these fees on us. This
[1:25:50]
is a recent unfair practice that
[1:25:54]
evades fair market competition
[1:25:54]
and renter protections.
[1:25:57]
unpredictable extra fees are a
[1:25:59]
significant factor in how people
[1:26:01]
get behind. Get an eviction and
[1:26:03]
become unhoused. This needs to
[1:26:05]
stop. Amendment c and d create
[1:26:08]
unjustifiable loopholes. Please
[1:26:10]
oppose them. Charging pet rent
[1:26:12]
is double or triple dipping
[1:26:13]
because renters already pay two
[1:26:15]
damage deposits. Insurance
[1:26:17]
should be an opt in, not a
[1:26:18]
confusing opt out. You know,
[1:26:21]
every type of business carries
[1:26:23]
liability insurance, including
[1:26:24]
my small business. We work those
[1:26:26]
costs into the price of our
[1:26:29]
goods and services. There's no
[1:26:30]
reason why rental property
[1:26:30]
businesses need to be any
[1:26:31]
different. Lastly, there is no
[1:26:35]
room for hate in seattle. We
[1:26:36]
love our trans
[1:26:37]
-- [applause]
[1:26:37]
-- neighbors.
[1:26:37]
-- [applause]
[1:26:38]
-- please fund the budget
[1:26:38]
amendment.
[1:26:39]
-- [applause]
[1:26:39]
-- thank you, thank.
[1:26:39]
-- you margaret. Next we have
[1:26:41]
ben followed by samuel. Megan,
[1:26:45]
stef, aaron. Welcome, ben.
[1:26:47]
-- hello. My name is ben wong
[1:26:50]
and I was born and raised in
[1:26:53]
seattle. And last 20 years been
[1:26:55]
living in queen anne. And I, I
[1:26:59]
came here to ask you to please
[1:27:02]
support the ban on the junk
[1:27:03]
fees. We need the transparency.
[1:27:09]
I I've been talking to some
[1:27:11]
people who. It seems mr. Kettle,
[1:27:17]
my representative, may have
[1:27:20]
introduced some amendments that
[1:27:22]
put loopholes in. As the
[1:27:23]
previous speaker said, and I'm.
[1:27:25]
I'm concerned that that might
[1:27:28]
that might weaken this this
[1:27:31]
whole ordinance. So I'm. So
[1:27:32]
please pass it. But without
[1:27:37]
without any amendments that
[1:27:37]
would weaken it, which I, I
[1:27:39]
believe were c and d thank you.
[1:27:40]
-- thank you. Ben. Next we have
[1:27:43]
-- [applause]
[1:27:44]
-- samuel followed by megan
[1:27:46]
samuel aye samuel here. Samuel
[1:27:48]
wolfson hey, hey, sam
[1:27:53]
-- hi council. My name is sam
[1:27:54]
wolfson. I am a member of the
[1:27:55]
seattle renters commission and
[1:27:57]
I'm a renter in district three.
[1:27:59]
I'm here to urge you to take
[1:28:01]
action against junk fees imposed
[1:28:02]
on renters in our city. These
[1:28:05]
fees allow landlords to
[1:28:09]
advertise artificially low rent
[1:28:10]
prices and hide the actual
[1:28:11]
monthly cost of tenancy. As
[1:28:11]
someone who is actively working
[1:28:12]
on finding a new place to live.
[1:28:14]
the process is already
[1:28:15]
exhausting enough. The fact that
[1:28:17]
I can't even put in my budget
[1:28:17]
and trust that I can actually
[1:28:20]
afford a place without, you
[1:28:20]
know, going and digging in and
[1:28:22]
finding these random fees added
[1:28:24]
to every listing makes the whole
[1:28:26]
process even worse. This bill is
[1:28:28]
good for everybody. Landlords
[1:28:31]
too, I think, because it creates
[1:28:31]
mutual understanding of what
[1:28:32]
fees are actually justifiable,
[1:28:35]
like utilities and what needs to
[1:28:36]
just be included in the rent. It
[1:28:39]
reduces potential conflict
[1:28:39]
between tenants and landlords
[1:28:41]
and improves pricing
[1:28:42]
transparency. Please support
[1:28:45]
this bill, oppose amendment c
[1:28:46]
and d, which weaken it and
[1:28:48]
support amendments a and e,
[1:28:50]
which strengthen it. Thank you.
[1:28:52]
also, you should probably just
[1:28:53]
do whatever the opposite of the
[1:28:54]
republicans tell you to do.
[1:28:59]
-- [applause]
[1:29:00]
-- megan.
[1:29:00]
-- [applause]
[1:29:01]
-- is it me? Is it megan? Is it
[1:29:04]
megan? Megan? Megan. I'm sorry.
[1:29:04]
megan. Steph. Aaron. Ruby. Go
[1:29:06]
ahead
[1:29:10]
-- good afternoon,
[1:29:10]
councilmembers. My name is megan
[1:29:12]
nelson representing seattle
[1:29:13]
humane and a coalition of animal
[1:29:15]
welfare organizations. We
[1:29:19]
support cb 121254. Because
[1:29:21]
unnecessary pet fees create real
[1:29:22]
barriers to housing and keep
[1:29:24]
families from staying together.
[1:29:26]
at seattle humane, about 15% of
[1:29:28]
pets surrendered to us are given
[1:29:29]
up due to housing related
[1:29:31]
challenges, and other shelters
[1:29:32]
and service providers report
[1:29:35]
even higher rates. Amendment c
[1:29:37]
would undermine that goal by
[1:29:38]
allowing up to $25 per month per
[1:29:40]
pet in pet rent, an arbitrary
[1:29:41]
charge not connected to actual
[1:29:43]
damage or costs. Property owners
[1:29:45]
are already protected through
[1:29:47]
pet damage deposits. For many
[1:29:49]
renters, these added monthly
[1:29:50]
costs can be the difference
[1:29:51]
between keeping a pet and
[1:29:53]
surrendering one. We ask you to
[1:29:56]
support cb one two, one two,
[1:29:57]
five four and reject amendment
[1:29:59]
c.
[1:29:59]
-- thank you steph and aaron.
[1:30:01]
steph. Steph come on up. Steph.
[1:30:04]
steph. And then we have aaron
[1:30:05]
over here. And then.
[1:30:09]
-- thank you council. Hi there.
[1:30:10]
I'm steph hagerty a renter in
[1:30:12]
seattle. And I'm here on behalf
[1:30:13]
of myself and my friends who are
[1:30:16]
teachers, nurses, service
[1:30:17]
workers and seattle who can't be
[1:30:19]
here today because trying to
[1:30:19]
work to pay the bills, pay the
[1:30:20]
rent, pay the junk fees. So
[1:30:21]
please support the junk fees,
[1:30:23]
ban and reject amendments c and
[1:30:24]
d, which weaken it. Just an
[1:30:27]
example. One of my friends is a
[1:30:29]
community mental health
[1:30:30]
therapist. Very low, makes very
[1:30:31]
low income, is charged $250 fee
[1:30:34]
a year just to renew the lease
[1:30:38]
$60 a month fee to just pay the
[1:30:38]
rent on the landlord's portal.
[1:30:40]
landlord business expense list
[1:30:42]
goes on and on, and the stress
[1:30:45]
of increasing rent and fees
[1:30:45]
having to move to find an
[1:30:46]
affordable place to live impacts
[1:30:48]
our ability to provide care in
[1:30:50]
the community. Amendment c, as
[1:30:51]
others have spoken about,
[1:30:53]
discriminates against pet
[1:30:54]
owners. 300 bucks a year for
[1:30:56]
lower income folks may mean the
[1:30:57]
difference between paying rent
[1:30:59]
and being housed with their
[1:31:01]
animal companions and service
[1:31:02]
animals. So please keep my
[1:31:03]
friends housed families
[1:31:05]
together. Renters are
[1:31:07]
increasingly your voters and
[1:31:07]
constituents. Thanks a lot.
[1:31:08]
please support our trans
[1:31:09]
community. Too.
[1:31:09]
-- thank you, thank you. Seth.
[1:31:10]
-- [applause]
[1:31:11]
-- aaron, welcome.
[1:31:19]
-- good afternoon, council
[1:31:19]
president and councilmembers.
[1:31:20]
aaron tullock, legislative aide
[1:31:22]
with fms global strategy,
[1:31:23]
speaking on behalf of the we
[1:31:24]
build back better alliance. We
[1:31:26]
support cb 121254 amendments a
[1:31:28]
and e as amendment, and we
[1:31:29]
appreciate councilmember
[1:31:31]
foster's leadership. We also
[1:31:33]
value our relationship with
[1:31:34]
councilmember kettle. However,
[1:31:35]
we join our coalition partners
[1:31:36]
in opposing amendment c and d on
[1:31:38]
pet rent. If a tenant has
[1:31:39]
already paid a security or pet
[1:31:41]
deposit to cover potential
[1:31:43]
damages, an additional $25 a
[1:31:44]
month fee, $300 a year per pet,
[1:31:46]
whether any damages occur or
[1:31:47]
not. For rentals already
[1:31:49]
struggling in seattle's housing
[1:31:52]
costs, that is significant,
[1:31:52]
black households are also more
[1:31:54]
likely to rent and experience
[1:31:56]
housing cost burdens, so
[1:31:57]
additional reoccurring fees can
[1:31:58]
deepen existing disparities on
[1:32:00]
renter insurance. Tenants should
[1:32:01]
be able to choose any qualified
[1:32:03]
insurer and policy that meets
[1:32:05]
properties owners. Reasonable
[1:32:06]
coverage requirements that
[1:32:09]
protects consumers choice,
[1:32:10]
competition and affordability.
[1:32:11]
if the concern is damage,
[1:32:12]
address damage if the concern is
[1:32:14]
insurance, establish reasonable
[1:32:14]
coverage standards. Neither
[1:32:15]
should become the pathway for
[1:32:17]
unnecessary recurring costs.
[1:32:18]
protect housing stability,
[1:32:21]
preserve consumer choice, reject
[1:32:21]
c and d.
[1:32:22]
-- thank you. Thank you aaron.
[1:32:23]
next we have ruth. Did I say
[1:32:25]
your name right? Ruby root root.
[1:32:28]
-- councilmember strauss.
[1:32:29]
-- ruby ruby ruby. Before you
[1:32:30]
go, ruby, I'm going to say the
[1:32:31]
next ten people. So just give me
[1:32:32]
one second. We have michelle. So
[1:32:35]
just all y'all are in the queue.
[1:32:38]
michelle, will, simon, catherine
[1:32:42]
purple six. Lou. Steve. David
[1:32:44]
hill, amanda and lee. You all
[1:32:47]
are next. So that's michelle,
[1:32:49]
will, simon, catherine, purple
[1:32:50]
six, lou, steve, david hill,
[1:32:53]
amanda lin and lee ruby. You are
[1:32:56]
up. Welcome.
[1:32:56]
-- thank you.
[1:32:57]
-- thank you, councilmembers for
[1:32:58]
your time today. My name is ruby
[1:33:01]
arora and I'm here on behalf of
[1:33:02]
woodland park zoo to urge you to
[1:33:04]
adopt the supplemental budget
[1:33:05]
ordinance. I'd first like to
[1:33:06]
thank councilmember kettle for
[1:33:08]
your attention to the issue of
[1:33:09]
coyote coexistence in seattle.
[1:33:12]
we are grateful for your
[1:33:14]
sponsorship with this important
[1:33:15]
work. We also want to thank
[1:33:17]
committee chair strauss and the
[1:33:19]
finance committee for members of
[1:33:21]
their support in the
[1:33:22]
supplemental budget, as well.
[1:33:25]
this ordinance includes a
[1:33:26]
reasonable one time funding
[1:33:28]
15,000 to cover zoo staff. Time
[1:33:29]
to develop a coyote coexistence
[1:33:31]
plan for the city with our
[1:33:35]
mission to save wildlife and
[1:33:37]
inspire conservation, we are
[1:33:38]
well positioned to take the lead
[1:33:39]
on city wide, coordinated
[1:33:41]
approach to peaceful coyote
[1:33:44]
coexistence. The plan would be
[1:33:45]
developed by our resident
[1:33:47]
carnivore experts, who will
[1:33:49]
review best practices and work
[1:33:50]
with key stakeholders to
[1:33:52]
ultimately create a plan that
[1:33:53]
could be adopted by the city in
[1:33:55]
2027. Thank you so much for your
[1:33:58]
time.
[1:33:59]
-- thank you.
[1:34:02]
-- council president has asked
[1:34:02]
me to read some of the next
[1:34:04]
names. Michelle kim, please.
[1:34:06]
-- hi, I'm michelle kim, I live
[1:34:12]
on north beacon hill. I support.
[1:34:13]
eddie lin's proposal a to fund
[1:34:16]
neighborhood coordinators to
[1:34:18]
help suffering people on the
[1:34:20]
streets in little saigon and
[1:34:21]
north beacon hill. I am a cna
[1:34:24]
and I work with my elders. I am
[1:34:31]
also autistic. Seattle is a
[1:34:32]
place I am thriving and I know
[1:34:37]
the only reason I am thriving is
[1:34:42]
because of luck. I could easily
[1:34:44]
be one of the people struggling
[1:34:46]
in these areas, but I have had
[1:34:49]
so many serendipitous moments in
[1:34:51]
my life that have led me to
[1:34:53]
figure out how to heal eddie lin
[1:34:56]
is on the right track. This is
[1:35:00]
the tip of the iceberg. I would
[1:35:03]
love to see seattle become a
[1:35:04]
healing city. That would be
[1:35:07]
something I would be thrilled to
[1:35:09]
pay taxes for. Thank you.
[1:35:11]
-- thank
[1:35:12]
-- [applause]
[1:35:12]
-- you bill will.
[1:35:17]
-- will. Hi everyone. First off,
[1:35:21]
thanks for all the work you're
[1:35:22]
doing today. It's really does
[1:35:23]
feel like the people's house
[1:35:25]
today hearing everyone, whether
[1:35:26]
you agree with them or not.
[1:35:27]
it's really important work. So
[1:35:28]
I'm will oberst I'm a grocery
[1:35:29]
store worker and a restaurant
[1:35:32]
worker and a renter in district
[1:35:34]
three. And as of recently, now a
[1:35:35]
phd student studying political
[1:35:37]
science with a un program. So
[1:35:39]
I'm looking forward to working
[1:35:39]
with some of you on that later.
[1:35:43]
but I'm here to support the ban
[1:35:44]
of junk fees. I think that
[1:35:48]
transparency and fees is
[1:35:49]
something that we really need in
[1:35:50]
the city and in life in general.
[1:35:54]
so thank you all again for your
[1:35:56]
work and have a great day.
[1:35:58]
cheers.
[1:35:58]
-- [applause]
[1:35:58]
-- thank you.
[1:36:00]
-- [applause]
[1:36:04]
-- okay. Simon thornton, simon.
[1:36:07]
yeah. Go, simon.
[1:36:08]
-- hello, councilmembers. My
[1:36:09]
name is simon thornton. I'm here
[1:36:11]
to ask you to please support
[1:36:12]
amendment a to the supplemental
[1:36:16]
budget. The north beacon hill
[1:36:16]
and north rainier areas are in
[1:36:17]
desperate need of service
[1:36:18]
coordination. Our communities
[1:36:20]
need relief now, and we are so
[1:36:21]
grateful that councilmembers lin
[1:36:22]
and foster have engaged with our
[1:36:24]
communities and are finding ways
[1:36:25]
to address these issues with
[1:36:26]
urgency. They deserve a common
[1:36:28]
refrain I've heard during these
[1:36:30]
meetings is that we don't want
[1:36:32]
more meetings. We want actions.
[1:36:34]
this amendment is the action
[1:36:35]
that our community has been
[1:36:37]
begging for, and so I urge the
[1:36:37]
rest of council to please vote
[1:36:40]
yes on amendment a and grant our
[1:36:42]
neighborhood the relief it
[1:36:42]
deserves. Thank you.
[1:36:43]
-- thank you. Simon. Next we
[1:36:44]
have catherine, followed by
[1:36:46]
purple six. Welcome, catherine.
[1:36:49]
-- hi. I'm a member of beacon
[1:36:51]
hill. I'm a resident of beacon
[1:36:53]
hill, and I thought there was
[1:36:54]
going to be a lot of people
[1:36:55]
talking about this. So I
[1:36:57]
prepared a statement that's just
[1:36:59]
very focused and just a snapshot
[1:37:01]
of the area. I'm a bicycle
[1:37:04]
commuter commuter, and I'm
[1:37:05]
always trying to get all of my
[1:37:07]
community to take their bike
[1:37:08]
whenever they can. And if you're
[1:37:11]
coming from beacon hill to go
[1:37:12]
anywhere in the city, you have
[1:37:14]
to go through the north beacon
[1:37:16]
hill, little saigon area, and it
[1:37:18]
is absolute chaos. And to go
[1:37:22]
through there unarmed by a car
[1:37:23]
around me, and to give just the
[1:37:25]
little snapshot that I prepared
[1:37:28]
for today, just the other night,
[1:37:30]
I was going through there and
[1:37:31]
there was a guy who just
[1:37:33]
suddenly picked up a giant pipe
[1:37:35]
from the road and just started
[1:37:37]
swinging it over his head so
[1:37:38]
that we had to veer way out of
[1:37:40]
the way on our bicycles, and
[1:37:43]
then a police car pulled right
[1:37:44]
in front of me, and then I had
[1:37:45]
to swerve around that because he
[1:37:48]
was dealing with other chaos.
[1:37:50]
the whole area is dangerous, and
[1:37:52]
I'm just a small person going
[1:37:53]
through on my bike. The
[1:37:53]
residents and the business
[1:37:56]
owners deserve our attention
[1:37:57]
from the city and our resources.
[1:37:59]
-- thank you catherine. Thank
[1:38:00]
you. Catherine. Next we have.
[1:38:02]
thank you so much. Next we have
[1:38:04]
purple six, followed by lou.
[1:38:05]
welcome. Purple six. Lou, steve,
[1:38:06]
david, amanda lee.
[1:38:08]
-- hello. I'm here to talk
[1:38:10]
about the trans refugee crisis.
[1:38:12]
I want to thank the council for
[1:38:13]
doing the barest minimum of
[1:38:15]
effort in addressing this and
[1:38:17]
earmarking $300,000. That is
[1:38:19]
something that should have been
[1:38:20]
done a year ago. But obviously,
[1:38:22]
the administration at the time
[1:38:23]
was not amicable to such
[1:38:25]
proceedings. I will say that
[1:38:27]
this is peanut money. This is
[1:38:30]
such a small amount of money for
[1:38:31]
this city. You are spending
[1:38:33]
millions to expand flock
[1:38:35]
cameras. And in that respect,
[1:38:39]
anyone here who votes against
[1:38:40]
such a small amount of money,
[1:38:41]
the peanut money that my
[1:38:43]
community needs, anyone who
[1:38:44]
votes against it is signaling
[1:38:45]
strongly that they are on the
[1:38:47]
side of atrocity. They are on
[1:38:48]
the side of bigotry. They are on
[1:38:50]
the side of the people who are
[1:38:53]
brandishing guns on my
[1:38:53]
community. They are on the side
[1:38:56]
of a visionary that this country
[1:38:58]
should have extinguished a long
[1:38:59]
time ago. So I want you to
[1:39:00]
understand that as public
[1:39:01]
servants, we will hold you
[1:39:04]
accountable.
[1:39:04]
-- so next we have lou, followed
[1:39:06]
by steve, david, amanda and lee.
[1:39:09]
welcome.
[1:39:09]
-- we've heard.
[1:39:10]
-- some noise of the right
[1:39:12]
wingers that are against trans
[1:39:13]
refugees, I guess. I guess
[1:39:16]
they're threatened by funding
[1:39:18]
for care, for life, for housing
[1:39:23]
because we're fleeing their
[1:39:26]
culture of death. We're giving
[1:39:28]
our community space to breathe.
[1:39:31]
they aren't the ones taking
[1:39:33]
refugees into their homes.
[1:39:35]
they're not giving refugees an
[1:39:37]
actual future. They're not
[1:39:40]
talking people down from the
[1:39:40]
suicide that they've invoked. We
[1:39:43]
are saving people's lives. What
[1:39:45]
do they have to show? What do we
[1:39:47]
have to show if we are
[1:39:50]
intimidated by their noise? The
[1:39:55]
news is scary, but hesitance in
[1:39:57]
this moment is death, and the
[1:39:58]
way to cut through it is action
[1:40:02]
with our voices resonating
[1:40:02]
together and saying, no trump.
[1:40:06]
we choose life, fund. The trans
[1:40:10]
refugees call on the mayor to
[1:40:12]
declare a state of emergency and
[1:40:14]
don't have loopholes.
[1:40:16]
-- thank you lou. Next we have
[1:40:18]
steve, followed by david, amanda
[1:40:20]
lee. Welcome, steve. David,
[1:40:23]
-- [applause]
[1:40:23]
-- amanda lee, steve, david,
[1:40:25]
amanda lee.
[1:40:27]
-- I'm next right, steve. Thank
[1:40:28]
god. Okay.
[1:40:30]
-- got you.
[1:40:30]
-- the. Hi, my name is steve and
[1:40:33]
I have lived here in washington
[1:40:35]
my entire life. I have friends,
[1:40:38]
close family that are queer,
[1:40:40]
trans, et cetera. And it's very
[1:40:45]
just regular inside my life and
[1:40:46]
inside of their lives as well.
[1:40:47]
but outside of just a couple of
[1:40:49]
states that I can count, it's
[1:40:51]
treated like a much bigger deal.
[1:40:56]
strangely, folks, young folks
[1:40:57]
getting kicked out of their
[1:40:58]
house, the house they grew up
[1:41:00]
in, getting kicked out of the
[1:41:01]
state that they grew up in,
[1:41:04]
having to restart their life or
[1:41:05]
just start their life at all.
[1:41:05]
because a lot of them, you know,
[1:41:07]
they face this kind of stuff
[1:41:08]
when they're much younger. Of
[1:41:10]
course, they're coming to a
[1:41:11]
place like this, you know,
[1:41:16]
that's it seems like it's
[1:41:16]
going to be a good, respectful
[1:41:17]
environment for them. And I
[1:41:18]
imagine that you guys, you know,
[1:41:20]
love this community. That's why
[1:41:21]
you got the jobs. Yeah but they
[1:41:28]
don't have anything right now.
[1:41:29]
all they have is themselves and
[1:41:32]
they deserve so much more. Thank
[1:41:34]
you.
[1:41:35]
-- thank you steve. Next we have
[1:41:36]
david, followed by amanda and
[1:41:39]
lee, david, amanda and lee,
[1:41:41]
david, amanda, david hill is
[1:41:42]
david hill here? Okay. Amanda
[1:41:45]
and lee. David. Amanda lee. Go
[1:41:46]
ahead.
[1:41:48]
-- good afternoon council. My
[1:41:49]
name is david hill. I live in
[1:41:50]
district four. I'm the treasurer
[1:41:52]
of the transit riders union tru
[1:41:55]
strongly supports council bill
[1:41:57]
121254 banning rental junk fees
[1:41:58]
as introduced. Housing stability
[1:42:00]
is a critical component of
[1:42:02]
transit justice, and corporate
[1:42:03]
junk fees are a backdoor way for
[1:42:05]
property managers to exploit low
[1:42:08]
housing supply and bypass our
[1:42:10]
city's renter protections.
[1:42:11]
again, I urge you to pass the
[1:42:12]
bill as written and also to
[1:42:13]
reject amendment. C. This
[1:42:16]
amendment weaponizes the
[1:42:16]
legislative process to protect a
[1:42:18]
corporate cash grab, pet rent.
[1:42:21]
since 2018, I've paid $4,500 in
[1:42:24]
pet rent for my dog maggie. That
[1:42:27]
is over $600 a year for a dog
[1:42:28]
that doesn't use building
[1:42:30]
amenities or accrue maintenance
[1:42:32]
costs, that $4,500 I could have
[1:42:33]
spent in our local economy.
