SeaTac lawmakers are thinking about eliminating two meetings per month by combining study sessions with regular council meetings.

Currently, council members meet at 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month to hear presentations from staff and discuss proposed legislation. No votes are taken.

Then at 6:30 p.m., the council convenes for a regular meeting with abbreviated staff reports and council debate, followed by votes on resolutions discussed at the study session.

Council members usually agree to place most of the proposed ordinances on a consent agenda to be passed unanimously without further discussion.

Public comment is heard at the beginning and end of both meetings.

Under a new proposal discussed at the council’s February retreat, the study and regular sessions would be combined into one meeting, starting at 6 p.m.

Individuals would be given one minute and groups two minutes to speak before the consent agenda is considered.

Individuals would also receive two minutes and groups five minutes to talk before lawmakers voted on old or new business.

Council members planned to vote on the change at their April 11 meeting but Councilman Ralph Shape raised questions that assistant city attorney Mark Johnsen said he needed to research.

Consideration was postponed until Tuesday, April 25.

Shape said the new rules allow an ordinance to pass if a majority of those voting are in favor. The council’s quorum is four; so three council members could approve an ordinance.

However, Shape said state law requires a majority of all seven council members to vote in favor before an ordinance is passed.

Mayor Gene Fisher noted the council would not do away with study sessions. They would just be combined with the regular meetings.

The public could still comment before legislation it is voted on, he added.

“We are just not regurgitating the discussions,” Fisher declared.

Councilman Joe Brennan said he strongly opposes the measure.

He noted the council previously held study sessions on the first and third Tuesdays of the month and did not vote on ordinances until the regular meeting a week later.

That gave interested citizens an opportunity to study and raise concerns before lawmakers voted on legislation. Citizens could also read in a newspaper about the proposals before action was taken, Brennan added.

“Now we are going to streamline again,” Brennan said. “We will hear a staff presentation just one time. Sometimes it’s not bad to chew cabbage twice.”

After a public hearing, the council reaffirmed a temporary moratorium on building activity around the new light rail station at South 154th Street and Highway 99.

The moratorium covers permit applications for land use, development and building of commercial or multi-family structures near the station.

The station, set to open in summer 2009, is just within Tukwila city limits but development is expected to extend into SeaTac.

Planning director Steve Butler told lawmakers current codes don't require transit-oriented development so planners need time to complete a plan.

The moratorium extends until Aug. 1, but he plans to present interim standards to council members by May 23.

During the public hearing, a property owner asked the city to form a coalition with developers to form the plans.

Another property owner wanted assurances the city would not block access to his business.