• Honoring the Past
• Living in the Present
• Looking to the Future

ACE Community Engagements

  • Do you love Edmonds?
  • Do you want to retain the small town feel of the Bowl?
  • Do you want responsible development throughout Edmonds to provide additional and affordable housing and business?
  • Do you want to be advised when issues impacting any of these arise?
  • Do you want to know how to make your voice heard to public officials and fellow citizens?

Well, this is what ACE is all about!

CURRENT ACE AREAS OF INTEREST

Citizens’ Housing Commission Proposals – ACE has been following and commenting on recommendations from the Citizens’ Housing Commission. We strongly urged Commissioners to accept more public input during a process made difficult by COVID-19. We have shared concerns about the Commission’s conclusions, which if adopted by the Mayor and Coucil would dramatically change single-family neighborhood residential zoning throughout the city. We also support additional transparency in Edmonds city government generally.

Opposition to state legislative proposals – ACE expressed serious reservations regarding bills in Olympia seeking to preempt local zoning requirements and permit multi-family residential development in single-family residential zones.

Planning for growth – Engaging with City of Edmonds elected representatives and staff members and fellow community members on how best to discuss responsible growth and still preserve neighborhoods, our beautiful downtown area, and support needed improvements for Westgate, Highway 99, Five Corners and other areas.

Decrease in First Floor Height Downtown Central Core – ACE has reviewed a proposal to lower the existing first floor height requirement from 15ft to 12ft in the BD1 zone (Main from 6th Ave to 3RD Ave and Fifth from Main to Maple, which says will allow the 3 stories within the existing 30 ft. height limit.

Transparency – ACE has concerns about growing “lack of transparency” in several areas of City Government (Council, Boards, Committees and Task Forces), the Port and the City website, and has recommended tangible ideas for improvements.

Housing Strategy – ACE reviewed and commented on proposals by the City of Edmonds that could have seriously impacted future growth and development. The City’s final report followed creation of a Housing Strategy Task Force by the Mayor back in 2017.  This largely consultant and city staff driven efforts did not necessarily reflect resident interests. This report continues to be available for public review at https://www.edmondshousingstrategy.org/.  ACE members discussed their concerns during multiple ACE meetings and attended public forums throughout 2018 and presented the City with extensive comments. Some areas ACE supported and other areas ACE strongly opposed. (These comments continue to be viewable on this ACE website.) Following City administration missteps in 2019, the City Council took control of the process and embarked on creating a newly-structured Housing Commission that was launched late in 2019. This new Commission included appointments of citizen members from seven districts across Edmonds. Public interest has been very high. Public comment opportunities as of late Spring 2020 were very limited. In July 2020, ACE submitted a detailed position statement on the issues to the Commission, City Council and Mayor. Those comments are posted on the ACE website. ACE strongly encourages Edmonds residents to become informed and make their voices heard as Commission work expands. Housing issues are also regularly discussed during ACE meetings so joining ACE and participating in these discussions can be invaluable.

Parking – ACE ongoing concerns about the parking (or lack thereof) in the downtown and elsewhere, and what can be done to resolve the problems.

Harbor Square – ACE members carefully studied the issues and participated in many public forums regarding a Port of Edmonds redevelopment proposal for the port-owned Harbor Square property (adjacent to the Edmonds Marsh and SR104-Dayton Street). The Port proposal could have meant 55′ buildings (above current 30 feet height limits); substantially increased building density and limited open space; and reduced environmental set-backs from a historic wetland. The Port encountered considerable community opposition and withdrew its proposal in late 2014.

Quasi-Judicial Change – ACE has taken the position that the City Council of Edmonds should continue to accept appeals of hearing examiner decisions on land use matters rather than defer responsibilities to Snohomish County Superior Court.

Creative District — ACE has expressed strong interest and support for a Creative Arts District designation for part of the downtown core. The City successfully received approval from the State of Washington in November 2018. We believe this is the first such designation of its kind in the state.

ACE has been actively engaged in activities designed to preserve the small town character of the City of Edmonds since ACE was formed in 2004.

HERE ARE A FEW OF OUR PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS:

2022:

  • ACE worked diligently to review and continuously follow WA State legislative bills that would have eliminated local control of our land use and zoning. We wrote numerous articles to inform the public and gave easy ways for citizens to participate in the state legislative process to promote local control of density and respect the environmental impacts of cookie-cutter decisions on Edmonds. We heard that the large public response impacted state legislators to not pass laws that would have upzoned Edmonds (and other cities) to include 2-6 housing units per single-family lots, essentially tripling the population of Edmonds carte blanche.
  • ACE took-on the attempt by the State, after density bills failed in the legislature, to use a slyly-worded monetary grant that would have forced Edmonds to develop plans to upzone at least 30% of single-family neighborhoods to 2-6 housing units per lot. Exposing this additional top-down attack on local control of how and where we choose to do our growth and development was a huge win for Edmonds. If the grant had gone through it would have ignored the local citizen input previously asked by the Edmonds citizen housing commission with had 78% of respondents saying they wanted no changes to their single-family neighborhoods.
  • ACE supported and ultimately achieved the retention of commercial and business opportunities in our downtown business core. The attempt to remove the original intent of the BD2 (business district) to include commercial at a minimum on the ground floor or within a house and replace it with large apartment only complexes right in our small downtown commercial core was a win for our town to maintain the primary business and diverse tax base within our city limits so we aren’t having to travel outside Edmonds to receive a variety of service choices.