[1:42:35]
instead of padding my corporate
[1:42:37]
landlords balance sheets reject
[1:42:41]
amendment c penalty discounts
[1:42:42]
for bad actors, pass a strong
[1:42:45]
junk fees ban and protect our
[1:42:45]
trans neighbors.
[1:42:46]
-- thank you. Thank you david.
[1:42:46]
next we have amanda, followed by
[1:42:48]
lee. Is amanda here? Followed by
[1:42:51]
lee? Welcome.
[1:42:52]
-- hi councilmembers. My name is
[1:42:54]
amanda lynn. I'm an organizer
[1:42:55]
for how's our neighbors? I'm
[1:42:57]
also a renter in capitol hill.
[1:42:58]
landlords insist junk fees have
[1:43:00]
a direct correlation with costs.
[1:43:01]
the last few months I've
[1:43:02]
listened to comment after
[1:43:04]
comments about their costs. I've
[1:43:05]
also spent years working in
[1:43:07]
affordable housing and community
[1:43:08]
development. I know insurance,
[1:43:09]
maintenance and operating costs
[1:43:10]
have gone up, but that's not the
[1:43:11]
whole story. The rental housing
[1:43:13]
industry tells a very different
[1:43:14]
story to investors than it tells
[1:43:16]
to its renters. Its own market
[1:43:18]
reports show property income is
[1:43:19]
still growing, and they
[1:43:22]
celebrate the fact that new
[1:43:22]
construction has fallen by
[1:43:23]
nearly 60% because it means even
[1:43:24]
greater pricing power for
[1:43:26]
existing landlords in the years
[1:43:27]
ahead. That's before we even
[1:43:29]
start discussing how much their
[1:43:31]
assets and overall wealth are
[1:43:32]
appreciating. That's far from an
[1:43:34]
industry on the brink, but the
[1:43:35]
working class citizens of this
[1:43:37]
city have been on the brink for
[1:43:38]
years, and too many of us are
[1:43:39]
falling off the cliff. That's
[1:43:41]
why these junk fees matter.
[1:43:42]
every mandatory fee is one more
[1:43:43]
dollar transferred from a
[1:43:45]
working renters paycheck, not to
[1:43:47]
cover costs, but to grow a
[1:43:48]
landlord's wealth. Junk fees
[1:43:51]
aren't providing anything. Ban
[1:43:52]
them.
[1:43:52]
-- thank you, thank you.
[1:43:53]
-- [applause]
[1:43:53]
-- amanda.
[1:43:53]
-- [applause]
[1:43:54]
-- next we have lee. Lee. And
[1:43:56]
before you go, lee. Okay, we
[1:43:57]
have about 40 more speakers. So
[1:44:00]
we have the next ten people up
[1:44:01]
is morgan shane, a cat. Danny,
[1:44:06]
lydia, ian, olivia, aaliyah,
[1:44:08]
daniel and gabriel. You are up
[1:44:10]
next. Morgan. Shani, cat. Danny.
[1:44:13]
lydia. Ian. Olivia. Aliyah.
[1:44:16]
daniel and gabriel. Welcome.
[1:44:20]
-- hello city council. My name
[1:44:21]
is lee. I'm a district three
[1:44:22]
voter. I'm here to support the
[1:44:25]
lgbt relief funding. You already
[1:44:26]
heard me speak on the fourth
[1:44:29]
about my experiences with
[1:44:30]
discrimination in the workplace.
[1:44:31]
so this time I want to mention
[1:44:33]
that right wing streamers like
[1:44:35]
ari, who, you know, talk trash
[1:44:37]
on us earlier, were allowed to
[1:44:38]
harass trans people during trans
[1:44:41]
pride back in july. They were
[1:44:43]
trespassing. Spd was called, and
[1:44:46]
they did not show up $300,000 is
[1:44:48]
a drop in the bucket compared to
[1:44:49]
the millions you give spd to
[1:44:52]
ignore us when we are being
[1:44:54]
antagonized and filmed by
[1:44:55]
fascist creeps. Please pass the
[1:44:57]
funding. Thank you.
[1:44:58]
-- thank you lee. Next we have
[1:45:00]
-- [applause]
[1:45:01]
-- morgan, followed by shani and
[1:45:03]
then cat. Welcome, morgan.
[1:45:11]
-- thank you. Thank you.
[1:45:14]
councilmembers. My name is
[1:45:15]
morgan. I'm a resident of
[1:45:16]
district three and an organizer
[1:45:17]
with the mutual aid network for
[1:45:19]
trans and intersex individuals
[1:45:20]
in seattle. I'm here to speak
[1:45:22]
in support of funding for the
[1:45:26]
trans community. The most
[1:45:28]
financially secure trans people
[1:45:30]
that I know are struggling to
[1:45:31]
hold on to their jobs and their
[1:45:33]
houses, and the least
[1:45:34]
financially secure trans people
[1:45:36]
that I know are sleeping in
[1:45:38]
parks and dealing with organized
[1:45:40]
harassment from right wing
[1:45:42]
streamers. The situation is
[1:45:47]
dire. Our our community
[1:45:49]
struggles to support ourselves
[1:45:51]
and to support each other. But
[1:45:52]
it's difficult when there's
[1:45:56]
pervasive discrimination and
[1:45:58]
harassment. We. We desperately
[1:46:01]
need assistance and. And I would
[1:46:04]
appreciate the council's
[1:46:06]
funding. Thank you.
[1:46:07]
-- thank you. Next we have
[1:46:09]
shani.
[1:46:09]
-- [applause]
[1:46:10]
-- welcome and kat. Welcome.
[1:46:14]
-- hello. My name. Can you hear
[1:46:14]
me? Yes, ma'am. Hello. My name
[1:46:16]
is shani. I'm a single mom. I
[1:46:17]
am in district two. I have lived
[1:46:21]
in my unit for the past. Since
[1:46:22]
2014, I've had a pet the entire
[1:46:26]
time. We've gotten a new
[1:46:27]
manager. I've never had a
[1:46:29]
deposit or anything like that.
[1:46:30]
and now that we have a new
[1:46:32]
manager, they're using these
[1:46:34]
fees as a weapon. They are like,
[1:46:39]
you owe 300 for a deposit and
[1:46:41]
$35 for rent. And then that's
[1:46:44]
not fair because you don't give
[1:46:45]
any notice. Then they backdate
[1:46:47]
it. I pay my rent on time. I
[1:46:50]
have to pay a fee because I
[1:46:51]
write a check, which is unfair.
[1:46:54]
I have a fee for them just
[1:46:56]
having to communicate a $50 fee
[1:46:58]
for them communicating with me,
[1:47:03]
which is unfair. I have, I'm
[1:47:07]
feeling targeted and I feel that
[1:47:09]
it's not fair that they can use
[1:47:11]
these fees and just throw them
[1:47:12]
in there at any time that they
[1:47:14]
want and don't tell you
[1:47:16]
anything on why they're giving
[1:47:17]
them to you. So I would really,
[1:47:20]
really appreciate it if you all
[1:47:20]
could ban me.
[1:47:22]
-- thank you. Next we have kat,
[1:47:24]
-- [applause]
[1:47:24]
-- followed by danny, lydia,
[1:47:30]
ian, olivia. Go ahead cat. Thank
[1:47:31]
you. Yep.
[1:47:32]
-- good afternoon. Council
[1:47:34]
president hollingsworth
[1:47:35]
councilmembers. I'm danny, I'm
[1:47:36]
the executive director of gender
[1:47:37]
justice league here in seattle.
[1:47:39]
and I'm urging your approval of
[1:47:41]
the $300,000 amendment for the
[1:47:43]
lgbtq community response to the
[1:47:44]
trans internal displacement.
[1:47:47]
city council cannot change the
[1:47:48]
anti-trans laws that are
[1:47:49]
sweeping this country. They
[1:47:50]
can't change federal policy.
[1:47:51]
but what you can do is help us
[1:47:53]
support the people that are
[1:47:55]
arriving because of those
[1:47:55]
changes. I provided all of your
[1:47:58]
offices with a white paper that
[1:47:59]
goes really in depth. I'm not
[1:48:00]
going to repeat all of the
[1:48:01]
complexity in those 54 pages. I
[1:48:03]
do want to share a personal
[1:48:04]
story that I've not shared.
[1:48:06]
it's incredibly painful, but I
[1:48:07]
feel like it is illustrative.
[1:48:09]
this week is a very painful
[1:48:11]
anniversary for me. Last year,
[1:48:12]
my husband died by suicide. He
[1:48:14]
died by suicide in large part
[1:48:16]
because he didn't want to
[1:48:17]
displace for a third time. We
[1:48:20]
moved from seattle to sweden,
[1:48:21]
sweden to dc, dc to virginia,
[1:48:23]
and for him, one more move.
[1:48:25]
because of the fact that we're
[1:48:26]
trans and he didn't feel safe
[1:48:27]
as a federal employee, was one
[1:48:29]
move too many. I had to bury
[1:48:30]
him. And then I flew right back
[1:48:32]
to support people who were
[1:48:34]
arriving. I do that every day.
[1:48:36]
gender justice league has seen a
[1:48:38]
643% increase in survivors who
[1:48:42]
served over 1000 people in the
[1:48:43]
last year. And I just want to
[1:48:44]
share that with you. The stakes
[1:48:46]
are high and very real. It is
[1:48:48]
not hyperbolic. People are
[1:48:50]
dying.
[1:48:50]
-- thank you danny, thank.
[1:48:51]
-- you so much.
[1:48:52]
-- next we have
[1:48:53]
-- [applause]
[1:48:53]
-- lydia
[1:48:55]
-- [applause]
[1:48:57]
-- and I and just and just hear
[1:48:58]
me out, y'all. If we do spirit
[1:49:00]
hands, we can kind of move
[1:49:02]
through. I know people are
[1:49:03]
supportive, but. And I don't
[1:49:04]
want to suppress noise, but I'm
[1:49:06]
just if we did spirit hands and
[1:49:09]
and the snaps, that would help.
[1:49:10]
so I can call the next speaker
[1:49:12]
in between. Did I skip over cat.
[1:49:15]
okay. Awesome cat. Thank you,
[1:49:16]
danny, for that cat. And then
[1:49:20]
lydia, welcome.
[1:49:22]
-- thank you. I'm going to
[1:49:24]
start actually, in the wake of
[1:49:26]
that story by saying, let's
[1:49:28]
support our trans community with
[1:49:30]
dignity and with resource. So
[1:49:31]
thank you for that story. Good
[1:49:34]
afternoon, council cat munson.
[1:49:37]
I'm a new renter in district
[1:49:39]
four, and I'm also the
[1:49:41]
community engagement and
[1:49:41]
advocacy manager at sound
[1:49:43]
generations, where we support
[1:49:45]
older adults through meals on
[1:49:47]
wheels and much, much more. I'm
[1:49:49]
here in strong support of
[1:49:50]
councilmember foster's bill to
[1:49:52]
ban rental junk fees, for low
[1:49:53]
income older renters. We serve
[1:49:55]
live on fixed income, so even a
[1:49:57]
seemingly small hidden fee can
[1:49:59]
tip the balance towards housing
[1:50:00]
insecurity. And older adults are
[1:50:02]
often specifically targeted by
[1:50:04]
predatory landlords who
[1:50:05]
capitalize on the fact that
[1:50:06]
they're much less likely to
[1:50:08]
move. My own mom, who lived in a
[1:50:10]
capitol hill housing complex for
[1:50:13]
like 15 years, fought against
[1:50:14]
her pet rent for her beloved dog
[1:50:16]
and companion, phoebe, for much
[1:50:16]
of the time that she lived
[1:50:18]
there. So I urge you to pass
[1:50:21]
this bill and reject amendment c
[1:50:24]
and d and support our trans
[1:50:25]
community.
[1:50:25]
-- thank you kat. Next, we have
[1:50:27]
lydia, followed by ian. Olivia.
[1:50:29]
welcome, lydia, ian, olivia.
[1:50:32]
-- hi, I'm lydia rubenstein,
[1:50:34]
I'm a renter in district three
[1:50:36]
and I'm a tenant educator with
[1:50:37]
the tenants union of washington
[1:50:39]
state. I'm here in strong
[1:50:40]
support to ban rental junk fees
[1:50:42]
and say no to amendment c and d,
[1:50:46]
that would weaken this in any
[1:50:47]
way. These rental junk fees
[1:50:49]
directly threaten our ability as
[1:50:50]
renters to stay housed,
[1:50:51]
especially renters using a
[1:50:53]
voucher, living on fixed
[1:50:54]
incomes, and anyone living in
[1:50:56]
affordable housing complexes.
[1:50:57]
I've seen entire affordable
[1:50:58]
housing buildings struck with
[1:51:00]
sudden cable and internet fees
[1:51:01]
that make it hard to opt out of.
[1:51:04]
and not only that, but reduce
[1:51:05]
their access to affordable
[1:51:07]
internet that the city offers.
[1:51:09]
I've heard from renters who've
[1:51:11]
had a pet for years face new
[1:51:12]
predatory pet rent not as a
[1:51:14]
result of any damages on the
[1:51:15]
property, just because a
[1:51:16]
renowned slumlord in seattle
[1:51:18]
found pet rent to be the best
[1:51:19]
way to squeeze more from
[1:51:21]
renters. This pet rent resulted
[1:51:23]
in threats of eviction and even
[1:51:24]
more fees in late fees and
[1:51:26]
administrative fee charges for
[1:51:29]
providing notice. Landlords
[1:51:30]
should not be able to hide rent
[1:51:32]
increases by inventing new
[1:51:33]
monthly fees or renaming charges
[1:51:34]
to avoid accountability. Vote
[1:51:35]
yes to ban rental junk fees.
[1:51:38]
-- amendment c.
[1:51:38]
-- and d.
[1:51:40]
-- thank you.
[1:51:40]
-- thank you lydia. Next we have
[1:51:44]
ian followed by olivia, aaliyah,
[1:51:45]
daniel, gabriel. Welcome, ian.
[1:51:48]
-- hello, council. My name was
[1:51:51]
ian. I am from utah. I moved
[1:51:52]
here four days ago. I originally
[1:51:56]
moved here in 2003 with my
[1:51:58]
family, and I'm here to talk
[1:52:01]
about the internal trans
[1:52:02]
displacement. Currently, most of
[1:52:04]
my friends are very worried
[1:52:07]
about what utah is like, but
[1:52:08]
what texas is like about what
[1:52:10]
other states are like and are in
[1:52:14]
fear for their access to life
[1:52:17]
saving medications. Seattle is
[1:52:20]
something that we look to a lot
[1:52:21]
as a very important and very
[1:52:26]
critical hope. So by you guys,
[1:52:31]
considering the $300,000, I
[1:52:33]
believe that would be very
[1:52:35]
beneficial for people in my
[1:52:36]
community. Thank you.
[1:52:38]
-- thank you. Ian, welcome to
[1:52:40]
the 206. We are so happy to have
[1:52:44]
you. Is olivia here? Yes.
[1:52:45]
awesome. Welcome, olivia.
[1:52:48]
-- yes
[1:52:51]
-- hi city council, my name is
[1:52:54]
olivia and I'm a worker and
[1:52:55]
renter living in beacon hill.
[1:52:57]
I'm here to urge city council
[1:52:58]
to take action to support the
[1:53:00]
proposed rental junk fees ban
[1:53:01]
and vote no on amendment c and d
[1:53:04]
today. Specifically, amendment c
[1:53:06]
undermines renter protections
[1:53:08]
designed to protect renters from
[1:53:10]
price gouging just so landlords
[1:53:12]
can make a profit. A proposed
[1:53:14]
pet rent cap of $25 plus
[1:53:17]
inflation demonstrates that rent
[1:53:19]
rent is arbitrary and only
[1:53:20]
serves to make landlords money.
[1:53:23]
landlords often say that pets
[1:53:24]
cause damage beyond the pet
[1:53:25]
deposits, but a fee like pet
[1:53:27]
rent isn't even applied to
[1:53:29]
damages. Renters have to pay for
[1:53:31]
any damage their pets cause. On
[1:53:34]
top of paying pet rent and pet
[1:53:35]
deposit. Although pet rent is
[1:53:38]
technically a fee and not rent
[1:53:39]
fees like pet rent raise the
[1:53:41]
total practical monthly cost of
[1:53:42]
rent for working people, making
[1:53:44]
it difficult to find stable and
[1:53:49]
affordable housing. Please pass
[1:53:51]
this ordinance without any
[1:53:52]
weakening amendments. Reject
[1:53:53]
amendment c and d, and protect
[1:53:56]
and support our trans neighbors.
[1:53:59]
-- thank you olivia. Next we
[1:54:01]
have alya, followed by daniel
[1:54:02]
and then gabriel. Welcome.
[1:54:02]
-- hi, council. I want to speak
[1:54:03]
as a renter in capitol hill,
[1:54:08]
someone who grew up in queen
[1:54:11]
anne and as a trans woman in
[1:54:12]
this community. So I want to
[1:54:14]
speak in support of the funding
[1:54:15]
for the trans refuge and the
[1:54:17]
local orgs that work so hard to
[1:54:19]
support us as we come here as a
[1:54:20]
trans woman and as a survivor of
[1:54:22]
assaults, domestic violence,
[1:54:24]
rape, and as somebody who's
[1:54:26]
previously volunteered at
[1:54:26]
shelters, I'm appalled by some
[1:54:27]
of the statements we heard today
[1:54:29]
from the republicans, who I
[1:54:29]
guess couldn't be bothered to
[1:54:30]
stick around. But I know also
[1:54:32]
know that none of those stories
[1:54:34]
of mine are unique. I don't want
[1:54:36]
to speak to how hard our lives
[1:54:38]
can be, or the discrimination
[1:54:40]
that we very actively face
[1:54:41]
everywhere in this country,
[1:54:44]
including in seattle. But I
[1:54:44]
really do want to speak to is as
[1:54:47]
a volunteer in open arms, the
[1:54:49]
attraction local 503. How hard I
[1:54:52]
see trans refugees working to
[1:54:54]
build their lives here. We are
[1:54:56]
constantly applying for jobs. We
[1:54:58]
are constantly doing everything
[1:54:58]
we can to build our lives here,
[1:55:00]
and this funding would just
[1:55:01]
it's support for a crisis. It
[1:55:03]
is not anything like a free
[1:55:04]
handout. Thank you so much for
[1:55:06]
everyone and for everyone.
[1:55:08]
-- awesome. Thank you. Next we
[1:55:09]
have daniel, followed by
[1:55:11]
gabriel. Daniel, then gabriel.
[1:55:12]
are you daniel? Yep. Awesome.
[1:55:13]
welcome. And then gabriel,
[1:55:15]
thanks. Yep. Welcome.
[1:55:17]
-- good afternoon council. My
[1:55:19]
name is daniel gallagher. I'm a
[1:55:20]
proud resident of district
[1:55:23]
seven. I develop and operate
[1:55:24]
affordable and market rate
[1:55:26]
housing in seattle. And I'm here
[1:55:27]
to speak on in support of
[1:55:29]
amendment c and d to c, b
[1:55:33]
121254. Amendment c allows
[1:55:35]
apartment owners to charge a
[1:55:37]
modest fee for pets, adjusted
[1:55:40]
for inflation, the pet deposit
[1:55:41]
covers wear and tear and
[1:55:42]
apartment units, and ensures pet
[1:55:44]
owners are the ones who pay
[1:55:45]
instead of passing that cost on
[1:55:47]
to other renters who choose not
[1:55:48]
to have a pet. This amendment
[1:55:50]
helps ensure that the cost of
[1:55:51]
owning a pet remains the
[1:55:52]
responsibility of the pet
[1:55:54]
owners. Certainly, this fee
[1:55:55]
should be transparently
[1:55:55]
disclosed, at least signing with
[1:55:56]
no argument there and adopting
[1:55:58]
this amendment we believe is
[1:56:00]
equitable for all renters.
[1:56:02]
amendment d likewise ensures
[1:56:05]
that renters get insurance. Too
[1:56:07]
many times in my buildings, I've
[1:56:10]
seen renters without rent
[1:56:11]
insurance be be very financially
[1:56:14]
damaged by accidents, and we
[1:56:17]
think amendment d helps support
[1:56:18]
renters in the long term. Thank
[1:56:20]
you.
[1:56:20]
-- thank you daniel. Next we
[1:56:22]
have gabriel. Is gabriel here?
[1:56:24]
diaz. Gabriel. No. Okay. So
[1:56:27]
we'll go to the next ten people
[1:56:29]
in person and then we're going
[1:56:30]
to jump back online. So we have
[1:56:32]
clive is clive here? Welcome.
[1:56:35]
after clive we have kyle, then
[1:56:40]
paul. We have edwin. Carl,
[1:56:43]
halley, guinevere, nina. And
[1:56:47]
then jeff. Paul. And then
[1:56:48]
there's a number 64 here. Tyron
[1:56:50]
is the last name peter. I think
[1:56:54]
that looks like peter. Welcome,
[1:56:56]
clive.
[1:56:57]
-- my name is clive hayward.
[1:56:58]
I'm a street performer and I've
[1:57:00]
performed on the seattle
[1:57:01]
waterfront since 2015. Seattle
[1:57:04]
center is knowingly and
[1:57:06]
willfully violating street
[1:57:08]
performers, first amendment
[1:57:09]
rights. The city already lost
[1:57:12]
this fight in 2009 in berger
[1:57:13]
versus the city of seattle. I
[1:57:17]
filed multiple formal claims. My
[1:57:20]
damages continue to accrue. I am
[1:57:22]
asking council to direct the
[1:57:24]
city, the seattle center
[1:57:26]
leadership to train its staff on
[1:57:28]
performers constitutional rights
[1:57:30]
and to publicly account for
[1:57:33]
claims like mine. Seattle center
[1:57:36]
is responsible for public safety
[1:57:37]
operations on the waterfront. It
[1:57:38]
is also supposed to support arts
[1:57:39]
and culture. This isn't
[1:57:43]
complicated. Follow the ninth
[1:57:46]
circuit's ruling. Follow the
[1:57:49]
constitution.
[1:57:49]
-- thank you clive. Next we have
[1:57:50]
kyle, followed by paul welcome.
[1:57:58]
-- thank you. I'm kyle mcbride
[1:58:00]
and I live in district four and
[1:58:02]
as a teenager who wants to
[1:58:04]
continue to live in the city of
[1:58:05]
seattle, I have to wake up every
[1:58:08]
day and know that unlike my
[1:58:09]
parents, I cannot be sure that
[1:58:12]
my future is secure. The
[1:58:14]
exorbitant price of housing that
[1:58:16]
has caused my generation immense
[1:58:20]
struggle and junk fees are part
[1:58:21]
of this problem. About a quarter
[1:58:24]
of renters in the united states
[1:58:27]
are part of gen z, while gen z
[1:58:28]
has a higher debt to income
[1:58:30]
ratio than the previous
[1:58:33]
generation, allowing junk fees
[1:58:35]
is just kicking us while we're
[1:58:36]
already down. I urge you to vote
[1:58:38]
for councilwoman foster's bill
[1:58:40]
to eliminate junk fees.
[1:58:42]
-- thank you, thank you, kyle.
[1:58:43]
next we have paul. Paul here.
[1:58:45]
welcome, paul.
[1:58:52]
-- hi.
