Included in the Tuesday, July 12 agendas for discussion by the Edmonds City Council’s three committee is repealing the city’s much-contested gun storage and unauthorized use ordinance, which was invalidated in the courts.
Proposed by then-City Council President Mike Nelson in July 2018, Ordinance 4120 was subsequently enacted by a 5-to-1 vote of the council. Passage of the ordinance set the stage for a flurry of legal actions, rulings and appeals pitting gun rights advocates against the city. Opponents maintained that the ordinance was illegal, in that it violated the Washington State Preemption Statute (RCW 9.41.290), which gives the state exclusive authority over firearms regulations statewide.
In a unanimous decision in April 2022, the Washington State Supreme Court denied the city’s petition to overrule last year’s Appeals Court decision that effectively invalidated the ordinance.
A proposal to repeal the ordinance is before the council’s Public Safety, Planning, Human Services and Personnel Committee, which starts at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Committee meetings are work sessions for councilmembers and staff, with no public comment taken.
The full agendas for all three committee meetings are as follows:
Public Safety, Planning, Human Services and Personnel Committee
4:30 p.m.
1. Administrative services job descriptions
2. New Public records associate position
3. Public records specialist position request
4. Police cadet position
5. Public information officer job description revision
6. Repeal of safe gun storage and related laws after Washington Supreme Court’s field preemption ruling
Finance Committee
5:30 p.m.
1. Position conversions to 1.0 FTE for domestic violence coordinator and parking enforcement positions
2. Business Improvement District – collections update
3. 2020 audit follow-up actions
4. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) update
5. May 2022 monthly financial report
Parks and Public Works Committee
7:30 p.m.
1. Oktoberfest event agreement
2. City of Lynnwood/Meadowdale Park interlocal agreement 2022 expenditure request for Meadowdale Playfield playground
3. Parks, recreation, cultural arts and human services department – Q2 report
Staff and councilmembers attend committee meetings virtually, and members of the public are encouraged to attend the same way.
If members of the public can’t access the virtual committee meetings with their personal devices, a monitor is provided on city council committee nights from 4:30-9:30 p.m. at the city council conference room in Edmonds City Hall, 121 5th Ave. N.
To attend this meeting virtually, click on or paste the following Zoom meeting link into a web browser using a computer or smart phone:
https://zoom.us/j/95798484261. Or join by dial-up phone: US: +1 253 215 8782 Webinar ID: 957 9848 4261.
