The Federal Way City Council read proclamations in support of the city’s Black and LGBTQ+ communities, looked at protecting the view from the Performing Arts and Event Center (PAEC), and voted affirmatively on numerous tweaks to city code during their June 6 and June 20 council meetings.
Transportation hearing
The council held a public hearing June 20 on the city’s proposed 2024 – 2029 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
The TIP blueprints the city’s 6-year plan for transportation-related capital projects. Under state law, cities must regularly update their TIP or risk losing access to state grants — which make up a hefty portion of the funding for many municipal transportation projects.
According to the TIP, the following projects are:
• Nearly completed: The SR 509 / 47th Avenue SW roundabout; and the Safe Route to School SR 509/SW 312th to 21st Ave SW project.
• Newly proposed: A South 320th Street and 21st Avenue S. grade separation design and feasibility analysis; and adding a sidewalk and streetlights to 28th Avenue S. from S. 312th St. to S. 308th Ln.
No one spoke during the public hearing, and the council unanimously voted approval of the resolution.
Protecting the view
The council on June 20 took a first reading on, and unanimously forwarded to the next meeting, an ordinance that would require businesses and other buildings downtown to maintain the scenic view of Mt Rainier (on a non-cloudy day) from the PAEC and other parts of downtown Federal Way. In essence, the ordinance defines a region in which building anything that covers up the view of the mountain would not be allowed.
More city code changes
Also on June 20, the council unanimously voted to forward two ordinances to the next meeting that would change city code to make accessory dwelling units (ADUs) easier to build.
The changes:
• Remove a regulatory barrier preventing ADUs in cluster subdivisions. This would expand ADU eligibility throughout the city.
• Streamline the permitting process for ADUs — so that only one permit must be requested by a homeowner, rather than the two currently required, remove the owner occupancy requirement, reduce the cost of ADU production and remove certain regulatory barriers, among other changes.
The council also unanimously approved an ordinance June 20 bringing city code up to date and making parts of it more uniform.
Comments over Pride Month
The council meeting on June 6 briefly became heated when a public comment speaker compared the Biblical sin of pride with the LGBTQ+ pride movement, making reference to a “demonic spirit.”
“If you take the words Pride Month and put them together, the five two letters in the middle are ‘demon,’” the speaker said. “What does that tell you? … I see it that way. I believe pride is a demonic spirit. I believe it’s a spirit that has infiltrated areas that don’t need to be infiltrated. … I talked about this the first time the Pride flag was hoisted, the proposal to have alternative flags hoisted, that it would open the door for a lot of different things.”
He later added: “I respect people, I respect everybody’s different nature, their choice … but when you take pride and celebrate it, that is not a good thing.”
Community member Allison Fine, who was there that evening in part to accept the city’s proclamation commemorating Pride Month, expressed shock and dismay toward that speaker and others’ comments.
“I am shook by what has occurred in this meeting,” Fine said later in the meeting, after the council’s Pride proclamation. “I am shook that the city council just sat there and said nothing while that occurred. I am shook that one of my neighbors told me, without telling me directly, that I should let someone call me a demon.”
In her comments, Fine mentioned Marsha P. Johnson — the Black transgender woman of whom Fine wore a shirt that day depicting — who is sometimes considered “the mother of the Pride movement.”
“In 2023, marginalized communities are still living in fear of ridicule and violence,” Fine said. “Still being abused openly. … A proclamation like the one for Pride Month isn’t about approving our lifestyle. It’s about acknowledging our history — something that is undeniable and undebatable. No one can tell us who to love, or how to feel about our bodies anymore than someone can tell another person what flavor of ice cream they should get.”
“Tonight was a very difficult night,” Councilmember Lydia Assefa-Dawson said later in the meeting. “I don’t know what’s the right thing to do in terms of those hate speeches. … Because people have the right to freedom of speech, but at the same time, to come to a council meeting where we’re here for all people, and then we hear things that are exclusionary, I’m still struggling with that. … I’m disturbed by what was a heavy public comment night tonight.”
In a statement over email, Mayor Jim Ferrell said the city is committed to the cause of the Pride movement and at the same time must uphold the rights of speakers who vehemently disagree.
“In the United States of America, sometimes the price of … liberty and freedom of speech is the tolerance for someone to yell something at the top of their lungs you would spend a lifetime opposing,” Ferrell said. “That is the essence of the freedom of speech. We have shown our continued commitment to the cause of Pride and LGBTQ+ rights as evidenced by our raising of the Pride flag and the proclamation I issued that evening.”
Also in city business:
• The Federal Way Police Department is conducting a community survey through August 18. You can access it by visiting: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ SL9DT89
• The next council meeting will be pushed back a day to July 5, so that residents can celebrate Independence Day.
• The council will interview candidates for the vacant position left by former councilmember Erica Norton at 5 p.m. June 26 in the council chambers. A total of 18 people applied.
• Mayor Ferrell was excused from the June 20 meeting, during which Councilmember Susan Honda also appeared virtually.
On June 20, the council also:
• Held a proclamation for Make Music Federal Way.
On June 6, the council also:
• Held a moment of silence for former Deputy Mayor Hope Elder and former school board member Charlie Hoff.
• Honored Ick Jin Kim, executive advisor of the Federal Way Korean American Association, for his contributions to the Federal Way Korean-American community and his help making the city’s trip to Federal Way’s sister city in South Korea a success.
• Presented the city’s proclamation commemorating Pride Month to community member Allison Fine.
• Presented the city’s proclamation commemorating Juneteenth to the city diversity commission.
• Approved amendments to the city’s fee schedule.