[1:58:52]
-- so after trump reelection in
[1:58:54]
just seven months, about one in
[1:58:56]
every ten trans people moved
[1:58:58]
state. Rightfully so. In 2025
[1:59:02]
alone, 109 anti-trans bills were
[1:59:04]
enacted. They threatened their
[1:59:06]
access to healthcare, their job,
[1:59:07]
their safety, their whole
[1:59:09]
existence as trans people. At
[1:59:12]
cpac, the objective was made
[1:59:13]
explicit transgenderism must be
[1:59:16]
eradicated from public, like
[1:59:17]
from public life entirely. This
[1:59:20]
is a quote, the lemkin institute
[1:59:24]
for for genocide prevention has
[1:59:26]
raised three red flags regarding
[1:59:28]
trans genocide in the us. Still,
[1:59:31]
more than 700,000 trans people
[1:59:33]
still live in states where the
[1:59:34]
legal risk to them is deemed
[1:59:38]
severe or worse. Many of those
[1:59:39]
people need to move for their
[1:59:42]
survival, and many don't have
[1:59:44]
the means. Nobody upend their
[1:59:46]
life just for hands out. Like
[1:59:48]
somebody said earlier, we have
[1:59:50]
to acknowledge the situation. We
[1:59:51]
have to do the right things. We
[1:59:52]
have to do more. Thank you.
[1:59:56]
-- thank you paul. Next we have
[1:59:56]
pete. I think it's peter tynan.
[1:59:59]
pete. Is it peter? Is that is it
[2:00:01]
peter? Yeah. Okay. Awesome. My
[2:00:02]
bad. Peter. And then followed by
[2:00:04]
peter eden and then karl.
[2:00:11]
-- hello city council. Hello,
[2:00:12]
councilmember rinck. It was good
[2:00:13]
meeting you the other day. My
[2:00:15]
name is peter. I am a resident
[2:00:17]
of ballard, born and raised and
[2:00:20]
also a veteran. I want to thank
[2:00:21]
you, councilwoman rinck, for
[2:00:22]
spearheading this effort that
[2:00:23]
was brought forward by our
[2:00:25]
partners in mantis for the sake
[2:00:26]
of trans survival. I got mixed
[2:00:31]
up. That's okay. Okay. I love
[2:00:33]
this city. As we all know,
[2:00:35]
seattle is a sanctuary city, and
[2:00:36]
I believe that this status
[2:00:38]
morally extends not only to
[2:00:40]
immigrants internationally, but
[2:00:42]
also to immigrants across this
[2:00:43]
whole country who are fleeing
[2:00:45]
violence, such as our trans
[2:00:47]
friends all across the states
[2:00:53]
lgbtq volunteer organizations
[2:00:54]
have helped hundreds of trans
[2:00:55]
people and lack the capacity to
[2:00:58]
help hundreds more with
[2:01:00]
acquiring housing and employment
[2:01:01]
in seattle. By passing this
[2:01:03]
legislation, we can direct aid
[2:01:05]
towards the organizations
[2:01:06]
providing resources to these
[2:01:08]
migrants, providing, seeking
[2:01:10]
safety and giving them a chance
[2:01:11]
for a new beginning. I was
[2:01:14]
extremely proud as an american
[2:01:15]
and as a veteran, and even more
[2:01:16]
so as a seattleite, to see.
[2:01:22]
-- thanks. Thank you peter.
[2:01:23]
thank you know you're good.
[2:01:24]
thank you. Peter, edin or eden?
[2:01:27]
is it eden? Edin. Edin is eden
[2:01:32]
here? No. Karl, are you here?
[2:01:35]
welcome. Karl and holly. Willis.
[2:01:38]
-- members of council. My name
[2:01:39]
is carl nelson. I'm a 17 year
[2:01:42]
renter in district four.
[2:01:43]
co-chair and founding member of
[2:01:46]
the cedar crossing tenants
[2:01:46]
association and a member of the
[2:01:47]
board of directors of the
[2:01:49]
seattle social housing
[2:01:49]
developer. I'm here today in my
[2:01:51]
capacity as an individual and a
[2:01:52]
small business owner to speak in
[2:01:55]
favor of the legislation banning
[2:01:57]
junk fees with amendments a and
[2:01:59]
e, and without amendments c and
[2:02:01]
d council. Let's be very clear
[2:02:02]
about what being a landlord or
[2:02:04]
housing provider actually is. It
[2:02:05]
is a decision by an individual
[2:02:07]
or individuals to go into
[2:02:09]
business and thereby assume the
[2:02:10]
risks and responsibilities
[2:02:13]
inherent in any business
[2:02:13]
venture. It does not entitle
[2:02:15]
anyone to a certain return on
[2:02:16]
investment, nor does it make
[2:02:18]
them exempt from the rules and
[2:02:19]
expectations of fair behavior.
[2:02:20]
we expect in any other industry.
[2:02:24]
arbitrary, hidden or specious
[2:02:27]
fees like pet rent are annoying
[2:02:28]
at best and dishonest at worst.
[2:02:30]
all this legislation does is
[2:02:31]
make sure consumers are given
[2:02:32]
the same level of protection
[2:02:34]
that they would expect in any
[2:02:35]
other business. I urge the
[2:02:36]
council to pass this common
[2:02:37]
sense bill with amendments a and
[2:02:39]
e, and unamended by c and d
[2:02:40]
without delay.
[2:02:42]
-- thank you carl. Next we have
[2:02:43]
holly, followed by guinevere,
[2:02:45]
nina and jeff, and we'll go
[2:02:47]
online. Welcome, holly.
[2:02:48]
-- good afternoon,
[2:02:50]
councilmembers. Holly willis
[2:02:51]
with the seattle king county
[2:02:52]
coalition on homelessness, and a
[2:02:54]
renter and pet owner in district
[2:02:56]
five. I'm here today in strong
[2:02:57]
support of the junk fee
[2:03:00]
legislation sponsored by
[2:03:01]
councilmember foster and in
[2:03:02]
opposition to amendments c and d
[2:03:04]
junk fees, including pet rent,
[2:03:06]
raise costs for renters, often
[2:03:09]
in ways they don't expect and
[2:03:11]
can't afford. That leaves
[2:03:12]
people with few options and
[2:03:15]
fuels our crisis of people being
[2:03:18]
evicted into homelessness. Pet
[2:03:20]
rent is a scam. It should be
[2:03:22]
banned outright. People would
[2:03:24]
freak out if a landlord charged
[2:03:25]
rent to a baby. Why do we allow
[2:03:28]
them to charge rent to a cat or
[2:03:31]
a dog? Please take this
[2:03:33]
afternoon to support renters and
[2:03:35]
support trans people. Thank you.
[2:03:36]
-- thank you. Next we have
[2:03:37]
guinevere, followed by nina and
[2:03:39]
then jeff. Thank you, holly.
[2:03:41]
guinevere, welcome
[2:03:43]
-- thank you. Council, I call on
[2:03:47]
you today to pass the ban on
[2:03:49]
junk fees for renters and also,
[2:03:53]
I believe that even if that ban
[2:03:55]
were passed, it doesn't ban
[2:03:58]
rubs, which can pass on hundreds
[2:04:00]
of dollars of utility fees from
[2:04:04]
the landlord to the renter. So
[2:04:07]
we need to ban that as well. And
[2:04:11]
again, thank you for the 300 000
[2:04:13]
amended for the trans refugee
[2:04:15]
crisis. I want you to pass the
[2:04:16]
budget with that in there. But
[2:04:17]
again, that's just a start. And
[2:04:20]
also, I'm aware of the
[2:04:22]
potential for the city to pass
[2:04:24]
that $300,000 and then in the
[2:04:26]
coming months, defund housing by
[2:04:30]
1 to 5 million so that the trans
[2:04:31]
people who come here will have
[2:04:33]
nowhere to live. So I want to be
[2:04:35]
aware that we're not falling for
[2:04:37]
the city's tricks on that.
[2:04:40]
thank you.
[2:04:40]
-- thank you, guinevere. Next we
[2:04:41]
have nina, followed by jeff and
[2:04:44]
guinevere. You always have the
[2:04:46]
flyest glasses. By the way. The
[2:04:48]
sunglasses. They're always cool.
[2:04:51]
nina. Then jeff.
[2:04:51]
-- hi there.
[2:04:53]
-- I'm nina, trans woman living
[2:04:55]
in district five. I'm here to
[2:04:56]
urge the city council to pass a
[2:04:57]
b 1212, five three with
[2:05:00]
amendment five intact. The funds
[2:05:01]
are already there. The committee
[2:05:03]
has recommended its passing and
[2:05:04]
so many here today have
[2:05:05]
explained the profound effect
[2:05:07]
this funding will have. I have a
[2:05:07]
partner that would not be here
[2:05:08]
were it not for orgs like
[2:05:10]
traction. Our new sisters,
[2:05:12]
brothers and all the others can
[2:05:14]
and will thrive if we survive.
[2:05:17]
and this funding gives us a
[2:05:18]
chance to do so. Thank you.
[2:05:19]
-- thank you nina. Next we have
[2:05:21]
jeff paul, and then we're going
[2:05:22]
to jump right online to cliff
[2:05:26]
cawthorn. Is jeff paul, pardon
[2:05:29]
me. Jeff is.
[2:05:31]
-- going to email.
[2:05:32]
-- oh, email. Okay. Sorry. Thank
[2:05:33]
you, thank you. Kate. Okay.
[2:05:36]
we'll jump on to online. So
[2:05:37]
we'll go to cliff followed by
[2:05:40]
rachel star six to unmute
[2:05:43]
yourself. Thank you. Star six we
[2:05:48]
have about 20 more speakers.
[2:05:51]
-- there we go. Good afternoon,
[2:05:53]
council members. Can you all
[2:05:54]
hear me?
[2:05:57]
-- yes, yes.
[2:05:59]
-- oh, perfect. My name is cliff
[2:06:00]
cawthorn. I'm here today at
[2:06:02]
seattle residents. And you know
[2:06:04]
me, my background in housing
[2:06:06]
policy. I'm here in support of
[2:06:07]
council bills one 21254. So that
[2:06:10]
ban junk. I'm also in support
[2:06:12]
of amendment a and e in strong
[2:06:14]
opposition to amendment c and d.
[2:06:17]
so first off thank you,
[2:06:19]
councilmember foster your
[2:06:20]
leadership on this. And for
[2:06:20]
mayor wilson for proposing this
[2:06:22]
right now. Seattleites like
[2:06:23]
people across the country are on
[2:06:25]
the back foot when it comes to
[2:06:27]
affordability, banning predatory
[2:06:28]
and deceptive junk fees and
[2:06:29]
requiring landlords be
[2:06:31]
transparent are just a no
[2:06:32]
brainer. These fees do not
[2:06:35]
contribute tenants well-being.
[2:06:36]
they cover no real operations
[2:06:37]
cost uses contribute to homeless
[2:06:39]
displacement, rising housing
[2:06:41]
costs and put barriers to
[2:06:42]
housing for those in place. For
[2:06:44]
those who are the most
[2:06:45]
vulnerable in our housing
[2:06:47]
ecosystem, trans people fleeing
[2:06:49]
oppressive states, we need to
[2:06:51]
pass this legislation protecting
[2:06:51]
empower renters, ensure
[2:06:53]
transparency from tenants. We
[2:06:55]
support this legislation. Please
[2:06:57]
support a.
[2:06:57]
-- thank you, cliff. Next, we
[2:06:58]
have rachel raj, followed by
[2:07:00]
kendra star six. To unmute
[2:07:04]
yourself.
[2:07:04]
-- good afternoon,
[2:07:06]
councilmembers. My name is
[2:07:07]
rachel raj and I'm the
[2:07:09]
executive director of seattle
[2:07:11]
veterinary outreach, a local
[2:07:13]
nonprofit providing veterinary
[2:07:14]
care and human services for
[2:07:16]
people experiencing homelessness
[2:07:17]
and low income families. I'm
[2:07:19]
here today on behalf of behalf
[2:07:21]
of the clients that we work
[2:07:23]
with, we see firsthand how
[2:07:24]
difficult it is to access
[2:07:26]
housing with a pet in 2025, 28%
[2:07:30]
of the clients we saw came to us
[2:07:32]
with urgency because they needed
[2:07:34]
veterinary care to meet
[2:07:36]
emergency shelters or housing
[2:07:38]
related vaccine requirements. So
[2:07:39]
far this year, that number has
[2:07:42]
increased to 38%. When our
[2:07:44]
clients are faced with ongoing
[2:07:46]
pet fees that makes housing out
[2:07:48]
of their reach, many will choose
[2:07:50]
to remain unhoused rather than
[2:07:53]
surrender their companion. I
[2:07:53]
urge you to include protections
[2:07:55]
against ongoing pet rental fees.
[2:07:58]
housing should be accessible,
[2:07:59]
and no one and no one should
[2:08:00]
have to choose between a safe
[2:08:02]
place to live and the pet that
[2:08:03]
they love. Thank you for your
[2:08:05]
time.
[2:08:05]
-- awesome. Thank you rachel.
[2:08:06]
next, we have kendra, followed
[2:08:09]
by kendall star six.
[2:08:15]
-- good afternoon council. My
[2:08:16]
name is ken. I'm a candidate
[2:08:17]
member with the american party
[2:08:18]
of labor, and it is imperative
[2:08:20]
that you pass this funding for
[2:08:22]
trans resources, especially
[2:08:23]
seeing how this council and the
[2:08:24]
mayor have chosen time and time
[2:08:26]
again to ignore the trans
[2:08:27]
community in the past. As a
[2:08:29]
reminder, council, it is your
[2:08:30]
duty to protect and provide for
[2:08:31]
these communities through
[2:08:33]
programs, through funding, and
[2:08:35]
through actual human decency,
[2:08:36]
not just apologies and
[2:08:37]
sympathies from behind a
[2:08:38]
microphone. The american party
[2:08:39]
of labor will continue to ensure
[2:08:41]
the trans community are able to
[2:08:42]
defend themselves against those
[2:08:44]
who wish to harm and erase them
[2:08:47]
against nazis and against spd
[2:08:48]
who protect these nazis and have
[2:08:50]
themselves directly terrorized.
[2:08:51]
the trans community, as we saw
[2:08:52]
last may, any further class
[2:08:55]
treachery and outright apathy
[2:08:56]
from this council and the city
[2:08:57]
against these communities will
[2:09:00]
only strengthen apl's resolve to
[2:09:02]
guarantee community autonomy by
[2:09:03]
and through any means necessary.
[2:09:05]
if you are a member of a
[2:09:07]
marginalized community, trans or
[2:09:09]
otherwise, and protect yourself,
[2:09:12]
contact the american party of
[2:09:12]
labor. And, in the words of the
[2:09:13]
dead kennedys, lynch your
[2:09:15]
landlord. Thank you.
[2:09:17]
-- thank you ken. Next we have
[2:09:20]
paul, followed by adrian, paul
[2:09:33]
-- good afternoon council. My
[2:09:34]
name is paul stevens and I'm a
[2:09:35]
renter in district three.
[2:09:36]
speaking in support for the junk
[2:09:38]
fee legislation. This issue
[2:09:40]
directly affects me as I've
[2:09:43]
always refused to pay these junk
[2:09:44]
fees. As a result, these
[2:09:46]
slumlords and credit reporting
[2:09:47]
companies are falsely portraying
[2:09:49]
this refusal as rental arrears I
[2:09:52]
urge the councilmembers to
[2:09:54]
listen to your constituents and
[2:09:55]
not the slumlords, who largely
[2:09:57]
live outside of the city. Shame
[2:09:59]
on councilmember kettle for
[2:10:01]
proposing amendments that weaken
[2:10:01]
this badly needed piece of
[2:10:03]
legislation not for their
[2:10:05]
continual malfeasance. This new
[2:10:08]
legislation would be
[2:10:09]
unnecessary. It is my
[2:10:10]
understanding that pet rent is
[2:10:12]
already illegal under smc seven,
[2:10:15]
2438 section e one lords have
[2:10:18]
been blatantly disregarding the
[2:10:19]
law for far too long. This is
[2:10:21]
why strong enforcement
[2:10:23]
mechanisms are needed. Junk fees
[2:10:25]
are fraudulent and need to be
[2:10:26]
prosecuted. As such, I strongly
[2:10:30]
encourage councilmembers to pass
[2:10:30]
this legislation without any
[2:10:33]
weakening amendments. Also
[2:10:38]
support the.
[2:10:38]
-- thank you. Next we have
[2:10:39]
andrew lin, followed by lydia
[2:10:40]
and then cedar star six.
[2:10:50]
-- good afternoon,
[2:10:51]
councilmembers. My name is
[2:10:52]
angelina. I'm a human rights
[2:10:55]
activist from pierce county
[2:10:55]
district two. So from this
[2:10:58]
morning, seattle city council
[2:10:59]
public safety committee meeting
[2:11:01]
on the topic of king county
[2:11:02]
jail, medical referral data,
[2:11:06]
mentioning by ian goodhue of the
[2:11:10]
same exam, aka sexual assault
[2:11:12]
nurse examination and the delays
[2:11:13]
that can occur. Included in
[2:11:15]
between the time of initiation
[2:11:18]
of nurse consultation of the
[2:11:21]
usual vitals to the certified
[2:11:23]
licensed nurse trained in a
[2:11:25]
specific legal task associated
[2:11:26]
with the steps to do a same
[2:11:29]
exam. I formally request this
[2:11:31]
day of august 11th, 2026 for our
[2:11:33]
standards and laws to allow an
[2:11:34]
extension for at least seven
[2:11:39]
days instead of five days for
[2:11:41]
dna can still be detected via
[2:11:43]
swabbing, which is the main part
[2:11:44]
of the exam. Plus, I support
[2:11:46]
making rent affordable,
[2:11:47]
including removing pet rent.
[2:11:48]
thank you.
[2:11:50]
-- thank you. Next we have
[2:11:52]
lydia, followed by cedar and
[2:11:55]
then heather.
[2:12:01]
-- hi, my name is maria. I'm a
[2:12:03]
renter in dc as well as a
[2:12:04]
co-chair of the seattle renters
[2:12:06]
commission. So renters
[2:12:08]
commission supports banning junk
[2:12:09]
fees to reduce hidden and
[2:12:12]
unnecessary housing costs. As
[2:12:12]
renter advocates and renters
[2:12:13]
ourselves, we are no stranger to
[2:12:16]
the intimate impact of junk fees
[2:12:17]
on housing stability. This
[2:12:20]
legislation is about
[2:12:20]
transparency and predictability,
[2:12:22]
and it's about upholding the
[2:12:24]
renter protections that are
[2:12:25]
designed to protect renters from
[2:12:28]
price gouging, prevent and
[2:12:29]
prevent landlords from setting
[2:12:30]
fair. It does not prevent
[2:12:31]
landlords from setting fair
[2:12:33]
market rents or charging for
[2:12:34]
truly opt in services. As such,
[2:12:38]
the commission supports
[2:12:38]
amendment a and e, which
[2:12:39]
strengthen this legislation and
[2:12:41]
we oppose amendment c and d,
[2:12:42]
which create loopholes that
[2:12:45]
would allow landlords to
[2:12:45]
continue charging these
[2:12:47]
unnecessary rental fees. This
[2:12:50]
comprehensive ban is critical to
[2:12:51]
ensuring renters have accurate
[2:12:54]
information about housing that
[2:12:55]
landlords can compete in a fair
[2:12:58]
market, and that new protections
[2:12:59]
are enforceable. We urge you to
[2:13:02]
pass this ban on rental junk
[2:13:04]
fees with the strengthening
[2:13:04]
amendments a and e, and to
[2:13:07]
reject.
[2:13:07]
-- awesome. Thank you. Lydia.
[2:13:08]
next, we have we have eight more
[2:13:09]
speakers online. This is just a
[2:13:10]
time check. We have eight more
[2:13:12]
speakers online. And we have
[2:13:13]
one, two, three, four, five more
[2:13:15]
in person. I don't know if
[2:13:17]
there's any signed up over
[2:13:17]
there. Okay, so eight online and
[2:13:19]
then five more in person. So
[2:13:21]
cedar, you are well, star six
[2:13:27]
you're up.
[2:13:28]
-- hello. Can you guys hear me?
[2:13:30]
-- yes we can. Can you hear me?
[2:13:31]
loud and clear
[2:13:33]
-- hi. My name. My name is peter
[2:13:36]
and I am here to speak on
[2:13:39]
becoming charges that we are
[2:13:43]
facing as a country in the midst
[2:13:45]
of our food financial crisis and
[2:13:48]
our water crisis due to
[2:13:50]
surveillance centers and
[2:13:51]
destroying the water for the
[2:13:56]
elites in this country, we are
[2:13:56]
also taking steps to expand our
[2:13:58]
police surveillance state by
[2:14:00]
putting up more flock and axon
[2:14:04]
and alpr cameras that are
[2:14:06]
further infringing upon our
[2:14:08]
fourth amendment rights. We
[2:14:09]
can't ever really seem to find
[2:14:11]
the money for social programs,
[2:14:12]
but we can always seem to find
[2:14:14]
more money to pay the police who
[2:14:17]
constantly beat our civilians
[2:14:22]
and many departments, including
[2:14:25]
bellevue, is actually under
[2:14:28]
investigation for child sex
[2:14:29]
trafficking. So we should fund
[2:14:32]
the police a lot less, and we
[2:14:34]
should actually put more money
[2:14:36]
into the farm.
[2:14:38]
-- thank you. Next we have
[2:14:44]
heather followed by magdalena.
[2:14:47]
-- hi. Council president and
[2:14:49]
councilmembers. I'm heather
[2:14:49]
smith from capitol hill pike
[2:14:51]
pine neighborhood. I'm speaking
[2:14:53]
in support of council bill one
[2:14:55]
two, one two, five three and
[2:14:57]
directing funding for community
[2:14:59]
based violence interrupters to
[2:15:01]
capitol hill. Just last night,
[2:15:02]
another person was shot at cal
[2:15:04]
anderson park. That brings the
[2:15:06]
number of shootings we have
[2:15:07]
documented in the greater pike
[2:15:09]
pine to 2626 in just three
[2:15:12]
years, all within a very small
[2:15:17]
geographic area. Our pike pine
[2:15:19]
community and our nightlife
[2:15:20]
district in cal anderson park
[2:15:22]
need a coordinated, sustained
[2:15:25]
public safety strategy with
[2:15:26]
consistent resources, clear
[2:15:29]
responsibility and
[2:15:29]
accountability. The seattle fire
[2:15:31]
department and seattle police
[2:15:32]
department should not be the
[2:15:34]
only responders to issues around
[2:15:36]
the clock. Pike pine is also an
[2:15:38]
important economic driver for
[2:15:41]
seattle. Violence interrupters
[2:15:42]
can help identify escalating
[2:15:44]
conflicts, build relationships
[2:15:47]
with people at the highest risk
[2:15:48]
of violence, intervene before.
[2:15:52]
-- thank you. Heather. Next, we
[2:15:53]
have magdalena, followed by erin
[2:15:54]
and elizabeth.
[2:16:01]
-- am I unmuted?
[2:16:01]
-- we can hear you.
[2:16:05]
-- wonderful. Hello, council.
[2:16:08]
you are legislating right now
[2:16:11]
for the age, not the hour. The
[2:16:14]
hour is the empire around us
[2:16:16]
that is falling, but the age
[2:16:19]
that is coming is one in which
[2:16:21]
the city will still exist. In
[2:16:23]
that time, they will look to the
[2:16:25]
precedents that you established
[2:16:28]
during this time of transition.
[2:16:29]
whether you acknowledge that
[2:16:32]
transition coming or not, it has
[2:16:34]
happened to all empires. It will
[2:16:36]
happen to ours. What legacy will
[2:16:40]
you leave? When trans people
[2:16:42]
were priestesses of the temples
[2:16:43]
of inanna, europeans were still
[2:16:44]
living in mud huts and figuring
[2:16:45]
out how to make bronze. We are
[2:16:48]
the erinyes of the scythians. We
[2:16:51]
are the galli of the romans. We
[2:16:53]
have literally always existed,
[2:16:55]
and we will always exist, and we
[2:16:56]
will resist these fascists. And
[2:16:58]
you have to live with us after.
