By Mellow DeTray

Community grievances, long-term utility planning, and legislative compliance dominated the Normandy Park City Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026.

Councilmembers heard urgent resident concerns about regional airport pollution and tree removal mandates. They gave final approval to a multi-year stormwater rate increase.

While adopting state-mandated Comprehensive Plan updates and navigating a fiber-optic franchise agreement with EZ Fiber, the council balanced local infrastructure needs against broader state regulations and environmental impacts.

Public Concerns

During Public Comments, two speakers shared their concerns with the council. One spoke on the coming airport expansion and how the study area used in the environmental impact analysis was much too small. In addition, they said, the model used in the study to estimate pollution effects was 50 years old. He said that one drinking water well has already had to be closed due to airport pollution, and expansion will further impact more sources of drinking water.

The other speaker said that a tree had recently come down in his neighborhood, and following that the city let him and his neighbors know that they would have two weeks to remove a dozen other trees. The speaker said that each of these poplars would cost approximately $7,500 to remove. He believes they were originally planted by the city so they should be removed at the city’s expense. At first two of the trees on his property were flagged, and following that two more were flagged for removal. He asked at a minimum for an extension on the two week deadline, to have more time to address this issue.

After these comments, Mayor Eric Zimmerman said sometimes Public Comments isn’t the best way to communicate, since it’s not a back and forth dialogue. He added that he is always happy to talk with the public outside of the council meeting about their issues.

Stormwater Rate Increase

The council unanimously approved the second reading of a planned stormwater rate increase. The rate will rise gradually over the next several years, to help the city meet stormwater service requirements. The rate will go up by 5% annually for the first five years, and then 2% the sixth year. Currently, residents pay $32.21 monthly for this utility. In 2027 that will increase to $33.82. By 2032, the monthly rate will be $41.93.

Comprehensive Plan Updates

The council approved housing and transportation amendments to the city’s Comp Plan. These changes were needed to comply with state law. However, Mayor Eric Zimmerman mentioned that Washington, along with California, are two of the final holdouts still using the “housing first” model. Parts of California are making big changes to move away from this method, and Seattle is starting to realize it’s a problem as well.

Mayor Zimmerman expects less emphasis on new housing requirements regionally in the future. So, despite making the required zoning changes that could potentially increase density in order to follow state law, the mayor does not think dense housing will be coming to Normandy Park.

New EZ Fiber Franchise Agreement

The council unanimously approved the first reading of a new franchise agreement with EZ Fiber, which plans to bring high speed internet to the city. This franchise agreement was discussed at length, with Mike Bischoff dismayed at the idea of more wires going up. The city cannot legally require EZ Fiber to lay their cables underground, as they need to be given the same access as other providers. Undergrounding utilities can be prohibitively expensive, though some providers choose to do it to prevent theft and vandalism.

City Manager Amy Arrington said that technically the council doesn’t have to approve the franchise agreement, but that the city can’t stop EZ Fiber from installing wires even without an agreement. If the agreement is approved, then at least the city has a say in some of the terms. Lumen was mentioned as a provider who has infrastructure in the city but has no agreement. Without a franchise agreement, the city can’t ask them to do anything, and it can be a problem.