SOUTH ROSE HILL BRIDLE TRAILS (SRHBT) NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

 KIRKLAND CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE FORUM 

September 29, 2025

7-9 pm @ Ben Franklin Elementary School

Candidates:

POSITION 1:

Ken Oberman

Jay Arnold (Incumbent)

POSITION 3

Catie Malik

Shilpa Prem

POSITION 5:

Ken MacKenzie

Neal Black (incumbent)

POSITION 7:

Kurt Dresner

Jon Pascal (incumbent)

Moderator: SRHBT Neighborhood Association President Chris Kagen

Our format for candidate forums, used in previous years, was to give each candidate three minutes to introduce themselves and speak to their platform and values, ideally with an emphasis on issues that resonate strongly with our neighborhood.   A Q&A session followed, with each candidate allotted 60-90 seconds to respond to questions selected by the  SRH/BT Board. Questions were designed to be of general interest and also most pertinent to our neighborhood.

A transcript of the responses from each Candidate follows. You can also watch a recording of the forum in two parts here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5-KEFOCnIo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JobUyczLWf0 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

Position One

Jay Arnold: Thank you for being here and thank you to the South Rose Hill Neighborhood Association. With the dearth of local journalism these days, these face to face opportunities are critical. I’m Jay Arnold and I’m running for re-election to Position #1. I moved to Kirkland 35 years ago to work for Microsoft,first living in aTotem Lake apartment. Kirkland was the jewel of the Eastside then and remains so today .I’ve been fortunate to be able to buy a house in Kirkland and raise a family. Our daughters  graduated from LW schools and are now in college and graduate school. At Microsoft, I worked as an engineer and test manager on several flagship projects.  I take the strategic and analytic skills that I learned there and apply them to  my work on Council every day. On council I’m proud of the work that we’ve done on key priorities and things that are important to Kirkland. Our quality of life is driven by people, parks and places. And we’ve invested in opening new parks,  enhancing existing ones, and enhancing the Cross Kirkland Corridor. We’ve taken a strategic approach to public safety by creating a new type of first responder–mental health professionals to help people who are in crisis, easing  the burden on fire and police while keeping fire and police fully staffed. I have protected trees, I have championed energy efficient all-electric buildings and I have planned for Kirkland’s sustainability into the future. We know we have work to do to  build more housing options to make Kirkland affordable to everyone. We need to promote development opportunities on 85th for housing and jobs near Bus Rapid Transit. We did it before at Totem Lake, we can do it on 85th. We are in the middle of completing major transportation projects around town. We need to take the next step of plans and turn them into projects to improve safety. And we need a transit system that works for Kirkland, that better serves  all of our neighborhoods with frequent, reliable service. And finally, most importantly, we have to stand together and protect our values as a safe, welcoming  inclusive community. I have a proven track record of leadership on protecting these values –protecting our values, planning for the future investing in and my particular passion–sustainabiliy. I  look forward to talking more about this and I ask for your vote. Thank you.

Ken Oberman: Good evening friends, neighbors, South Rose Hill-Bridle Trails and the Neighborhood Association for putting this together for us. My name is Ken Oberman, just to make sure everybody’s clear.  My wife Susie and I  chose Kirkland for its small town feel, welcoming parks, and neighbors who actually look out for one another. That spirit of connection is what makes the City work. parks, neighbors, streets.  In my professional life I managed multimillion budgets where discipline and results were non-negotiable. On the City Council, you, the residents are the stakeholders and the results must be safe streets, thriving local businesses and a community that grows without losing its character. Kirkland is changing fast. We all see that. Living downtown I see it daily: More people, more traffic, more infrastructure stretched thin.  Every neighborhood feels it, whether it is the crowded roads,limited transit, La Quinta, the transfer station. That’s why I am running for City Council. Residents are stakeholders. Growth must fit capacity, not be just an ambition.  We can meet state requirements without exceeding what our streets, water systems and public safety can sustain. I will keep first responders fully staffed, insist on transparent budgets we can track and invest where the evidence shows it matters most. Public safety, reliable infrastructure, strong local business, and our parks and open space. Kirkland deserves leadership that listens first and delivers results. After more than a decade of the same approach, our City needs a fresh perspective and practical results focused on a mindset that comes from outside City Hall. Thank you.

Position Two

Catie Malik: My name is Catie Malik and I’m running for City Council.  I’ve had the privilege of calling Kirkland home  for 21 years and I grew up in Bothell. I’ve witnessed firsthand how our community has evolved. I truly appreciate the changes and challenges that growth is placing on our neighborhoods and infrastructure. I’m running for City Council because I believe that Kirkland  deserves a leader who will be a voice for all of its residents, unlike the current Council that too often seems beholden to a particular ideology.  I’m loyal to the people of Kirkland. I’m not here to represent a party; I’m here to represent you. I believe in practical  commonsense solutions that reflect the values and needs of our diverse community. Transparency is a core of my approach to leadership. Every decision should be honest and rooted in what’s best for Kirkland. As your representative, I will always prioritize clear communication and work to be sure your voice is heard in every discussion. Kirkland is growing, and while that brings opportunities it also presents challenges. Ensuring we have the right infrastructure, whether it’s roads, transportation, utilities, water,or public spaces, it’s critical to make sure our growth is both sustainable and positive. We need to plan for the future, making sure we have the resources in place to meet the needs of our growing population while also making sure that Kirkland remains such a wonderful place to live, work and visit. Beyond infrastructure related to growth, another key value that guides my approach is fiscal accountability. We’re stewards of taxpayer dollars and we must make every dollar count. I’m committed to smart, responsible budgeting that ensures we’re funding the services that matter the most to you while also maintaining a sustainable balanced budget. This includes making sure the programs we’re investing in are delivering meaningful, measurable results. I’m absolutely qualified to do that, I work in healthcare. I’m a finance and operations executive. I’m currently managing the operating rooms at Overlake Hospital. It’s the engine of the hospital and it’s really, really diverse and complicated and you have to have all of your systems running every single day. I really believe I’’m the one who can help lead Kirkland.  I’’m here because I believe in Kirkland’s future, one where we grow responsibly invest wisely, make thoughtful decisions that reflect the values of our community, not the interests of a political agenda.Over the next four years I look forward to hearing your thoughts, your concerns and your ideas for a shared future.Your voice matters and I’m committed to being a representative who listens and works tirelessly for your community. Thank you for your time and for being here tonight.

