Shoreline staff recommend trimming comp-plan center boundaries and removing detailed bike table ahead of Dec. 1 action
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Summary
Planning staff told the council the Planning Commission recommends approving two 2025 comprehensive-plan docket items — removing a detailed bike "level of transit stress" table and tightening countywide center boundaries — and said final action will return on Dec. 1 after additional review and public engagement.
Planning staff briefed the Shoreline City Council on Nov. 10 on proposed 2025 amendments to the city's comprehensive plan, recommending two changes now and carrying three items to 2026, with final council action scheduled for Dec. 1.
The presentation by planning staff, introduced by Steve Safran, said amendment No. 1 would remove the bike "level of transit stress" table (figure 16) from the transportation element because staff consider the table too detailed for a long-range plan and better maintained in the city's Engineering Development Manual. "The transportation element should be the goals and policies that serve as the guide or blueprint," Safran said, adding the EDM can be updated more regularly than the comprehensive plan.
Amendment No. 2 would revise countywide center boundaries to make them more compact, replacing oversized boundaries that staff said make it difficult to create walkable centers that support housing and employment. Safran said the proposed map reduces the footprint for the 148th and 185th centers and identifies Shoreline Place and Towne Center for future study. The staff report linked the change to criteria in King County's countywide planning policies and the Puget Sound Regional Council guidance.
Councilmembers pressed staff on how a recent state transit-oriented-development law could affect neighborhoods. Councilmember Ramsdell cited "the TOD bill" in the staff report and asked whether it would effectively require three-story buildings within a quarter-mile of bus rapid transit and eliminate single-family housing in parts of Westminster Triangle and Shoreline Place. A staff response said House Bill 1491 requires an average density across areas near BRT or light rail, but implementation guidance from the state Department of Commerce is not yet available. "This bill will need to be implemented before 2029," planning staff said, adding the city will undertake public engagement and will watch initial implementations in other Washington cities.
The council did not take final votes on the docket on Nov. 10. Staff said the Commission recommended approval of the two items and that the items will return to the council for final action on Dec. 1.
What happens next: the council is scheduled to consider the staff-recommended amendments on Dec. 1; staff and commissioners will provide documentation and maps at that meeting.
