Sumner City Council member: 'Time for Sumner to stop being the parking lot for the region'

Following a meeting to discuss joint parking solutions for Sounder commuters between a minority of councilmembers from Sumner and Puyallup and a brief discussion during the May 27 Study Session, the Sumner City council was expected to vote Monday night to direct staff to create an ordinance that would impose a moratorium on parking structures throughout the city.

Councilmember Matt Richardson is leading the push for a moratorium to try and prevent Sound Transit from building a parking garage on Traffic Avenue.

“I think it’s time for Sumner to stop being the parking lot for the region,” Richardson said this weekend.

The idea for a parking garage and a moratorium to oppose it first surfaced during last fall’s Regional Transportation Improvement District vote and as a campaign point between Richardson and his opponent, Jon Swanson.

The idea for a moratorium then resurfaced after the election and councilmembers in December approved a resolution encouraging a public discussion between the council and Sound Transit, which was scheduled for early in 2008.

The meeting did not materialize, however, and Richardson said it was time to once again take up the cause as Sound Transit is deciding whether or not to go to the ballot again this year.

Richardson is part of a group of councilmembers from both Puyallup and Sumner who oppose parking garages in their city and favor a single garage located on county land between the two cities.

The group, made up of a minority of each council to stay in line with open meetings laws, put out a press release May 23 announcing their plans.

Richardson said the language being considered for the new vote is the same as that used last year, which included talk of a parking garage in Sumner. According to Richardson, that would be a mistake for the city.

According to reports, the favored site for a garage is on Traffic Avenue, at the old Riverside Ford location.

Richardson said during the campaign, residents told him they supported a parking solution, but not one that would bring a garage to the city, especially the downtown. Richardson said there is no benefit to the city in having a commuter garage that would only add traffic and gridlock to Traffic Avenue.

“It’s a major thoroughfare for our own residents to get through town,” he said.

During discussion at the Study Session, the council discussed their intention to have a dialogue with Joni Earl, CEO of Sound Transit. Though Earl was scheduled to attend Monday’s council meeting, the council asked the mayor – who serves on the sound Transit board of Directors – to reschedule because the meeting format would not allow for a dialog, but rather a presentation from Earl.

Her appearance will be rescheduled for a future study session.

Sound Transit was also scheduled to host an Open House Tuesday in Sumner, but councilmembers said it would not be an appropriate place for elected officials to discuss their views with Earl.

Mayor Dave Enslow argued that it was too early to worry about a morataorium as Sound Transit had yet to decide whether to go back to voters and what to ask for, but Richardson said he did not want to wait any longer on what he sees as protecting the city and said he does not believe the mayor has expressed to Sound Transit or Earl the council’s wishes or views.

“I feel like I have no alternative,” he said at the meeting.

The ordinance under consideration Monday would instruct staff to write the moratorium ordinance, which would then get another vote. There appeared to be enough votes to create the moratorium ordinance, but final approval of the moratorium itself is still unknown.

Brian Beckley can be reached at 253-826-3260, ext. 5052, or brian.beckley@sumnerreporter.com.

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