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Edmonds planning board preserves Westgate protected‑slope lines, approves a small map adjustment
Summary
The board voted to keep the protected‑slope (magenta) lines in place for the Westgate area but approved an amendment to move the line on one parcel (9601) to follow the tree buffer; the board recommended the council review the lines’ scientific basis and noted overlap with updated tree and critical‑areas protections.
The Edmonds Citizens Planning Board voted to leave the existing protected‑slope (magenta) lines in place for Westgate while approving a narrowly focused amendment to move the magenta line on parcel 9601 northward to align with the mapped tree buffer.
Residents had urged the board to keep the slope protections. In public comment, Arati Williams said: “Please keep the lines. There are landmark treaties and other vegetation on these West Gate slopes that hold the hillsides together.” Planning staff explained the magenta slope lines were adopted earlier as a protective overlay and that more recent updates to the city’s tree code and critical‑areas rules already restrict tree removal and slope disturbance in many of the same areas.
Board discussion centered on whether the magenta lines duplicate protections already included under the city’s critical‑areas and tree codes, and whether a narrow adjustment was warranted where the magenta line extended onto relatively flat parcels and rendered them effectively unusable. Planning Board member Jeremy Mitchell and others said they preferred keeping a line in place but asked staff to recommend further study and alignment with scientific terrain and geotechnical data.
The board took two formal votes. First, members voted on an amendment to move the magenta line on parcel 9601 north to follow the mapped tree buffer; the amendment passed 4–3. The board then voted to adopt the overall motion to retain the magenta protected‑slope lines with the 9601 adjustment; the motion as amended passed and the board instructed staff to include a note that council should consider a technical study to confirm the lines’ locations.
Board members and staff noted practical implications for affected property owners: lines that overlay lots can restrict where buildings, drive aisles and parking are placed and may require future applicants to seek a legislative amendment (comp‑plan/code amendment) or a site‑specific technical review to change mapped protections. Planning staff said the magenta lines were originally added in 2014 and were intended as an added layer of protection, and that updates to the tree code in 2021 have already strengthened protections in many of the same areas.
What happens next: the board’s recommendation—with the parcel‑9601 adjustment and a request that council consider technical review of the lines—will go to the council as part of the NCH package. Staff said affected property owners will still have the standard options under critical‑areas rules (technical geotechnical review, variance or amendment) if they pursue redevelopment.
