Woodinville council adopts 2026 state legislative agenda, asks staff to refine messaging on traffic solutions

Woodinville’s City Council unanimously adopted a 2026 state legislative agenda at its Jan. 6 meeting, directing staff to refine the messaging for certain priorities and to prepare materials for meetings with legislators.

Jared Hill presented the agenda and identified four headline goals: a pause or implementation relief on housing policy to allow proper implementation, reasonable liability relief for municipalities, resiliency support including potential battery-storage requests, and gridlock solutions to address congestion on State Routes 202 and 522. Hill noted the city’s interest in partnering with the Washington State Department of Transportation on the SR 202/522 interchange and that staff may pursue a state local community project fund request for battery storage in the $200,000–$300,000 range if cost quotes support that approach.

Council members asked staff to refine arguments for the gridlock item to emphasize transit and community benefits rather than only congestion. Council Member Evans suggested staff obtain materials similar to Bellevue’s packet for that city’s legislative outreach and asked that staff highlight how the issue affects smaller jurisdictions and the city’s transit opportunities. Jared Hill agreed to prepare supporting collateral for outreach.

Council approved the legislative agenda by roll‑call vote with all present members voting yes. Following the vote, council appointed a three‑member delegation (the mayor and two additional council members) to attend Association of Washington Cities City Action Days to present the adopted priorities to legislators.

Staff will forward the final agenda and supporting materials to the city’s legislative delegation and report back on any requested state funding proposals.