Meeting Notes 01/09/2024

SOUTH ROSE HILL-BRIDLE TRAILS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION GENERAL MEETING

January 9, 2024 at BenFranklin Elementary School and on zoom

Attendance: 9 in-person and 7 on zoom

In addition, the following Board members were present: Chris Kagen, Jim Hoff, Don Samdahl, Betsy Lewis, Deirdre Johnson, John Marsh, Martin Morgan in person and Karina O’Malley on zoom.  Not present: Kayla Kaluna

President Chris Kagen called the meeting to order at 7:14 pm.

Announcements

N.E. 85th Street between 114th and 120th N.E. will be CLOSED to all traffic in both directions all weekend from 11 p.m.Friday January 26  to 4 a.m. Monday January 29 and from 11 pm Friday February 2 to 4 a.m. Monday February 5. 

Martin Morgan is Chair of the Board of Directors Election Committee. If you are interested in serving, contact any Board member, especially Martin at martinmorgan77@gmail.com.  The election will be announced at our March 12 meeting and the election takes place at the May 13 meeting.

Betsy Lewis circulated a thank-you card from the Neighborhood Association to former Council member Toby Nixon.  If anyone wishes to sign, she will see that the card gets to him at the recognition event for him taking place on Thursday, January 11 from 6-7 pm. at Heritage Hall. All are welcome to attend.

Many of us have worked with Toby over his three terms on Council and wish to recognize his work.

Public Comment:

Dan Maehren called the Board’s attention to some issues in hopes that the Neighborhood Association may have some influence on development in Kirkland, specifically the issue of two to three housing units  permitted to be on single lots. Next door to him, plans are approved to construct three “big boxes”  above grade, one with a roof deck and set far back on the lot, impinging his lot’s privacy. Mr. Maehren has been engaging with Planning and met with Kirkland Planning Director Adam Weinstein to ask why this type of design is allowed. Weinsein told him that Planning  is conducting a plan review this year on “3-unit builds”. Mr. Maehren said he has heard no public notification of the plan review; it is an internal procedure reviewing rules for 3-unit builds. Maehren hopes the Board will engage in this process. These structures have both positive and negative impacts. He has suggestions to make to reduce the negative impacts of these structures.

Mr. Maehren is also concerned about an amendment to the Tree Protection Code 95, passed on December 12, 2023. Was the Neighborhood Association contacted for input on that amendment? Per law, public outreach is required, and he thinks insufficient time was allowed for any input between November 30, when a memo was published and December 12. Mr. Maehren plans to submit an appeal with the Growth Management Hearing Board Act. He plans to at least preserve his legal right to make a comment. Is the Board willing to sign the petition or to be referenced to let them know that  the Neighborhood Association  was not contacted regarding public input?

To clarify, a  3-unit build is a house, an attached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and a detached dwelling unit (DDU) on a single lot.

Deirdre Johnson commented in support of Mr. Maehren’s remarks, specifically the effect of three

units recently constructed on the previously single family lot abutting her property and the negative impacts to her and to the neighborhood. Some impacts are good, some are disastrous. The three units are all above grade. Parking for the units is at the back of the lot, outside her bedroom window;  There is insufficient space for vehicle parking; cars must maneuver,  light sensors turn on, a disruption especially at night. Also since there is insufficient parking, vehicles park on the street. Further, each dwelling unit has  a compost bin, a trash bin, and a recycle bin–so nine bins in total. If these dwelling units can share a lot, why can’t they share waste bins?

Comment from Kyle Johnson, a lifelong neighborhood resident, supports bike lanes and is pro-housing.

Wendy Stewart on zoom asked for prior notification of the 2024 Holiday Trail Riders caroling event at Bridle Trails Shopping Center. 

Phone Directory

The Board is considering compiling a directory of phone numbers and email addresses of whom to call at the City. It is not always easy to tell from the City website, for example to report a tree code violation. If there’s anything you’d like to see in a directory, put it in the chat if you are on zoom, or contact a Board member. For example, calling a City number, and it is urgent, such as a code violation in progress, you sometimes have to leave a message. The number posted on tree protection area signage is incorrect. No one in Code /enforcement answers the phone evenings or weekends, when many tree code or other violations occur. Police non-emergency does not respond to code violations. The Planning Department is aware of this and is working on a solution.

Police Report

We don’t have a police representative here tonight. One of the topics we asked to address is street racing, also speeding on 70th and some feeder streets. A second topic we would like police to talk about is the City’s gun buyback program and what happens to the guns that are turned in. The New York Times recently reported that at least one of those programs resulted in spare parts ended up in the hands of gun dealers who built new guns using them.

Re: street racing- a report of a police car seen recently parked on 70th on a weekend evening by South Rose Hill Park, which is one of the locations neighbors reported street racing.