[2:17:00]
you have to live with the
[2:17:01]
results. Will you live with a
[2:17:02]
city that you have brought to
[2:17:04]
life by saving ours, and the
[2:17:05]
culture that we bring to create?
[2:17:10]
have you all.
[2:17:11]
-- thank you. Magdalena. Next we
[2:17:12]
have elizabeth, followed by
[2:17:14]
philip haley and matthew. And
[2:17:17]
we'll go back to in person
[2:17:22]
elizabeth, welcome. Star six to
[2:17:26]
unmute yourself, star six.
[2:17:33]
you're still on mute. Star six
[2:17:35]
there you go.
[2:17:37]
-- hello, hello. Thank you. This
[2:17:39]
is elizabeth marcus and I am a
[2:17:41]
resident of the green lake
[2:17:43]
neighborhood, and I have been a
[2:17:47]
landlord in the past, and I
[2:17:50]
strongly oppose junk fees. I
[2:17:54]
take that as a responsibility to
[2:17:57]
keep people housed and not as
[2:17:59]
something to make a profit off
[2:18:01]
of, at the expense of the people
[2:18:03]
who need housing. I also
[2:18:07]
strongly support the funding for
[2:18:09]
the trans community, and I would
[2:18:13]
love to say that I oppose this
[2:18:16]
amendment c and d, thank you so
[2:18:18]
much.
[2:18:18]
-- thank you. Elizabeth. Next we
[2:18:20]
have philip, followed by haley
[2:18:21]
and then matthew. And then we'll
[2:18:21]
go to our in person.
[2:18:32]
I, philip, you might be muted on
[2:18:37]
your phone, philip, but you are
[2:18:41]
off mute for us.
[2:18:41]
-- hi I apologize, can you hear
[2:18:42]
me now?
[2:18:43]
-- yes, we can
[2:18:46]
-- thank you. My name is philip
[2:18:48]
roth. I am a small landlord in
[2:18:51]
the ravenna neighborhood. I
[2:18:52]
would also like to speak out in
[2:18:53]
opposition to junk fees. As a
[2:18:58]
property owner, I find myself
[2:19:00]
lucky enough to help those who
[2:19:04]
do not own property stay in the
[2:19:06]
neighborhood at affordable
[2:19:06]
rates, and contribute to the
[2:19:08]
culture and diversity of my
[2:19:10]
neighborhood and the city in
[2:19:12]
general. I find junk fee is an
[2:19:17]
exorbitant charges to be
[2:19:18]
despicable, and I appreciate
[2:19:20]
everything you're doing to
[2:19:21]
combat them. I would also note
[2:19:24]
that any amendments diluting the
[2:19:25]
strength of that bill are not
[2:19:28]
wanted. The developers who are
[2:19:29]
in favor of this, and I and I
[2:19:32]
work for a developer separately,
[2:19:36]
are charging simply for their
[2:19:37]
own profits and.
[2:19:45]
-- you still have time, philip.
[2:19:48]
-- I apologize, I thought it
[2:19:51]
muted me. Yes, I just oppose
[2:19:52]
this. Thank you.
[2:19:54]
-- thank you philip. Next we
[2:19:55]
have haley followed by matthew.
[2:19:56]
and then we'll go to in person.
[2:20:07]
-- good afternoon,
[2:20:08]
councilmembers. My name is haley
[2:20:09]
and my company is a small
[2:20:11]
property owner, owner and
[2:20:12]
manager here in seattle. I'm
[2:20:14]
speaking today in support of
[2:20:16]
amendment t. Over the years,
[2:20:17]
we've invested in tailoring our
[2:20:19]
buildings to the needs of dog
[2:20:21]
owners, installing dog runs,
[2:20:22]
creating relief areas and adding
[2:20:25]
wash stations to muddy pods
[2:20:26]
don't end up on the carpet and
[2:20:29]
consistently cleaning up our
[2:20:30]
dogs who have accidents in the
[2:20:31]
elevators and lobbies. These
[2:20:34]
improvements cost money to
[2:20:34]
create and maintain, and they
[2:20:37]
benefit all of the tenants who
[2:20:38]
have dogs in the whole building.
[2:20:40]
kent rent it cut rent is how
[2:20:46]
those tenants pay their fair
[2:20:46]
share for what they're actually
[2:20:47]
using it. Without it, I'd have
[2:20:48]
to fold those costs into rent
[2:20:48]
for everyone, including tenants
[2:20:49]
who don't own a pet and never
[2:20:51]
touch these dog amenities or
[2:20:53]
require these cleaning services.
[2:20:54]
that's not fair. It's not
[2:20:56]
equitable. A small caps monthly
[2:20:57]
amount tied directly to the
[2:20:59]
amenities of fair way to do it.
[2:21:01]
otherwise, we'll have rent 1.5%
[2:21:03]
across the board. Please support
[2:21:05]
amendment c. Thank you so much
[2:21:05]
for your time.
[2:21:07]
-- thank you. Haley. Next we
[2:21:08]
have matthew, and then we'll go
[2:21:09]
right to in our in person
[2:21:12]
speakers, matthew star six.
[2:21:14]
-- hi there. I'm calling in
[2:21:17]
opposition to the funding for
[2:21:20]
trans refugees. I just don't
[2:21:21]
fully understand the term
[2:21:22]
refugee. And I think it's
[2:21:23]
disparaging to true refugees
[2:21:26]
from other countries that need
[2:21:27]
support and need funding. I
[2:21:30]
don't know why seattle
[2:21:30]
taxpayers are footing the bill
[2:21:32]
for people to move within the
[2:21:34]
same country. And I guess to
[2:21:35]
what end? I don't really
[2:21:36]
understand where this funding
[2:21:37]
will be allocated to and how
[2:21:40]
$300,000 really would be
[2:21:41]
supportive if it really is a
[2:21:43]
crisis as it is being played out
[2:21:46]
as. So I don't really understand
[2:21:49]
or support this very small
[2:21:50]
amount of funding to help a very
[2:21:51]
small number of people move
[2:21:53]
within the country.
[2:21:55]
-- thank you matthew. So now
[2:21:56]
we're going to go to in person,
[2:21:57]
we have lydia followed by m, and
[2:22:00]
we have david haynes, we have
[2:22:02]
kyle, we have ellen. Lydia,
[2:22:03]
welcome. Thank you all for your
[2:22:07]
patience.
[2:22:07]
-- lydia taylor. Okay. Hello. I
[2:22:12]
am here to testify in favor of
[2:22:15]
cb 121254 and banning pet rent
[2:22:17]
aka anti amendment c of this
[2:22:20]
bill and banning junk fees,
[2:22:22]
including amendment d, charging
[2:22:24]
renters, renter insurance on an
[2:22:24]
opt out basis. Because I believe
[2:22:26]
that obfuscates the landlord's
[2:22:28]
responsibility to the tenants.
[2:22:29]
there's much I could copy paste
[2:22:30]
from the seattle.gov office of
[2:22:32]
the city clerk. Legistar.com.
[2:22:34]
pages recital section. But
[2:22:36]
that's 20 minutes I don't have
[2:22:38]
with this microphone. And I'm
[2:22:39]
sure the councilors have seen
[2:22:41]
that document. I would encourage
[2:22:42]
everyone who hasn't to read it.
[2:22:43]
it's incredibly insightful.
[2:22:44]
what I will say is that as a
[2:22:46]
young progressive voter, this
[2:22:48]
legislation is exactly the
[2:22:49]
reason that we voted for the
[2:22:50]
likes of mayor wilson and bill
[2:22:53]
sponsor dionne foster to do for
[2:22:54]
us, because councilor foster
[2:22:57]
identified unaffordability as a
[2:22:59]
reason for gentrification of poc
[2:23:00]
and queer communities in her
[2:23:04]
campaign for office and and this
[2:23:07]
bill is simply living up to that
[2:23:09]
campaign promise to fight
[2:23:10]
against that in city hall. For
[2:23:11]
us.
[2:23:13]
-- thank you. Lydia. Next we
[2:23:15]
have m is m here thank m left m
[2:23:18]
okay, next we have david haynes.
[2:23:21]
welcome. And then we have kyle
[2:23:24]
and then ellen. Welcome mr.
[2:23:27]
haynes.
[2:23:27]
-- hi. How you doing?
[2:23:27]
-- I'm great. How are you?
[2:23:30]
-- streaming revolution. Living
[2:23:30]
a nightmare. Hi. My name is
[2:23:34]
david haynes. When you exempt
[2:23:37]
drug pushers from misdemeanor
[2:23:39]
prosecution, you allow for the
[2:23:40]
escalation of violence between
[2:23:42]
rival drug gangs. When you
[2:23:44]
finance nonprofits in the human
[2:23:45]
services department to run
[2:23:47]
interference for bipoc repeat
[2:23:50]
offending criminals, you
[2:23:51]
escalate the implosion of our
[2:23:51]
society and undermine the
[2:23:53]
integrity of public safety. The
[2:23:53]
thing is, I came down here today
[2:23:56]
because we need some legislation
[2:23:58]
to purge the landlords
[2:23:59]
sabotaging restrictions on the
[2:24:01]
comprehensive plan so we can
[2:24:02]
have a better built back city of
[2:24:03]
21st century, first world
[2:24:05]
quality housing that goes higher
[2:24:06]
than six stories for your
[2:24:08]
catering to, like watered down,
[2:24:12]
designed for nonprofits that are
[2:24:14]
politically connected to
[2:24:15]
warehouse, echo, third world,
[2:24:19]
modern inner city real estate.
[2:24:20]
the thing is, is like you should
[2:24:22]
be allowed to get your money
[2:24:25]
back within 24 hours. If you
[2:24:26]
call the landlord and say, I
[2:24:27]
want, I'm moving out within 30
[2:24:28]
days because this place is
[2:24:30]
double, triple, quadruple
[2:24:32]
inflated and you should be
[2:24:34]
allowed to renegotiate the
[2:24:35]
property value based on 2016,
[2:24:37]
when john wilson took over.
[2:24:41]
-- and thank you, david.
[2:24:41]
-- the property value.
[2:24:42]
-- thank you, mr. Haynes.
[2:24:43]
-- thanks. Right off some of the
[2:24:44]
debt for.
[2:24:44]
-- the ranch. Thank you, mr.
[2:24:46]
haynes. Next we have kyle
[2:24:48]
followed by ellen. Is kyle here?
[2:24:52]
no. Kyle. Kyle, kyle and then
[2:24:55]
ellen o'leary. Is ellen o'leary
[2:24:57]
here? Number 75. No. Okay. And
[2:25:01]
is there there's no more
[2:25:02]
speakers over there. And then
[2:25:04]
there's nothing online. So I
[2:25:05]
just want to first thank you
[2:25:07]
all. I know that was a long
[2:25:08]
public comment period, but it
[2:25:10]
was very important for us to
[2:25:12]
hear people's words. I do want
[2:25:13]
to state, for the record, and
[2:25:14]
I've told mr. Haynes this, he
[2:25:17]
always talks about bipoc drug
[2:25:20]
pushers or black drug pushers.
[2:25:22]
so just for the record, I had
[2:25:23]
asked him, it's not actually
[2:25:25]
nice to say all the time, but
[2:25:27]
anyways, it's another another
[2:25:29]
thing. So just want to thank
[2:25:34]
everyone for being here. Okay.
[2:25:37]
and for doing public comment.
[2:25:37]
the people that came down in
[2:25:39]
person, that stood in line, the
[2:25:40]
folks that waited on line for
[2:25:41]
two hours to speak. It's really
[2:25:43]
important that we heard
[2:25:43]
everyone, usually public comment
[2:25:45]
period. We always have scheduled
[2:25:46]
for an hour, but it was really
[2:25:48]
important that we listen to
[2:25:49]
everyone. So we just want to
[2:25:50]
thank you all. I'm going to
[2:25:51]
check with my colleagues to see
[2:25:52]
if they want to take a recess,
[2:25:54]
or if you all wanted to power
[2:25:56]
through the recess would be five
[2:25:58]
minutes. I'm looking left and
[2:25:59]
right, up, down. Are people just
[2:26:02]
power through? Are we good?
[2:26:04]
okay, so I see people saying
[2:26:05]
press forward with their sword.
[2:26:08]
okay, let's just jump right
[2:26:09]
into the meeting. If there's no
[2:26:11]
objections, we're going to jump
[2:26:11]
right into the meeting. If
[2:26:14]
there's no objection, the
[2:26:15]
introduction and referral
[2:26:16]
calendar will be adopted.
[2:26:18]
hearing no objection, the
[2:26:19]
introduction and referral
[2:26:20]
calendar is adopted. If there is
[2:26:20]
no objection, the agenda will be
[2:26:23]
adopted. Hearing no objection,
[2:26:25]
the agenda is adopted. We will
[2:26:26]
now consider the proposed
[2:26:29]
consent calendar. The items on
[2:26:30]
the consent calendar include
[2:26:32]
minutes of august 4th, 2026.
[2:26:35]
council bill 121271 payment of
[2:26:37]
the bills, two bills and one
[2:26:38]
resolution from parks and city
[2:26:39]
light committee. There are five
[2:26:41]
appointments from the finance,
[2:26:43]
native communities and tribal
[2:26:44]
governments committee, and there
[2:26:45]
are seven appointments from the
[2:26:47]
the transportation waterfront
[2:26:49]
and seattle center committee.
[2:26:49]
are there any items
[2:26:51]
councilmembers would like to
[2:26:53]
remove from today's consent
[2:26:53]
calendar hearing and seeing
[2:26:56]
none. I'm going to move to
[2:26:56]
adopt the consent calendar. Is
[2:27:00]
there a second? Second. Thank
[2:27:00]
you. It's been moved and
[2:27:02]
seconded to adopt the consent
[2:27:03]
calendar. Will the clerk please
[2:27:04]
call the roll on the adoption of
[2:27:06]
the consent calendar?
[2:27:09]
-- councilmember foster yes.
[2:27:12]
-- councilmember foster. Thank
[2:27:14]
you. Councilmember juarez.
[2:27:18]
councilmember kettle. Aye.
[2:27:18]
-- councilmember lin
[2:27:19]
-- yes.
[2:27:21]
-- councilmember rinck.
[2:27:21]
-- yes. Councilmember rivera.
[2:27:25]
-- I councilmember saka I
[2:27:27]
councilmember strauss I council
[2:27:30]
president hollingsworth. Yes,
[2:27:30]
and in favor. None. Opposed.
[2:27:32]
-- consent. Calendar is adopted.
[2:27:33]
will the clerk please affix my
[2:27:35]
signature in the minutes on the
[2:27:38]
legislation, on the consent
[2:27:39]
calendar on my behalf? That was
[2:27:41]
a tongue twister. Will the clerk
[2:27:42]
please read item number one to
[2:27:43]
the record
[2:27:45]
-- the report of the housing,
[2:27:47]
arts and civil rights committee
[2:27:49]
agenda item 1121254 relating to
[2:27:51]
rental agreements. Regulation
[2:27:53]
requiring disclosure of fees,
[2:27:55]
prohibiting eliminating certain
[2:27:56]
fees, requiring retention of
[2:27:58]
compliance records, expanding
[2:27:59]
investigation authority, and
[2:28:01]
establishing new enforcement
[2:28:02]
mechanisms. The committee
[2:28:03]
recommends. The bill passes, as
[2:28:04]
amended.
[2:28:04]
-- councilmember foster chair of
[2:28:05]
the committee. You're recognized
[2:28:06]
to give the report.
[2:28:08]
-- thank you so I cut my mic.
[2:28:11]
thank you so much, council
[2:28:13]
president. And first, I want to
[2:28:14]
express my appreciation to mayor
[2:28:16]
wilson and her team, especially
[2:28:19]
karen levitas, who has spent a
[2:28:20]
lot of time with our office and
[2:28:21]
a lot of time leading on this
[2:28:23]
work. I want to also express my
[2:28:25]
appreciation to hb harper from
[2:28:27]
council central staff and sage
[2:28:29]
lawrence from my team for their
[2:28:31]
leadership. Thank you to the
[2:28:33]
many community members to the
[2:28:33]
state house stay healthy
[2:28:36]
coalition, to the folks at
[2:28:37]
seattle humane washington
[2:28:39]
housing alliance, the small and
[2:28:41]
large landlords and housing
[2:28:42]
providers, all of whom have
[2:28:43]
taken the time to come down and
[2:28:45]
share their experience and
[2:28:46]
testify at city hall. It. It's a
[2:28:48]
lot of work. It's a lot of
[2:28:49]
energy. And we appreciate each
[2:28:51]
of you as chair of the housing,
[2:28:53]
arts and civil rights committee,
[2:28:54]
I am thrilled to sponsor this
[2:28:55]
legislation. And lastly, I want
[2:28:57]
to appreciate my colleagues for
[2:28:59]
voting this out of committee
[2:29:00]
with a 5 to 0 vote. So as we've
[2:29:04]
heard today, hidden fees don't
[2:29:05]
belong on concert tickets. They
[2:29:07]
don't belong on airline
[2:29:08]
tickets, and they certainly
[2:29:09]
don't belong on the largest
[2:29:09]
expense that most seattle
[2:29:11]
families have every month. Their
[2:29:13]
rent rent is one of the most
[2:29:15]
important consumer purchases
[2:29:17]
that people make. And if we
[2:29:19]
believe in consumer protection
[2:29:20]
anywhere, we should believe in
[2:29:21]
it here. And it should also be
[2:29:22]
one of the most transparent
[2:29:23]
decisions for people. And a
[2:29:26]
majority renter city where
[2:29:27]
housing already stretches
[2:29:30]
household budgets. Families
[2:29:31]
deserve to know the real cost of
[2:29:33]
a rental before they sign a
[2:29:34]
lease, before they show up and
[2:29:34]
sit down to put their name on a
[2:29:36]
paper. Not after. And I myself
[2:29:39]
am a homeowner, but I still
[2:29:41]
remember the experience of
[2:29:42]
finding an apartment, touring a
[2:29:45]
building, deciding I wanted to
[2:29:47]
live there, sitting down to sign
[2:29:48]
a lease, only to realize we were
[2:29:50]
quite literally signing up for
[2:29:51]
more than we had originally
[2:29:52]
bargained for. Because the fees
[2:29:54]
and costs that we hadn't
[2:29:55]
anticipated that we then
[2:29:56]
realized we were going to need
[2:29:57]
to pay. That shouldn't be an
[2:29:59]
experience that anybody has.
[2:30:01]
research from the urban
[2:30:02]
institute shows that junk fees
[2:30:04]
can increase renters total
[2:30:06]
housing costs by 10 to 30%,
[2:30:07]
making it harder for people to
[2:30:08]
budget and harder for people to
[2:30:10]
stay housed. Those added costs
[2:30:12]
hit hardest for seniors on fixed
[2:30:14]
incomes. For young people
[2:30:16]
entering the workforce, working
[2:30:18]
families and communities that
[2:30:18]
are most likely to rent. As we
[2:30:20]
heard earlier today in
[2:30:22]
washington, black residents are
[2:30:23]
about twice as likely to rent
[2:30:24]
than own, meaning these
[2:30:27]
practices can disproportionately
[2:30:27]
burden households already facing
[2:30:28]
barriers to housing stability.
[2:30:30]
and I believe and we know, that
[2:30:33]
transparency creates a better
[2:30:34]
housing market. This legislation
[2:30:35]
gives renters the ability to
[2:30:37]
compare homes priced on their
[2:30:38]
actual cost, not on an
[2:30:42]
artificially low advertised
[2:30:42]
price, followed by a list of
[2:30:44]
surprise charges. It also
[2:30:46]
creates a level playing field
[2:30:46]
for landlords who are already
[2:30:48]
transparent about pricing.
[2:30:50]
instead of rewarding those who
[2:30:51]
rely on hidden fees to make
[2:30:52]
their listings appear more
[2:30:54]
affordable than they actually
[2:30:55]
are. And by reducing upfront,
[2:30:58]
necessary costs, we make it
[2:30:59]
easier for renters to find
[2:31:01]
housing without paying hundreds
[2:31:01]
of dollars just to apply. We. I
[2:31:04]
know that consumer protections
[2:31:05]
only work if they are
[2:31:06]
enforceable, and this bill gives
[2:31:09]
sdci the teeth to ensure that
[2:31:10]
they are enforcing the law and
[2:31:13]
holding people who disregard the
[2:31:14]
law accountable. We love a snap.
[2:31:17]
and lastly, I'll just share a
[2:31:18]
few of the important things that
[2:31:20]
this bill does, because so much
[2:31:21]
of the testimony today was
[2:31:22]
focused on the amendments. We
[2:31:23]
are prohibiting charging a fee
[2:31:25]
for paying your rent via check
[2:31:26]
or ach transfer so that you
[2:31:29]
don't have to pay just to pay.
[2:31:31]
we are prohibiting mail and
[2:31:32]
package fees so renters aren't
[2:31:34]
price gouged for receiving
[2:31:36]
orders. We are prohibiting
[2:31:37]
additional fees for the use of
[2:31:38]
in-unit appliances, with
[2:31:41]
exceptions for where state law
[2:31:42]
allows air conditioning units.
[2:31:45]
we are prohibiting fees for pet
[2:31:47]
rent because we know that this.
[2:31:49]
we are still allowing folks to
[2:31:52]
charge for damage deposits and
[2:31:52]
to recover costs of any actual
[2:31:54]
damage occurred to a unit. We
[2:31:57]
are also requiring the
[2:31:57]
disclosure of rental fees in
[2:31:59]
advertisements and rental
[2:32:00]
listings up front on any rental
[2:32:02]
agreement that will allow
[2:32:03]
renters to be able to compare
[2:32:05]
and contrast and make informed
[2:32:07]
decisions about where they live.
[2:32:08]
and lastly, this bill does allow
[2:32:10]
for charging optional fees,
[2:32:11]
provided they are not explicitly
[2:32:12]
prohibited and are truly opt in
[2:32:15]
fees, and they align with the
[2:32:16]
rest of the spirit of the
[2:32:18]
ordinance. So thank you so much
[2:32:19]
to everybody who has supported
[2:32:20]
this. I believe that this bill
[2:32:21]
is going to result in greater
[2:32:24]
transparency and greater
[2:32:25]
affordability for seattle
[2:32:26]
renters and colleagues. I ask
[2:32:27]
for your support.
[2:32:29]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[2:32:31]
foster. So, colleagues, we have
[2:32:31]
about I think we have five
[2:32:33]
amendments. So we're going to
[2:32:35]
work through those. And then
[2:32:37]
we'll have time to speak about
[2:32:37]
the whole bill after it's been
[2:32:40]
amended. Okay. Or potentially if
[2:32:41]
it is amended. So I'm going to
[2:32:46]
jump to councilmember lin pardon
[2:32:47]
me. We're at ease. One second.
[2:32:53]
all right. Okay. So I'll
[2:32:55]
recognize. Yep. I'll recognize.
[2:32:58]
councilmember. Thank you for
[2:32:59]
that reminder. I'll recognize
[2:33:00]
councilmember rivera and then
[2:33:02]
we'll jump to councilmember lin
[2:33:02]
about your amendment.
[2:33:03]
councilmember rivera.
