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    Legislation approved by the Seattle City Council on January 26, 2015, and filed with the City Clerk

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    Scanned copies of the signed legislation are available in the database records linked below:

    Ord. 124694
    C.B. 118299

    AN ORDINANCE making technical corrections to the Election Campaign Contributions Code, amending Sections 2.04.010, 2.04.150, 2.04.155, 2.04.180, 2.04.265, 2.04.270, 2.04.290, and 2.04.340.

    Ord. 124695
    C.B. 118305

    AN ORDINANCE relating to City employment; authorizing the execution of a memorandum of understanding between the City of Seattle and the Washington State Council of County and City Employees Local 21-PA, AFSCME; providing payment therefor; and ratifying and confirming prior acts.

    Ord. 124696
    C.B. 118306

    AN ORDINANCE appropriating money to pay certain audited claims and ordering the payment thereof.

    Res. 31562

    A RESOLUTION declaring the City of Seattle will support the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict as a framework and agent for advancing City sustainability goals within the EcoDistrict boundaries.

     

    Legislation approved by the Seattle City Council on January 20, 2015, and filed with the City Clerk

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    Scanned copies of the signed legislation are available in the database records linked below:

    Legislation passed by the Seattle City Council 1/20/15

    Ord. 124689
    C.B. 118270

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the Traffic Code of the Seattle Municipal Code, amending sections 11.23.150 and 11.23.160 to expand the free-floating car sharing pilot program to allow a greater number of free-floating car sharing operators and vehicles and modifying standards and requirements of the program.

    Ord. 124690
    C.B. 118282

    AN ORDINANCE relating to City public works; providing findings regarding priority hire; establishing a policy to promote training and career opportunities for individuals in the construction trades; establishing priorities for the hiring of residents in economically distressed areas with particular priority for Seattle and King County; directing the Department of Finance and Administrative Services to execute a project labor agreement for public works projects estimated to cost $5 million or more; directing that the program be evaluated and reported on annually; adding a new Chapter 20.37 to the Seattle Municipal Code, which includes Sections 20.37.010, 20.37.020, 20.37.030, 20.37.040, 20.37.050, 20.37.060, 20.37.070, and amending Seattle Municipal Code Sections 20.38.005 and 20.38.010 in connection thereto.

    Ord. 124691
    C.B. 118290

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the Seattle Office of Housing; repealing Section 3.14.750 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

    Ord. 124692
    C.B. 118291

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the use of federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds, amending the 2010 and 2014 Consolidated Plan annual action plans to reallocate funds out of homebuyer activities into rental housing activities.

    Ord. 124693
    C.B. 118304

    AN ORDINANCE appropriating money to pay certain audited claims and ordering the payment thereof.

    Res. 31563

    A RESOLUTION to initiate a University District Parking and Business Improvement Area.

    Res. 31564

    A RESOLUTION of intention to disestablish the 1996 University District Parking and Business Improvement Area, and fixing a date and place for a hearing thereon.

    Res. 31565

    A RESOLUTION of intention to establish a University District Parking and Business Improvement Area, and fixing a date and place for a hearing thereon.

     

    Legislation approved by the Seattle City Council on January 12, 2015, and filed with the City Clerk

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    Scanned copies of the signed legislation are available in the database records linked below:

    Ord. 124684
    C.B. 118295

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the City’s criminal code; amending and adding to various sections and subsections in Chapters 3.33, 12A.06, 12A.08, 12A.10, 12A.14, 12A.16, 12A.20, 12A.24, 12A.28, 16.20 and 16.64 and repealing sections 2.20.010 and 2.20.020 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

    Ord. 124685
    C.B. 118296

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the implementation and operation of a new regional 800 MHz emergency public safety radio communication system; authorizing the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Information Technology to execute for and on behalf of the City of Seattle an interlocal agreement between the City of Seattle, King County and the Cities of Auburn, Bellevue, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond, Renton and Tukwila for the purpose of planning, financing, procuring and implementing a new 800 MHz emergency radio communication system to be funded through a separate King County property tax ballot measure; and ratifying and confirming prior acts.

    Ord. 124686
    C.B. 118297

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the City’s traffic code; amending various sections and subsections in and adding sections to Chapters 11.22, 11.31, 11.34, 11.56, 11.57, 11.64, 11.66 and 11.82 and repealing sections 11.66.060, 11.66.080 and 11.66.100 of the Seattle Municipal Code to conform with changes in state law.

