South Rose Hill/Bridle Trails Neighborhood Association

Board Meeting

March 11, 2003

Bruce Feuling opened the meeting at 7:05 pm

Attendance: 32

Announcements:

•  Eastside Monorail Plan- check on the website. Kingcountymonorail.org
• Jessica encouraged people to stay after the break to discuss important neighborhood issues- the first of hopefully many discussions over the next few months.
• Ray notified of two land use proposals- 12527 NE 80^th   (2 lot short plat- comments until March 24) and 11720 NE 75^th place (Subdivide into 3 lots- March 17 deadline).  Please talk to him if interested. Applications do not show proposed lot sizes.

Updates (Bruce)

Houghton Transfer Station- County put off making a decision until May, pending issues related to compactors and intermodal transfers to trains. We suggested looking for a site adjacent to train line.

Ben Franklin Remodel—March 27 at 7pm .  Bruce explained that it will be an extensive rebuild to the rear (north) of the existing school. The atmosphere will be changed due to the relocation. Detailed drawings will be available at the meeting.  Why not renovate?  The district is on a 40-year cycle to upgrade the schools. State matching funds are obtained. Send Bruce an email regarding concerns or questions.  Also curb and gutter is an issue. Cost-benefit is an important determinant in whether to rebuild or renovate.  Some discussion around the process occurred.

Tree Ordinance

Traffic Calming- Don gave an update on the traffic calming committee.  Meeting again on March 18 to finalize the goals and examine new techniques that may be considered.

Nominating Committee- Looking for nominees for director or officer.  Mentioned switch with Don and Deirdre. Looking for vice president.

BAT Lanes- Benefits don’t outweigh the costs. There remains some interest in helping to move buses more efficiently, such as queue bypass lanes (e.g. right turns) and transit signal priority. Does this mean there would not be Sound Transit investment in the corridor (e.g. sidewalks)?  ST does have plans for downtown Kirkland transit center, along with the RTID discussion regarding park and ride at NE 85^th. Council did not support this idea.

Nancy Cox- City Processes

Nancy Cox from the Planning Department discussed development review process using a PowerPoint show (see notes). There are administrative, quasi-judicial, and legislative decisions. These are on a continuum of discretion for the council.  Citizen input also increases as the decisions move towards legislative.

Staff, based upon existing codes and regulations, makes administrative decisions. The hearing examiner or city council makes the quasi-judicial decisions.  The council makes legislative decisions.  She reviewed various administrative decisions, such as building permits, concurrency, administrative design review, smaller wireless antennae, accessory dwelling units, and some sensitive areas. There are limited opportunities for public input, with most input received at the legislative level where the codes are established.  The interim tree ordinance was a legislative decision, with individual homeowner permits being administrative. 

Quasi-judicial decisions include land use permits, such as Process I, IIA, IIB, and Design Review. The Planning Director is the decision maker, with appeals made to the hearing examiner.  Legal notices are published, along with property signs. Process I include short plats, simple shoreline permits, single family variances. Process IIA permits are determined by the hearing examiner, appealed to the city council. When an application is submitted, the staff analyzes the application and prepares a staff report to the decision makers.  These include subdivisions and more complex shoreline permits. Process IIB permits include PUD, master plans; historic overlay permits, larger wireless poles, and sensitive area decisions.  The Ben Franklin School reconstruction will fall into the Process IIB category. The hearing examiner prepares a written recommendation to the city council, which makes the decision. Similar noticing procedures exist.  The Design Review Board determines if CBD or Juanita Business District have conceptual design conferences early in the process, followed by a check later on.  Public notice is given.

The Houghton community council has jurisdiction over land use permits decided by the city council. (E.g. II B). The HCC sits in the chamber with the city council.  The HCC writes a report that is transmitted to the hearing examiner prior to his making a recommendation to the city council.  The Houghton transfer center is part of the HCC jurisdiction. The city council makes a decision and then the HCC looks at it and either accepts or denies the decision. They cannot change the decision.

When does the public have an opportunity to be heard? Land Use permit meetings include a pre-application meeting, community meetings (not code required but desirable), a hearing, and the appeal process. The most important time is during the open public record process, before the council makes any decision. Letters written make you a party or record, which gives you an opportunity to appeal the decision.

She also explained the costs and length of obtaining land use permits. There are no costs for citizen involvement.  Appeals costs are $150. Do the costs obtained from developers cover the costs to the city?  No- gaining about 30% of the total cost- this is a decision that many planning costs should not show up in the fees.

Kirklandpermits.net shows permit activity by neighborhood.

Mybuildingpermit.com applications.

Zoning code and comprehensive plan are now on-line.

Citizen Suggestion: make the signs legible like Bellevue .

Jessica Greenway - Neighborhood Discussion

Jessica led a discussion of important neighborhood land use issues.

Neighborhood Character- what makes us special?

• Innovative housing- smaller cottages might be more appropriate than large houses on small lots.  Duplexes are not the best idea.
• One size fits all doesn’t necessarily fit.
• Small lot size does not equate to affordability.
• Kirkland already has some ‘affordable’ housing in its existing stock
• Doesn’t see creeping MF as a terrible thing.  Shared wall housing has advantages with more open space. Takes less wood for framing and more energy efficient.
• We like the character now?  One home per acre (Bridle Trails). The rest of the neighborhood is going through a change- upgraded homes etc but within the context of the existing character.  Single-family nature is desirable.
• Concerned about character- misuse of ‘Bridle’ name- big homes on small lots.
• Low profile homes; trees (many removed)- The names come from areas that are going extinct.
• Accessory dwelling unit provision- look at that concept.
• How about increasing density in the existing MF zoning
• Recycled building materials- make requirements and give tax breaks for wastewater management (etc). Look at King County website.
• Expansion of existing houses- regulations for widening footprint? Probably no restrictions.
•  Not sure legislating makes sense to keep small house on large lots
• Where do you draw the line?
• Multifamily families, particularly renters, are not as interested in the neighborhood or keeping the character.  Many people who want to sell property near these developments have a more difficult time getting full market value.
• Character of the community is very important.  Lived here for 38 years on 122^nd near 80^th. The multifamily serves as a buffer between the commercial and single family homes. What do we want to see as this area changes?
• Market forces say people want 3,000 sq ft homes.
• What is the neighborhood spirit that we want to encourage?
• You don’t realize how many homes are rentals.
• Keep NE 85^th a walking corridor, not a strip commercial zone.  We can make it look and feel more like the community.
• Preserve Bridle Trails fought hard for the 10,000 sq ft overlay. This has helped maintain the character of Bridle Trails.
• Years ago this was all Rose Hill, now we are split into Kirkland and Redmond along 132^nd Ave.
• Bridle Main has 7200 sq ft lots- keep that as the minimum.
• Look at lot coverage issues
• Developers build these spec houses without a lot of thought. Encourage more personal interaction into the design process.
• Regulate design of buildings?

Jessica challenged the group to think of tradeoffs and values important to the community. How do we address the various needs of the broader community while keeping the character of the neighborhood?

Reports- None given

Picnic Idea-  Please give Bruce your input.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:05 pm .

Respectfully submitted,

Don Samdahl, Secretary