Embedded Files
South Rose Hill-Bridle Trails (SRHBT) Neighborhood Association
General Meeting Tuesday January 14, 2025
Minutes
The meeting took place in-person at Ben Franklin Elementary School.
President Chris Kagen called us to order at 7:02 pm.
Board Members Present: Chris Kagen, Don Samdahl, Betsy Lewis, Deirdre Johnson, Kyle Sullivan, Karina O’Malley, Martin Morgan, John Marsh, Felix Chen, Emily Sorensen
Board Member Absent: Jim Hoff
Guests: Kirkland Police Department Lt. Clayton Slominski, Deputy Mayor, Jay Arnold, City Councilmember Jon Pascal
Additional Attendees: 18
Public Comment:
Margaret Schwender reported 9 bicycles apparently dumped by the Taylor Fields bleachers.
Lieutenant Slomonsnki will follow up.
Phil Allen reported that the Ben Franklin school bus route on 116th, which required students to cross that busy street, has been changed to the safer pre-COVID route. Phil credited Margaret Schweder with recognizing that safety issue. Phile wrote a proposal to change the route and submitted it to LWSD, and the route was subsequently changed.
Phil followed up on his comments at the November 12 SRHBT Neighborhood Association meeting regarding his recent interactions with King County Solid Waste Division (KCSWD).
HIs phone conversations and many emails have only reinforced his opinion that the agency is neither forthright nor transparent in its communication with the City and residents thereof. He urged the SRHBT Neighborhood Association Board to write to the Kirkland City Council and to King County Council expressing these concerns about KCSWD. In addition, Mr. Allen requested the Board and City require KCSDW to correct any errors made in communications [regarding Taylor Fields and the Houghton
Transfer Station] to date.
Police Report:
Officer Slominski took questions from the audience:
Q: Can cameras be installed to catch vehicles speeding at night?
A: Kirkland’s speed cameras are installed near some schools. Fines fund school safety initiatives. Kirkland does not have “general” cameras. A portion of the funds we would receive from fines for general cameras would revert to WA State while the City gets to keep 100% of the funds for school zone cameras to use on school/traffic safety initiatives. Kirkland is considering working with a third party vendor to pilot tracking cellular GPS data on drivers on N.E. 70th.
Councilmember Pascal stated that state law allows this data collection but Kirkland has not done this. School safety cameras are installed on school walk routes, which are broadly defined. Kenmore has a speed camera that operates 24/7. Drivers exceeding 35 mph at any hour are ticketed. Kirkland’s program focuses on school zones.
For more information about the school safety camera program visit https://www.kirklandwa.gov/Government/Departments/Police-Departments/Community-Resources/School-Zone-Speed-Enforcement.
Q from Felix Chen: Speeders are observed during early morning hours on 132nd N.E. north of 85th. Only one traffic officer has been seen staking out that area.
A: Speed enforcement is directed to “complaint zones”. Officer Slominski stated that he would report that location to Sgt. Randi Crocker as a complaint zone. Anyone observing speeding should report it either through the Our Kirkland online portal or by emailing Sgt. Crocker directly at rcrocker@kirklandwa.gov.
Q: “Porch pirate” theft–how bad was it this holiday season?
A: Kirkland has a reputation for being proactive on investigating mail and package theft. That tends to reduce the number of thefts. Rose Hill Safeway is a shoplifting target. Police are proactive in having a presence there at night.
Q: Very bright LED headlights are a hazard to oncoming drivers.
A: Technically, failure to dim headlights for oncoming vehicles is a traffic infraction. Logistically, it is difficult to enforce.
Q: What is the rate of car theft?
A: SRHBT neighborhood is minimally impacted. South King County has more such incidents.
Kias and Hyundaisl are frequently targeted.
Councilmember Pascal and Deputy Mayor Arnold responded to questions posed them in advance of the meeting:
2024-2044 Comprehensive Plan–What’s next for our neighborhood?
Pascal: In my eight years on Council, I’ve not had as much feedback on anything as on this Comp Plan. The high level of community participation resonated with me. I want to hear from folks before making a decision on how I am going to vote. I don’t want to have a closed mind. That’s important to me.
Arnold: I agree with Jon in that I have never had as much feedback on anything in my twelve years on Council. Council is happy to talk to constituents. Meeting in person is sometimes better than an email. I’m happy to meet with anyone for coffee. Kirkland is a very well-run city, so Councilmembers have time to avail ourselves of the opportunity to serve on regional and statewide committees.