We will ask police to report on these topics at our March meeting, as well as for a report on crime trends in our neighborhood.

Modera at Bridle Trails (redevelopment of the Totem Bowl site): Don Samdahl

This project has been in development for a couple of years. 368 units are proposed; of which two thirds would be one-bedroom apartments, 63 studios, and 83 two-bedrooms. The project underwent a parking analysis to determine how much parking is needed. parking .In order to make the apartments more affordable, the developer is unbundling parking from the units. So parking is not included in the rent; those wanting parking will pay extra for it. The issue here is the potential for overflow parking in the shopping center parking lot and on 130th, the dead-end street west of the shopping center. Also the new development includes space for some retail. Plus there are no visitor parking spaces. The apartments may be able to share parking with retail. We will need to keep on this; unsure of when the final decision on parking modification will happen. The building height is limited to 60 feet above the street level of N.E. 70th. The Pagliacci Pizza site is not part of the development.

Deirdre Johnson: I looked into why the Neighborhood Association was not notified of the request for parking modification and learned that the requirement was that only property owners within 300 feet  be notified, despite our Neighborhood Association’s involvement since its inception. Why was no sign posted about the request for parking modification?I’m told the comparables used for the parking analysis were the Bellevue Overlake area and Spring District. There’s already spillover parking on 130th. I contacted ROIC and learned they are upset about this, too. 130th is not wide enough to accommodate parking on both sides–it becomes a one-way street.

Jamil Suleman:  I grew up here and I think this development is going to drastically change this community and not for the positive.

Question: Does the plan include bicycle parking? Answer: Yes.

Question: Is there anything planned to improve the capacity of 70th? Answer: No, not to widen it.

10% of the units are required to be affordable.

2044 Comprehensive Plan: Chris Kagen

The Plan covers various elements, including land use, transportation, and housing.A map will be posted on the City’s website where people can make comments on what they want included for transportation. It will enable input on whether the issue is traffic control, safety, or other. The target date for a public hearing on the Plan is next summer. Sign up to receive emaisl on the Comprehensive Plan progress on the Planning Department page at kirklandwa.gov. You may also contact Chris Kagen with questions at chris.kagen@gmail.com.

The City has a plan to roll all the Neighborhood Plans into the Comprehensive Plan. Currently, each neighborhood has its own plan, with South Rose Hill and Bridle Trails together in the same plan. The City wants to stop updating the Neighborhood Plans individually, rolling them into the Comprehensive Plan, and update the entirety every ten years. There are13 Neighborhoods, each with its separate plan. This idea is not popular with the Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods because the local focus of the individual neighborhood plans would be removed. It’s unclear how successful KAN feedback will prove to be. Our Neighborhood Plan waited 25 years prior to its last update, so at least the change would mean more timely updates. 

Traffic Plan

The plan is to make the intersection of 120th and 75th, near the high school, an all-way stop to improve pedestrian safety and to calm traffic.

Jim Hoff: Another idea is to make a change to the traffic light at the intersection of 120th and 80th at the entrance/exit to the LWHS campus to make it a four-way signal, at least during the before- and after-school hours period. As it is, it is too difficult to make a turn onto 120th.

Houghton Park and Ride site

The City is still negotiating the sale of the site with WSDOT. There should be a robust public process to identify interim uses of the site. The City is developing a survey to determine why Proposition 1 (aquatic center) failed. 

Margaret Schwender: We live close to the site. My neighborhood is experiencing ride-share cars parked on our street since the Park and Ride lot closed. This is legal parking, but is there anyone we can contact about this? It does pose a danger at times. 

Suggestion: mark this on the afore-mentioned interactive map on the City’s website.

Neighborhood Volunteer Opportunities

Planting bed integral to the Bridle Trails Neighborhood sign just east of the entry to the former Houghton Park and Ride: seasonal planting of the bed and maintenance. The Neighborhood Association reimburses volunteer(s) for the cost of plants, soil, etc. Longtime volunteer 

Sharon Morgan is moving on. This is an ideal volunteer opportunity for a gardener, a group of neighbors, or a youth organization. Please contact Chris Kagen at chris.kagen@gmail.com.

Neighborhood picnic to take place on National Night Out in August: Chair needed. Dan Maehren suggested South Rose Hill Park and his cul-de-sac, which adjoins the park.

Ice cream truck promoting the SRHBT neighborhood Association: chair needed.

Sue Contreras asked if the Neighborhood Association could reimburse her volunteers for the trash bags they have been purchasing for N.E. 70th cleanup. The answer is yes, if a receipt is provided plus we need a tally of volunteer hours spent. 

President Kagen adjourned the meeting at approximately 8:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Betsy Lewis

Secretary