    Ord. 124687
    C.B. 118298

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the future operation of a new regional 800 MHz emergency public safety radio communication system; authorizing the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Information Technology to execute for and on behalf of the City of Seattle a memorandum of agreement between the City of Seattle, King County and the Cities of Auburn, Bellevue, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond, Renton and Tukwila for the purpose of establishing key terms for a future interlocal agreement to create a non-profit corporation, as provided under RCW 39.34.030, to manage, operate, and maintain a future regional emergency radio communication system.

    Ord. 124688
    C.B. 118301

    AN ORDINANCE appropriating money to pay certain audited claims and ordering the payment thereof.

     

    Legislation approved by the Seattle City Council on January 5, 2015, and filed with the City Clerk

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    Scanned copies of the signed legislation are available in the database records linked below:

    Ord. 124680
     C.B. 118123

    AN ORDINANCE relating to land use and zoning, amending Sections 23.41.012, 23.49.008, 23.49.009, 23.49.011, 23.49.014, 23.49.015, 23.49.019, 23.49.046, 23.49.056, 23.49.058, Downtown Maps 1A, 1F, 1G, 1H, and 1J, 23.54.035 and 23.66.170 of the Seattle Municipal Code, to promote development adjacent to the downtown waterfront that will support the City’s vision for transforming the waterfront into a major public amenity, to update various development standards related to downtown development generally and to clarify provisions in these Sections of the code.

    Ord. 124681
     C.B. 118292

    AN ORDINANCE appropriating money to pay certain audited claims and ordering the payment thereof.

    Ord. 124682
     C.B. 118293

    AN ORDINANCE appropriating money to pay certain audited claims and ordering the payment thereof.

    Ord. 124683
     C.B. 118294

    AN ORDINANCE appropriating money to pay certain audited claims and ordering the payment thereof.

     

    Legislation approved by the Seattle City Council on December 15, 2014, and filed with the City Clerk

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    Scanned copies of the signed legislation are available in the database records linked below:

    Ord. 124667
     C.B. 118191

    AN ORDINANCE granting Lambda Association of Gamma Phi Beta permission to maintain and operate a skybridge over and across the alley between 17th Avenue Northeast and 16th Avenue Northeast, north of Northeast 45th Street, for a ten-year term, rene wable for two successive ten-year terms; specifying the conditions under which this permit is granted; providing for the acceptance of the permit and conditions; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

    Ord. 124668
     C.B. 118262

    AN ORDINANCE relating to drainage, flood and habitat improvements being implemented through the Thornton Creek at 35th Ave NE project by Seattle Public Utilities along Thornton Creek on private and public lands; declaring easement rights related to Thornton Creek at 10706 35th Avenue Northeast surplus to the City’s utility needs; authorizing relinquishment of the surplus easement; authorizing Seattle Department of Transportation to acquire, accept, and record, on behalf of the City of Seattle a permanent bridge maintenance easement from Seattle School District #1; placing such easement under the Seattle Department of Transportation’s jurisdiction; transferring partial jurisdiction of a portion of property in the Southwest Quarter of Section 27, Township 26 North, Range 4 East, W.M., from Seattle Public Utilities to the Seattle Department of Transportation for bridge footings and maintenance; approving a five year Memorandum of Agreement between the Seattle School District and Seattle Public Utilities for activities on school lands; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

    Ord. 124669
     C.B. 118275

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the City Light Department, authorizing the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer to purchase an easement from the Corporation of the Catholic Archbishop of Seattle for the relocation of the City Light Department’s overhead electric lines within Northeast 195th Street in the City of Shoreline; and authorizing payment of fair market value to the Corporation of the Catholic Archbishop of Seattle for the easement.

    Ord. 124670
     C.B. 118276

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the City Light Department; authorizing the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer to execute an easement agreement for the purchase of a utility easement from E & L Investments, LLC; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

    Ord. 124671
     C.B. 118277

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the Urban Forestry Commission, adding a new member and amending Sections 3.72.020 and 3.72.030 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

    Ord. 124672
     C.B. 118278

    AN ORDINANCE relating to Seattle Public Utilities; accepting easements granted to the City of Seattle for installation, operation, and maintenance of water mains, fire and domestic water services, water service vaults, hydrants, water facilities, water supply pipelines, water meters, access and appurtenances necessary for water utility purposes at various locations in Seattle and unincorporated King County, Washington; placing the easements under the jurisdiction of Seattle Public Utilities; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

    Ord. 124673
     C.B. 118279

    AN ORDINANCE relating to Seattle Public Utilities; accepting easements situated in southeast Seattle granted to the City of Seattle for installation, operation and maintenance of sewer lines necessary for drainage and wastewater utility purposes; placing the easements under the jurisdiction of Seattle Public Utilities and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