Question from the audience: When did growth begin to surge?
Pascal: We had a major surge when Kirkland annexed unincorporated areas. That brought our population to 87K or 88K. Today the population is 96K. We are mandated by the state to accommodate another 13K housing units, which is likely to accommodate another 26K housing units by 2044. Our proposed changes in the Comp Plan go above and beyond to allow for a housing capacity of 16-18K. As for how this will affect SRHBT, Kirkland is one of the densest cities in the region and has the most progressive policies in Washington. We’ve been a leader on housing, yet there are some that want even higher zoning capacities to accommodate a higher amount of growth over the next 20 years.
The Comp Plan seemed to center around a debate on housing that could accommodate and be affordable for income levels of 80% of average median income or less. To do that, many focused on increasing capacity in our city to allow more housing, assuming this would result in more affordable units. So the debate was whether we needed to accommodate additional growth and whether it would result in more affordable housing. My stance is to utilize our middle housing regulations and densities in our commercial areas to accommodate growth. An example of this approach is the past zoning changes at the Bridle Trails Shopping Center that have allowed for more housing. When that discussion occurred in 2018-2019 we told the neighborhood we wouldn’t modify zoning in the neighborhoods, in exchange for upzoning the commercial center Since that time and during the Comp Plan update process, the City has continued to champion more density in neighborhoods, such as the transit corridor policy or the 10 minute neighborhood policies adopted as part of the Comp Plan, which was contrary to the discussion we had during the Neighborhood Plan update about 5 years ago. That is one of several reasons why I voted ‘no” on the Comp Plan.
Arnold: For whom are we planning housing growth? Our workforce–businesses have a hard time finding workers. Housing these workers in Kirkland alleviates commuter traffic. Young people cannot afford housing–that is my daughter’s experience returning to live at home as a college graduate. I first moved to Kirkland 35 years ago right out of college and had an apartment in Totem Lake as I started my career. In a generation, we’ve lost that opportunity. I’ve heard from seniors who want to remain in Kirkland but have no downsizing options. In SRHBT the next steps are to comply with state law around middle housing. We’re working on that though Kirkland has led in middle housing and any changes required are minor compared to some other cities. King County Metro Transit’s new K line will run along 108th in Houghton, connecting Totem Lake to Eastgate. I want to make the most of the K Line.
Q from Deepa Garg: Regarding the financial aspects of infrastructure for planning–who’s taking that cost into consideration?
Arnold: : Give staff your feedback on your specific situation. Growth should pay for growth–sidewalks, water, etc.
Pascal: middle housing–the expectation by the Legislature has been that there is infrastructure to support this, with some obvious exceptions in locations. However, one reason I didn’t support the Comp Plan is that some of the policies focus increased density in neighborhoods, where is not the infrastructure to support it, and instead why I have advocated for concentrating growth around our commercial centers where there are the ingredients for a complete community such as retail services, transit, parks, sidewalks, etc. We should avoid sprinkling growth across the City where there is not the infrastructure to support it resulting in poor outcomes for new residents.
Q from John Marsh: I have a different experience of middle housing. Builders are taking advantage. We are just creating more expensive houses. What is the overall vision of what neighborhoods should look like? Is there a low value placed on single family housing? Our neighborhood is changing. We are not seeing our values playing out–just more high earners who don’t really need the help.
A: Jon Pascal: Those concerns are on a lot of peoples’ minds. The objective is to offer more houses with the thought that we’ll keep housing costs from rising as rapidly as they have in the past. Middle housing isn’t creating affordable housing, but lower cost options for some people. Cottages and ADU’s are still expensive, just not as expensive as large single-family homes. Affordable housing is a completely separate issue, where we need to create much denser housing. The denser type of development is focused in our urban centers. That being said, we are learning from our middle housing experience and are considering adjustments to address concerns that have been raised from residents.
A: Jay Arnold: How do we preserve older housing that is relatively affordable? I added an amendment to the Comp Plan to include this as one of our strategies.Regarding development, we focused on middle housing vs. mega mansions. Kirkland is desirable. The land value is high. That’s the benefit of ADU’s and cottages.
Q: Future maintenance problems? Tree roots, trees need constant trimming, buckling sidewalks.
A: Jay Arnold: The answer is underground utilities. It’s a challenge.
