Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Votes Ordinances Resolutions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Auburn council approves series of ordinances and accepts multiple state grants
Summary
At its Oct. 6 meeting the Auburn City Council passed four ordinances and adopted five resolutions to accept grant funding and interlocal agreements, including $1.9 million for a downtown bike-to-transit safety project and $700,000 for East Valley Highway design work.
Auburn City Council on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, passed four ordinances and adopted five resolutions authorizing grants or interlocal agreements for projects across the city.
The most substantial grants include $1,900,000 from the Washington State Climate Commitment Account for the downtown “bike to transit” project on Tenth Street NE/NW, and $700,000 from the Washington State Department of Transportation and Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board for design work on the East Valley Highway corridor. Council also approved an ordinance establishing an Auburn municipal court that will begin operations Jan. 1, 2027.
Why it matters: the approvals fund multimodal street improvements intended to add buffered bike lanes and safety features in downtown Auburn and to advance design work for vehicle and nonmotorized improvements along East Valley Highway. The municipal court ordinance will change how the city delivers local court services beginning in 2027.
Actions and key details
- Ordinance No. 6982 — Amend Auburn City Code chapters relating to home occupations. Motion moved by Council Member Tracy Taylor and seconded by Council Member Amer; council approved the ordinance by voice vote (recorded as passed in the meeting). The ordinance was described as streamlining the decision process and reducing applicant burden.
- Ordinance No. 6994 — Franchise granted to Easy Fiber Texas LLC to place wireline telecommunications facilities in the public right-of-way. Motion moved by Council Member Clinton Taylor and seconded by Council Member Tracy Taylor; approved by voice vote.
- Ordinance No. 7001 — Update of Auburn’s building and property maintenance code to align with the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC). Motion moved by Council Member Sturgis and seconded by Council Member Amer; approved by voice vote.
- Ordinance No. 7002 — Establish Auburn Municipal Court and add chapter 2.14 to the Auburn City Code. Motion moved by Deputy Mayor Raikes and seconded by Council Member Traut Manuel; the ordinance passed. Council Member Baldwin stated she had voted against the prior resolution to terminate the interlocal agreement with King County, saying bringing municipal court into Auburn was “the most expensive option and it reduced the services that would be available,” but that, because the prior resolution passed, the city must now provide municipal court services.
- Resolution No. 5859 — Authorize interlocal agreement with King County related to wetland mitigation for Auburn Airport automated weather observation station (AWOS). Staff said the city will pay $51,769 to King County to complete required wetland mitigation to satisfy project permit requirements. Resolution adopted.
- Resolution No. 5861 — Accept grant funds from the Washington State Department of Transportation pedestrian and bicycle safety program for CP2509, "Downtown Bike to Transit" (Tenth Street NE/NW between B Street NW and Arbor Way N). Council said the award is $1,900,000 and described the project as reducing four lanes to three and adding buffered bike lanes and other safety improvements. Resolution adopted.
- Resolution No. 5862 — Accept grant funds from WSDOT and the Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board: $700,000 for design of East Valley Highway widening project (improvements from Lakeland Hills Way to Terrace View Drive SE). Resolution adopted.
- Resolution No. 5864 — Accept a Washington State Department of Commerce grant of $485,000 for the Auburn Downtown Theater project to build a replacement for the Auburn Avenue Theater demolished in October 2024. Resolution adopted.
- Resolution No. 5865 — Accept $100,000 through the Association of Washington Cities for a co-responder program with Project BeFree to support mobile crisis/assisted diversion and related alternatives to arrest. Resolution adopted.
Council and staff remarks
Council members and staff thanked directors and grant teams for pursuing funding. Council Member Baldwin commented the bike-lane project is “the type of project that I think is going to really help our community” by improving safety and access to transit. Council then took up mayor and council reports after the business at hand.
Votes at the meeting were taken by voice; specific roll-call tallies were not read into the record for each matter during the meeting audio transcript.
