It was great to see so many of you at Saturday’s Juneteenth celebration! Here are some of the photos of the event captured by Liveable Kirkland members, enjoy!

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Peter Kirk Pool Project Delivery

Staff will present options to the city council for alternative ways of delivering the Peter Kirk Pool Project. Staff are proposing the city use a “progressive design-build” process which will require approval from the state. Staff cite a number of examples of local governments delivering projects using progressive design-build, though don’t delve into whether those projects were delivered faster or cheaper specifically because they used progressive design-build. The city will be hiring Turner and Townsend Heery as the “Owner Advisor” to meet state requirements for using any procedure other than design-bid-build.

Code Update: Affordability Requirements in Low Density Zones

The City Council will hold a Public Hearing regarding Ordinance 4937, and then consider adoption. The Ordinance will increase the size exemption for the affordable housing requirement in low density zones to 2,500 sq ft (from 2,000 sq ft). This means that any homes 2,500 sq ft or smaller will not be subject to the affordability requirement. Any square footage above this exemption will be subject to a $15 per square foot fee during the permitting process, with the proceeds being used to fund affordable housing projects.

This affordable housing requirement was adopted by the City Council on June 17th 2025, but it does not take effect until January 1st 2027. At adoption, the City Council chose to review the requirement before it took effect, and they did so at the May 19th meeting. Councilmembers expressed interest in increasing the square footage exemption so that three-bedroom townhomes would be exempted, which is why staff have drafted this Ordinance.

In the memo, Kirkland City Staff recommend that the City Council maintain the existing 2,000 square foot exemption (they recommend not adopting the Ordinance). They point out that the city does not have any data on the impact of this fee, since it hasn’t taken effect. Staff finds that typical 3 or 4 bedroom townhomes are about 2,350 square feet, but can be smaller. Therefore, changing the exemption will only save about $7,500 in fees per home. This is a small amount in the context of new construction, but Staff argues it is significant for funding affordable housing projects. Staff points out that the exemption threshold can be made bigger at any time, but lowering it back down in the future would require additional development allowances.

Sheila Stanton Place Update

Staff will present the sixth month update on the opening of Sheila Stanton Place, the former La Quinta site in the Yarrow Business District. Sheila Stanton place will provide 100 units of permanent supportive housing as a part of the King County Health Through Housing initiative. The anticipated move-in schedule due to construction expects 44 people to live in Sheila Stanton Place in phase three which runs from Mid-June to July 2026.

Adoption of Residential Lot Splitting Regulations

The City Council will consider Ordinance 4938, which will allow for Residential Lot Splitting (RLS) in Kirkland. The state legislature defined what RLS is by passing HB 1096 in 2025, and cities are required to allow it by July 27, 2027.

The RLS process allows for splitting a “parent” lot into two new lots. This will have very similar outcomes to a Short Plat, but will require less staff time, have lower permit fees, and can be completed quicker. RLS can only be done once per “parent” lot and it can only produce one additional lot, while other subdivision types can produce more lots. Generally, the same standards for infrastructure, right-of-way and environmental impacts will still apply. Having more small lots can make home ownership more affordable, and increase the supply of smaller homes.

Totem Lake SIS Visioning

Members of BLOXHUB presented what they learned about the Southern Industrial Subarea during their two visits to Kirkland. This included site visits to see what exists today, talking to businesses on-site, and hosting two workshops. They also presented some examples of their previous projects that involved re-imagining industrial areas and re-using existing structures. They found that the warehouse buildings in the subarea are all built in a very similar way. This means that it would be easy to create “templates”, or apply learnings from one project to others. They have concrete outer pillars, striking wooden roofs (visible from the inside) and wooden interior pillars. 

Commissioners expressed excitement about the possibilities presented, but they also shared concerns about process, city resources, and differing goals that are in the way of moving forward. Work in this area was kicked off by a Community Amendment Request from a property owner. The property owner sought zoning to allow for a large redevelopment - 1,200 homes and a height limit of 150 feet. Rather than responding to this individual request, the City Council decided to create a new subarea plan for all of the nearby properties via policy TL-33 in the recent Comprehensive Plan update. This policy has a thorough list of topics to be studied before any zoning changes can happen, and seeks to maintain much of the current uses. The City’s growth plans account for a fairly large amount of housing being built here, but a plan that maximizes housing is in tension with the goals of maintaining existing uses and buildings. Completing the remaining requirements of TL-33 is known to require additional budget, and no budget was allocated for this year.

Chair Jacobson proposed that the discussion about this subarea plan be continued on either June 25th or July 9th, because the Commission currently doesn’t have any agenda items for those dates. He noted that policy TL-33 was directly added by the City Council in the end stages of the Comprehensive Plan process, so it was not reviewed by the Planning Commission. Commissioner Rozmyn stressed wanting to see the City act on these ideas without spending much more time on developing plans that may sit unused.

BLOXHUB presented 9 areas of interest that could be developed further by Kirkland in a future stage:

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(And if you add a picture you took to #photos on Discord it might get featured in next week’s issue!)