Shilpa Prem: You may wonder why at this stage in my life I’m running for Kirkland City Council, raising two school-age children and working full time as a lawyer. The answer is simple. I  care deeply about the kind of community we’re building and want to be sure Kirkland remains a vibrant and welcoming place for my kiddos, seniors, and everyone in between. One thing I’ve realized is in order to make this happen good, thoughtful decisions need to be made at the Council level and I bring that skillset to the table. A lot of what is required to serve on City Council is navigating complex laws, zoning codes, and policy frameworks,and this is exactly where my legal expertise will come into good use on Council. As a lawyer, I don’t just understand the rules, I know how to understand them and interpret them and that each and every word could have lasting impact on our community. Throughout my career, I successfully advocated for regulatory changes through common sense data driven approaches and I am going to bring that same determination to Council.  My values can be summarized in four categories. Number one: ensuring we have open green spaces throughout Kirkland because that’s why we’re all here, why we love Kirkland. Two: create an adequate an adequate infrastructure and fast so people can get from Point A to Point B without a headache.Three: create more housing options so people can age in place and four: making sure the community continues to be safe because that is a really critical component of being able to live  worry-free. After speaking to a number of people in the community and voters  I’ve come to realize that people want to achieve four things: live a good life: a healthy,  happy and positive life. The decisions City Council makes really do impact day-to-day lives which is why who you vote for is so important. Bottom Line: I understand that serving you starts with listening. You really are  the most important piece of this entire puzzle and how we plan the future of Kirkland really does come down to you. From my end, I can promise that your voices are heard on Council and I encourage you to please, please come talk to me. Let’s grab coffee so I can get to know you so we can build our future together. Thank you.

Position Five

Ken MacKenzie: Thank you for having this forum and thank you all for being here. This is not your usual Kirkland election. The choices are stark.  We can retain the status quo. Massive growth is in the queue or we can go in a different direction. I’m here to be part of offering you a different direction, one of  sensible growth rather than massive growth. My family and I moved here in 2009, so we’ve been here for awhile. Our kids grew up in the public school system. In fact, my daughter went to this very school. In 2011. I became a stay at home dad. I spent decades in my professional life  managing large teams of engineers, managing budgets, and handling personnel issues, so I know about running an operation. I’m a community guy. I’m one of us. I’ve been working with my Neighborhood Association and working with the Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods since 2016, so I know what it’s like trying to build community at the neighborhood level. I worked on the  fire safety ballot measure  at the invitation of the City, that brought us the new fire stations and enhanced emergency services that we have today.  I was invited by the City to join the Parks Funding Exploratory Committee and the point of that was to define  an indoor recreation center and pool. At the end of that  process I determined that the proposal from the City was a bad deal for taxpayers, and I led the effort to defeat that Proposition, in spite of the fact that I really, really  wanted a pool. About 60% of the people of Kirkland voted against the City’s proposal. So that moved me into the category of taxpayer watchdog. I care deeply about how we spend our money. So I’m committed to Kirkland. There are people here who have tried to leave their City Council position twice in the last year. I will be here for the duration. I want to be a team player on a new City Council. I will advocate for sensible growth and I want to serve Kirkland residents first, rather than the surrounding communities and our County. Thank you.

Neal Black: Thank you for being here and for being engaged in your local election.Local elections are important. They’re really important, and too often they involve  not enough information or misinformation, so I really appreciate you’re here dedicated to learning more about issues, races, and the candidates who are vying to be on City Council.  or I’m Councilmember Neal Black. I’m running for re-election. There’s a lot more information about me on a handout that is floating around the room.I hope you’ll read it, take it home and refer to it later. Tonight, instead of covering my background or the various roles I’ve served in the community, I want to share three three lessons I’ve learned about being an effective Councilmember. First, you have to be dedicated  to public service, not politics or party or what have you.That commitment, to me, began in  college in a tutoring program for underserved students in the Bay Area and working on environmental policy at the White House, the Environmental Defense Fund, and tDepartment of Justice. The Haas Center for Public Policy at Stanford was my home away from home, not the student senate. While peers were doing political campaigns I was focused on direct service and policy. In fact, I never worked on a political campaign until  I ran for Kirkland City Council the first time in 2019. Since then, I’ve learned that if you are not grounded in the public good, you are going to be swayed by the last opinion you heard from the last person you talked to. And that doesn’t work because   governing is complex and it requires careful, thoughtful solutions. Two, you have to be willing to lead and be accountable. Throughout my career I’ve made tough calls-in Board rooms, courtrooms, and law school classrooms where I’ve been accountable to Management teams, clients, students, investors, and the community. For the past 6 years I’ve been accountable to the  people of Kirkland. Those years of experience thinking through complex issues, listening and making disciplined decisions that stand up to scrutiny has been invaluable to serving Kirkland with integrity. Finally, good governance is essential. Cities face countless unpredictable issues. You can’t  go in as a one-issue activist. You need curiosity, you need good judgment, you need the courage to have hard conversations and be brave in courage and be brave in making  tough decisions you didn’t know you’d have to face.You must engage the community, listen openly,  weigh competing interests and make hard decisions. When I first ran in 2019 I promised  sound governance at a time when national politics seemed hopelessly divided. That commitment matters today more than ever and I’d love to have your vote.

Position Seven

Kurt Dresner: I think we’ve got something special here. I don’t think there’s a day goes by when I don’t thank my lucky stars I live in Kirkland. Like most folks, when I moved to Kirkland I didn’t know a whole lot about it  but it didn’t take me long to fall in love with the city. Kirkland is safe and welcoming. Our low crime rate and great schools make it a fantastic place to raise a family. And on top of that, Kirkland is stunningly beautiful from its parks to its parks to our amazing waterfront to our extensive system of parks.The Kirkland my daughter came from the hospital to 15 years ago looks a lot different now   than it did then. When my children  decide to start families of their own I’m sure it will look different then. The question isn’t whether change is going to happen; the question is  whether and how change will affect the things that make Kirkland special.  That change can feel unsettling. We see the traffic on our arterials and worry if it is going to get worse. We see our favorite small businesses struggle with rising rents. We worry that the character of our favorite neighborhood is slipping away. We look at our children and wonder if they, their teachers, or our service workers will  ever be able to afford a home. Acknowledging these changes is the first step  to solving them.  My vision is for a Kirkland that works for every generation.  It’s a place where the seniors who built our community can age with dignity, surrounded by the neighbors and parks that they love, and it’s a Kirkland  where the kids who grew up here, our kids, can actually afford to start their own families, continuing the cycle of community. We achieve this by focusing on vibrant, walkable neighborhood centers, protecting the tree canopy and public parks, and building a transportation system that gives us real choices so we can spend less time in traffic and more time with our friends and families. We won’t get these things without leadership and that leadership requires three things. First, you need your colleagues to trust your commitment to put problem solving and long term thinking above political expediency. I have support from current Council members not because we always agree but because they know we can work together productively when we disagree. Second, you need strong regional relationships. Kirkland does not exist in a vacuum and our most difficult challenges don’t stop at our borders. That’s why over 90% of endorsing  Councilmembers of cities bordering Kirkland are supporting me. Most importantly, you need a positive and coherent vision for the future, one rooted in our City’s values and one that can sustain and enhance the things that make us love Kirkland.  I’m running to bring all these things to Kirkland City Council and I invite you to be a part of that team.

