Moss Bay Meeting Notes - January 9, 2017

Moss Bay Meeting Notes – January 9, 2017 
Update on Affordable Housing from Kurt Triplett, Kirkland City Manager
Kirkland’s City Council has prioritized Affordable Housing as a top issue for 2017, and the related transportation issues that come with it. People who work in Kirkland but can’t afford to live here are frequently commuting in single passenger cars because there aren’t practical bus routes. One aspect of Sound Transit 3 that impacts Kirkland is the Rapid bus ride from Everett to Burien, which will be implemented by 2024.
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Kirkland is addressing affordable housing in multiple ways, including:

• Building requirements - Kirkland requires that 10% of new multi-family dwellings are reserved for affordable housing. People earning 80% or less of the median income of King County qualify.
• Housing coalition participation - Kirkland participates in ARCH (A Regional Coalition for Housing), and increased its annual contribution to ARCH from $315,000 to $400,000.
• Appealing to state government - Kirkland is working with the state legislature to approve new funding sources for affordable housing.
• Shelters - The former Trinity Lutheran site has been identified as a potential Women and Family Shelter for the homeless, with 50 spaces for single women and 50 spaces for women and their children. Kirkland set aside $850,000 with a goal of completing the project by 2018. Simultaneously, Bellevue City Council is attempting to build a shelter for homeless men.
• Task force - If City Council approves a plan to create an affordable housing task force, they will reach out to the community to for input and to solicit participation. Look for an update in February.

Update from Bill Leedom, Talon Development for Kirkland Urban
Phase One is currently in development. It includes 185 apartment units, 402,000 square feet of office space, 1,700 parking spaces, 92,000 square feet of new retail space. Tenants:

• 50,000 square foot QFC with free, dedicated parking stalls above ground and in the garage
• Bright Horizons childcare
• Wave and Tableau office tenants
• Health club (name to be announced)
• Restaurant types with leases signed: Sushi, Mexican, Italian, Burger, Salad, coffee shop (names to be announced in an upcoming press release)
• Bank (name to be announced)

Phase Two will include a cinema with apartments above it. Phase Three is planned to include office and retail space. Visit the www.kirklandurban.com website for updates and the live webcam, where you can watch construction in progress.

Neighborhood Matching Grant
We voted to apply for Kirkland’s 2017/2018 Matching Grant program and to use the funds to build a kiosk at Marina Park that highlights Moss Bay’s history. For example, explaining the ferry schedule and clock. If funds are left over, we will donate them to Kirklands 4th of July celebration.

The city allocates funds to neighborhoods based on population. Up to $3,266 is available to Moss Bay. To earn the funds, residents must either donate cash that is matched dollar-to-dollar, or contribute volunteer hours, that are valued at $21.79 per hour and must be logged and submitted to the city. Details about the Matching Grant program are on the city’s website here.

Aimee Voelz will complete the application due by January 31, 2017. If you want to participate in defining the kiosk project for the application, email [email protected].

We will reach out to Moss Bay neighbors through these emails, our website, and Facebook page for help on volunteering projects and donations.

Developer activity Kirkland
The Potalla Village site is for sale. The maximum number of housing units is 58, and the current plan allows retail on the ground floor. Whoever purchases could build the existing plan, but is not required to.

42 multi-family housing projects are in the pipeline in Kirkland.

The development at the lower Totem Lake Mall is slated to open by the end of 2017.

The Antique Mall site is targeted for completion in May/June 2018.

KAN (Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods)
 The Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods and the City of Kirkland are excited to invite you to attend a free, three-hour Neighborhood Forum led by acclaimed community engagement expert Peter Kageyama, author of For the Love of Cities and Love Where You Live. The event, called “For the Love of Kirkland,” will be held Monday, January 23 from 5:30 to 8:45 pm at Google. Dinner will be catered by Deru. Space is limited, so please RSVP right away.
RSVP here: https://loveofkirkland.eventbrite.com
 
Our next meeting is March 13, 2017.