[2:33:06]
-- thank you, council president
[2:33:07]
colleagues, because I own a
[2:33:08]
small rental property that I
[2:33:09]
share with my family, I'm
[2:33:11]
unfortunately precluded from
[2:33:13]
voting on today, from voting on
[2:33:15]
today's rental fees
[2:33:17]
legislation. I'm also precluded
[2:33:19]
from even speaking to the
[2:33:21]
legislation. I want constituents
[2:33:22]
who are watching to know that
[2:33:24]
it's not that I do not want to
[2:33:27]
represent their interests on
[2:33:28]
this matter or their views. I'm
[2:33:30]
just unable to. Colleagues, as
[2:33:33]
you know, this is an issue that
[2:33:34]
continues to come up, especially
[2:33:37]
after council went to district
[2:33:40]
representation, and it is
[2:33:42]
different from the position that
[2:33:43]
has been taken by the state,
[2:33:45]
where the state legislature is
[2:33:47]
required to disclose any
[2:33:48]
conflicts of interest, but
[2:33:49]
they're not actually prohibited
[2:33:51]
from voting. While I understand
[2:33:53]
why we cannot vote or why I
[2:33:55]
cannot vote, and I will always
[2:33:56]
abide by ethics rules, it is a
[2:33:59]
point of concern because I, like
[2:34:01]
you, have received feedback from
[2:34:04]
residents on this legislation,
[2:34:05]
and I do not want constituents
[2:34:07]
to think that I did not want to
[2:34:10]
vote on this legislation. Thank
[2:34:12]
you. Council president.
[2:34:13]
-- awesome. Thank you,
[2:34:15]
councilmember rivera, for that.
[2:34:17]
councilmember lin, you are
[2:34:19]
recognized to move your
[2:34:19]
amendment.
[2:34:20]
-- thank you. I'd like to move
[2:34:22]
amendment a version one to
[2:34:25]
council bill one, 21254.
[2:34:28]
-- second.
[2:34:28]
-- it's been moved and second
[2:34:29]
to amend council bill as
[2:34:30]
presented on amendment a
[2:34:31]
councilmember lin a sponsor of
[2:34:32]
the amendment. You are
[2:34:33]
recognized in order to address
[2:34:34]
it.
[2:34:35]
-- thank you so much. And first,
[2:34:36]
thank you, councilmember foster,
[2:34:40]
for bringing this legislation
[2:34:41]
forward. Thanks to everyone that
[2:34:43]
came to speak today. This
[2:34:48]
amendment is. I brought an
[2:34:50]
amendment to the original bill.
[2:34:52]
and in terms of enforcement, you
[2:34:54]
know, there's two primary ways
[2:34:56]
that this bill will be enforced.
[2:35:00]
there's sdci enforcement, and
[2:35:01]
then there's the private right
[2:35:03]
of action. And, you know, and
[2:35:05]
the private right of action
[2:35:08]
while it is great that we have
[2:35:14]
attorney's fees and other
[2:35:14]
penalties, it still requires
[2:35:17]
tenants to go to court, which
[2:35:19]
could be a lengthy process or,
[2:35:21]
you know, often requires tenants
[2:35:23]
to, to go seek legal
[2:35:26]
representation. And so the main
[2:35:30]
thrust of the original amendment
[2:35:33]
was to empower tenants to, to,
[2:35:35]
to make a demand to the, to
[2:35:36]
their landlord, to, if they were
[2:35:39]
charged, these fees that were
[2:35:42]
prohibited and to request
[2:35:46]
immediate refunds plus double
[2:35:48]
damages, and to incentivize
[2:35:51]
landlords to to cure any
[2:35:54]
violations. And if they did so
[2:35:57]
within 30 days, then they would
[2:35:58]
not be subject to the penalties
[2:36:00]
and attorney's fees. And so the
[2:36:03]
the idea was that it would
[2:36:06]
empower tenants and incentivize
[2:36:08]
landlords to quickly correct any
[2:36:09]
issues so that tenants wouldn't
[2:36:11]
have to go to court, landlords
[2:36:13]
wouldn't have to pay attorneys
[2:36:15]
fees, and tenants would be
[2:36:18]
reimbursed quickly after
[2:36:21]
committee meeting, we spoke with
[2:36:25]
some tenant advocates and
[2:36:28]
received feedback that, you
[2:36:30]
know, if that fee was charged to
[2:36:31]
one tenant, it was probably
[2:36:32]
charged to all the other
[2:36:33]
tenants. And so when a notice
[2:36:36]
was given to landlord, it should
[2:36:37]
be deemed constructive notice
[2:36:39]
for all the tenants in that
[2:36:40]
building. And with the idea that
[2:36:43]
if the landlords put on notice,
[2:36:44]
if they were going to take
[2:36:46]
advantage of this sort of
[2:36:49]
alternative dispute process,
[2:36:50]
they should be refunding those
[2:36:51]
fees to to all the tenants in
[2:36:53]
that building, and also be
[2:36:55]
giving notice to sdci so sdci
[2:36:58]
can keep track of any violations
[2:37:01]
in any cures. So that's the
[2:37:05]
amendment. We also included a
[2:37:08]
provision that if the landlord
[2:37:10]
provided charge that same fee
[2:37:10]
within 24 months, they wouldn't
[2:37:14]
be able to take advantage of
[2:37:14]
this additional sort of adr
[2:37:16]
process. Alternative dispute
[2:37:18]
process. So that's the
[2:37:20]
amendment. And if I would love
[2:37:21]
if you have any questions or
[2:37:22]
concerns, otherwise, I would
[2:37:23]
love your support. Thank you.
[2:37:25]
-- thank you. Councilmember lin
[2:37:26]
are there any comments regarding
[2:37:28]
amendment a? Seeing none, do you
[2:37:33]
have any closing remarks?
[2:37:35]
councilmember lin no closing
[2:37:37]
testimony. Okay will the clerk
[2:37:39]
please call the roll on the
[2:37:41]
adoption of amendment a.
[2:37:43]
-- councilmember foster yes.
[2:37:48]
-- councilmember juarez
[2:37:49]
councilmember kettle.
[2:37:50]
-- aye.
[2:37:51]
-- councilmember lin.
[2:37:52]
-- yes.
[2:37:52]
-- councilmember rinck.
[2:37:54]
-- yes.
[2:37:54]
-- councilmember rivera.
[2:37:58]
-- present. Present.
[2:38:05]
-- councilmember saka. Aye.
[2:38:09]
councilmember strauss. Council
[2:38:10]
president hollingsworth.
[2:38:10]
-- yes
[2:38:12]
-- eight in favor. None opposed
[2:38:13]
one abstention.
[2:38:15]
-- motion carries. Amendment a
[2:38:17]
is adopted. Councilmember kettle
[2:38:18]
you are recognized to move your
[2:38:19]
amendment b.
[2:38:20]
-- thank you, council president.
[2:38:23]
I move amendment b version one
[2:38:24]
to council bill 121254.
[2:38:30]
-- second.
[2:38:31]
-- it's been moved and seconded
[2:38:32]
to amend the bill as presented
[2:38:34]
on amendment b councilmember
[2:38:35]
kettle you recognize in order to
[2:38:37]
address it.
[2:38:37]
-- thank you. Council president,
[2:38:39]
and thank you, councilmember
[2:38:40]
foster and my colleagues. This
[2:38:46]
amendment is being done for a
[2:38:48]
few things. One is not long ago,
[2:38:50]
when we were doing the education
[2:38:52]
levy implementation, my
[2:38:54]
colleague was saying it was
[2:38:57]
important how you talk about
[2:38:58]
things, and I agreed with her as
[2:39:00]
it related to that bill and in
[2:39:04]
all bills, actually. And then
[2:39:07]
later with sepa and eyes, we
[2:39:09]
talked about weaponization. And
[2:39:11]
I spoke to that issue as well.
[2:39:13]
and I talked about the language
[2:39:15]
that we use, and it was
[2:39:20]
interesting to see online in
[2:39:20]
other places how I was being
[2:39:22]
mocked for that. But the idea is
[2:39:26]
to, to raise the discourse, to
[2:39:28]
have an engagement on the topics
[2:39:29]
that we're facing. And the term
[2:39:36]
junk fee is not a formal legal
[2:39:42]
fee industry standard is a
[2:39:44]
colloquial phrase. It is not
[2:39:47]
legal. And this is a legal
[2:39:48]
document and we should be
[2:39:53]
looking to place ourselves in a
[2:39:56]
position where we are engaging
[2:39:57]
on the topics. And I recognize
[2:40:00]
from all the different comments,
[2:40:02]
and I understand 100%. At the
[2:40:03]
same time, I do recognize, too,
[2:40:05]
that for those that are
[2:40:06]
advocating on the other side who
[2:40:07]
are not often heard here in
[2:40:10]
chambers, that if you're a
[2:40:14]
landlord and you're dealing with
[2:40:15]
issues with pets, that if you're
[2:40:16]
looking for this, it's the word
[2:40:19]
junk is pejorative. And it's
[2:40:21]
like they're doing it for some
[2:40:23]
reason other than what may be.
[2:40:25]
and that's not the case.
[2:40:25]
sometimes it is, but not always.
[2:40:28]
and I just think that we as a
[2:40:29]
body should be looking to use
[2:40:32]
terms that are reflective of our
[2:40:34]
position and what we're doing
[2:40:36]
here with legal documents, legal
[2:40:38]
formality that we're doing, that
[2:40:40]
we don't use a colloquial term
[2:40:41]
like junk feeds. And then, you
[2:40:42]
know, and building on the idea
[2:40:44]
of weaponization from the sepa
[2:40:47]
and I's bill, or the idea that
[2:40:49]
we have to be it's important how
[2:40:51]
you talk about things. As we
[2:40:52]
were going through the education
[2:40:54]
levy implementation that we
[2:40:57]
raise the, you know, the, the
[2:40:59]
discourse here and colleagues,
[2:41:01]
this is the reason for this
[2:41:03]
amendment solely. And I think
[2:41:07]
the word junk is not needed. And
[2:41:08]
it's also a word that, you
[2:41:11]
know, is not at that level that
[2:41:13]
we should be doing here in terms
[2:41:14]
of this legal proceeding that
[2:41:16]
we're that we're embarked on.
[2:41:17]
so thank you. And I ask for your
[2:41:19]
support.
[2:41:19]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[2:41:20]
kettle are there comments on
[2:41:22]
amendment b as presented? Any
[2:41:24]
comments? Colleagues seeing
[2:41:29]
none. Okay. Councilmember kettle
[2:41:30]
do you have any closing remarks?
[2:41:32]
-- none other than to ask for
[2:41:34]
the support. And again,
[2:41:36]
understanding where this is
[2:41:37]
coming from and how we can move
[2:41:39]
forward.
[2:41:40]
-- thank you. Thank you,
[2:41:41]
councilmember kettle, will the
[2:41:42]
clerk please call the roll on
[2:41:43]
adoption of amendment b?
[2:41:48]
-- councilmember foster no.
[2:41:49]
-- councilmember juarez.
[2:41:51]
-- no.
[2:41:51]
-- councilmember kettle.
[2:41:53]
-- aye.
[2:41:54]
-- councilmember lin.
[2:41:56]
-- yes.
[2:41:56]
-- councilmember rinck.
[2:42:00]
-- no.
[2:42:01]
-- councilmember rivera.
[2:42:01]
-- present
[2:42:03]
-- councilmember saka. Aye.
[2:42:08]
councilmember strauss.
[2:42:09]
-- no.
[2:42:09]
-- council president.
[2:42:11]
hollingsworth.
[2:42:11]
-- no.
[2:42:11]
-- that is three in favor, five
[2:42:13]
opposed and one disqualified.
[2:42:15]
-- so the motion fails and
[2:42:17]
amendment b is not adopted.
[2:42:22]
councilmember kettle you are you
[2:42:23]
are recognized. So move
[2:42:26]
amendment c.
[2:42:34]
-- I'm just taking a moment
[2:42:41]
council president I move
[2:42:41]
amendment c version one to
[2:42:43]
council bill 12125 for second.
[2:42:45]
-- it's been moved. And second,
[2:42:47]
to amend the bill as presented
[2:42:49]
on amendment c councilmember
[2:42:49]
kettle you're recognized in
[2:42:51]
order to address it.
[2:42:53]
-- councilmember I'm requesting
[2:42:54]
that the rules be suspended to
[2:42:57]
consider an oral amendment.
[2:43:03]
-- rules are suspended for an
[2:43:05]
oral amendment. Oh, excuse me, I
[2:43:07]
need a second. Is there a
[2:43:10]
second?
[2:43:10]
-- second?
[2:43:11]
-- it's been moved in second
[2:43:12]
for the rules to be suspended
[2:43:14]
for an oral amendment or oral
[2:43:18]
amendment. Excuse me.
[2:43:19]
councilmember kettle, you are
[2:43:20]
recognized.
[2:43:21]
-- council president. I move to
[2:43:25]
amend amendment c version one by
[2:43:26]
deleting.
[2:43:26]
-- I apologize, I got to go
[2:43:27]
back. My bad. I have to take it
[2:43:28]
to a vote. Okay, so will the
[2:43:29]
clerk please call the roll on
[2:43:32]
the rules being suspended for an
[2:43:33]
oral amendment?
[2:43:37]
-- councilmember foster yes.
[2:43:39]
-- councilmember juarez.
[2:43:41]
-- yes.
[2:43:41]
-- councilmember kettle.
[2:43:42]
-- aye
[2:43:44]
-- councilmember lin.
[2:43:45]
-- yes.
[2:43:47]
-- councilmember. Rinck.
[2:43:47]
-- yes.
[2:43:49]
-- councilmember rivera.
[2:43:50]
-- present.
[2:43:51]
-- councilmember saka. Aye.
[2:43:55]
councilmember strauss. Council
[2:43:56]
president. Hollingsworth.
[2:43:58]
-- yes.
[2:43:58]
-- eight in favor none opposed
[2:44:02]
one disqualified.
[2:44:02]
-- all right. Rules has been
[2:44:03]
suspended. Councilmember kettle
[2:44:03]
you are recognized again.
[2:44:06]
-- council president, I move to
[2:44:07]
amend amendment c by deleting a
[2:44:09]
cat or those three words from
[2:44:15]
section 11. A.
[2:44:16]
-- so I'm going to pause here
[2:44:17]
and be at ease, because I
[2:44:20]
believe that we would need to
[2:44:21]
put this up. Do people need to
[2:44:22]
have this up? No.
[2:44:24]
-- it's up to the chair
[2:44:27]
-- do people do people want this
[2:44:28]
amendment up? Okay. Fair enough.
[2:44:29]
all right. So amendment, you all
[2:44:34]
have the amendment in front of
[2:44:34]
you. I just wanted to do a
[2:44:36]
transparency for the public. But
[2:44:37]
that's fine. So go ahead and
[2:44:41]
repeat that again. Councilmember
[2:44:43]
kettle. My apologies
[2:44:48]
-- I move to amend amendment c
[2:44:50]
by deleting a cat or those three
[2:44:53]
words from section 11, a.
[2:44:56]
-- is there a second? Thank you.
[2:44:59]
is there a second? I will second
[2:45:02]
it. It's been moved and
[2:45:04]
seconded for us to remove due to
[2:45:07]
oral amendment for us to remove
[2:45:10]
from line a in the in the
[2:45:15]
amendment to remove a cat or so
[2:45:18]
a cat or on amendment c, it's
[2:45:22]
been moved in second
[2:45:24]
councilmember kettle you are
[2:45:25]
recognized to address it.
[2:45:27]
-- thank you. Council president.
[2:45:29]
I just wanted to say I've been
[2:45:33]
a renter. I was a renter until
[2:45:34]
the age of 47. I was also a
[2:45:38]
landlord for a decade and a
[2:45:39]
half, from about the age of 35
[2:45:41]
to 50. And in that time gained a
[2:45:44]
lot of experience working a lot
[2:45:46]
of issues as it relates to
[2:45:49]
landlord tenant that we're
[2:45:51]
dealing with here today, and
[2:45:52]
should be also dealing with in
[2:45:54]
another areas as well. And I
[2:45:58]
recognize the points that were
[2:46:01]
made oftentimes here in terms of
[2:46:04]
general with pets. I should
[2:46:06]
note, I have two dogs, two
[2:46:07]
little cairn terriers. And I
[2:46:11]
also understand from my
[2:46:12]
experience and also the advocacy
[2:46:13]
that I've received, again, not
[2:46:16]
here in council, but from people
[2:46:18]
like betsy hudson, who gave a
[2:46:20]
really detailed experience in
[2:46:22]
terms of working the issue of
[2:46:27]
pets. I understand the pet
[2:46:28]
deposit argument and it makes
[2:46:29]
sense, but that doesn't capture
[2:46:31]
one challenge that we have with
[2:46:33]
this bill. We have such a wide
[2:46:35]
range of renters and rental
[2:46:38]
agreements. And, you know, in
[2:46:39]
terms of the types of whether
[2:46:41]
it's a, you know, massive
[2:46:43]
building, whether it's a small,
[2:46:44]
single family home, could be
[2:46:45]
many types. So I do understand
[2:46:49]
the deposit argument, but I also
[2:46:52]
know that damage not seen happen
[2:46:54]
or attributable to any one
[2:46:56]
specific dog. It has an impact,
[2:46:57]
has an impact on the owners, and
[2:46:58]
it is a cost. And one should
[2:47:02]
know this is america, that real
[2:47:03]
estate, this is a business and
[2:47:07]
these costs will be passed
[2:47:08]
through. And I just think that
[2:47:10]
in this situation, in the idea
[2:47:14]
that this is a common sense fix,
[2:47:18]
very small amount, and that
[2:47:19]
otherwise this will be borne by
[2:47:21]
all tenants. And that in itself
[2:47:22]
creates its own affordability
[2:47:24]
challenges. And so I present
[2:47:27]
this amendment in terms of being
[2:47:30]
simple and clean, but also
[2:47:32]
highlighting the challenges that
[2:47:33]
are seen out there. And those
[2:47:34]
costs will be passed on. I've
[2:47:37]
talked to so many different
[2:47:40]
types of landlords or developers
[2:47:41]
that work these kinds of even
[2:47:43]
affordable housing. And they,
[2:47:45]
they, they talk about the
[2:47:46]
challenges that they face. And
[2:47:49]
so with that, that's the
[2:47:49]
reasoning behind amendment c,
[2:47:50]
and I ask for your support.
[2:47:52]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[2:47:54]
kettle. Councilmember strauss.
[2:47:56]
-- thank you, council president,
[2:47:58]
I'm just checking that we are
[2:47:59]
first going to vote on amending
[2:48:03]
the amendment, and then we will
[2:48:05]
vote on the amendment. The
[2:48:06]
amendment as amended. Is that
[2:48:08]
correct?
[2:48:08]
-- that is correct. So right now
[2:48:10]
we are voting on the amendment
[2:48:12]
to the amendment, which is the
[2:48:14]
oral amendment that right now it
[2:48:16]
is the fee may only be obsessed
[2:48:20]
or assessed for keeping a cat or
[2:48:22]
dog. Councilmember kettle
[2:48:24]
amendment is to remove a cat or.
[2:48:27]
so right now we will be voting
[2:48:29]
on to remove a cat or so the new
[2:48:32]
amendment will say. The fee may
[2:48:35]
be assessed for keeping a dog.
[2:48:37]
-- thank you. I really
[2:48:39]
appreciate this change. I think
[2:48:42]
that it makes good sense and
[2:48:43]
I'll use this moment to also
[2:48:48]
recognize the fact that tomorrow
[2:48:49]
is kitty hall here at seattle
[2:48:50]
city hall, where you can adopt a
[2:48:53]
cat from our fas animal shelter,
[2:48:55]
as well as if you don't want to
[2:48:58]
adopt here a cat. We. We also
[2:48:59]
have dogs. They are at the
[2:49:01]
animal shelter. Adoptions are
[2:49:03]
available all week long. Thank
[2:49:04]
you.
[2:49:05]
-- thank you. Council.
[2:49:07]
councilmember strauss. So just
[2:49:10]
to clarify, team council, we are
[2:49:12]
voting on the amendment to the
[2:49:15]
amendment. So we are voting on
[2:49:17]
to remove a cat or councilmember
[2:49:19]
foster.
[2:49:19]
-- thank you, council president.
[2:49:21]
I'm just I think are you asking
[2:49:23]
for our comments on the amended
[2:49:25]
amendment now, or are you asking
[2:49:26]
for us to hold those.
[2:49:27]
-- on the comments on the
[2:49:29]
amendment to the amendment?
[2:49:31]
-- okay. Thank you. I will I
[2:49:32]
will be brief in my comments on
[2:49:36]
the amended amendment. I
[2:49:37]
councilmember kettle I
[2:49:38]
appreciate your the verbal
[2:49:40]
amendment that you're making
[2:49:41]
today. I do intend to support
[2:49:43]
the amendment that you were
[2:49:44]
making, but I do not intend to
[2:49:49]
support the original amendment,
[2:49:50]
and I will save my comments for
[2:49:54]
the original amendment when we
[2:49:54]
go. Go to that.
[2:49:55]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[2:49:56]
foster are there any other
[2:49:59]
comments to the amendment to the
[2:49:59]
amendment? This is to remove a
[2:50:02]
cat or and this is an oral
[2:50:04]
amendment. We suspended the
[2:50:05]
rules. Okay. Awesome.
[2:50:07]
councilmember kettle do you have
[2:50:09]
any closing? None. Will the
[2:50:11]
clerk please call the roll on
[2:50:12]
us? Voting on the amendment to
[2:50:15]
the amendment which is removing
[2:50:17]
a cat or
[2:50:20]
-- councilmember foster.
[2:50:24]
-- yes.
[2:50:24]
-- councilmember juarez
[2:50:25]
councilmember kettle. A
[2:50:27]
councilmember lin.
[2:50:28]
-- yes.
[2:50:29]
-- councilmember rinck.
[2:50:30]
-- yes.
[2:50:33]
-- councilmember rivera. Present
[2:50:34]
councilmember saka. Aye.
[2:50:36]
-- councilmember strauss aye.
[2:50:39]
-- council president
[2:50:39]
hollingsworth.
[2:50:40]
-- yes.
[2:50:41]
-- eight in favor. None opposed.
[2:50:42]
one disqualified.
[2:50:43]
-- so the motion carries and the
[2:50:47]
amended the the amendment to the
[2:50:49]
amendment is adopted. And now we
[2:50:51]
are going to now talk about
[2:50:53]
amendment c. So. Councilmember
[2:50:56]
kettle do you. Nothing further.
[2:50:57]
okay. Are there any other
[2:51:00]
colleagues that have any
[2:51:01]
comments about amendment c?
[2:51:04]
-- councilmember foster thank
[2:51:05]
you so much, council president.
[2:51:06]
first, I want to express my
[2:51:08]
appreciation to you.
[2:51:10]
councilmember kettle and I know
[2:51:10]
you don't sit on the housing
[2:51:11]
committee, but I do want to
[2:51:12]
appreciate you and your office
[2:51:14]
for being responsive and
[2:51:17]
communicative around the ideas
[2:51:19]
that you had around the the
[2:51:20]
underlying legislation. And just
[2:51:21]
thank you for your transparency
[2:51:23]
and collaboration there. And
[2:51:25]
again, for, for the dialing in
[2:51:28]
and committee today. For me, one
[2:51:30]
of the important parts of this
[2:51:32]
conversation is that we are
[2:51:34]
still allowing the ability for
[2:51:36]
landlords to use damage
[2:51:39]
deposits, as
[2:51:40]
-- well as to recoup any fees to
[2:51:42]
units for damage incurred by a
[2:51:44]
pet. And so for that reason, I
[2:51:46]
will not be supporting this
[2:51:48]
updated amendment today. Thank
[2:51:49]
you.
[2:51:50]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[2:51:50]
foster. Are there any other
[2:51:54]
comments regarding amendment c
[2:51:56]
as amended? Councilmember lin
[2:51:59]
-- thank you, council president
[2:52:00]
and councilmember kettle. Thanks
[2:52:01]
for for bringing this forward.