Jon Pascal:Good evening everyone, I’m Jon Pascal and I’m running for re-election. Thanks to the South Rose Hill Bridle Trails Neighborhood Association and to all of you for being here. It’s great to see you all. I’ve been living here, raising my family, since 2001. I run a small business in Kirkland. and I’ve built my career as a state-licensed civil engineer and transportation planner over the last couple of decades. I’ve helped communities across Washington tackle some of their most challenging land use and transportation issues and I’ve brought that experience  to Council. I’ve learned that we can tackle some of our greatest challenges with a practical, data-driven focus approach rather with an idealistic mindset, which I’m seeing more of these days. I’m running again because I believe Kirkland needs my perspective more than ever on Council. With increasing state control of our local land use decisions and a Comprehensive Plan that doesn’t value residential neighborhoods, we need thoughtful decisions grounded in data and community voices. I will continue to be that voice of reason, pushing for outcomes that make sense, that are accountable to you as taxpayers, and truly serve our neighborhoods. I’ve been very proud of what we’ve accomplished–don’t get me wrong about that. We’ve invested in public safety services across the City. We’ve hired new firefighters, modernizing fire stations, standing up the regional crisis response agency, and supporting survivors through a new sexual assault  advocate program. We’ve also helped neighbors in need through the homelessness action team. We’ve also strengthened neighborhoods, funding sidewalks and crosswalks across the city, delivering improvements to the Cross Kirkland Corridor, and the Totem Lake Connector Bridge, improving key corridors with more multimodal infrastructure, and of course we continue to expand our beloved park system. Since I run a small business, and am a licensed civil engineer, I have a practical, data driven approach rather than an ideological approach. The State’s plan does not value neighborhoods. I’m accountable, serve neighborhoods. We’ve accomplished sidewalks, crosswalks, Totem Lake connection, improving key corridors with more multimodal infrastructure, and of course we continue to expand our beloved park system. Going back 8 years, I never thought I’d find myself where I am today, where I find that I’m needing to protect our neighborhoods, 2) advocating for basic infrastructure like water pressure, and  trying to get the City out of the development business and 4) and advocating for the continued support of our Neighborhood Associations. These are some of the key issues that areeat stake in this election. I will keep working for safe streets, growth that fits our community, housing that  keeps pace with infrastructure, strong public safety, and  continued investment in our parks and public spaces.  Above all, I’ll keep listening to all of you. 

Q & A

The 85th St. Station Area Plan

How do you see the Plan proceeding, in the post-Lee Johnson time? How do you view the impact on the SRH/BT neighborhoods through densification, traffic, parking, public transportation planning, and other effects?

Position One 

Jay Arnold: The City hired an Economic Development Manager for this particular purpose, to see 85th is promoted. She’s doing work on that right now, in fact she’s at an economic development conference this week to spotlight this particular development opportunity. So I think that we can that focus, make this a developed community, especially now that interest rates are coming down and know that we can do better than Spirit Halloween. As far as how this impacts the different neighborhoods–first, I want to be sure that everybody knows that this interchange is not only for Bus Rapid Transit  but adds major improvements for Kirkland itself. It will make it so there are safe pedestrian and bike crossings across both sides of 405, whereas  in the previous configuration you were taking your life in your hands. There will be 10-15 minute service 18 hours a day that connects directly to Link Light Rail and that will be a huge, huge opportunity. The surface street connections are roundabouts at 112th and 116h, and if you look at what has happened on 132nd, that really improves traffic flow, and so I think that is going to be of benefit for the neighborhood traffic. And finally what happens as we go and get this development, it’s shops and services that make these things special. Other cities come and say “How did you make Totem Lake happen?” That’s the same thing we’ll do for 85th.

Ken Oberman: We all know that the original goal was to create an urban center: housing, jobs, big zoning, big buildings . The master plan never came to fruition. We spent a lot  of money on consulting, and it stalled out. This is a great area for development, no objection  at all, but it has to done thoughtfully, and the question really  is: how do you get the neighborhoods–this could be a big win for the neighborhoods  if it is done right, and we bring in the right people, have the right discussions, this could be a real win for the surrounding neighborhoods. The goal is let’s get the wheels moving on this machine. Let’s bring in some of the communities and let’s get the development happening. It’s a good time to do the right steps and move it forward. Thank you.

Position Two

Shilpa Prem: I live in South Rose Hill so I’m actually very excited about this. I think it’s going to be a positive move and we’re going to have increased economic activity: retail, housing. I don’t see this area  just being townhouses. I see restaurants, I see coffee shops, I see places where people can meet, take their family, and experience life together. I also see us redeveloping many of the empty shopping lots right now. Empty shopping lots, as you know,do not bring any tax revenue, and they also look kind of hideous, so I’m very excited that all of that is going to be redeveloped. One thing that we will have to be very, very mindful of  is making sure that we have an adequate infrastructure, though. And  what that means is that as we are designing and planning  each and every property we are going to have to look very deeply at all of the mitigation, what could could cause congestion. We are going to have to look at traffic studies and environmental studies and make sure that we are thoughtfully thinking through  each and every possible issue that  could come up. But part of the design and planning have complications that each developer will bring .We will just have to be sure that it is done thoughtfully, and I will definitely be advising the City staff to be very mindful of that, but in terms of the overall overarching  emerging excitement around this, I am extremely excited. 