    Ord. 124674
     C.B. 118280

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the Seattle Monorail; authorizing the Director of the Seattle Center to execute a concession agreement granting Seattle Monorail Services the right to operate and maintain the Monorail system for ten years, with an additional ten year extension by mutual agreement; authorizing the Director to enter into project agreements for Monorail capital improvements and major maintenance projects as provided for in the agreement; authorizing the Director to establish Monorail fares within the limitations provided in the agreement; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

    Ord. 124675
     C.B. 118281

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the Bell Harbor Marina; authorizing the Mayor to execute a Termination of Agreement and Release of the Memorandum of Understanding between the City and the Port of Seattle for the operation and maintenance of the marina; and ratifying and confirming prior acts.

    Ord. 124676
     C.B. 118283

    AN ORDINANCE authorizing, in 2014, acceptance of funding from non-City sources; authorizing the heads of the Executive Department, Department of Information Technology, Department of Neighborhoods, Seattle Fire Department, Seattle Police Department, Seattle City Light and the Seattle Department of Transportation to accept specified grants and private funding and to execute, deliver, and perform corresponding agreements; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

    Ord. 124677
     C.B. 118284

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the 2014 Budget; amending Ordinance 124349, which adopted the 2014 Budget, including the 2014- 2019 Capital Improvement Program (CIP); changing appropriations to various departments and budget control levels, and from various funds in the Budget; adding new projects; creating new appropriations; revising project allocations for certain projects in the 2014-2019 CIP; creating positions; modifying positions; abrogating positions; making cash transfers between various City funds; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts; all by a 3/4 vote of the City Council.

    Ord. 124678
     C.B. 118288

    AN ORDINANCE relating to the SR 519 Project; authorizing the Director of the Department of Transportation to execute a Memorandum of Agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation and the City of Seattle providing for transfer of certain property to the City; authorizing WSDOT to perform maintenance work on SR 519 infrastructure in the City right of way; authorizing the Director to accept and record, for and on behalf of the City of Seattle, a quit claim deed for property along and adjacent to 4 th Avenue South between South Holgate Street and South Royal Brougham Way; placing the real property conveyed by the deed under the jurisdiction of the Seattle Department of Transportation and designating the property for street purposes; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

    Ord. 124679
     C.B. 118289

    AN ORDINANCE appropriating money to pay certain audited claims and ordering the payment thereof.

    Res. 31559

    A RESOLUTION of the City Council of the City of Seattle, Washington, calling for the annexation, by election, of contiguous unincorporated territory to the City of Seattle consisting of portions of the SW Quarter of Section 32, Township 24 North, Range 4, W.M., and the SE Quarter of Section 32, Township 24 North, Range 4, W.M., and the NW Quarter of Section 1, Township 23 North, Range 3, W.M., and the NE Quarter of Section 1, Township 23 North, Range 3, W.M., and the NW Quarter of Section 6, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the NE Quarter of Section 6, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the NW Quarter of Section 5, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the NE Quarter of Section 5, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the NW Quarter of Section 4, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the SW Quarter of Section 1, Township 23 North, Range 3, W.M., and the SE Quarter of Section 1, Township 23 North, Range 3, W.M., and the SW Quarter of Section 6, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the SE Quarter of Section 6, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the SW Quarter of Section 5, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the SE Quarter of Section 5, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the SW Quarter of Section 4, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the SE Quarter of Section 4, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the NW Quarter of Section 7, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the NE Quarter of Section 7, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., and the NW Quarter of Section 8, Township 23 North, Range 4, W.M., King County, Washington, referenced as the North Highline Annexation Area.

    Res. 31560

    A RESOLUTION providing an honorary designation of 4th Avenue North from Mercer Street to Republican Street as “Speight Jenkins Way.”

     

    Archives Find of the Month: Alice Doesn’t Day

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    Councilmember Jeanette Williams [on occasion of swearing in of Mayor Wes Uhlman], Seattle Municipal Archive Photo Collection, Item No. 51273

    Councilmember Jeanette Williams [on occasion of swearing in of Mayor Wes Uhlman], Seattle Municipal Archive Photo Collection, Item No. 51273

    The City Council issued this news release in 1975:

    ‘”Alice Doesn’t Day” Gains Council Support

    City Councilwoman Jeanette Williams today received full Council support for a resolution supporting “Alice Doesn’t Have Equal Rights” day, set for October 29.

    The resolution was passed by the Council in recognition of the contribution made by female employees to the City work force.

    The resolution also gave official sanction to a one-hour leave for the City’s female employees on October 29 to enable them to attend one of six educational sessions on women’s rights.