[2:52:06]
and for the amendment aye. The
[2:52:08]
amendment to the amendment I do
[2:52:09]
you know, I read, you know, some
[2:52:13]
of the feedback we received,
[2:52:16]
including betsy hudson's. And,
[2:52:16]
you know, I do think there are
[2:52:18]
real costs that landlords face
[2:52:21]
that are not always captured by
[2:52:27]
the damaged deposits. And so I
[2:52:28]
do think that those costs will
[2:52:32]
be sort of spread out. I don't
[2:52:35]
know what it's hard to know is
[2:52:37]
what how much those costs really
[2:52:40]
are. And but I think we've also
[2:52:42]
heard from a lot of tenant
[2:52:45]
advocates that, you know, that
[2:52:47]
that even if those costs are
[2:52:49]
spread out, that that is
[2:52:52]
something that is better than
[2:52:55]
pet rent itself, that. And so,
[2:52:59]
you know, and I think about I
[2:53:01]
have not been a renter for, for
[2:53:03]
a bit now, but, you know, I do
[2:53:05]
think pet rent is something that
[2:53:10]
is relatively new. And, you
[2:53:11]
know, somehow landlords were
[2:53:13]
able to get by for, for many,
[2:53:15]
many years without charging pet
[2:53:17]
rent or frankly, all these other
[2:53:23]
fees that we are hopefully
[2:53:23]
banning today. And so I just
[2:53:24]
want to say, I appreciate the
[2:53:27]
concern and the, the intent
[2:53:29]
behind it, but I won't be
[2:53:33]
supporting it today.
[2:53:33]
-- thank you. Councilmember lin,
[2:53:35]
are there any other comments
[2:53:37]
regarding amendment c as
[2:53:38]
amended? We are voting on the
[2:53:40]
underlying amendment c, as
[2:53:42]
amended, to the council. Bill
[2:53:46]
councilmember kettle do you have
[2:53:48]
any follow up?
[2:53:48]
-- nothing.
[2:53:49]
-- okay. Thank you. Will the
[2:53:51]
clerk please call the roll on?
[2:53:52]
amended on amendment c as
[2:53:54]
amended
[2:53:57]
-- councilmember foster no.
[2:54:01]
-- councilmember juarez
[2:54:02]
councilmember kettle. A
[2:54:04]
councilmember lin.
[2:54:05]
-- no.
[2:54:06]
-- councilmember rinck.
[2:54:07]
-- no.
[2:54:10]
-- councilmember rivera.
[2:54:10]
-- present.
[2:54:17]
-- councilmember saka nay.
[2:54:18]
councilmember strauss nay.
[2:54:18]
-- council president
[2:54:19]
hollingsworth.
[2:54:20]
-- no.
[2:54:20]
-- one in favor seven opposed
[2:54:22]
one disqualified.
[2:54:23]
-- motion fails. An amendment c
[2:54:25]
is not adopted. Councilmember
[2:54:29]
kettle you are recognized to
[2:54:32]
move amendment d.
[2:54:32]
-- council president, I move to
[2:54:36]
amend move amendment d version
[2:54:36]
one to council bill 12125 for
[2:54:39]
-- second it's been moved and
[2:54:40]
second to amend the bill as
[2:54:42]
presented on amendment d
[2:54:43]
councilmember kettle you're
[2:54:44]
recognized in order to address
[2:54:45]
it.
[2:54:45]
-- council president, a big
[2:54:47]
challenge that we have in our
[2:54:49]
country is financial literacy.
[2:54:50]
this has come up in many ways.
[2:54:52]
came up in interview I had on
[2:54:54]
kow not long ago. The our state
[2:54:56]
treasurer has been speaking to
[2:54:58]
the idea of financial literacy,
[2:55:00]
particularly in the curriculum
[2:55:03]
at our schools and financial
[2:55:06]
literacy has many pieces to it,
[2:55:09]
you know, savings. There's
[2:55:10]
investments, but it's also
[2:55:12]
insurance. And being smart and
[2:55:15]
having that financial literacy.
[2:55:17]
you know, the insurance piece is
[2:55:18]
really important. And so this
[2:55:22]
amendment is forwarded is not
[2:55:23]
only good governance, but good
[2:55:25]
practice. And I recognize the
[2:55:26]
points, but if one reads
[2:55:29]
mentioned in public comment, but
[2:55:30]
if you read the amendment, it's
[2:55:33]
quite straightforward that this
[2:55:34]
is something that there's no
[2:55:36]
requirement, but it's
[2:55:38]
encouraging this because this is
[2:55:39]
in the good tenants of financial
[2:55:41]
literacy. So long term. And I
[2:55:43]
think about, by the way, that
[2:55:45]
this this shows up in many ways,
[2:55:48]
christchurch, new zealand, had a
[2:55:51]
very strong insurance rate. So
[2:55:53]
when they had their earthquake,
[2:55:54]
they were able to respond
[2:55:56]
quickly and better compared to
[2:55:57]
other cities across the world.
[2:55:59]
and over time. And, you know, we
[2:56:00]
are a, you know, a situation
[2:56:02]
where we could have something
[2:56:04]
similar to that, you know, I
[2:56:07]
don't not expecting wildfires,
[2:56:08]
but, you know, you never know.
[2:56:11]
insurance is a smart financial
[2:56:15]
literacy move. And this is
[2:56:18]
something that, again, is not
[2:56:20]
mandating it. It's very
[2:56:22]
straightforward. It's very
[2:56:24]
simple. And colleagues, I ask
[2:56:25]
for your support.
[2:56:27]
-- awesome. Thank you.
[2:56:29]
councilmember kettle are there
[2:56:31]
any comments regarding amendment
[2:56:32]
d? Amendment d? All right.
[2:56:38]
seeing none one definitely take
[2:56:40]
this time to thank councilmember
[2:56:42]
kettle for all your amendments
[2:56:45]
and hard working thought you put
[2:56:45]
behind all this well, clerk,
[2:56:47]
please call the roll. Do you
[2:56:50]
have any you said no closing
[2:56:51]
comments. Will the clerk please
[2:56:51]
call the roll an amendment d.
[2:56:55]
-- councilmember foster no.
[2:57:01]
-- councilmember juarez.
[2:57:01]
-- councilmember juarez no.
[2:57:03]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[2:57:06]
kettle.
[2:57:06]
-- aye.
[2:57:06]
-- councilmember lin no.
[2:57:09]
-- councilmember rinck. No.
[2:57:11]
-- councilmember rivera
[2:57:15]
-- present.
[2:57:15]
-- councilmember saka.
[2:57:15]
-- nay.
[2:57:18]
-- councilmember strauss.
[2:57:19]
-- no.
[2:57:20]
-- council chair. Council
[2:57:20]
president. Hollingsworth.
[2:57:22]
-- no.
[2:57:23]
-- one in favor. One in favor
[2:57:24]
seven opposed one disqualified.
[2:57:25]
-- motion fails. Amendment d is
[2:57:29]
not adopted. Councilmember
[2:57:29]
foster you are recognized to
[2:57:30]
move your amendment.
[2:57:32]
-- I move amendment e. Do I have
[2:57:35]
a second?
[2:57:35]
-- second.
[2:57:36]
-- it's been moved. And second
[2:57:37]
to amend bill as presented on
[2:57:38]
amendment e councilmember foster
[2:57:39]
you recognize in order to
[2:57:41]
address it.
[2:57:41]
-- thank you so much, council
[2:57:43]
president. So this is a
[2:57:45]
clarification and an update to
[2:57:46]
an amendment that I brought to
[2:57:48]
committee. And the spirit of
[2:57:50]
this is that we wanted to ensure
[2:57:52]
clarity that sdci has the
[2:57:54]
authority to seek voluntary
[2:57:55]
compliance. That's authority
[2:57:57]
that was already provided to
[2:57:59]
them elsewhere in our code,
[2:58:00]
however, we codified that,
[2:58:01]
bringing it into this portion of
[2:58:03]
the code, and we did that in an
[2:58:05]
amendment in committee. We had
[2:58:06]
some ongoing engagement with
[2:58:09]
community members following
[2:58:10]
passing this out of committee
[2:58:12]
last week. And we are bringing
[2:58:13]
I'm bringing forth this
[2:58:15]
amendment to offer a couple of
[2:58:17]
clarifications and refinements.
[2:58:19]
so you'll see this language
[2:58:21]
states that the sdci director
[2:58:24]
can offer voluntary compliance
[2:58:25]
at a minimum to include full
[2:58:28]
reimbursement to all tenants.
[2:58:29]
this is similar to what we heard
[2:58:30]
councilmember lin speak to, to
[2:58:32]
ensure that we are covering
[2:58:34]
remedies for tenants when
[2:58:36]
something is done to one tenant.
[2:58:36]
if the same practice has
[2:58:38]
happened across the board that
[2:58:39]
the sdci director can seek that
[2:58:41]
voluntary compliance across the
[2:58:42]
board, we are also making a
[2:58:45]
refinement. I am making a
[2:58:46]
refinement here that states that
[2:58:49]
that voluntary compliance can
[2:58:50]
only be offered to a landlord if
[2:58:53]
the director has executed
[2:58:54]
voluntary compliance. No more
[2:58:58]
than twice in the past three
[2:58:59]
years. So this is the spirit of
[2:59:01]
the law, is to ensure that we
[2:59:03]
have the ability to get
[2:59:05]
voluntary compliance. However,
[2:59:06]
the spirit is not intended to
[2:59:08]
see repeat voluntary compliance
[2:59:10]
because that's going to
[2:59:10]
indicate something else going
[2:59:12]
on. So we are offering this
[2:59:13]
amendment to clarify and provide
[2:59:16]
that direction to sdci and
[2:59:18]
colleagues. I ask for your
[2:59:19]
support.
[2:59:20]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[2:59:21]
fosters are there. Excuse me.
[2:59:22]
councilmember foster, are there
[2:59:26]
any comments regarding amendment
[2:59:27]
e? Seeing none, do you have any
[2:59:29]
closing comments? Councilmember
[2:59:30]
foster will the clerk please
[2:59:30]
call the roll on amendment e?
[2:59:34]
-- councilmember foster yes.
[2:59:39]
-- councilmember juarez.
[2:59:41]
councilmember kettle.
[2:59:42]
-- aye.
[2:59:42]
-- councilmember lin yes.
[2:59:45]
-- councilmember rinck.
[2:59:45]
-- yes.
[2:59:49]
-- councilmember rivera present.
[2:59:51]
councilmember saka.
[2:59:51]
-- aye.
[2:59:54]
-- councilmember strauss council
[2:59:55]
president. Hollingsworth eight
[2:59:57]
in favor? None opposed one
[3:00:00]
disqualified.
[3:00:00]
-- amendment d amendment. The
[3:00:01]
motion carries. Amendment is
[3:00:03]
adopted. All right. Colleagues,
[3:00:04]
are there any other final
[3:00:06]
comments on the bill as amended?
[3:00:08]
councilmember foster as sponsor
[3:00:09]
will hold yours till the end, if
[3:00:11]
that's cool. And then we'll see
[3:00:13]
if any other councilmembers have
[3:00:13]
any comments, and then I'll
[3:00:15]
throw it to councilmember foster
[3:00:21]
councilmember kettle.
[3:00:21]
-- thank you, council president.
[3:00:23]
I do have a few comments. I'm
[3:00:25]
just going to add actually a
[3:00:26]
little bit up front, because I
[3:00:27]
forgot to mention this, so I'll
[3:00:31]
mention it now in my hand, I
[3:00:34]
have the central staff memo on
[3:00:36]
this bill, council bill 121254,
[3:00:38]
written by miss harper analyst
[3:00:40]
and central staff. And I thank
[3:00:41]
her for this document. It's
[3:00:43]
interesting if you read this
[3:00:46]
document, nowhere in this
[3:00:47]
document do you find the word
[3:00:51]
junk. I would argue that this
[3:00:53]
document is being held to a
[3:00:55]
higher standard than the bill
[3:00:56]
itself. As respects to the use
[3:00:57]
of the word junk. And again,
[3:01:01]
it's important how you talk
[3:01:04]
about things. It's important to
[3:01:05]
have a formal legal industry
[3:01:08]
standard, not colloquial
[3:01:11]
colloquial phrases. I had three
[3:01:18]
amendments here, but I also had
[3:01:19]
two others. I had five total
[3:01:21]
amendments. The other two
[3:01:22]
amendments my team worked with
[3:01:24]
councilmember foster and
[3:01:24]
councilmember lin's team. I
[3:01:25]
want to thank them and their
[3:01:27]
teams for working with my team
[3:01:29]
on those amendments. There was
[3:01:32]
no cosponsorship on those, but
[3:01:33]
again, I appreciate having my
[3:01:36]
team have the opportunity to
[3:01:38]
work with councilmember
[3:01:40]
foster's team and councilmember
[3:01:40]
lin's team. Rental fee landlord
[3:01:45]
rent. Tenant is very complex,
[3:01:48]
and I've been speaking about
[3:01:49]
affordability a lot,
[3:01:52]
particularly as it relates to
[3:01:53]
property taxes, sales taxes,
[3:01:56]
utility rates and what we do or
[3:01:58]
do not do ourselves. The county
[3:02:00]
and the state. But I've also
[3:02:02]
noted that affordability is not
[3:02:03]
just for residents, also for
[3:02:05]
businesses too. And we do have
[3:02:09]
we need to be mindful of that.
[3:02:11]
we do have a wide range of
[3:02:12]
landlords, and we need to ensure
[3:02:14]
that we make housing available
[3:02:17]
and affordable, and that is our
[3:02:19]
north star. And my concern is
[3:02:21]
those small scale landlords, you
[3:02:23]
know, sometimes called mom and
[3:02:25]
pop and the like, because
[3:02:25]
they're the ones who really
[3:02:26]
provide those affordable housing
[3:02:30]
options. And I've seen it so
[3:02:31]
often here in seattle and in
[3:02:34]
district seven. I just wanted to
[3:02:36]
note that. And I also wanted to
[3:02:38]
note too, that there's more work
[3:02:40]
to be done. Two years ago, I had
[3:02:41]
the housing development
[3:02:43]
consortium in my office, and
[3:02:45]
they were adamant that we have
[3:02:46]
to get four bills done. Related
[3:02:49]
to landlord tenant because the
[3:02:51]
affordable housing world is
[3:02:52]
their landlords, too. They're
[3:02:53]
having a lot of challenges. But
[3:02:58]
nothing has ever happened with
[3:03:00]
those bills. This is where we
[3:03:01]
are in the landlord tenant
[3:03:02]
world. And I think we need to do
[3:03:04]
better. I think we need to do
[3:03:05]
more for all the reasons that
[3:03:07]
were brought up in public
[3:03:10]
comment, I should add, and
[3:03:11]
affordability should be the
[3:03:11]
baseline on that. But the other
[3:03:13]
baseline should be transparency.
[3:03:16]
and transparency is good
[3:03:18]
governance and good business. So
[3:03:20]
I recognize people have opinions
[3:03:23]
about my amendments. The two
[3:03:24]
that you didn't know and the
[3:03:24]
three that you do know. But
[3:03:29]
transparency is key. Again, good
[3:03:31]
governance and good business.
[3:03:31]
and so councilmember foster and
[3:03:34]
colleagues, I will be voting I
[3:03:35]
on this bill.
[3:03:38]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[3:03:41]
kettle councilmember rinck.
[3:03:43]
-- thank you, council president.
[3:03:44]
I want to start by thanking the
[3:03:46]
mayor's office and their team
[3:03:48]
for working over months
[3:03:50]
alongside renters and advocates
[3:03:52]
to shape this legislation from
[3:03:53]
sending out the renters survey
[3:03:55]
to understand the landscape of
[3:03:57]
junk fees to the town halls,
[3:03:59]
directly engaging with renters.
[3:04:01]
and I want to also thank
[3:04:04]
councilmember foster for your
[3:04:04]
leadership and guiding this
[3:04:06]
legislation through the housing,
[3:04:08]
arts and civil rights committee.
[3:04:10]
today's legislation is about
[3:04:11]
transparency, fairness and
[3:04:13]
addressing the cost of living
[3:04:13]
crisis that is rocking seattle
[3:04:16]
households. We talk about the
[3:04:17]
cost of living crisis, sometimes
[3:04:18]
in an abstract way, but in
[3:04:21]
reality, when a cost is too
[3:04:23]
high, when people are nickel and
[3:04:24]
dimed, that's less money at the
[3:04:26]
end of the day, to be able to
[3:04:29]
navigate all the things that
[3:04:29]
life throws at us, that means
[3:04:31]
eviction. That means
[3:04:34]
homelessness. So at the end of
[3:04:35]
the day, the bill before us is
[3:04:36]
about transparency. And when the
[3:04:38]
price of rent for a unit is
[3:04:41]
advertised as one thing. But
[3:04:43]
after multiple junk fees are
[3:04:44]
added on top of that, people
[3:04:47]
find themselves locked into a
[3:04:48]
default rent price they can't
[3:04:49]
afford. And this bill
[3:04:52]
incentivizes upfront honesty
[3:04:52]
about how much that rent will
[3:04:54]
actually be, while still
[3:04:56]
allowing for necessary fees like
[3:04:58]
wi-fi, utilities, late fees, and
[3:04:59]
more. I've talked about this
[3:05:01]
often, but I'll say it again
[3:05:04]
I'm a renter. I've rented
[3:05:06]
seven different apartments in
[3:05:07]
the city, and I'm sure I'll
[3:05:09]
rent many more apartments in
[3:05:10]
this city for the years to come.
[3:05:12]
and that experience is not
[3:05:14]
unique by a long shot. So I am
[3:05:17]
excited today that we are taking
[3:05:18]
a step further. Renter majority
[3:05:20]
of our city and for a more
[3:05:21]
affordable city. Thank you.
[3:05:24]
-- thank you, councilmember
[3:05:24]
rinck. Are there any other
[3:05:26]
comments regarding the bill
[3:05:27]
before I kick it to the sponsor?
[3:05:31]
councilmember foster.
[3:05:32]
-- thank you so much. Council
[3:05:34]
president, I actually want to
[3:05:35]
just turn back to councilmember
[3:05:37]
kettle and say and just say this
[3:05:37]
to the public. I the work that
[3:05:38]
our office did on what was
[3:05:41]
amendment three and then was
[3:05:42]
amendment e today was made
[3:05:45]
better by councilmember kettle
[3:05:46]
office. And I'll say there's
[3:05:47]
things that we disagree on. And
[3:05:48]
when we disagree, we disagree.
[3:05:51]
and the things that we agree on.
[3:05:52]
I really appreciated your
[3:05:54]
partnership and want to
[3:05:55]
acknowledge that because
[3:05:57]
councilmember kettle was not a
[3:05:57]
member of that committee, we
[3:05:58]
weren't able to add his name as
[3:06:00]
a co-sponsor. But I do think
[3:06:01]
it's really important to
[3:06:02]
acknowledge your work and your
[3:06:03]
leadership there. And it was in
[3:06:04]
my notes earlier and I forgot to
[3:06:06]
and I apologize for that. So
[3:06:07]
thank you for that.
[3:06:11]
councilmember kettle. And with
[3:06:11]
that, I have to say, I am just
[3:06:13]
so excited to get to vote on
[3:06:15]
this legislation today. Our city
[3:06:18]
is going to be better because of
[3:06:19]
the work that this legislation
[3:06:21]
represents, the transparency
[3:06:23]
that this is going to bring to
[3:06:25]
seattle renters the improved
[3:06:27]
standard that this is going to
[3:06:28]
mean for folks when they are
[3:06:29]
shopping around for a place to
[3:06:31]
live. One of the things that was
[3:06:32]
really important to me during
[3:06:33]
this process was actually
[3:06:34]
hearing from some of our small
[3:06:36]
housing providers who talked
[3:06:38]
about how this is going to make
[3:06:38]
it easier for them to compete on
[3:06:41]
the market because of the
[3:06:43]
transparency in this bill. So
[3:06:44]
renters are going to be able to
[3:06:47]
look and understand where one
[3:06:48]
unit has and what another unit
[3:06:49]
has, and make an informed
[3:06:50]
decision, and that's good for
[3:06:51]
that renter and that's good for
[3:06:52]
that provider who's already
[3:06:54]
offering that transparency. And
[3:06:56]
for that provider who doesn't
[3:06:57]
already have junk fees attached.
[3:06:59]
so I think the fairness that
[3:07:00]
we're talking about in this
[3:07:03]
bill extends to our residents
[3:07:04]
who are renters, as well as our
[3:07:05]
residents who are housing
[3:07:07]
providers. From my vantage
[3:07:08]
point, this is one of several
[3:07:11]
pieces of legislation that this
[3:07:12]
council has worked on that are
[3:07:13]
going to make improvements to
[3:07:15]
consumer protections across the
[3:07:16]
board. So I was really proud a
[3:07:17]
few weeks ago when we passed,
[3:07:19]
our homeowner do not solicit
[3:07:20]
bill that's going to provide
[3:07:22]
additional protections for
[3:07:24]
homeowners and really proud to
[3:07:25]
build on that with this bill
[3:07:26]
that is going to provide
[3:07:28]
additional protections and
[3:07:29]
transparency to renters. So,
[3:07:29]
again, want to express my
[3:07:31]
gratitude to mayor wilson and
[3:07:32]
her team for their work on this.
[3:07:34]
and, colleagues, I ask for your
[3:07:36]
support.
[3:07:36]
-- thank you. Thank you.
[3:07:37]
councilmember foster will the
[3:07:39]
clerk please call the roll on
[3:07:40]
the passage of the bill, as
[3:07:44]
amended?
[3:07:44]
-- councilmember foster yes.
[3:07:49]
-- councilmember juarez.
[3:07:49]
councilmember kettle.
[3:07:51]
-- aye.
[3:07:51]
-- councilmember lin.
[3:07:53]
-- yes.
[3:07:53]
-- councilmember rinck.
[3:07:55]
-- yes.
[3:07:55]
-- councilmember rivera.
[3:07:58]
-- present.
[3:07:58]
-- councilmember saka.
[3:07:59]
-- aye.
[3:08:02]
-- councilmember strauss.
[3:08:03]
council president.
[3:08:04]
hollingsworth.
[3:08:04]
-- yes.
[3:08:05]
-- eight in favor. None opposed
[3:08:06]
one disqualified.
[3:08:07]
-- the bill passes, as amended,
[3:08:08]
and the chair will sign it. Will
[3:08:09]
the clerk please affix my
[3:08:10]
signature to the legislation on
[3:08:12]
my behalf? Congratulations,
[3:08:14]
councilmember
[3:08:15]
-- [applause]
[3:08:15]
-- foster
[3:08:17]
-- [applause]
[3:08:23]
-- all right.
[3:08:25]
-- [applause]
[3:08:26]
-- now we will will the clerk,
[3:08:28]
please? That was only item
[3:08:30]
number
[3:08:30]
-- [laughter]
[3:08:31]
-- one.
[3:08:31]
-- [laughter]
[3:08:31]
-- will the clerk please just
[3:08:32]
want to say so. Now, will the
[3:08:34]
clerk please read item number
[3:08:36]
two into the record?
[3:08:37]
-- the report of the financing
[3:08:40]
of communities and tribal
[3:08:40]
governments committee agenda
[3:08:41]
item two. Council bills 121252.
[3:08:43]
relating to acceptance of
[3:08:44]
funding from non city sources
[3:08:46]
authorizing the mayor or the
[3:08:47]
mayor designee to accept and
[3:08:49]
authorize expenditures of
[3:08:50]
specified grants, private
[3:08:51]
funding and subsidized loans,
[3:08:52]
and execute, deliver and perform
[3:08:54]
corresponding agreements. The
[3:08:55]
committee recommends the bill
[3:08:57]
pass.
[3:08:57]
-- councilmember strauss as our
[3:08:58]
first budget chair. You're
[3:08:59]
recognized.
[3:08:59]
-- thank you. I'm going to
[3:09:02]
address both this bill and the
[3:09:02]
next bill. So you don't have to
[3:09:04]
hear from me. Again. This is the
[3:09:07]
midyear supplemental bill and
[3:09:08]
the grant acceptance bill. I'm
[3:09:09]
glad that everyone's staying
[3:09:11]
for this really important
[3:09:12]
legislation jeff. Jeff, you're
[3:09:15]
not leaving yet. Thank you sir.