Catie Malik: I’m really excited at the potential for development at 85th Street. The former Petco area has been a graveyard for several years now but it’s going to  take more than  interest rates dropping to make that happen. We need to encourage the developers to come and right now we’ve created barriers that prevent development. We’ve over-regulated that property. We need to look at what will make it pencil out for a developer to come in and develop that property. And I think it’s pretty simple and I think there are some pretty easy wins there. How do I think it will impact the surrounding neighborhoods? Can I get a show of hands of anyone with kids who go to Lake Washington High School? It is a nightmare already without adding anything to it. We’ve lost the Houghton Park and Ride. We’ve lost bus service.  If you’ve ever been up there at 8:00 in the morning or at 3:30 p.m., you can be at intersections for five, six, seven lights. It’s already overburdened. I think we missed with the 85th Street Station by not putting a Park and Ride in there that would compensate for the  loss of the Houghton Park and Ride. We’ve also lost bus routes. We really, really need to advocate to get more busses. There are simple, easy solutions We don’t need to do traffic studies. We need to  advocate on behalf of our citizens for more access to transit to relieve the already congested traffic and the traffic that’s going to come.

Position Five 

Neal Black: I’m proud of the Station Area planning work. This is one of our largest planning exercises we’ve had, certainly in my time on the Council, and I think for many, many years. Other than the Comp Plan done in the last year. The planning we did on the Station Area Plan was some of the most sophisticated, some of the most thoughtful planning that we’ve done. And I’m actually really proud. We really sharpened our pencils, we really sharpened our tools when we went into the planning for the Station Area. It’s some of the most restricted zoning we have in at least one regard– in the sense that we experimented with form-based code. So we eliminated size, bulk and mass, but here’s a lot of freedom to do different types of development there . We are somewhat  disappointed with the pace of development we’re seeing there now. I’m super excited about the possibility of this district, but there are things we need to do. As Jay mentioned, one of them is hiring an economic development manager to look at ways we can catalyze development in that area. One thing I want to mention–the development that is going to happen in that area is going to fund infrastructure improvements that are needed  in that area, infrastructure improvements that we have needed for decades and that are going to come hand in hand with the development that we see. So that’s something important to keep in mind. Just know that we are not ignoring the impacts. I’m excited about what it means for workforce housing, neighborhood-serving retail, and other benefits and the last thing that I’ll mention is that the space occupied by Lee Johnson has the greatest allowance for density–the tallest building. One thing we did thoughtfully was that we required a development agreement for that. No matter whether it was google, who pulled out, or the next developer-that’s an opportunity for us to  negotiate  the costs to the community against the benefits to the community and that’s super important. That’s part  of the thoughtfulness we put into that and I’m super excited about that and proud of that work. So thank you.

Ken MacKenzie: I am embarrassed by the 85th Street Plan. Liz Hunt [Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods] and I spent a lot of time working with the City on the 85th Street Plan and we worked as hard as we could to moderate it. We worked with the Planning Commission at the time,which was overruled by the City Council. I’m embarrassed. I’m embarrassed because nothing’s  happened. I’m embarrassed by horrible ideas like 250’ tall office buildings on the Lee Johnson property. And that zoning is still there. We need to moderate it. We need to get rid of form-based code because the only people who form-bsed code gives flexibility to  is the Planning staff. They become the adjudicators as to what’s allowed and what’s not allowed as opposed to the City Council, so I would take that control back. I would definitely cut the heights on the Lee Johnson site down to something reasonable. And I would look at the rest of the zoning area between 132nd and 6th Street in Kirkland which is incredibly rezoned–and the cost is our light industry. The thought of the 85th Street Plan is –all you need is coffee shops and housing and and the cost of that is “no”. A healthy city needs light industry.

Position Seven

Kurt Dresner: I’m not sure I follow that because I’m not sure how many  people in the neighborhoods want a whole bunch of industrial stuff in their neighborhood. But I would caution you to be wary of anybody who comes to you who says the solution is really simple and really easy. If it was really simple and really easy it would be done. The problems that are facing our city, that wind up making  their way to City Council get there because they  are hard problems. You can’t just get out pom poms and make it all happen. It takes a lot more than that. I’m  pretty excited about the 85th Street Plan because that’s walking distance from my house as well.. And while I’m not the world’s biggest fan of freeway-running mass transit, I’m hopeful that Bus Rapid Transit will bring economic opportunities to our region. And honestly, I think the way it’s going to play out is the way that so many things play out, which is slowly at first and then all at once. And it’s going to be that first pioneer businesses that move in…those first pioneer.developers who see the potential and will are going to open the floodgates and we’ll wind up getting a lot of really great stuff. I heard Jay mention Spirit Halloween. Every time I go past Spirit Halloween- Spirit Halloween is a sign of a dying area, not a sign of a good area. As far as the infrastructure goes, nobody builds a sewer for the fun of it. They build a sewer because there’s a plan to put something there. They build  a bigger road, or a better road, or they add more transit service because they know there’s going to be people there and there are going to be riders there. So this idea that we have to wait  for infrastructure before we plan for development is actually backwards. You plan for the development  and that catalyzes the additional infrastructure . Thank you.

Jon Pascal: So I would agree. With the 85th Street Plan we were very intentional about what we wanted to see,  the time we took, the expense that we made on this plan. It took several years. I think the thing that sticks out most of that process  is that we shortchanged the end of it and what I mean by that is that we really didn’t think about the feasibility of some of our regulations that we adopted at the very end. And I’ll give you an example. We had received a letter from a lot of the major property owners along 85th  that had  us bullet points that we needed to change to actually see redevelopment take place. That was two years ago. Which ones have we accomplished? None of them. Instead, we moved on elsewhere, as part of the Comprehensive Plan and looking at other things  we did the same thing, because we championed good intentions, saying that these policies and these regulations are great ideas.The problem is  they’re not always feasible. And that’s what we’re seeing with 85th Street, unfortunately. So we need to go back to the drawing board, not reinvent the wheel, but we need to make some tweaks with those regulations to see redevelopment happen. When it happens we have the design standards and all those other things in place to make this a great community and we’re going to make sure it doesn’t impact the adjoining  neighborhood as well. That’s part of the plan. We just need to plan to make that feasible.

Houghton Park & Ride Site

The impact and opportunities of a major recreational center at the Houghton Park & Ride site: What does the Kraken project offer to Kirkland as a whole, and to our neighborhood in particular? If the Kraken project falls through, what do you see as best alternatives for the site?

