It’s going to be a very busy week for the City Council.
At Monday morning’s Council Briefing, the Council members will get an update on Bertha and the tunnel project to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct as it enters the critical phase of tunneling under the Viaduct. They will also get a briefing from Sound Transit on ST3, and receive the Race and Social Justice Initiative Annual Report.
There is a long agenda for Monday afternoon’s full Council meeting, but most of it is routine matters, including 11 appointments and designation of two historic landmarks. They will also take their final vote on the appeal of a zoning matter, and vote on whether to approve Quest’s permit for a “fiber hut” on public land (which sounds very tropical, but in reality is more Silicon Valley).
This week’s Introduction and Referral Calendar has fourteen appointments: two to the Park Board of Commissioners, and twelve to the Labor Standards Advisory Committee. It also has two legislative matters of note:
- A revision to the Council’s rules and proceedings related to disruptive behavior during Council meetings and especially during public comment sessions (from now on I shall refer to this as the “Tsimerman bill”);
- An ordinance to restrict open-air tour vehicles (i.e. the “Ride the ducks” vehicles) from having drivers provide live narration while the vehicle is in motion. This is a more “surgical” version of one proposed by SDOT which would prohibit live narration by all tour vehicle drivers, requiring them to use either prerecorded narration or have a second staff person on board to serve as narrator.
Tuesday morning the Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts Committee meets. They will consider an update to the All-Gender Restroom Ordinance that clarifies the appeals process for someone found in violation. There will also be a meeting for stakeholders in the ongoing “secure scheduling” effort to draft legislation.
Tuesday afternoon the Energy and Environment Committee meets. It will hear a report from Seattle City Light CEO Larry Weis, in which I am sure he will be asked to give further details on the NCIS project which is running over time and over budget. It will also have a presentation on the Seattle City Light Internship and Apprenticeship Programs, and get a briefing from activists on upcoming protests against fossil fuels.
Wednesday morning, the Gender Equity, Safe Communities and New Americans Committee meets; while its agenda has not been published yet, expect the aforementioned open-air tour vehicle ordinance to be considered.
Wednesday afternoon the Human Services and Public Health Committee meets, and on Friday morning the Select Committee on the 2016 Housing Levy meets. Agendas have not been published yet for either meeting.