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Residents ask Lynnwood council for voucher transparency, raise housing, safety and food-security concerns
Summary
Multiple residents used the public comment period Feb. 24 to request a detailed breakdown of city vouchers, express concern about state changes to single-family zoning, urge stronger public-safety outreach and suggest community gardens and housing deregulation to improve affordability.
During public comment at the Feb. 24 Lynnwood City Council meeting, residents raised several community concerns ranging from city financial transparency to housing policy, public safety and food security.
Mario Lotmore urged the council to add a detailed breakdown of vouchers to the council packet. "I'm requesting the council to instruct the administration ... to include the detailed breakdown of those vouchers," Lotmore said, noting the packet shows large totals without line-item detail and citing examples from other local jurisdictions.
Ed Heiko warned the council about state legislation he described as effectively eliminating single-family zoning and pressed the council to decide implementing details by May. Heiko referenced suggested Department of Commerce guidance, saying the agency had proposed "80% lot coverage" and a possible 10-foot setback—or none at all—rules he said would permit dividing 8,400-square-foot lots into multiple units. "Like the Trumpian chant of drill, baby, drill, we hear build, baby, build," Heiko said.
Lottie Rogers told the council she is focused on immediate public-safety concerns in her neighborhood, citing a recent shooting near her home and saying some residents feel unsafe attending meetings held in churches. Rogers also raised food-security concerns and urged the council to consider community gardens or local agriculture programs as part of resilience planning.
Jessica Roberts spoke in favor of policies to increase rental and housing unit supply, including easing permitting and reassessing parking minimums to reduce building costs and improve affordability.
Council members did not take action on these public comments during the meeting; the remarks were recorded during the public comment portion of the agenda. Speakers were informed the council would not respond during the public-comment period and that in-person commenters should state their name and ZIP code for the record.
