Make your voice heard to the committees overseeing Seattle’s transportation and land use policies:

• Tuesday, December 4, 2018, 2 p.m. Sustainability and Transportation

• Wednesday December 5, 2018 9:30 a.m. Planning, Land Use and Zoning

Meetings held in City Council Chambers at 600 4th Ave. Seattle, WA 98104

Don’t miss this opportunity to lobby directly to City Council committee members charged with shaping policies affecting downtown transportation, development and livability. These meetings are the first after a long hiatus for the City budget process. Meetings are planned for later in December but could be canceled closer to the holidays.

If you’re attending for the first time, here are tips from experienced speakers and committee staffers:

1) The meetings kick off with public comments that can be on any topic related to the committee’s jurisdiction. The most effective remarks are targeted and concise. See the committee descriptions and links below for subject matter.

2) Arrive 15 minutes before the meeting begins to sign the public comment sheet. People will be called up to the microphone in the order they signed the sheet. The sheet is removed just before the meeting starts so if you’re late there is no opportunity to speak.

3) Speakers are allowed two minutes to speak but when there’s a large crowd, speaker time is reduced to one minute. To avoid being cut off, prepare two versions and time your delivery. Time goes fast and many people find it helpful to read their comments.

4) Written statements can be submitted at the meeting along with or instead of verbal comments. Comment cards are provided at the entry for this purpose. Written statements can also be submitted in advance by emailing them to the committee chair’s office. When submitting a written statement or presentation, be sure to reference the name of the committee, the meeting date and that you request your statement or presentation to be part of the meeting’s public record.

5) Some committee agendas denote a “public hearing” for a particular topic. In this case a separate sign up sheet will be provided only for people who want to comment on that topic at the appropriate time. An example is a public hearing for new Level of Service (LOS) standards at the Sustainability and Transportation Committee meeting on Dec. 4. This proposes a change to the measurement of traffic levels of service and is of interest to downtown residents.

More information will be available when the agenda is published.

….Stay tuned for a future blog post with more information on what these committees do.