2021 

  • Provided extensive public comments on proposals from the Citizens’ Housing Commission that sought to eliminate single-family residential zoning in Edmonds. ACE and other individuals were extremely active throughout the year speaking at City Council and Planning Commission meetings, speaking with and writing letters to council members and the mayor as well as writing Letters to the Editor and articles for My Edmonds News, and the Edmonds Beacon.
  • Created an entirely new website focused on housing issues: https://housing.aceedmonds.org/ and updated the existing ACE website.

2020

  • ACE member and former president John Reed appointed to newly-formed Citizens’ Housing Commission
  • ACE provided Mayor, Council and Commission members detailed comments regarding housing encouraging listening to citizen input and maintaining the unique livability qualities of our City.

2019

  • ACE provided detailed comments to the Edmonds City Council regarding proposed design of the new Housing Commission.
  • ACE urged the City Council to place a moratorium on Multi-Family Tax Exemption(s) (MFTE) that benefit developers but increase infrastructure, maintenance and support costs for the City as well as burden other tax-paying Edmonds residents.

2018

  • ACE did comprehensive review and provided comments on the Mayor’s proposed Housing Strategy.

2017

  • ACE hosted its 6th semi-annual candidates forum jointly with the Edmonds Senior Center for  City Council and (for the first time) Port Commission candidates.
  • ACE corroborated with Save Our Marsh group on concerns related to the negative impacts of proposed re-development on the marsh environment.
  • ACE publicized information regarding the parking on Sunset Avenue.

2016

  • ACE complimented Parks & Recreation (redevelopment of Civic Playfield) and a Mayors’ Task Force (Waterfront Access alternatives) for their transparency and involvement of the public these processes
  • ACE studied changes to the Critical Areas Ordinance being discussed by the city and provided specific comments and suggestions to Mayor/Council in March 2016.
  • ACE asked the City to consider whether building a new community center directly on the waterfront was too risky given the likelihood and timing of rising sea levels as part of global warming.
  • ACE questioned whether it was necessary for the base of a structure in Harbor Square to be raised by 2 feet.

2015

  • ACE supported sun-setting the 17-member all-appointee Citizens Economic Development Commission formed during the 2008 economic recession. This was accomplished by the City Council in late 2015. However, the Commission was re-formed in 2016 after further discussions between the Mayor and Council.
  • ACE published an article on the activities to rezone Harbor Square to ensure public complete understanding of the proposed changes.
  • ACE published articles to the public discussing height-limits changes downtown.  This resulted in a defeat of efforts to increase heights.
  • ACE urged the Mayor’ Task Force studying long term and short term waterfront access issues to focus on the immediate safety access alternative first.  This option is currently under development.
  • Asked all Council candidates in our 5th Candidate Forum and directly if unchallenged to state their position on raising building heights in downtown Edmonds, Westgate, and other areas.  All stated opposition to raising building heights in the downtown / waterfront area.

2009 – 2014

  • ACE vigorously opposed a plan by the Port of Edmonds to re-develop Harbor Square into a mixed use commercial / residential complex with buildings ranging from 30 ft (existing height limit) to residential buildings up to 55 ft within 25 ft of the marsh boundary and 10 ft of Dayton St. This effort, supported by many citizens, was withdrawn by the Port in 2013 and officially rejected by the Council thereafter for procedural purposes.

2011 – 2012

  • ACE promoted and provided input into redevelopment plans for both the Westgate and Five Corners areas of Edmonds.

2010 – 2011

  • ACE opposed a requested height increase to 34 ft (from existing 30’ zoning) on redevelopment of property between Main and Bell along 2nd Avenue that included a boutique hotel. The City enforced the existing 30 ft. height limit.

2007-2008

  • ACE was actively involved in opposition to the ongoing effort by a private developer for the then Old Safeway site along Sunset Avenue and WSDOT / Ferry holding lanes to redevelop property east of the railroad tracks along the waterfront. The developer abandoned its plans.

2004-2007

  • ACE formed late in 2004 because plans were being put forth by the City executive and consultants to increase height limits in the downtown from 25 to 30/33 ft. Ultimately the plan was abandoned, after which height limits in the downtown central core remained at that time at 25 and 30 ft.