Meeting Notes - September 18, 2006

Heritage Hall

Moss Bay Co-Chair Mark Eliasen called the meeting to order. Our first speaker was Andy Loos, Seattle Development Manager, SRM Development. SRM has three projects in the works for Kirkland. The first is the former Sauder Door site, a 7.2 Acre parcel located on 6th St. S. This is in the Everest neighborhood, but borders directly on Moss Bay. It will be a 185,000 sq ft, 3 building office project with a unique campus setting. The old door factory has been demolished. Next, Andy briefed us on the Assembly of God Site, on the southeast corner of State St. and 2nd Ave. S. SRM plans a 2 story office project of 37,000 sq ft, with 143 parking spaces, or 3.2 per 1000 sq ft of floor space. During construction, parking will be leased from the Unitarian church across the street. The third SRM project will be Merrill Gardens Assisted living, a 116 unit 5 story building with 143 total parking spaces. The project will utilize a City right-of-way and the 20 existing public spaces will be replaced. In addition, 50 extra spaces will be created for public use (pay parking). Andy mentioned that the parking impact of this type of development is very low (.5 spaces per unit), making it a good fit for downtown. Construction will be underway by May or June, 2007.


Next we had a presentation on Kirkland's possible annexation of the Finn Hill, Upper Juanita, and Kingsgate neighborhoods, a proposed addition of 33,000 residents. Marilynne Beard, Assistant City Manager, along with City Manager Dave Ramsay and several staffers were on hand. Growth Management encourages annexation because cities are better equipped to provide urban services than counties. The current population of Kirkland is 47,000 and the annexation would raise that to 80,000. Since the area has little commercial space and tax revenue, there would be a net deficit of $4.8 million per year. The state of Washington will provide a 10 year subsidy of about $4 million per year if Kirkland annexes by 2010. The Kirkland City Council will explore the issue in late 2006. Questions brought up in the meeting will be answered on the annexation web site.


Carolyn Hayek of the Planning Commission and the Downtown Action Team (DAT) spoke next. DAT is requesting funds from the city to update the earlier vision for downtown. The planning Commission recommends zoning changes, but only the City has the power to enact zoning changes -- some of which are under consideration now, including the controversial Floor Area Ratio (FAR) changes.


Don Winters and Mark Eliasen went over the Moss Bay "hot list" of issues. The on again, off again move of the former Green Funeral Home chapel was discussed, with the latest news that the move might go through after all. The new location would be across 4th Ave. S. on Unitarian Church property. The Pace Chemical project is in the environmental limbo, but steps are being taken to finish the cleanup and complete the sale to CamWest Development. Truckloads of dirt are currently being removed from the site. CamWest proposes a 60 unit mix of condos and single family homes on the 5 acre property.


Our next meeting will be Nov. 20, 2006.


A mysterious message was found after the meeting, written on the back of a meeting agenda left behind: