[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]