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Burien planning commission votes to form committee to review bylaws
Summary
The commission voted to create a committee to review and propose updates to its bylaws; the commission chair and Commissioner Sam Ostrander agreed to meet with staff and consult legal counsel before returning recommendations to the full commission and then council.
The City of Burien Planning Commission voted on March 26 to form a committee to review its bylaws and propose updates for the commission and City Council to consider. Commissioner Sam Ostrander moved the motion; Commissioner Josh Halpin seconded. The motion carried on a majority vote.
The vote tally provided by the chair named Commissioners Ostrander, Mata, Campbell, Park and Ivy as voting in favor; Commissioners Turner and Halpin were recorded as voting no. After the vote, Chair Shelley Park and Commissioner Ostrander volunteered to meet with staff, draft proposed changes and send the draft to the city attorney’s office for review before returning recommendations to the full commission.
Why it matters: Planning‑commission bylaws control procedures such as public‑comment time limits, committee formation rules and the process for forwarding recommendations to the City Council. The commission was told that bylaws are subject to City Council approval and that the city attorney has advised that the council, by ordinance, sets the commission’s authority consistent with state law (RCW 35A.63.120). Planning staff noted existing bylaws posted online were never formally adopted by a planning commission and that any amendments the commission recommends will need council ratification.
What happened on the record
- Motion and vote: Commissioner Sam Ostrander moved to form a bylaws review committee; Commissioner Josh Halpin seconded the motion. The chair called a roll and announced the commission members she counted as voting in favor were Commissioners Ostrander, Mata, Campbell, Park and Ivy; Commissioners Turner and Halpin were recorded as voting no. The chair said the motion passed by majority vote.
- Committee scope and process: Commissioners discussed whether a committee or the full commission should draft changes. Commissioners also raised open‑meeting considerations: staff reminded the commission that groups of three or more commissioners meeting outside a public meeting may trigger the Open Public Meetings Act. The commission agreed the committee should draft language and send proposals to the city attorney for review before bringing recommendations back to the full commission and then to council for ordinance action.
- Next steps: Chair Park said she and Commissioner Ostrander would meet, prepare draft changes, and forward materials to legal before scheduling further action for the full commission. Staff said the council must ratify any bylaw changes; staff also offered to locate recent examples from other local commissions for reference.
Ending
The bylaws committee will prepare a draft for commission consideration and legal review; any revision would be adopted by the commission and forwarded to the City Council for final approval. No bylaws text was amended at the March 26 meeting.
