Mark Eliasen called the meeting to order. City Council Members Dave Asher, Doreen Marchione and Bob Sternoff were in attendance. The meeting was focused on the possible development of the Pace site on 7th Ave. S. Mark explained how the issue of this site being developed was the impetus behind the formation of the Moss Bay Neighborhood Association back in 1997 when another office complex was being proposed. You can read the minutes of our first meeting here. Mark detailed how our association fought to limit traffic on 7th Ave. S., eventually winning an appeal before the City Council to force the developer to limit access to the site from the east. The project was never built and the site has been vacant for years. An environmental cleanup has been ongoing for several years -- the result a chemical plant that operated previously.
Our first guest was Eric Shields, Kirkland Planning Director. Eric was nice enough to be our guest for the second meeting in a row. This time the topic was the proposed amendments to the Light Industrial Technology (LIT) and Planned Area 6G (PLA 6G). Specifically, SRM Development is applying for changes to the zoning of these areas because Google is considering expansion onto the Pace site which is just west of the existing Google campus. The amendments would (1) remove the two story restriction, but retain the 35' maximum height and (2) remove the 25' maximum height limit adjoining low density zones where the adjoining use is institutional (Lakeview Elementary in this case). The result of these amendments would be increased density of development on the 5 acre 'pace site' parcel. For more information read the memo prepared for the City Council. Eric answered many questions concerning the zoning amendments and how they would affect neighboring properties. Our next guests were Andy Loos and Dave Tomson of SRM Development. SRM is looking at the Pace site as a possible expansion option for Google. Google currently leases their existing campus from SRM. The project would be about 170,000 square feet at current zoning and would have the potential to go to 225,000 if the zoning amendments are implemented. This would be larger than the existing Google campus. Parking would be underground with some surface parking. Various improvements to the neighborhood would be provided, probably including sidewalks on 7th Ave. S. Andy and Dave had a preliminary drawing of a possible development which showed how they planned to keep traffic from the project from using 7th Ave. S. with an angled drive into the project and a curb to prevent turns to the west. Don Winters mentioned that the Kirkland's zoning code regulations for the Pace site specifies that "All vehicular access shall be from the east. The site access shall be configured to structurally prevent the use of 7th Ave. S. or other residential streets?" Don was wondering if the proposal will in fact keep traffic off 7th and what the residents could do if traffic from the site was using the street. There will be a public hearing on the proposed amendments at the City Council meeting on Jan 17. Kelly Ferron, Kirkland's Recycling Coordinator, gave an overview of recycling in the city. Kelly told us that recycling of metal and paper is straightforward, but plastics can be confusing. It's more accurate to recycle by the shape of the container. Electronics are now recyclable at single family residences in Kirkland by calling 24 hours in advance for a pickup. For more info, visit the City's recycling site. Our next meeting will be March 19, 2012 7PM at Heritage Hall, 203 Market. St. Comments are closed.
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