    The workshops, conducted by the Office of Women’s Rights, will deal primarily with discrimination in employment. Other subjects will include credit laws, maternity regulations, changing names, Third-World Women in employment and women in nontraditional roles. All sessions will be held in the auditorium of the Federal Building, 916 Second Avenue.

    The National Organization for Women set October 19 as “Alice Doesn’t Day,” calling for a national strike by women to demonstrate their value to society. The local chapter of NOW, while not actively supporting the one-day strike, is urging women to observe the day by attending women’s rights workshops, and wearing green ribbons which say “Alice Doesn’t.” The ribbons are for sale at NOW headquarters, 2252 N.E. 65th Street.

    Ms. Williams will speak at a Wednesday noon rally sponsored by NOW at the Second Avenue Plaza of the Federal Office Building.

    The downtown YWCA will observe the day with a luncheon after which ten women will speak on the theme: “What would have happened if I had stayed home today.” Speakers will include a newspaper editor, King County Councilwoman, nurse, attorney, administrator, domestic engineer, professional housekeeper, athletics coordinator, community volunteer and a legal secretary. The invocation will be given by The Reverend Lois Frazer.’

    See this and previous Find of the Month posts on the Seattle Municipal Archives’ website, and don’t forget to check us out on YouTube, Pinterest and flickr

    Archives Find of the Month: Grand Opera House Fire, 1917

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    grandoperaOn January 20, 1917, the Grand Opera House’s janitor, George Matsu, discovered a fire burning in the middle of the theatre’s balcony and called in a fire alarm. The fire spread quickly and engulfed the entire building, collapsing the dome less than 45 minutes after the blaze was discovered. Battalion Chief Fred Gilham was killed when the roof collapsed on him. Eight other firefighters, along with a policeman, were seriously injured with burns and broken bones. Guests at the hotel next door were evacuated because of the danger of the fire spreading.

    Within two days, the City Council charged its Public Safety Committee with making an investigation of the disaster and of relevant city laws and how they were enforced. Resolution 5497 stated that “the recent fire in the Grand Opera House, with its fatal results, shows the necessity for strict building regulations and efficient enforcement thereof as well as honest inspection, especially in relation to places of amusement where large numbers of people gather day and night.” The investigation was to be undertaken so that “the chances of a recurrence of such fires may be lessened or prevented.”

    The committee found that the theatre had been declared unsafe several times in the years prior to the fire, but also that it was no more unsafe than other buildings constructed in the same period, before the fire and building codes were improved. Hearings devolved into byzantine discussions about whether a former superintendent of buildings had been removed by the mayor for refusing to issue permits for changes to the theatre, but in the end no blame or responsibility was assigned. Defective wiring was assumed to be the cause.

    Proving that anything can and will be used for advertising purposes, the Aero Alarm Company ran a large ad in the Seattle Times the very next day, claiming that had their alarm been installed, “Seattle’s pioneer theatre would be standing intact today.”

    See this and previous Find of the Month posts on the Seattle Municipal Archives’ website, and don’t forget to check us out on YouTube, Pinterest and flickr

    Archives Find of the Month: Preventing watershed pollution, 1906

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    Cedar Falls No. 2, Seattle Municipal Archives item No. 110

    Cedar Falls No. 2, Seattle Municipal Archives item No. 110

    In 1906, three sanitary engineers gave a report to the mayor, city council, Washington State Board of Health, King County Medical Society, and the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad on “the advisability of permitting the construction and operation of a railroad in Cedar Valley.” Concerned about Seattle’s city water supply in the Cedar River Watershed, the officials had requested information about sanitary conditions and potential pollution from the project.

    The report outlines the work undertaken to investigate the issue, specifying that “the proposed location of the railroad, as indicated by stakes, has been followed practically from end to end, and the adjacent strips have been examined at such points and to such an extent as seemed desirable or necessary.” The engineers paid “particular attention to the configuration of the ground and to the nature of the soil.”

    They determined their main question to be “whether pollution of the surface of the proposed right of way and of the vicinity by the wastes of the human body can be prevented; and, if it cannot wholly be prevented, whether contamination of the river can be guarded against.” This was “by no means a simple matter, for construction involves the introduction of large numbers of men into the watershed, whose wastes must be prevented from reaching the river.”

    They found there was not adequate gravel and sand in the area to effectively filter sewage, meaning that efforts must be made to keep all waste away from the water in the first place. The report outlines specific areas where camps could be built on good soil at a distance from the river, and makes detailed recommendations for building and maintaining latrines. Workers would have to follow strict rules about human waste under penalty of dismissal, and the site “in all respects must be under constant competent sanitary inspection and control, far more stringent than, under ordinary conditions, is necessary.”

    With those recommendations and cautions, the board had “no hesitation” in saying the project could be done without undue danger to Seattle’s water supply.

    See this and previous Find of the Month posts on the Seattle Municipal Archives’ website, and don’t forget to check us out on YouTube, Pinterest and flickr

    Archives Find of the Month, September: Complaint about hippies, 1970

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    hippies-clipIn September 1970, Mayor Wes Uhlman received the following letter from an anonymous writer. The original was written in all caps with copious underlining.

    ‘Seattle Mayor.

    Dear Sir:

    Seattle got so bad with hippies, I just had to get out of that city. I couldn’t take it. That Pike Place Market is a rat’s nest of hippies and Pike Street is like a Skid-Road with hippies. All the stores cater to hippies with hippie clothes in their windows. Even with hippie store clerks in some stores on 3rd Avenue. They all write their hippie friends to “come to Seattle and get on welfare. They’ll feed us in Seattle. If they don’t hire us they’ll feed us good. Bring your free loving gals, we can all live in the public market. The cops don’t bother us here, they love us.

    The mayor and police are on our side, no fuss, no bother. We block the side-walks and sell our dirty papers on 3rd and Pike and 4th and Pine and all over Seattle. We have taken over the lower level of the Pike Place Market, it’s ours. Let your hair and whiskers get longer and clothes dirtier, so they won’t hire you – but they’ll feed you free on welfare.”

    “Of course we’ve got to keep in good with the mayor and cops to live this life of Riley. Don’t go up to Vancouver, B.C. The mayor and city council up there are getting wise to us and running us out of town, but not Seattle, they love us here.” Your hippie pal.’

    (Folder “Anonymous 1970,” Wesley Uhlman Subject Files (Record Series 5287-02)

    See this and previous Find of the Month posts on the Seattle Municipal Archives’ website, and don’t forget to check us out on YouTube, Pinterest and flickr

    Legislation approved by the Seattle City Council on December 8, 2014, and filed with the City Clerk

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    Scanned copies of the signed legislation are available in the database records linked below:

    Ord. 124662
    C.B. 118269

    AN ORDINANCE relating to 14th Avenue NW; transferring partial jurisdiction over a portion of 14th Avenue NW between NW 59th Street and NW 61st Street from the Seattle Department of Transportation to the Department of Parks and Recreation for neighborhood park purposes; deleting the Ballard Hub Urban Village project from the Neighborhood Park Acquisition Subcategory of the Acquisition Category of the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces; adding 14th Avenue NW Neighborhood Park Development as a new project in the Neighborhood Parks and Playgrounds Subcategory of the Development Category of the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces; reallocating funding from the Neighborhood Park Acquisition Subcategory to the Neighborhood Parks and Playgrounds Development Subcategory of the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy; increasing appropriations to the Department of Parks and Recreation in the 2014 Adopted Budget; and amending the 2014-2019 Adopted Capital Improvement Program; all by a three-fourths vote of the City Council.

    Ord. 124663
    C.B. 118272

    AN ORDINANCE relating to City employment commonly referred to as the Fourth Quarter 2014 Employment Ordinance; designating positions as exempt from Civil Service status, amending Seattle Municipal Code Section 4.13.010, authorizing the Mayor to execute a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Seattle/Seattle Public Utilities and the Plumbers and Pipefitters, Local 32, and ratifying and confirming prior acts; all by a 2/3 vote of the City Council.

    Ord. 124664
    C.B. 118285

    AN ORDINANCE relating to City employment; adding a new section to Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 4.20 to provide a wage supplement and insurance benefits for employees who are mobilized by the United States Armed Forces for active military service.

    Ord. 124665
    C.B. 118286

    AN ORDINANCE relating to security from terrorism; authorizing the City to partner with the State of Washington and King County to receive financial assistance from the Department of Homeland Security, Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness under the Urban Areas Security Initiative Grant for Federal Fiscal Year 2013; authorizing an application for allocation of funds under that agreement; amending the 2014 Adopted Budget Ordinance 124349 by increasing appropriations to the Seattle Police Department and Seattle Fire Department and accepting revenues; and, ratifying and confirming prior acts, all by a three-fourths vote of the City Council.

    Ord. 124666
    C.B. 118287

    AN ORDINANCE appropriating money to pay certain audited claims and ordering the payment thereof.

    Res. 31558

    A RESOLUTION related to the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy and the Victor Steinbrueck Park improvement project; determining the project is needed and should proceed and authorizing the project design and public outreach process.