Meeting Notes 11/09/2021

South Rose Hill-Bridle Trails  Neighborhood General Meeting Minutes Tuesday November 9, 2021 on ZOOM

President Chris Kagen called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm.

Note: City Councilmember Jon Pascal attended.

There were no public comments.

Police Report: Lt. Lapaki Zablan, Kirkland PD

Our neighborhood’s low crime rate remains stable. Most crimes fall into the following categories: vehicle prowls and theft (especially of packages), and vandalism. The fact that the NE 85th Street bars have closed likely has contributed. 

The number of mental health calls has increased city wide.

Lt. Zablan took a few questions:

Q: In the instance of multiple car prowls by the same individual, is each vehicle prowled counted as a separate incident?

A:That scenario would count as one incident.

Q: What was the recent situation at the Bridle Trails Shopping Center that drew a significant police response?

A.Weapon display.

Package theft prevention tips: Know your neighbors. Report suspicious vehicles to police. Alert your neighbors if you expect a package delivery. A shout out to nosy neighbors as a crime fighting tool. Cameras help. Amazon lockboxes are useful.

Tech City Rezone Request 

Several speakers representing the property owner group reviewed the site history and presented conceptual drawings. There are no specific plans yet. Discussions on code language to support the development are underway with the Planning Commission and City staff.

Sign up to receive updates:

The rezone request will be discussed at the  11/30 Planning Commission meeting.

Questions?  natalie@nataliequick.com (applicant representative Natalie Quick)

sguter@kirklandwa.gov Scott Guter, Senior Planner, City of Kirkland

NE 85th Street Station Area Plan

Curtis Brown, representing property owners neighboring the Lee Johnson site, shared a slide presentation outlining concerns:

.2021 03-09 85th Station Area issues.pptx

Curtis Brown can be reached atCurtisb@outlook.com.

 Don Samdahl acknowledged Mr. Brown’s concerns and cautioned that Brown has a “vested interest” in the project as an adjacent neighbor. Mr. Brown referred interested parties to page 105 of : Council Packet 10/26/2021 https://www.kirklandwa.gov/files/sharedassets/public/city-council/agenda-documents/2021/october-26-2021/4_business.pdfhttps://www.kirklandwa.gov/Government/Departments/Planning-and-Building/Code-and-Plan-Amendment-Projects/NE-85th-Street-Station-Area-Plan

Don asked if City staff in attendance has a response to Mr Brown or can share more information. Senior Planner Allison Zink provided the following link:

https://www.kirklandwa.gov/Government/Departments/Planning-and-Building/Code-and-Plan-Amendment-Projects/NE-85th-Street-Station-Area-Plan. Sign up to receive updates. 

Councilmember Jon Pascal stated that there are many details needing to be worked out and that this work will continue into 2022.  Speaking personally, not  representing Council,  he expressed concerns  about  transportation and whether proposed  facilities will support the vision of pedestrian, transit, and bicycle access. Also the issue of school capacity has not been addressed. Adding any students will have a large impact on the school district, which currently requires 160 portables and expects a large increase even without considering the number of students the Plan as proposed will add. These issues need to be addressed before he can embrace the Plan.

Attend the :

Special Joint Meeting of Planning Commission and City Council: Tuesday November 16 5:30 pm

Neighborhood Safety Project Submissions

Craig Brown craignbrown@gmail.com is heading up SRH-BT ‘s application  process. Submit project suggestions to Craig.

Opportunities for Involvement

King County Northeast Regional Transfer Station (NERTS): Environmental Review March-April 2022

Houghton Community Council.: should it be dissolved?

Neighborhood Safety Program: see above

N.E. 85th Station Project

Totem Bowl rezone request

The meeting adjourned at 8:41pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Betsy Lewis, Secretary