Position One

Jay Arnold: There’s a real opportunity for a big rec center and an iceplex we wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. We are negotiating now for discounts and some free skating in addition to the opportunity to see the Kraken and other teams practice. Hopefully, and this is still to be negotiated, it would be the home of the  women’s professional  hockey team. So there are a lot of things that are valuable to the City. I will not approve anything that does not protect the City’s interests. We’ve had the Sonics move away. We will see those documents in October. I will look at them carefully. You will all have the opportunity to look at them. We’ve been having this discussion for nine months.  The specific contract will be part of the City Council packet. Things you have brought up will be part of the discussion. The aquatic center fell through, the Kraken came to us–we haven’t had the chance to talk to the community about what would be the best use of the site, if it falls through.

Ken Oberman: I run up there all the time–I think you know I’m a runner. Every time I run up there it’s busy and  it’s great to see the kids playing. That being said, if the Kraken deal doesn’t go through, obviously I’d like to see a Park and Ride, but I’m not totally against the Kraken stadium if and only if the City acts fiscally responsible. The facility should be about kids having access to the iceplex and training and leagues. I’ve seen this done in other cities and it actually works pretty well if it’s implemented correctly. The residents should have priority access. An iceplex needs to benefit Kirkland residents, not the Kraken and not the Kraken teams. We need to have that building used. There are so many unknowns about the project that must be clarified. The iceplex should not be pushed through until we know the costs and use modes. I think it could be a good facility. I like the concept, but there are unknowns that have to be addressed.

Position Two

Shilpa Prem: So if it does fall through, I would love to have  a park there and some homes. I hope that won’t happen.I live in South Rose Hill. I’m extremely excited about this Kraken facility. I think bringing ice hockey to the area is a very positive  activity for youth. Youth are on their technology 24/7 so I think this is going to give them some opportunity to do something different. I think the community room is going to be fantastic , because it has a gym.I was looking the other day. To get a gym membership is extremely expensive these days. To have something local and close to people’s homes is going to be a great benefit for seniors, for adults, for kids, and for everyone in between. I also think that it’s  fantastic that NHL will be paying for all this. Outside the property, the building itself, we are going to get a facility in our neighborhood that we don’t need to pay for. That’s amazing. The City will eventually also own the building, which will also be a huge benefit in the future.  We will have to plan for adequate  infrastructure, for sure. How it’s going to impact our existing neighborhoods is something we’re going to have to think about and we are going to have to design it properly. I think we are going to have access to public transportation for people to ride a bus there,  be able to drive there, for people to ride a bike there -we need to have multiple transportation options so people can get from Point A to Point easier, but ultimately I think that this going to be a great investment, but I do think we’re going to be sure that the surrounding infrastructure is developed properly when we are designing it and working with NHL to make sure that happens but ultimately I think it’s going to be amazing. 

Catie Malik: I guess the one thing that gives me pause about the Kraken iceplex is I have seen some of the proposals and it may include The City  backing the Kraken bonds. So I think we need to be thoughtful about  how we go into this because the Kraken is not doing well financially.They’ve had several bad years and one of their partners  is being investigated for financial misdeeds. I think it’s something you have to look at holistically, and it’s interesting because one of my daughter’s good friends is going to be playing hockey in college and she plays hockey in Lynnwood right now and I asked her parents: “How do you guys feel about this in Bridle Trails? They said “You know, as much as it would be amazing, I don’t think it would be a good deal for the City of Kirkland.” So it was interesting to get their perspective on it. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I’ve not been privy to all the details. Should  it fall through, I think it would be great to keep it as a park. That’s one thing the City of Kirkland is known for is our parks, and every time I drive by there, I see people out there playing pickle ball and the community really loves it. They come from all over Kirkland. They also love the pea patches that allow the community to grow vegetables, be outside, enjoy socializing and community. I would definitely be advocating to keep it as a park. I don’t think we need to build on it. don’t think the City of Kirkland should be in the development business, so I  would not be advocating for that. We paid for it, we own the land, and it’s fairly cheap to maintain as a park, so I would keep it that way. 

Position Five

Neal Black: I’m often reminded when I think about this property of the vision that Councilmembers long before me had to require very limited space in a built-up Kirkland. So I’m excited  that the City acquired this property. The property itself fell into our lap, and the opportunities that have arisen around it have fallen into our lap as well. But when you have property like this becoming available in Kirkland, it’s important that the City consider folding it into the public amenities that are available to all of us. I’m disappointed that it didn’t become an aquatic center and an indoor rec center. This would have been a great location for that. With that not happening, this opportunity is one that  has a great deal of benefit-the economic benefits to our businesses, the largest community center we’ve ever had in Kirkland-the benefits that we’re getting from this may not be in the form of shared revenue, but they’re going to be in the form of a  community cetnter that is going to become more and valuable with every year. The access that our young people and adults are going to have, including scholarship programs that enable them to access this space affordably. Private business just doesn’t build an ice center and indoor community center for cities if they aren’t a part of the business. They simply don’t do it. So, this is a public/private partnership. I was skeptical when this was first brought to me by the City Manager, but every  conversation I’ve had has ensured the need that there is a community benefit and protect the taxpayers. That is the forefront of everything we’re doing. So-great opportunity, excited that Kirkland got the property. Will be watching out for taxpayer exposure. 

Ken MacKenzie:  When I think about this I ask ‘“Where’s the money? Where’s the money going?” So the Kraken are going to run all the leagues; they’re going to collect all the revenue from the ice time, they’re going to run all the tournaments and collect all the tournament fees. They’re going to get the revenue. That revenue is going to increase with inflation. Their payments to the City are going to be fixed. This is a money factory for the Kraken. So the way I would fix this is the City should get a percentage of the gross revenue.  Just like they were a retail store in a mall. Then the City gets to cash in on the revenue stream. As it is, the current plan we’ve barely seen-the City is getting played and it’s time that we stopped getting played. Other small points of order: the Kraken has made it clear that the Kraken team will not practice at this facility unless they get squeezed in an emergency. They’re going to practice at Northgate. The restaurant that’s part of this facility is junk.  What should happen if this fails? The answer is –it’s a park. Look at the way it’s used today.  We need more park space. If the Station Area Plan is developed even close to  what is planned–all those people are going to need a park. We might build a community center there. It’s a park.

