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Council approves on‑call engineering contracts to support Sound Transit permit reviews amid tree‑impact concerns
Summary
Council voted to waive the three‑touch rule and approved eight on‑call engineering contracts (David Evans, Geoengineers, OTAC, Pace) to handle Sound Transit BRT permit review and general right‑of‑way permit overflow; council members raised concerns about conflicts of interest and city arborist capacity for the 522 corridor.
The Lake Forest Park City Council voted on June 11 to waive the three‑touch requirement and approve a set of eight on‑call professional services agreements to augment staff capacity for Sound Transit permit review and other right‑of‑way engineering work.
Program Executive Rebecca Dickinson told the council the contracts (with David Evans & Associates, Geoengineers, OTAC and Pace Engineering) will operate on a task‑order basis so the city can quickly obtain specialized technical expertise and manage high application volumes without separate procurements for each assignment. She said the work for Sound Transit permit reviews will be billed and invoiced to Sound Transit for that purpose and that the same firms may also perform overflow city permit review under separate task orders. “We plan to implement this through a task order system,” Dickinson said, describing a pass‑through invoicing arrangement.
Several councilmembers asked specifically about tree impacts in the SR‑522 corridor and whether the city has sufficient arborist capacity to perform site verification when large numbers of Type 3 permits arrive. Director Hoffman reported the city has recruited an urban forest planner and said existing staff will conduct reviews and on‑site checks when feasible but that high application volumes may require consultant overflow to ensure timely review: “We’ll be in every yard,” he said, while acknowledging schedule and access constraints for property owners.
Some councilmembers raised conflict‑of‑interest concerns because several of the engineering firms have been involved in planning or design work related to Sound Transit. Dickinson said bidders were required to disclose conflicts and recuse themselves where appropriate, and staff will track recusals. Supporters of the motion said the contracts are paid through permit fees and will not create a direct out‑of‑pocket cost to the city for Sound Transit reviews.
Council approved the procedural waiver and then adopted the grouped resolutions authorizing agreements for each firm. Records show grouped voice votes with several 5–1 tallies on individual company approvals and final unanimous approval for at least one grouped vote. The contracts are now in place for task orders; staff said they will route work to multiple firms to avoid overloading any single consultant.
What’s next: staff will execute the on‑call agreements, begin issuing task orders as permit applications arrive from Sound Transit, and coordinate with the city’s urban forest planner on tree verification and replacement planning.