[3:09:16]
because right now we are
[3:09:18]
actually funding universal
[3:09:20]
school meals. We're funding the
[3:09:22]
money that councilmember rinck
[3:09:24]
has allocated to address the
[3:09:27]
transgender migration here to
[3:09:28]
seattle. We're doing a lot of
[3:09:29]
really important work in this
[3:09:31]
midyear supplemental, and
[3:09:34]
there's going to be a really
[3:09:35]
difficult budget ahead. So
[3:09:36]
please do not think that we are
[3:09:39]
in a paradise yet. We did have a
[3:09:41]
good revenue forecast that came
[3:09:43]
out last week. We had better
[3:09:44]
than expected, but it wasn't
[3:09:46]
good, I'll put it that way. So
[3:09:47]
we're not going backwards, but
[3:09:49]
we're not moving forwards as
[3:09:52]
quickly as we want. I do want to
[3:09:54]
really thank both councilmember
[3:09:57]
lin and councilmember kettle for
[3:09:58]
the amendments that they're
[3:09:59]
bringing forward in this bill
[3:10:00]
today. Councilmember lin will be
[3:10:01]
speaking about his amendment in
[3:10:03]
just a second. I'm going to
[3:10:04]
speak to it right now so that I
[3:10:05]
don't have to talk again. I
[3:10:06]
really think that it is
[3:10:08]
important that we are supporting
[3:10:10]
you in the work around the city,
[3:10:13]
around north beacon hill, around
[3:10:16]
rainier valley. I also what you
[3:10:16]
may not be seeing right now is
[3:10:19]
that there is another outreach
[3:10:22]
worker being hired for the city
[3:10:24]
specifically, and that came out
[3:10:25]
of our budget actions from last
[3:10:27]
year. And so just again, I want
[3:10:31]
to thank the community members
[3:10:32]
from the rainier valley that put
[3:10:34]
together the packet. I think the
[3:10:35]
trash pickers was their group.
[3:10:37]
like, I use that packet as an
[3:10:39]
example to others throughout the
[3:10:40]
city of how you need to
[3:10:42]
demonstrate the need in your
[3:10:43]
neighborhood. I also want to be
[3:10:45]
really clear that outreach
[3:10:47]
workers without shelter or
[3:10:49]
housing to get people into
[3:10:51]
cannot actually do their job.
[3:10:54]
outreach workers are also not
[3:10:55]
going. The the comment about the
[3:10:58]
swinging pipe or the police
[3:11:01]
interaction. Outreach workers
[3:11:02]
don't solve for that. And it's
[3:11:04]
also important that we support
[3:11:06]
you today to have three
[3:11:08]
dedicated outreach workers right
[3:11:09]
in that area. There's an
[3:11:13]
incredible need. There's amazing
[3:11:15]
community engagement. And so
[3:11:16]
thank you, councilmember lin,
[3:11:17]
for all of the adjustments that
[3:11:18]
you've made. Those are all of
[3:11:19]
my comments. I'm not going to
[3:11:21]
have last comments. I just am
[3:11:23]
really excited to vote on all of
[3:11:25]
the bills that are still on the
[3:11:26]
agenda at.
[3:11:27]
-- awesome. Thank you,
[3:11:29]
councilmember strauss. So right
[3:11:30]
now we have comments about the
[3:11:32]
acceptance funding. All right.
[3:11:33]
that's what we're voting on.
[3:11:33]
and then we're going to jump
[3:11:35]
into the supplemental budget.
[3:11:37]
councilmember strauss already
[3:11:37]
talked about that, so we'll
[3:11:39]
jump right into the amendments.
[3:11:40]
okay. Will the clerk please call
[3:11:42]
the roll on the passage of the
[3:11:44]
bill? And this is the acceptance
[3:11:45]
of funding from non city
[3:11:47]
sources. Council bill 121252.
[3:11:51]
-- councilmember foster.
[3:11:56]
-- yes.
[3:11:56]
-- councilmember juarez.
[3:11:57]
councilmember kettle.
[3:11:58]
-- aye.
[3:11:58]
-- councilmember lin.
[3:12:00]
-- yes.
[3:12:01]
-- councilmember rinck.
[3:12:02]
-- yes.
[3:12:02]
-- councilmember rivera. I
[3:12:05]
councilmember saka. Aye.
[3:12:09]
councilmember strauss. I council
[3:12:10]
president hollingsworth.
[3:12:11]
-- yes.
[3:12:11]
-- nine in favor none opposed.
[3:12:12]
-- awesome. Bill passes chair
[3:12:14]
will sign the clerk. Please
[3:12:15]
affix my signature to the
[3:12:16]
legislation on my behalf. Will
[3:12:17]
the clerk please read item
[3:12:18]
number three into the record?
[3:12:20]
-- agenda item three council
[3:12:22]
bills 121253. An ordinance
[3:12:26]
amending ordinance 127362, which
[3:12:27]
adopted the 2026 budget,
[3:12:29]
included 2026 through 2031
[3:12:30]
capital improvement program,
[3:12:32]
changing appropriations to
[3:12:33]
various departments and budget
[3:12:34]
control levels from various
[3:12:35]
funds in the budget. The
[3:12:36]
committee recommends the bill
[3:12:36]
pass, as amended.
[3:12:38]
-- councilmember strauss. You
[3:12:39]
already addressed it. Did you
[3:12:40]
have any comments regarding it?
[3:12:41]
awesome. We'll jump right into
[3:12:43]
amendments. Councilmember lin
[3:12:45]
you are recognized to move your
[3:12:47]
amendment.
[3:12:48]
-- I'd like to move amendment
[3:12:49]
aye version one to council bill
[3:12:50]
one, two, one, two, five three.
[3:12:52]
-- second, second.
[3:12:53]
-- moved and seconded to amend
[3:12:54]
the bill as presented on
[3:12:55]
amendment aye. Councilmember
[3:12:56]
lin. You are recognized.
[3:12:58]
-- thank you so much,
[3:13:00]
colleagues. This amendment would
[3:13:04]
add $500,000 of general fund to
[3:13:06]
the human service department for
[3:13:07]
investments in highly impacted
[3:13:10]
areas, including north beacon
[3:13:12]
hill, north rainier
[3:13:13]
neighborhoods. It would fund two
[3:13:16]
dedicated neighborhood outreach
[3:13:18]
positions. You know, when I took
[3:13:20]
came into office in november. It
[3:13:25]
when. So at the end of last
[3:13:27]
year's budget, it really
[3:13:28]
started to get to crisis level
[3:13:30]
and north beacon hill and north
[3:13:33]
rainier and, you know, I
[3:13:38]
appreciate that this typically
[3:13:39]
would be something that we would
[3:13:41]
discuss at full budget. And I
[3:13:44]
know that the full budget is
[3:13:44]
going to be a hard discussion.
[3:13:47]
and but the need for bringing it
[3:13:50]
now in the supplemental budget
[3:13:52]
is just because these
[3:13:54]
communities can't wait any
[3:13:56]
longer. And we've worked very
[3:13:58]
closely with with hsd, with the
[3:14:00]
executive department, with the
[3:14:03]
likely recipient of these funds,
[3:14:06]
who is ready to hire promptly
[3:14:07]
and get support to these
[3:14:09]
communities. I also, again, know
[3:14:12]
that, again, that that we are
[3:14:14]
facing a difficult budget
[3:14:17]
choices and and that all of our
[3:14:21]
districts have needs. And so I
[3:14:22]
do not have I understand that
[3:14:24]
others will be bringing forward
[3:14:26]
their district priorities as
[3:14:28]
part of the full budget. Our
[3:14:30]
list is is pretty short. And
[3:14:32]
this was a top priority for us.
[3:14:32]
again, given the urgent needs.
[3:14:34]
this and youth gun violence down
[3:14:36]
in rainier beach. So I just want
[3:14:38]
to make that clear that I
[3:14:40]
recognize that we are
[3:14:43]
essentially preloading one of
[3:14:46]
our my district's top
[3:14:48]
priorities. And so I just want
[3:14:50]
to recognize that would be happy
[3:14:52]
to answer any questions or
[3:14:53]
concerns if folks have any.
[3:14:54]
otherwise, I would greatly
[3:14:56]
appreciate your support.
[3:14:58]
-- awesome. Thank you.
[3:14:59]
councilmember lin, are there any
[3:15:01]
comments regarding councilmember
[3:15:03]
rivera then? Councilmember
[3:15:04]
foster.
[3:15:06]
-- thank you, council president
[3:15:07]
thank you. Councilmember lin for
[3:15:09]
your words. And you know, I
[3:15:11]
understand the needs. I will say
[3:15:13]
that at committee, I'm going to
[3:15:16]
say the same thing now that I
[3:15:17]
said at committee, which is the
[3:15:19]
purpose of the annual midyear
[3:15:22]
supplemental budget, is to make
[3:15:24]
necessary adjustments to the
[3:15:26]
current year's budget due to
[3:15:29]
grant acceptances or costs that,
[3:15:29]
per the city's rcw quote,
[3:15:33]
cannot reasonably have been
[3:15:34]
foreseen. And the amendments
[3:15:35]
adding money then at this point
[3:15:37]
is really just cutting the line
[3:15:39]
at the budget process. That's
[3:15:41]
going to start here in a month.
[3:15:43]
and we've all already have been
[3:15:48]
approached by various
[3:15:49]
organizations and constituents
[3:15:51]
asking for us to make sure we
[3:15:55]
don't cut their particular item
[3:15:58]
that they that they are focused
[3:15:59]
on in the fall and the budget
[3:16:02]
that we're going to get in a
[3:16:03]
month. And so I feel like at
[3:16:04]
this point, it really is putting
[3:16:08]
the cart before the horse and
[3:16:10]
not related to the merits of any
[3:16:12]
of these ads that were done both
[3:16:15]
at committee level. And now I'm
[3:16:16]
not going to be supporting these
[3:16:18]
amendments because I feel like
[3:16:20]
these are things that should be
[3:16:23]
addressed in a month when we
[3:16:24]
have the budget and we can
[3:16:25]
figure out what things we're
[3:16:26]
going to, the mayor's going to
[3:16:27]
have to make some cuts. So how
[3:16:30]
are we we going to be able to
[3:16:31]
fund these things ongoing? And
[3:16:33]
the last thing I'll say is that
[3:16:34]
any money that is not spent,
[3:16:37]
that is considered, quote
[3:16:38]
unquote, underspend by the end
[3:16:39]
of the year is money that then
[3:16:42]
is used to cover that budget
[3:16:45]
deficit, which at this point in
[3:16:46]
time, even given friday's
[3:16:49]
presentation on the forecast, is
[3:16:53]
still expected to be about 275
[3:16:56]
million over the biennium. So
[3:16:58]
for those reasons, I won't be
[3:16:59]
supporting these particular ads
[3:17:01]
at this point, but I do
[3:17:04]
appreciate where you're coming
[3:17:07]
from. Councilmember lin, and I
[3:17:08]
look forward to the fall's
[3:17:10]
budget discussion to see how
[3:17:10]
we're going to support your
[3:17:13]
community and the communities
[3:17:15]
across the city with these
[3:17:17]
challenges. Thank you.
[3:17:18]
-- thank you, councilmember
[3:17:19]
rivera councilmember foster.
[3:17:21]
-- I thank you, council
[3:17:22]
president. I will be brief. I
[3:17:24]
just wanted to express my
[3:17:26]
gratitude to councilmember lin
[3:17:27]
for his leadership on this work.
[3:17:29]
and councilmember lin, you
[3:17:30]
already mentioned earlier this
[3:17:32]
year, we had many folks come in
[3:17:34]
from the north rainier
[3:17:36]
neighborhood and talk about the
[3:17:37]
needs in their community,
[3:17:38]
particularly around mount baker,
[3:17:39]
and it was a real privilege to
[3:17:43]
get to join you and several
[3:17:44]
community or one community
[3:17:45]
meeting in mount baker and one
[3:17:47]
community meeting and rainier
[3:17:48]
beach. And I just think your
[3:17:50]
leadership has been fantastic,
[3:17:52]
and I really want to express my
[3:17:53]
appreciation to you for bringing
[3:17:53]
this forward, and I look forward
[3:17:54]
to supporting it. Thank you.
[3:17:56]
-- thank you, councilmember
[3:17:58]
foster councilmember kettle.
[3:17:59]
-- thank you, council president.
[3:18:00]
I want to thank. Councilmember
[3:18:03]
lin for this amendment. In my
[3:18:05]
role as chair of public safety,
[3:18:06]
I deal with these public safety
[3:18:08]
challenges and the very ugly
[3:18:10]
challenges that we have in our
[3:18:12]
city day in and day out, day in
[3:18:14]
and day out, and so often in so
[3:18:17]
many places around the city.
[3:18:18]
they're very acute. I've done
[3:18:21]
two public safety walks with
[3:18:24]
councilmember lin in north
[3:18:26]
beacon hill, and it's a tragedy
[3:18:28]
in terms of what the community
[3:18:30]
needs to have to face. As I
[3:18:32]
said, related to little saigon
[3:18:33]
and north aurora in committee.
[3:18:35]
it's not right and it's not
[3:18:36]
acceptable so I respect the
[3:18:41]
point made regarding budget, but
[3:18:45]
the issue is it's acute and
[3:18:47]
it's acute. Now. So
[3:18:48]
councilmember lin, I do support
[3:18:50]
your amendment. Thank you.
[3:18:51]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[3:18:52]
kettle are there any other
[3:18:54]
comments regarding amendment
[3:18:56]
aye. Councilmember lin any
[3:18:57]
closing remarks before we call a
[3:18:59]
vote?
[3:18:59]
-- I just want to and I should
[3:19:01]
have said this in the opening
[3:19:03]
remarks. Just want to,
[3:19:04]
regardless of your support for
[3:19:05]
this amendment or not to
[3:19:07]
councilmember kettle just want
[3:19:08]
to say thank you so much for all
[3:19:10]
the attention you've been
[3:19:12]
providing to to district two in
[3:19:15]
particular, doing those safety
[3:19:16]
walks. And it means a lot. It
[3:19:19]
means a lot to the community to,
[3:19:20]
to have you showing up there. So
[3:19:21]
I just want to put that on the
[3:19:23]
record. Thank you.
[3:19:24]
-- awesome. Thank you.
[3:19:28]
councilmember lin. All right.
[3:19:29]
well, councilmember rivera.
[3:19:30]
-- thank you. Cp, I just want to
[3:19:32]
say again, you know, this is my
[3:19:34]
position is not on the merits of
[3:19:36]
these things. And I don't the
[3:19:39]
characterization that somehow we
[3:19:41]
need public safety now. And so
[3:19:43]
without passage of this now
[3:19:47]
there were I dispute the
[3:19:50]
characterization. Respectfully.
[3:19:51]
councilmember kettle, we're all
[3:19:54]
dealing with public safety
[3:19:54]
issues across the city. There's
[3:19:56]
a lot going on in d5, for
[3:19:58]
instance, and other areas of the
[3:20:00]
city. So I'm well aware of all
[3:20:03]
the issues, and I myself am
[3:20:04]
dealing with some issues in the
[3:20:06]
d4. So again, it's not on the
[3:20:08]
merits of the case. I of the of
[3:20:10]
of the ad, but we're having a
[3:20:14]
budget in a month here and we're
[3:20:15]
going to have to all the things
[3:20:16]
we're doing now, and even the
[3:20:19]
things we added in this, this
[3:20:22]
today's meeting, we're going to
[3:20:24]
have to grapple with all that in
[3:20:25]
the fall. And that is why I'm
[3:20:26]
going to be voting no on the
[3:20:28]
amendment. But I did vote to
[3:20:31]
pass the mid year in general.
[3:20:33]
but I just want us to remind us
[3:20:36]
all that mid year isn't
[3:20:39]
traditionally used to add new
[3:20:41]
things, but to take care of the
[3:20:43]
budget that is today. And then
[3:20:46]
we use the budget process to do
[3:20:48]
the next year's budget. Thank
[3:20:48]
you. Council president.
[3:20:51]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[3:20:52]
rivera. Okay, will the clerk
[3:20:53]
please call the roll on
[3:20:57]
amendment a.
[3:20:57]
-- councilmember foster yes.
[3:21:02]
-- councilmember juarez.
[3:21:04]
-- councilmember kettle a.
[3:21:04]
councilmember lin yes.
[3:21:06]
-- councilmember rinck.
[3:21:08]
-- yes.
[3:21:08]
-- councilmember rivera.
[3:21:11]
-- no.
[3:21:11]
-- councilmember saka. Aye.
[3:21:16]
councilmember strauss.
[3:21:17]
-- aye.
[3:21:17]
-- council president
[3:21:17]
hollingsworth eight in favor one
[3:21:18]
opposed.
[3:21:19]
-- motion carries. Amendment a
[3:21:20]
is adopted. Councilmember kettle
[3:21:24]
will you. I'm going to you for
[3:21:28]
amendment b.
[3:21:28]
-- thank you, council president
[3:21:30]
I first, I would like to request
[3:21:31]
that the rules be suspended to
[3:21:34]
consider version two of
[3:21:37]
amendment b second.
[3:21:38]
-- awesome. It's been moved in
[3:21:41]
second and then I actually have
[3:21:41]
to see if there's objection.
[3:21:43]
right. So if there's no
[3:21:45]
objection the rules will be
[3:21:46]
suspended. Thank you for that.
[3:21:49]
second councilmember strauss to
[3:21:50]
allow consideration of amendment
[3:21:52]
b version two. Is there any
[3:21:54]
objection. Okay. Hearing no
[3:21:56]
objection, the rules are
[3:21:57]
suspended and councilmember
[3:21:58]
kettle is recognized to move his
[3:22:00]
amendment.
[3:22:01]
-- thank you. Council president,
[3:22:03]
I move to amend council bill
[3:22:04]
121253 as presented on amendment
[3:22:06]
b, version two.
[3:22:07]
-- second.
[3:22:07]
-- it's been moved and seconded
[3:22:09]
to amend bill as presented on
[3:22:10]
amendment b, version two.
[3:22:12]
councilmember kettle you
[3:22:13]
recognize in order to address
[3:22:14]
it.
[3:22:14]
-- thank you, council president.
[3:22:16]
we've already heard about north
[3:22:18]
beacon hill and little saigon,
[3:22:20]
but the c. More broadly has been
[3:22:25]
impacted and has been benefiting
[3:22:25]
from the work that we've done
[3:22:26]
with our technology program and
[3:22:28]
also the broader strategic
[3:22:30]
framework plan that we have. And
[3:22:31]
this also includes other areas
[3:22:34]
to include downtown and belltown
[3:22:37]
and north aurora. And the need
[3:22:38]
is greater than than we have in
[3:22:40]
the program. And it's driven by
[3:22:42]
demonstrated crime data. This is
[3:22:44]
underwritten by demonstrated
[3:22:45]
crime data. And so today, we're
[3:22:47]
facing many public safety
[3:22:48]
challenges, and we need action
[3:22:50]
to create a safer seattle. You
[3:22:52]
know, for those that started in
[3:22:54]
january 24th, we're well into
[3:22:56]
our third year. And the only
[3:22:57]
plan as it relates to public
[3:22:59]
safety that one could argue is
[3:23:00]
our own strategic framework plan
[3:23:02]
for a safer seattle the council
[3:23:03]
needs to continue to lead on our
[3:23:06]
current program whole and for
[3:23:09]
our proviso, we need to lead and
[3:23:14]
engage with the executive. But
[3:23:15]
we have to have this program
[3:23:17]
whole in of itself. And also as
[3:23:19]
it relates to our proviso, it's
[3:23:22]
important to keep our proviso
[3:23:23]
whole. And so for those reasons,
[3:23:24]
colleagues, I ask for your
[3:23:26]
support for this amendment.
[3:23:27]
amendment b
[3:23:29]
-- are there any. Thank you,
[3:23:31]
councilmember kettle are there
[3:23:34]
any comments regarding amendment
[3:23:35]
b, version two? Councilmember
[3:23:41]
rinck followed by councilmember
[3:23:41]
rivera and then councilmember
[3:23:43]
foster.
[3:23:45]
-- thank you, council president.
[3:23:46]
I will be brief and just note,
[3:23:47]
while I appreciate the revised
[3:23:49]
amendment before us,
[3:23:50]
particularly with the language
[3:23:53]
pertaining to limitations for
[3:23:54]
cctv installation, operation and
[3:23:56]
expansion within the capitol
[3:23:57]
hill neighborhood, I will be
[3:24:00]
voting no on this amendment
[3:24:01]
today, primarily because I
[3:24:02]
believe that is consistent with
[3:24:04]
prior positions I have taken
[3:24:05]
against funding cctv technology.
[3:24:08]
thank you.
[3:24:09]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[3:24:10]
rinck councilmember rivera.
[3:24:12]
-- thank you, council president,
[3:24:15]
and I appreciate you trying to
[3:24:16]
add this back in. Councilmember
[3:24:18]
kettle. We did take some funds
[3:24:20]
to be able to help support our
[3:24:24]
colleague council president up
[3:24:25]
on capitol hill. I think that
[3:24:27]
this amendment just again, it
[3:24:31]
adds more into the mid year. And
[3:24:32]
and I think we need to be taking
[3:24:34]
this up during the budget
[3:24:36]
process. I do support cctv. And
[3:24:38]
so I expect that we're going to
[3:24:42]
be able to continue that program
[3:24:43]
with the upcoming budget. But
[3:24:44]
I'm going to be voting no on
[3:24:47]
today's amendment for those
[3:24:49]
reasons.
[3:24:49]
-- thank you.
[3:24:50]
-- thank you, councilmember
[3:24:51]
rivera councilmember foster.
[3:24:52]
-- thank you so much. Council
[3:24:54]
president. I will be voting no
[3:24:55]
on this amendment. I believe
[3:24:57]
that the use of these dollars
[3:24:59]
for the purposes as they were
[3:25:03]
allocated in the committee, to
[3:25:06]
ensure that we have timely
[3:25:07]
responsiveness and folks on the
[3:25:08]
ground in the neighborhood is a
[3:25:09]
strong use of the funds, and I
[3:25:10]
look forward to seeing the
[3:25:12]
impact of that amendment. Thank
[3:25:14]
you so much.
[3:25:14]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[3:25:15]
foster. So I'll are there any
[3:25:18]
more comments before I speak?
[3:25:20]
no. Okay. So just two things.
[3:25:23]
and I and I want to thank. Oh,
[3:25:25]
there's more people. Okay.
[3:25:30]
councilmember lin.
[3:25:30]
-- I'm so sorry. Council
[3:25:34]
president. Councilmember kettle.
[3:25:36]
I appreciate your amendment. I
[3:25:38]
don't think I can be supporting
[3:25:40]
today, although I will, you
[3:25:43]
know, the cctv program. I'm
[3:25:48]
very excited to see the audit
[3:25:49]
reports that will be coming
[3:25:51]
hopefully soon, because I think
[3:25:53]
that that will help our
[3:25:54]
community. You know, we have a
[3:25:55]
very divided discussion about
[3:25:58]
sort of the benefits, the, the
[3:25:59]
costs, the, the, you know, the
[3:26:02]
potential risks of our cctv
[3:26:04]
program. And I'm hoping that
[3:26:07]
those reports will help us kind
[3:26:08]
of make decisions based on sort
[3:26:11]
of what, you know, what we can
[3:26:13]
learn from the data on those
[3:26:15]
reports. You know, I do my
[3:26:19]
community district two is pretty
[3:26:19]
divided on this issue. We have a
[3:26:20]
lot of folks who were calling
[3:26:24]
for cameras after the the
[3:26:25]
shootings of the two rainier
[3:26:27]
beach high school students, you
[3:26:28]
know, there are certainly folks
[3:26:31]
who who would like to see that
[3:26:32]
we have cameras in the city.