A: Jon Pascal: The City is aligned on this–on trees which are permitted. We’ve made changes to the list of permitted trees.
Q from Betsy Lewis: Is the Equestrian Overlay mentioned in the Comp Plan?
A from Jon Pascal: The Comp Plan doesn’t change anything related to the zoning in the Overlay. However, it doesn’t guarantee it lasts forever either.
A from Jay Arnold: The Comp Plan lists dozens of actions and policies to pursue in the future. Changing the Equestrian Overlay is not one that is mentioned.
King County Solid Waste has updated the Northeast Regional Transfer Station (NERTS) project timeline. According to the NERTS webpage “King County is preparing a Draft EIS that will be available for public review and comment in early 2025”. Does Council have a plan to comment or respond to the Draft EIS? How will Kirkland respond if the Houghton site is selected?
Jay Arnold: King County’s transportation analysis was insufficient, especially for N.E. 60th and 116th N.E. Also insufficient on the buried materials in the closed landfill. The City has noise regulations and environmental requirements. Money should be set aside for community amenities. Kirkland expects the money King County budgeted for land acquisition would be used for mitigation.All of these are feedback listed in the City’s comments on the EIS, Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is expected in February.
Jon Pascal: The above is the technical answer. I want the City to hold King County’s feet to the fire mitigation-wise.
Q: The neighborhood should be a full partner in the City’s response to the EIS.
A: Jon Pascal: Yes.
Q: The County thinks they’ll save money if the Houghton site is selected.
A: The County can’t look at this decision as a cost-saving measure. Mitigation not only the past practices at the site but also the future neighborhood impacts.
Q: Mitigation dollars should be spent in the neighborhood; i.e. 116th and 60th traffic for example. Change the language around the response to “require” not “should”, “improvements” not “mitigation”. The Kirkland portion of 116th has no sidewalks or safe crossings. Keep that in mind. Garbage trucks don’t belong on 116th.
Q from Sue Shannon: There’s the issue of methane emissions, which have happened directly adjacent to my backyard.
Please update us on and provide us with an overview of the Kraken’s proposal to construct an iceplex on the Temporary Houghton Park and Play site. Can you share with us how this proposal came about, what would be the advantage of an iceplex be to Kirkland and to our neighborhood, what are Council’s thoughts to date, what is the schedule for decision-making on whether will proceed on this proposal, and what, if any concerns have been raised by Council and in public comment?
A: Jay Arnold: In September Council authorized staff to enter into negotiations with the Kraken. Any facility should pose no risk to the taxpayer. The project would include 12K square feet of “community space”. The City would control the parking lot and the roof. We want the same quality space as the Northgate iceplex. The City should take the opportunity for a public-private partnership. The City would take over the facility after 30 years. There will be an update on negotiations at the February 4th City Council meeting.
A: Jon Pascal: We didn’t seek out a hockey facility. There are a lot of hockey fans. We’ve had lots of feedback from them. I want to hear from the neighborhood too. Something is going to be done with the site. What’s there now (Park and Play) can be moved somewhere else. We’d get an indoor community space from the Kraken proposal. The Kraken is a top-notch organization. That’s the one thing that intrigues me.
Comment from the audience: The [Snyder’s Corner] dog park is great.
Comment from Pascal: The dog park was a temporary option that is now permanent and a good community builder. People love it and we hear many positive comments about it.
Q: There are other things that could be done with the {Houghton Park and Ride] site. What are the City’s thoughts about what could be built there?What value does a Kraken facility have for the Kirkland community? A lot of people using an iceplex would come from out of Kirkland.
A: Jon: What’s the best use of publicly owned property? We need a variety of services and recreational opportunities not costly to taxpayers. I’m into complete communities. We need to maintain opportunities for businesses to thrive in order to provide a variety of services to our residents..Giving away property to, or converting commercial property to housing reduces sales tax receipts that fund much of the services our community expects and requires people to travel outside our city to get the services they need, whether that is medical, retail, recreation, etc. How do we do it all?
A: Jay Arnold: Why is the Kraken interested in this? To provide them a practice facility. It would anchor 85th Street, fulfill a need for park and open space, and draw tourists. If the Kraken had not come forward, we would be looking at something like the Houghton Village [redevelopment].
President Kagen tabled the Tree Ambassador pilot update to the March 11 meeting.
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted, Betsy Lewis, Secretary-South Rose Hill-Bridle Trails Neighborhood Association
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