This week in Council Chambers (and beyond)

It’s going to be a very busy week for the Council.

Monday morning in the Council Briefing, there are two presentations:

  • a briefing on a recent U.C. Berkeley study on the effects of Seattle’s ramp-up to a $15 minimum wage, as of March 2016.
  • An overview of this year’s Seafair event.

Monday afternoon’s Full Council briefing will be a relatively tame affair. The only substantive item is a resolution adopting the Seattle Education Action Plan — which lacks funding (it was supposed to be funded by the soda tax until the Council decided otherwise).

This week’s Introduction and Referral Calendar has several interesting items:

  • The proposed Fair Chance Housing ordinance that restricts the use of criminal history in screening tenants;
  • a resolution creating a Community Oversight Committee for the Seattle Parks District;
  • an ordinance allowing a private developer to create a plaza across East Howe Street in the Eastlake neighborhood;
  • an ordinance granting a permit for a company to occupy a building that encroaches onto city property;
  • ordinances accepting a long list of property transfers to the city for streets and alleys as a condition of property development permits.

Monday afternoon the Parks District Board meets. There are three items on its agenda:

  • an update on year-to-date parks district spending and activities;
  • an update on community center staffing and operations (which has been controversial given the city’s consideration of public-private partnerships as a means of renovating old community center properties);
  • a presentation on 2017-2018 challenge grant awards.

Monday evening at 6pm, the Planning, Land Use and Zoning Committee will hold a public hearing at Garfield High School. Public comment will be taken on two items:

Tuesday morning, the Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts Committee meets. There are three items on its agenda:

  • SPU is putting out to bid solid waste collection services, with a new contract starting in April 2019.
  • a report on SPU’s capital projects.
  • a report on creation, activation and preservation of cultural spaces.

Tuesday afternoon, the Energy and Environment Committee meets. The agenda for the meeting has not yet been published.

Tuesday evening at 6pm, the Gender Equity, Safe Communities and New Americans Committee will host on the UW campus a town hall forum to discuss last week’s police shooting of Charleena Lyles.

Wednesday morning, the Gender Equity, Safe Communities and New Americans Committee meets for its regular bi-weekly session. The agenda for the meeting has not yet been published, but it may include continued work on the surveillance legislation.

Wednesday afternoon, the Human Services and Public Health Committee meets. The agenda has not yet been published.

Thursday afternoon, the Sustainability and Transportation Committee meets. The agenda has not been published but will likely include several items on this week’s Introduction and Referral Calendar referred to the committee — mostly relating to accepting property transfers and one-off permits.

Friday afternoon, the Affordable Housing, Neighborhoods and Finance Committee will meets to continue its work on the proposed income tax ordinance.