[3:26:34]
there are some folks who would
[3:26:36]
like to see more and then
[3:26:38]
certainly have heard from the
[3:26:39]
other side as well. And so while
[3:26:42]
I'm I'm not going to support
[3:26:43]
this today, I do understand your
[3:26:50]
very strong advocacy for the
[3:26:52]
cctv program. And again, I'm
[3:26:56]
looking forward to having that
[3:26:58]
discussion when we have those
[3:26:59]
reports to to delve into. Thank
[3:27:01]
you.
[3:27:01]
-- thank you. Councilmember la.
[3:27:05]
so colleagues, last week I
[3:27:06]
brought an amendment that
[3:27:11]
basically withdrew $250,000 from
[3:27:12]
the proviso that I did vote on
[3:27:15]
the previous year for cctv
[3:27:18]
cameras. I voted on cctv
[3:27:19]
cameras. People remind me every
[3:27:21]
day I understand, but I did have
[3:27:25]
an amendment to withdraw the
[3:27:26]
$250,000 that would go to boots
[3:27:26]
on the ground right now in
[3:27:29]
capitol hill, first hill and our
[3:27:30]
central district along the
[3:27:33]
jackson corridor. That will get
[3:27:35]
started fairly quickly here. And
[3:27:37]
I can say on the record, in 30
[3:27:39]
days or less to have people that
[3:27:44]
are going to be ambassadors on
[3:27:44]
the hill, which I'm really,
[3:27:46]
really excited about. And that
[3:27:47]
program will continue because we
[3:27:50]
do have some funding from king
[3:27:52]
county with the crisis care
[3:27:54]
clinic implementation plan that
[3:27:55]
our office did also request more
[3:27:58]
additional funding from them. So
[3:28:00]
that program will be started.
[3:28:01]
ambassadors. I also want to
[3:28:04]
thank councilmember strauss
[3:28:06]
because ambassadors has always
[3:28:06]
been in the program, especially
[3:28:08]
for the first year. And so this
[3:28:09]
is kind of just a continuation
[3:28:11]
of that and acceleration. I also
[3:28:12]
want to thank councilmember
[3:28:14]
kettle as well. You know, you
[3:28:16]
worked with me on the amendment
[3:28:19]
because really the issue with
[3:28:21]
this for me was the cameras on
[3:28:23]
capitol hill. What I heard from
[3:28:24]
community, what is needed right
[3:28:26]
now, boots on the ground. So I
[3:28:28]
will be supporting this
[3:28:30]
amendment today. Looking forward
[3:28:31]
to the report that's coming
[3:28:33]
sometime in september or
[3:28:34]
october. I have no clue. But
[3:28:38]
this is a provision that does
[3:28:39]
not allow that expansion in
[3:28:40]
capitol hill, because we will
[3:28:41]
have boots on the ground, and
[3:28:42]
that's what's put in this
[3:28:44]
amendment. So just wanted to be
[3:28:46]
clear on that, colleagues,
[3:28:48]
regarding this amendment, are
[3:28:50]
there any are there any further
[3:28:53]
comments? Councilmember kettle.
[3:28:55]
no, I hear no.
[3:28:57]
-- councilmember kettle final.
[3:28:58]
-- are there final? Yeah. My
[3:29:01]
final I hear councilmember
[3:29:01]
rivera.
[3:29:03]
-- just to clarify that the
[3:29:03]
amendment that you proffered, I
[3:29:05]
understand, was going to be just
[3:29:07]
for this year, so we could take
[3:29:09]
up some work this year that
[3:29:10]
we're not going to be able to
[3:29:11]
take up, because they're not
[3:29:13]
going to be able to get the
[3:29:15]
staff hired to be able to look
[3:29:17]
at the cc, you know, to to do
[3:29:19]
the cctv program this year. And
[3:29:21]
so the, the, the idea was that
[3:29:24]
we would get or you want to get
[3:29:25]
boots on the ground this year.
[3:29:27]
so that's why I supported that
[3:29:28]
amendment. But I also support
[3:29:32]
the ongoing cctv piece. So
[3:29:34]
again, want to thank you,
[3:29:36]
councilmember kettle, for
[3:29:37]
keeping your eye on the prize on
[3:29:40]
that support that and want to
[3:29:40]
make sure we can do something
[3:29:44]
now to support capitol hill.
[3:29:45]
thanks.
[3:29:48]
-- awesome. Thank you for that.
[3:29:49]
councilmember rivera are there
[3:29:49]
any other comments?
[3:29:51]
councilmember kettle any closing
[3:29:53]
remarks before we take the vote?
[3:29:54]
-- thank you, council president.
[3:29:55]
I would just note that this
[3:29:56]
program and our proviso are not
[3:29:59]
new. They are part of the
[3:30:01]
current year budget that we all
[3:30:02]
voted on last fall. And I should
[3:30:05]
note too, I'll be meeting with
[3:30:07]
nyu on friday. I have confidence
[3:30:10]
in the the review, and I'm
[3:30:12]
confident that should be done in
[3:30:14]
september. And if the mayor
[3:30:16]
keeps to her word, I think we
[3:30:17]
can move forward. So thank you.
[3:30:20]
-- thank you.
[3:30:21]
-- council colleagues. I ask for
[3:30:22]
your vote.
[3:30:22]
-- thank you, councilmember
[3:30:23]
kettle will the clerk please
[3:30:24]
call the roll on amendment b,
[3:30:26]
version two.
[3:30:30]
-- councilmember foster
[3:30:34]
councilmember juarez
[3:30:35]
councilmember kettle.
[3:30:37]
-- aye.
[3:30:37]
-- councilmember lin no.
[3:30:42]
-- councilmember rinck no.
[3:30:45]
-- councilmember rivera.
[3:30:45]
-- no.
[3:30:48]
-- councilmember saka. Aye.
[3:30:48]
-- councilmember strauss council
[3:30:51]
president hollingsworth.
[3:30:51]
-- yes
[3:30:52]
-- five in favor four opposed.
[3:30:55]
-- motion carries. Amendment b
[3:30:57]
version two is adopted. Are
[3:30:58]
there any other further comments
[3:30:59]
as the bill as amendment as
[3:31:02]
amended. Council bill 121253.
[3:31:07]
councilmember rinck.
[3:31:08]
-- thank you. Council president.
[3:31:11]
to begin, I want to speak
[3:31:12]
directly to some of the public
[3:31:14]
comment that we heard today from
[3:31:16]
the powerful testimony from our
[3:31:18]
trans neighbors to also the
[3:31:19]
transphobia that was also heard
[3:31:20]
in these chambers. And I want to
[3:31:24]
state to our queer and trans
[3:31:25]
community directly, you belong
[3:31:26]
in seattle. I am glad you were
[3:31:28]
here. You deserve dignity and
[3:31:30]
respect and we are going to do
[3:31:32]
the work to live up to our
[3:31:34]
promise of being a welcoming
[3:31:35]
city. Thank you, chair strauss,
[3:31:37]
and the for the committee
[3:31:39]
sponsorship of the amendment.
[3:31:40]
and thank you to the finance,
[3:31:44]
tribal governments and native
[3:31:44]
communities committee that
[3:31:46]
unanimously voted to approve my
[3:31:49]
amendment for $300,000 in one
[3:31:50]
time funding for the human
[3:31:51]
services department to grant out
[3:31:52]
that funding to trusted
[3:31:54]
community based organizations
[3:31:57]
supporting queer and transgender
[3:31:58]
people with essential services,
[3:32:00]
including shelter and housing
[3:32:01]
and food support. As stated in
[3:32:03]
committee last week during last
[3:32:06]
year's supplemental budget
[3:32:06]
process, I supported a one time
[3:32:07]
allocation of $300,000 to the
[3:32:09]
office of immigrant and refugee
[3:32:11]
affairs to support urgent and
[3:32:14]
emerging issues facing our
[3:32:15]
immigrant and refugee community,
[3:32:17]
and this amendment, approved
[3:32:19]
last week, was written in that
[3:32:20]
same spirit and in response to
[3:32:22]
the ongoing crisis and
[3:32:24]
displacement of queer,
[3:32:25]
transgender and gender
[3:32:27]
non-conforming people seeking
[3:32:27]
refuge from hostile
[3:32:29]
jurisdictions across the country
[3:32:32]
to just affirm internal
[3:32:33]
displacement of trans americans
[3:32:34]
is real. It is being fueled by
[3:32:38]
elected officials who champion
[3:32:38]
anti-trans policies and state
[3:32:40]
legislatures. And so far in
[3:32:42]
2026, there are now 830 bills
[3:32:46]
under consideration across the
[3:32:47]
country that would negatively
[3:32:49]
impact trans and gender
[3:32:50]
non-conforming people, and 62
[3:32:52]
pieces of legislation have
[3:32:53]
passed this year alone. Now, as
[3:32:56]
you may recall, council was
[3:32:57]
briefed on this matter, most
[3:32:59]
recently during the june select
[3:33:01]
committee on federal
[3:33:01]
administration and policy
[3:33:02]
changes, where we heard directly
[3:33:04]
from community about urgent
[3:33:04]
needs for housing, employment,
[3:33:08]
food and health care support.
[3:33:09]
but this has been a continuation
[3:33:09]
of a discussion that began last
[3:33:11]
year, when we had lavender
[3:33:13]
rights project, queer power
[3:33:15]
alliance and pro-choice
[3:33:16]
washington at the table
[3:33:17]
discussing access to gender
[3:33:19]
affirming care. So I'm very
[3:33:20]
clear that while this one time
[3:33:22]
funding is not enough to address
[3:33:24]
the full need, it is a start,
[3:33:25]
and it signals our commitment
[3:33:27]
that the city of seattle will
[3:33:28]
work towards living up to that
[3:33:29]
promise of being a welcoming
[3:33:30]
city. So thank you so much again
[3:33:33]
to the committee for your
[3:33:34]
support, and I urge you to vote
[3:33:36]
today.
[3:33:36]
-- awesome.
[3:33:37]
-- thank you. Thank you,
[3:33:38]
councilmember rinck. We have
[3:33:41]
councilmember kettle followed by
[3:33:42]
councilmember lin and
[3:33:43]
councilmember foster.
[3:33:43]
-- thank you, council president.
[3:33:45]
I just wanted to speak on
[3:33:47]
basically the same topic. I
[3:33:49]
spoke during committee. I was
[3:33:51]
not here. I was remoting in. I
[3:33:54]
was out of town. But I do think
[3:33:56]
it's important. I do come from
[3:33:58]
a red county of a blue state. I
[3:33:59]
am a retired military naval
[3:34:03]
officer and what is happening at
[3:34:04]
the federal level with respect
[3:34:07]
to president trump's actions? If
[3:34:09]
you look at what's happening in
[3:34:12]
dod with secretary hegseth,
[3:34:14]
it's appalling. And I think
[3:34:15]
it's important for somebody
[3:34:19]
like me looks like me. My
[3:34:21]
background, where I'm from and
[3:34:22]
so forth to speak just like I
[3:34:27]
did over a zoom call, but also
[3:34:29]
do it in person and so last week
[3:34:33]
I noted, because, you know,
[3:34:36]
justin davis, who is part of the
[3:34:38]
lgbtq plus commission, she wrote
[3:34:39]
an op ed in the stranger, they
[3:34:42]
called a guest rant, and it's an
[3:34:44]
op ed and, and she made that
[3:34:49]
very clear point that she
[3:34:50]
didn't come here for some
[3:34:51]
political ideology. She came
[3:34:53]
here for survival. And and by
[3:34:54]
the way, everybody that's here,
[3:34:55]
when you say that, I recognize
[3:34:56]
that truth in the comments here
[3:35:00]
in public comment. And so I
[3:35:01]
think it's important to say
[3:35:02]
that in person here in council,
[3:35:05]
not just coming in over zoom
[3:35:05]
during a committee meeting. And
[3:35:07]
so council president, I just
[3:35:09]
wanted to have the opportunity
[3:35:10]
to do so. And, you know,
[3:35:12]
hopefully seattle can be that
[3:35:14]
welcoming place. And, you know,
[3:35:16]
finding peace and solace here
[3:35:20]
and yes, fingers crossed. Thank
[3:35:22]
you, council president.
[3:35:23]
-- thank you. Councilmember
[3:35:25]
kettle. Councilmember lin.
[3:35:26]
followed by councilmember
[3:35:28]
foster.
[3:35:29]
-- thank you, council president
[3:35:33]
and thank you, councilmember.
[3:35:35]
kettle. I do think it's really
[3:35:38]
important to hear that,
[3:35:39]
especially given your your
[3:35:40]
background, your years of
[3:35:42]
service in the military and I
[3:35:45]
really appreciate that. And just
[3:35:46]
want to say thank you to
[3:35:48]
councilmember rinck for all of
[3:35:49]
your work in this. And also just
[3:35:52]
want to speak to, you know, I
[3:35:55]
think I just want to speak to
[3:35:57]
the contributions of, you know,
[3:35:59]
it is a difficult thing when
[3:36:01]
people are fleeing oppression
[3:36:04]
and violence and so obviously,
[3:36:07]
we need to do what we can to
[3:36:09]
support and to be a welcoming
[3:36:11]
city. But I also just want to
[3:36:14]
recognize the incredible
[3:36:16]
contributions of folks that have
[3:36:18]
already made to our community,
[3:36:20]
but will continue to make to our
[3:36:20]
community and will make our
[3:36:23]
community even stronger in the
[3:36:25]
long run. So I just want to
[3:36:25]
speak to that. Thank you.
[3:36:29]
-- awesome. Thank you.
[3:36:29]
councilmember lin councilmember
[3:36:30]
foster.
[3:36:31]
-- thank you, council president,
[3:36:33]
trans people belong here,
[3:36:37]
period.
[3:36:40]
-- that's it. Oh, that was that
[3:36:42]
was great. Thank you
[3:36:43]
councilmember. Thank you,
[3:36:45]
councilmember foster. I'm
[3:36:45]
excited to vote on this. Thank
[3:36:47]
you. Councilmember. We're voting
[3:36:48]
on the overall bill. I know
[3:36:49]
we're highlighting the 300,000
[3:36:51]
for trans community and just
[3:36:56]
really happy to support that as
[3:36:57]
well. I know it's a small drop
[3:36:58]
in the bucket, but I think it's
[3:37:00]
a great start and we'll continue
[3:37:01]
to build on that as a council as
[3:37:03]
well. And I just want to, for
[3:37:04]
the record, unanimously and I
[3:37:06]
said this in the finance
[3:37:08]
committee, this council
[3:37:10]
supported funding for lavender
[3:37:11]
rights project last year, and
[3:37:13]
that was in the consent package.
[3:37:14]
that was from councilmember
[3:37:16]
strauss. So thank you for that
[3:37:18]
as well. So just wanted, you
[3:37:19]
know, like that we can continue
[3:37:22]
to build on these investments as
[3:37:22]
well. So thank you. Okay.
[3:37:26]
councilmember strauss. Nothing.
[3:37:27]
all right. So there's no more
[3:37:29]
comments about item number three
[3:37:31]
because we have an item number
[3:37:33]
four to vote on. And there's a
[3:37:34]
lot of great things in this bill
[3:37:36]
universal lunches, the voucher
[3:37:38]
program. There's the boots on
[3:37:39]
the ground on capitol hill,
[3:37:41]
councilmember kettle that I know
[3:37:42]
you're excited about, my friend.
[3:37:43]
all right, all right. Well, the
[3:37:44]
clerk, please call the roll.
[3:37:47]
-- councilmember foster.
[3:37:50]
-- yes.
[3:37:50]
-- councilmember juarez.
[3:37:53]
-- yes.
[3:37:54]
-- councilmember kettle.
[3:37:55]
-- aye.
[3:37:55]
-- councilmember lin.
[3:37:57]
-- yes.
[3:37:58]
-- councilmember rinck.
[3:38:00]
-- yes.
[3:38:00]
-- councilmember rivera.
[3:38:00]
-- aye
[3:38:03]
-- councilmember saka. Aye.
[3:38:07]
councilmember strauss.
[3:38:07]
-- I council president.
[3:38:09]
-- hollingsworth.
[3:38:09]
-- yes.
[3:38:10]
-- nine in favor? None. Opposed.
[3:38:10]
-- bill passes. Chair will sign
[3:38:11]
it. And will the clerk please
[3:38:13]
fix my signature on the
[3:38:15]
legislation on my
[3:38:18]
-- [applause]
[3:38:19]
-- behalf?
[3:38:19]
-- [applause]
[3:38:24]
-- I'm sure that.
[3:38:25]
-- was the biggest clap for the
[3:38:27]
mid supplemental budget
[3:38:28]
councilmember strauss. All
[3:38:29]
right.
[3:38:29]
-- we finish this meeting. It's
[3:38:32]
545. I appreciate everyone being
[3:38:32]
here. Can we finish.
[3:38:33]
-- up, please? Will the clerk
[3:38:35]
please read item number four
[3:38:35]
into the record?
[3:38:36]
-- the report of the
[3:38:39]
transportation committee, agenda
[3:38:42]
item four clerk files 314550.
[3:38:44]
request for modification of
[3:38:44]
conditional approval of a
[3:38:46]
petition of swedish health
[3:38:47]
services to vacate the alley and
[3:38:48]
block 95. Terry. Second edition
[3:38:50]
to the city of seattle. The
[3:38:51]
committee recommends the clerk
[3:38:52]
files be granted as conditioned.
[3:38:54]
-- councilmember saka. As chair
[3:38:55]
of the committee, you're
[3:38:55]
recognized to present the
[3:38:57]
committee report.
[3:38:59]
-- aye.
[3:38:59]
-- thank you, madam council
[3:39:01]
president. I am taking the rest
[3:39:04]
of this meeting remotely because
[3:39:05]
I'm late to a meeting in west
[3:39:06]
seattle about traffic safety.
[3:39:08]
so. But this one should be
[3:39:11]
brief. It's fairly
[3:39:12]
straightforward. This pertains
[3:39:14]
to this specific clerk files a
[3:39:16]
request for modification of
[3:39:19]
conditional approval of a
[3:39:19]
petition of swedish health
[3:39:21]
services to vacate a specific
[3:39:25]
alley on first hill. Swedish has
[3:39:28]
asked to delay construction of a
[3:39:29]
building until a later date. The
[3:39:31]
request was heard in our
[3:39:34]
committee last week, and the
[3:39:36]
committee was assured that
[3:39:38]
swedish will deliver the
[3:39:40]
proposed public benefits, which
[3:39:41]
will include street
[3:39:42]
improvements, funding for
[3:39:43]
improvements to the first hill
[3:39:46]
park and additional streetscape
[3:39:48]
improvements at and near the
[3:39:51]
site itself. I note that this
[3:39:53]
past committee unanimously and
[3:39:54]
about to hop on a bus, but. But
[3:39:58]
I encourage your support. Thank
[3:39:59]
you.
[3:40:00]
-- awesome. Thank you,
[3:40:01]
councilmember saka are there any
[3:40:04]
comments regarding. Are there
[3:40:05]
any other comments? All right.
[3:40:07]
will the clerk please call the
[3:40:09]
roll on the granting of the
[3:40:11]
clerk file as conditioned
[3:40:14]
-- councilmember foster.
[3:40:16]
-- yes.
[3:40:17]
-- councilmember juarez.
[3:40:21]
-- yes.
[3:40:21]
-- councilmember kettle.
[3:40:22]
councilmember lin.
[3:40:23]
-- yes.
[3:40:24]
-- councilmember rinck.
[3:40:26]
-- yes.
[3:40:27]
-- councilmember rivera.
[3:40:27]
-- aye
[3:40:29]
-- councilmember saka.
[3:40:30]
-- aye.
[3:40:33]
-- councilmember strauss.
[3:40:34]
council president.
[3:40:34]
hollingsworth. Yes.
[3:40:35]
hollingsworth nine in favor none
[3:40:37]
opposed.
[3:40:38]
-- clerk files granted as
[3:40:38]
condition chair will sign it.
[3:40:39]
the conditions. Will the clerk
[3:40:41]
please fix my signature on the
[3:40:42]
city council conditions on my
[3:40:43]
behalf? There were no removed
[3:40:46]
items from the consent calendar.
[3:40:47]
there's not a resolution for
[3:40:50]
introduction or adoption today.
[3:40:52]
councilmember juarez and
[3:40:53]
councilmember strauss. We are
[3:40:54]
three hours and 45 minutes into
[3:40:56]
this meeting, and you have
[3:40:58]
raised your hand. Councilmember
[3:41:01]
juarez.
[3:41:01]
-- council president, I would
[3:41:02]
like to be excused on september
[3:41:04]
8th. Please.
[3:41:07]
-- is there a. There? If
[3:41:09]
there's no objection,
[3:41:09]
councilmember juarez will be
[3:41:10]
excused from the september 8th
[3:41:11]
council meeting. Hearing no
[3:41:12]
objection. Councilmember juarez
[3:41:13]
you are excused. Councilmember
[3:41:15]
strauss.
[3:41:15]
-- thank you. We had a lot of
[3:41:17]
people in the chambers earlier
[3:41:18]
that did not agree with each
[3:41:19]
other. That is what democracy
[3:41:22]
looks like. I just this has been
[3:41:24]
a long day where we've actually
[3:41:25]
gotten to celebrate towards the
[3:41:26]
end of this meeting, and I
[3:41:28]
couldn't go I couldn't end the
[3:41:30]
day without also acknowledging
[3:41:33]
that last night there was a man
[3:41:34]
killed at 85th and 24th. He was
[3:41:37]
riding a scooter. He's three
[3:41:38]
years younger than me. It's an
[3:41:40]
intersection. I ride on a
[3:41:41]
scooter through all the time.
[3:41:44]
colleagues, you know that about
[3:41:46]
22 years ago, I almost died
[3:41:48]
after being hit by a driver. Our
[3:41:54]
streets have to be safe from
[3:41:55]
people dying from serious
[3:41:57]
injury. I know that rainier
[3:41:58]
valley has way higher death
[3:42:00]
rates and serious injury rates
[3:42:01]
than district six does, but I
[3:42:05]
just couldn't get through this
[3:42:06]
day without acknowledging that
[3:42:06]
we lost somebody last night
[3:42:09]
unnecessarily because people
[3:42:13]
were driving dangerously. So if
[3:42:14]
we could just take a moment. And
[3:42:18]
then I got one bit of happy news
[3:42:19]
after that, but I want to take a
[3:42:21]
minute thank you, colleagues,
[3:42:30]
and also thank you to jeff for
[3:42:32]
staying for the rest of that
[3:42:33]
meeting, but also in the in the
[3:42:35]
positive news, yesterday we had
[3:42:37]
orca whales enter into salmon
[3:42:38]
bay towards the ballard locks.
[3:42:40]
we have been waiting for them to
[3:42:43]
come eat these sea lions that
[3:42:43]
have been eaten, all the fish.
[3:42:45]
and so I'm just very happy that
[3:42:46]
we have finally gotten our orca
[3:42:48]
whales back in salmon bay to
[3:42:49]
protect our fish. Thank you.
[3:42:52]
-- thank you, councilmember
[3:42:54]
-- [laughter]
[3:42:54]
-- strauss all right. Are there
[3:43:00]
any other comments? Seeing none.
[3:43:00]
thank you, colleagues, for a
[3:43:02]
nice long meeting and thank you
[3:43:04]
for those comments. We've
[3:43:07]
reached the end of today's
[3:43:08]
agenda. The next city council
[3:43:10]
meeting will be august the 18th
[3:43:11]
at 2 p.m.. It is our last
[3:43:12]
council meeting before the
[3:43:13]
recess, which is on the 21st. So
[3:43:16]
this is our last council
[3:43:17]
meeting, and then we'll return
[3:43:18]
back september 8th. All right.
[3:43:21]
hearing no further business. Hi,
[3:43:22]
iv auntie loves you. Will be
[3:43:23]
further. No further business.
[3:43:27]
we're adjourned.
[3:43:28]
-- [music]