Mark your calendars! Last year we put together dozens of microwaveable bed warmers for our neighbors at Camp United We Stand and the LWUMC Safe Parking Program. We’re doing it again this year at our September 21 meetup. We’ll meet at 6:00p at Chainline Brewing Taproom at Kirkland Urban for our usual social meetup with good conversation and neighborly connections, but we’ll be assembling these bed warmers while we chat! We had a ton of fun doing this last year and we heard repeatedly that these were really appreciated!

In our previous newsletter we made an error in the vote count for Ordinance 4937. Tymczyszyn voted against the Ordinance and Curtis voted in favor, but we reported the opposite. The Ordinance failed 4 - 3 with Curtis, Black, Arnold, and Pascal voting against, while Falcone, Prem, and Tymczyszyn voting in favor. We apologize for the error.

MainStreet “Slate Peak” Development Agreement

MainStreet Property Group is proposing a 170-unit mixed-use project at 636 & 672 7th Ave. These parcels are in the Norkirk Makers District, located within the Station Area's Urban Flex zone. To make the project viable, they are requesting a Development Agreement from the City that includes a 20-foot height increase and an exception to current street-level residential restrictions.

Currently, Urban Flex zoning does not allow any residential uses on the ground floor of a building, except for lobbies. The city has said that this prohibition includes all uses that support residences, such as parking, storage rooms, and trash facilities. The developer argues that it’s not financially viable to provide a nearly full floor of commercial space (including support facilities) on the ground floor, because this would result in very deep commercial areas which are not in high demand. While parking is not required at the site, the developer intends to build parking and finds that the soil conditions make it infeasible for it to be underground, hence the building needs to be taller. The project would set aside 10% of its units as affordable housing for 50% of the Area Median Income, which is standard for the zoning of these parcels at this time.

MainStreet is also proposing to provide an additional public benefit as a part of the development agreement. Option A would be to lease up to 1,500 sq ft of the non-residential space at below market rates to a communtity or arts group, or a smaller/fledgling retailer. Option B would be to financially contribute to place-making and activation at the intersection of the Cross Kirkland Corridor and 7th Ave.

The Council will discuss the proposal and decide whether to direct staff to move forward with drafting an agreement. The agreement could follow the proposed terms, or alternatives proposed by the City Council.

85th St Station Area Name Discussion

A steering committee, consisting of City Staff, the Executive Director of the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce and an outside consultant, Watson Creative, has suggested 3 name options for the 85th St Station Area:

Watson Creative will discuss how these names were selected during the City Council meeting. The intent is that the City Council will provide feedback, and then select a final name at their October 6th meeting. This discussion follows a Study Session on July 21st where naming criteria were discussed.

The City intends to use a final name to create branding and other materials that will help promote the Station Area and catalyze re-development efforts. Development activity in the Station Area has been much slower than was expected during the re-zoning process.

Parking Code Clean-Up

As part of the consent calendar, the City Council is expected to adopt Ordinance O-4948, which cleans up parking requirements throughout the city’s zoning code. An “early action ordinance" was passed back in April to comply with SB 5184, but left the zoning code itself outdated. The Ordinance also incorporates the Planning Commission’s recommendation to establish lower, citywide bicycle parking requirements and update rules to allow bicycle storage structures within setbacks.

Highlands Water Pressure Alternatives Analysis

Following issues stemming from the 2024 pressure zone conversion, staff is presenting options to address water pressure issues in the Highlands Neighborhood. Staff is recommending "Alternative 1" (partially restoring the high pressure zone for the highest-elevation parts of the neighborhood) as the preferred long-term fix to restore proper water pressure to affected residents while keeping the overall fire protection and system resiliency benefits of the original 2024 conversion intact. The project is expected to cost $8.1M after some projected savings and take between 24 and 30 months to complete.

If you are a registered voter, you will see three initiatives on your ballot this fall, including the following two:

Both measures were conceived, sponsored, and bankrolled by hedge fund manager Brian Heywood through his political committee, Let's Go Washington. Both initiatives are opposed by a broad statewide coalition including the Washington Education Association (WEA), ACLU of Washington, Washington State PTA, League of Women Voters, and civil rights groups who warn they compromise student safety, strip fundamental privacy rights, and target vulnerable youth.

Under Washington law, city councils have the legal authority to vote on official municipal resolutions taking a stance on such statewide ballot initiatives. For example, the City of Shoreline already adopted Resolution 567 opposing both initiatives. If you think Kirkland should take an official position on these initiatives, please reach out directly to the council at [email protected] or you can email members individually—their emails are all listed on the City Council’s webpage.

In September’s featured video, Dave Amos - a professor of City and Regional Planning at Cal Poly SLO and the host of the YouTube channel City Beautiful - shows how we can make design choices that prioritize safety and comfort on our neighborhood streets. Know what a “complete” street is? How about “visual friction” or “queueing”? Dave breaks it all down for us. 🤓

Join Liveable Kirkland in a conversation about our city’s present and future! We have an active community on Discord and Facebook and we’d love it if you joined in too!

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

Additional stories, articles, and media for those who want a little more.