Position Seven

Jon Pascal: So the way that I think about this is-we’re trying to balance a lot of different  objectives here in the City and one thing I think about is economic development and providing a variety of services to our community and then attracting  folks from outside the community to our city to  patronize our businesses and our downtown and so forth and hopefully to  energize development along 85th Street. So I see this as an opportunity. The question is what  best to do with the property. The Kraken came to us  with the idea, and I think it’s worthwhile to continue to investigate it. What I’ve seen from them is a really worthwhile proposal. What I’m looking for is the taxpayers are not footing the bill, that we’re not going to have to address any kinds of shortfalls or anything, but also that we’re getting a community space out of it because what we do know is that  we have long waitlists for programs and this will allow for more of these programs at the complex along with all the other benefits such as the year-round ice and youth programs and activities. So this isn’t a case of choosing the Kraken complex or what else is it going to be? I don’t see it being a park forever. I see future Councils  looking at either selling it or redeveloping the property for housing, and if that’s what you want, that’s great. I see this as  an economic development opportunity and that’s where my mind’s at. 

Kurt Dresner: I was super skeptical about this at first. My first thought was we’re getting taken for a ride.I toured Northgate iceplex and I got to talk to the Kraken folks during that tour. I asked the staff there some very uncomfotbable questions, and they gave me some answers you should probably know. First of all, it  turns out there is a crazy demand for ice time in our  area. I had no idea; I don’t know how to skate. My kids don’t skate. But it turns out the facility in Northgate opens at 6 am when the figure skaters start practicing and then the the ice is booked solid until midnight. And that’s true for almost all  the facilities in our area, so there’s a lot of demand for this and I’ve talked to people in Kirkland who say my “kid plays hockey and we have to drive him all over the place to get him ice time”, so we would be providing that for our community. On top of that, as Jay mentioned, we get some community space out of it. My understanding is that it will be  the largest community space we have in the City.  And on top of that we keep the land. It’s not like we’re giving away the land.  And they’re going to be bringing their financial assistance and their scholarships to here in Kirkland, and that’s important for equity. And if it falls through, –gosh, I hope we have more vision than keeping it as a parking lot– I would love to have something like Jay suggested-to bring the community together and find out what folks  want. Some of the best ideas come from the community. At that point the sky’s the limit.

The Houghton Transfer Station

How are you engaging with (or plan to approach) ongoing negotiations with King County Solid Waste? What impacts and opportunities will you fight for as a councilmember?

Position 1

Jay Arnold: The City has sued the County. We’re in the middle of negotiation right now because of the inadequate Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)t. And things that have been discussed publicly are transportation. The analysis of that decision between 1a and 1b isn’t justified. So we are definitely advocating to build with the existing footprint. We do not want to expand the  footprint to disturb  the landfill–that is a biggie.  And I think the negotiation will happen around what Neal has said about money and what Kurt has said about the features that we want. I think the negotiation  will also  be around the I-405 interchange, 112th and 60th and for safe walking to Ben Franklin. The other thing that is an opportunity about this, and I’ve participated in a walk around the site that included the new Director of King County Solid Waste(KCSW), and the new KCSW Director admitted that the County has not been  responsive to community requests and not delivered on what they have said. We have an opportunity in this process to start these conversations to make sure these things get completed, and to hold King County accountable for doing what they say they are going to do in the new transfer station.

Ken Oberman: Trash trucks, rodents, noise every day. Money should bolster the neighborhood. The Woodinville City Council rallied and pushed back. Now we have to put up with everybody’s trash. Sometimes we have to put our foot down.

Position 2

Shilpa Prem: This is a tough one. I think when it comes to a  hazardous waste facility and it’s  in a neighborhood we have to be extremely critical and careful and make sure we are doing the right thing because if these kinds of facilities go wrong it can impact the quality of life, odor in the air, everything that can go to waste. So, the City of Kirkland, I think, when they submitted the notice  of appeal to get  more information and get to  the bottom of things like the transportation impact and making sure that when the County is proposing things like Option 1b and expanding the footprint, which would include digging into underdeveloped areas of the closed landfill, really making sure that we’re understanding what that means and what those mitigations are are extremely critical. So if I am on Council I would continue that. I would try to get to the bottom of these questions and make sure we are fully satisfied in order for us to support moving forward. And again, if this was in my neighborhood I would feel uncomfortable if it’s not done properly and so I think this definitely requires due diligence on our end to make sure that when it is completed, it is completed  so that the environmental impact, the impact to the neighborhood, are minimal if not known.

Catie Malik: So I’m going to need more than a minute for this one. I have had the privilege of spending time with Phil Allen and Deanna Matzen in this neighborhood. Deanna has a PhD in water management and one of the things she specializes in is identifying whether or not  landfills like this are safe and stable. And King County has been responsible for tracking the safety and stability of this landfill and just for a little history–I’m sure many of you know the history of it–but for anyone who doesn’t know the history–the Houghton Transfer Station used to be an old quarry site. So it ended up being dug out in a big hole and the owner was like “Huh! I’m just going to turn it into a dump.” He sat out there in a chair, people would come up, give him some money, and they’d dump whatever they wanted there.Then as Carillon Point was a shipyard, during WWII, there was a lot of stuff from there that was also dumped into that landfill.  While It might be a covered landfill, it is not a sealed landfill, and that’s what makes it so particularly dangerous to dig into it. So there’s a few things here. It’s unknown where exactly and how far the landfill contents spread since it was a mom-and-pop landfill. You already know that it was an old quarry. It had radionuclides in the water samples since 2001, but it stopped being tracked for reasons that are vague and that King County has not given any answers to the Friends of Taylor Field, who have been arduously researching  and advocated for this neighborhood since long before the City stepped in. It’s unsettled and continues to sink. If they dig in there how far are they going to have to dig and what are they going to dig up? Water is still seeping through, but since it’s not seeping into the appropriate catchments that  the County will test, the water is still going untested and as far as I’ve heard–I’m on the Friends of Taylor Field list– to see any updates, and I’ve not heard anything about the scary barrels that they are testing and we are supposed to get results back on what is in those, so if I were on Council I would do what Jon Pascal suggested and hold the County’s feet to the fire.They must be accountable for any impact they’re going to have on our environment and our neighborhood, especially  when what is in that landfill could potentially be very, very dangerous for the environment. 

Position 5

Neal Black: I just had a wonderful conversation with a couple of neighbors about the Northeast Recycling Station. What am I committed to doing? I’m committed to the hard bargaining that we’ve done at the City of Kirkland from the very beginning. The County knows how Kirkland feels about this facility. We understand that there are legal constraints and limitations on what we can do. We can’t  prevent the County from putting in a County facility that is deemed an essential facility on County property. What we have done from the very beginning was making sure the County understands our expectations for any facility on that site. If they’re going to replace it–what we’re really pushing them, encouraging them, negotiating with them for is to simply replace the existing outdated transfer station with a state-of-the art transfer station  in place of what was originally was a decommissioned county dump. I think that could have a lot of benefits if it is done well. That is one reason our negotiations have focused on mitigation and also on the community benefits. We have repeatedly emphasized to the County that we expect them  to use the funds they might save from not purchasing a new property in Woodinville or Redmond that they invest that in the mitigation we all here and the City Council and staff  want and into the community benefits. We’ll need a conversation between the City and you to make sure we are shaping in the way you would like to see it shaped. In the meantime we are taking a very hard stance on behalf of all City residents.

Ken MacKenzie: Sadly, this is massively frustrating.I think there are some lessons to be learned from it.  For me, one of the key lessons is  why did the City allow all this development to happen right up to the borders of such a dangerous place? Going back years, Kirkland should have built a buffer zone all around the dump and chose not to. And that’s really sad. Another lesson learned is why did City of Kirkland officials assure the development that the dump would be closed and nothing would ever happen when they had no reason to believe that they could make that stick. So, there’s a certain amount of wisdom that seems to be missing going back over the years and there’s a certain amount of forthrightness that seems to be missing and it’s just sad. So what would I do going forward?   Limit the size as much as possible is the answer. The enormity of that proposed building is just shocking, and so is the idea of making it as simple and a s small as possible, aside from winning a case sadly, because we’re not privy to the City’s strategy around the lawsuit, and so limit the size and push as hard as we can. 

Position 7

Kurt Desner: I think an important skill to have as a leader is the ability to recognize what cards you’re actually holding and to play them as well as you can. And this is a case where  we hold certain cards. You heard from Neal we have the chance to ask the County to take some of the money they’ve saved and invest it back into our community.  There are some cards we simply don’t have, and we can be angry about  not having those cards, but it’s not making anything better for our community. I do support the City’s preference for Alternative 1a  over 1b. I think it’s a better deal and what would I fight for? State of the art  odor and noise control, amenities that benefit the community, including  materials re-use programs and  related activities, and just because I happen to mention it in every one of these forums, a longer term location and a more elaborate  location for recycling that could benefit that materials reuse program. What I’d really like to see is something like Seattle’s North facility in the Wallingford neighborhood. We can integrate it into the neighborhood. They even have rooms where kids can go watch  the trucks and stuff like that that provided amenities for the neighborhood that made it fit better in the neighborhood. On top of that, easier recycling. People in Kirkland  love to recycle. They feel very passionate about it, not having to wait for that one time in a year. Just being able to go over and drop it off, that would be nice. 

Jon Pascal:  So I think I was here not long  ago talking about this topic. I’m going to repeat what I said then and expand on it. What I said was  we need to hold the county’s feet to the fire, meaning we need to hold the County accountable  for what needs to happen here when this transfer station gets redeveloped and to me it’s not about asking the County for things  because we do that, and we do that all the time, and do we get them? No. It’s about demanding, it’s about having legal avenues to require them, and to make those things continue over time. I don’t know how many of you know what’s going on there,  but the County said they are going to maintain the landfill  and the facilities around there to an adequate standard and has that happened over time? It hasn’t happened. No one’s been following that. And so we need to make sure this has real teeth to get the things we expect and demand. Now,  when it comes to all of that, of course  there’s going to be mitigation. They have $30 million set aside. We’re going to look at traffic, parks, how to protect the neighbors, but I think the biggest thing for me is  that this is an industrial site in the middle of a neighborhood.  And  right now it’s  politically controversial  to support the liveability of neighborhoods. So we are having disagreements  about supporting the liveability of neighborhoods. You have that expectation right now that we are going to support this neighborhood?  I am going to do it–I am going to support the liveability  of the neighborhood and make sure that we get everything we can from the county.,

10-minute Neighborhoods 

Creating a "10-minute walkable neighborhood" around the Bridle Trails Shopping Center: What's your vision for neighborhood centers in general, and this one in particular? Is this a  good candidate for a 10 minute neighborhood? It's in the middle of residential neighborhoods, on the Redmond border, served only by Metro bus 245 (every 15min). How can this area address affordable housing and smart growth while supporting current residents aging in place and/or choosing this neighborhood for its character? Blackstone recently purchased the shopping center. They are viewed as more aggressive and less passive than ROIC. It’s likely there will be more development on the site. 

Position 1

Ken Oberman: I live in a 10-minute neighborhood. In fact, I think  I’m the only one here who actually lives downtown. I can walk to QFC and to pretty much everywhere I want to go. But that was part of my decision, to be able to do that. And there are a lot of benefits to it. But when you look at the neighborhoods and how each of the neighborhood characters are established, we need to maintain that with thoughtful growth. I want to see essential services. For me, having a QFC or a PCC closeby is amazing and I love it. I think that’s great. But building a bunch of buildings and getting rid of a lot of essential services, I think is the wrong thing. And I’ll give you an example. Look at Kirkland Urban. It has a lot of empty retail spaces. Right? Look at downtown Kirkland. We have enough facial places and nail places. Let’s keep essential services. Let’s do it thoughtfully. I’m not saying ‘no’ but we need to do it in the right manner, in the right areas, with the right heights, with the right essential service.

Jay Arnold: I think this whole discussion of ten-minute neighborhoods is a case of us just getting too deep. We’re talking about neighborhoods!  This IS neighbohoods! You’ve got a neighborhood shopping center with a grocery store and a hardware store, a coffee shop, restaurants, all your favorite shops. That’s what you have today. You have a strong thriving neighborhood. That’s what we’d like to replicate around the City. And that’s what we’d like to preserve. So when we talk about ten-minute neighborhoods we’re just talking about thriving neighborhoods. And ideally you can walk there, You don’t have to walk there, but everybody that does, that’s one more trip that’s not more  traffic for the rest of us. So you want to have that option. And for some people, it might just be downstairs. Where they walk downstairs to go to all of these particular services. So how do we keep what you have here? Because you look at all the neighborhood shopping centers, Bridle Trails is probably the best of the range of services, starting with the fact that you have a hardware store. So how do we keep this? First, keeping things like that grocery store and hardware is critical. And how I have  observed in Kirkland and around the region is grocery stores are closing. We saw how QFC and Safeway, when they were looking to merge, they had a number  of Kirkland grocery store closures on the list. We were able to sue to stop it. But when they decided not to merge, they are now proceeding with closures elsewhere in the region. The observation I made is that in those areas that have lots of housing, those grocery stores are staying. The ones that don’t are closing. We have to pay attention to moving forward. It’s not about the status quo vs. something different, it’s about keeping what we have as things change.

Position 2

Catie Malik: So I’ve sat in at a lot of Council meetings, and the conversation has come up many times: What is a ten-minute neighborhood? And does all of Kirkland need to be a ten-minute neighborhood? And I would argue ‘no’. Totem Lake is a great example of a ten-minute neighborhood. It works. It’s  next to the freeway, tons of bus lines, grocery stores, VR Sandbox if anybody likes to play video games. When I go up to Bridle Trails, and I see that apartment building that looks like it’s eating Pagliacci’s and we talk about planning and not letting it happen to us–that looks like it happened to us. I’m not sure who was in charge of the design review-there’s no setback on it-it just looks like the  Communist era 1960’s Brutalist architecture. And I agree with Ken-when they redevelop –the Ace Hardware store is going to go away and we’ll have to drive down to the Home Depot in Bellevue. We need to be really thoughtful about what it means to be a ten-minute neighborhood–and we are meeting our growth targets. And when we build these big apartment buildings we continue to consolidate wealth instead of assisting the middle class with buying their own real estate. We should go to Olympia and we should press them  to lessen requirements on condos instead of us having $4400 2-bedroom apartments.

Shilpa Prem: So, then minute-neighborhoods–I think it’s common sense . Ten-minute neighborhoods are neighborhood centers, and vice versa.  Ten-minute neighborhoods are places to walk and get services within ten minutes. It’s not that complicated. When I think of ten-minute neighborhoods, I think of the neighborhood I currently live in. I live in South Rose Hill in walking distance of the Bridle Trails Shopping Center we’re talking about. I take  my kids to Kumon there, I walk to Cafe 79, Pagliacci’s, the bank, I get my hair cut at Great Clips. That is a ten-minute neighborhood. When we talk about the transportation there, we do need to improve that. Right now there’s  that one busline. But again, bus lines don’t come until people come so that is the way it works. Like if you have people that is when you can speak to Metro and get more access to public transportation. But  ultimately, when you talk about neighborhood character, and I have heard this–we can design around that. So if a developer does come, I think that we have  control over how a building is designed in an area. . And I agree. I do  think our neighborhoods  should look beautiful. And we do have  control over that. So I think that if I am elected to Council, I’d love to look into how we approve a design of a building. How do we make sure that it blends in with the rest of the neighborhood? I’m completely fine with that.And that’s also something I would look into if I’m elected to Council.

Position 5

Ken MacKenzie: I think [Kurt Dresner’s] is a great summary of the businesses that are there now. There are some that are kind of flaking away. Bridle Trails as it stands works pretty well. Mill Creek is building an enormous–ginormous–apartment house there . They have built huge apartment buildings all up and down the coast. Why not leave it as it is? If we were to re-zone that shopping center to turn it into housing, we’d end up with three coffeehouses, a hair salon, and a bunch of large apartments.  The grocery store would be gone, the hardware store would be gone, because they can’t  afford the rent.  So my proposal is  to keep iti the way it is to keep the height under control. See what happens in five years,  how it’s all coming together and decide then how to deal with it. 

Neal Black: We don’t have the power to preserve things the way they are. We’re not an HOA. We live in a city with property rights and it’s going to happen to us if we don’t plan for what it’s going to look like. The property owners will determine what it’s going to look like if we don’t plan for it. What we’re looking for there is something that can happen for us, for the neighborhood. A walkable neighborhood center is a location where people can easily get to the services that they want, whether that’s food or restaurants, or cafes, a bank, and services they need-perhaps they can walk there easily.That’s our goal throughout our city, throughout all our neighborhoods, That’s something we can constantly plan for. We did some really good work at BT as far as  having  some control over Bridle Trails with a master plan that includes retail not just residences. I am excited about the possibility. What neighborhoods told us throughout the Comp Plan process is to concentrate growth in our existing neighborhood centers, in our existing urban growth centers, through middle housing. That’s largely our Comp Plan, so this is an area where we have real hope for a walkable neighborhood center.

Position 7

Jon Pascal: Ten-minute neighborhoods is an example of one of those things that sounds good but is really difficult to regulate. The thought process is that no one can really explain what that really means; there’s no exact definition. But the way I think about it, particularly here in Bridle Trails(BT) is that you have a concentric circle of different services that provide for a walkable community. In BT one of the  concerning things is that  we are introducing regulations for more affordable housing, and while that’s good, one of the things I’m concerned about is losing the commercial services in those neighborhoods. So we can add housing but we need to have those commercial services. That’s what creates that ten-minute neighborhood where people can walk and not need to get in a car and go elsewhere. But if we’re creating regulations  where those services are going away, like the Red Apple (grocer) for example, are going away, that’s problematic. We’re seeing the high quality retail shops go away. So we need to make sure our regulations and policies encourage and maintain those commercial sites, encourage those businesses to locate there, at the same time while we can get housing. So I’m concerned we don’t have that just right, and you’re starting to see that there in BT from a commercial aspect.

Kurt Dresner:  I decided to go and see what you can get to in a five minute walk, plus or minus  from  the BT shopping center. You can get to a grocery store,  a hardware store, a tap room, multiple restaurants, including two different pizza places, multiple coffee shops, a bank, a pet store, a fitness center, a barber shop, city parks and one state park, including a dog park. It’s also walkable  to an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. I think that’s a ten-minute neighborhood. It’s also my ten-minute neighborhood. And if you’re going to be adding housing anywhere in the city, where we want to limit the amount of driving that folks are going to do as a result of adding that housing, I’m having a hard time thinking of a place in the city that has more amenities within that sort of distance. than this. Now the 245 bus could be better, but  it ‘s just one of three frequent  transit routes that we have in the city.But it does connect to the 2 Line and to multiple  Sound Transit routes. The 245 goes straight downtown. The way  we get that route better is by having more riders  and the way we get more riders is by having more riders living there. So I absolutely  feel like we do need  to strengthen that commercial district, and the best way to strengthen it is to make sure there are customers for those businesses.

Transcript by Betsy Lewis, Secretary