Blog Posts

September 2020 Meeting

9/14/2020

Our second fully virtual meeting!

Agenda

(3:36) Fire and Emergency Medical Services property tax measure - Fire Chief Joe Sanford and City Manager Kurt Triplett
(42:30) An update from Google - Ian Goodhew, Head of Gov. & External Relations at Google for the Pacific NW Region
(57:26) City of Kirkland Update: COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and budget - Assistant City Manager Jim Lopez and City Manager Kurt Triplett
(130:44) Kicking off this year's Neighborhood Safety Program project - Brad Haverstein, Moss Bay Board Member
(135:33) An update on developer activity in Moss Bay - Leslie Keller, Moss Bay Board Member

Send us Your Feedback
How did the online meeting work for you? Send us your feedback at contact@mossbay.org.

NE 85th St Station Area Workshop

6/10/2020

Kirkland has posted a video of its June 4th workshop on the NE 85th St Station Area Plan. In the video city staff and consultants explain some ideas for how the city might redevelop the area the area around the BRT station being built at I-405 and NE 8th St, and community members talk about their hopes and desires for the area's future.

Learn more and provide your own feedback by June 16th in the city's online open house.

May 2020 Meeting

5/11/2020

May was our first ever completely virtual meeting!

Agenda
Fast-forward to the timestamps below if you are interested in a specific topic.

0:00 (-1:15:53) - Presenters from SRM shared some announcements about how the area near the Google campus will be developed for business and public use.
30:02 (-45:52) - An officer from the Kirkland Police Department gave us an update on policing, crime, and homelessness and how these topics have been impacted by COVID-19.
50:03 (-25:51) - Samantha St. John from the Chamber of Commerce talked about how local businesses are faring and what residents can do to support them.
1:05:22 (-10:31) - Neighborhood updates and announcements
- Bea Nahon told us about a new task force working on ideas for using outdoor space to help businesses safely operate.
- Brad gave us an update on the Moss Bay Neighborhood Safety Program grant.

Officer Elections
May is the month when we do our annual election of officers to the Moss Bay board. Normally we would vote in-person at the meeting. Instead, this year we'll be sending a survey out to our email list later this week which you can use to register your vote. Here are the people running for officer positions:

Chair: Brad Haverstein
Co Chair: Uzma Butte
Treasurer: Leslie Keller
Secretary: Aimee Voelz
Member at Large position 1: Bea Nahon
Member at Large position 2: Don Winters

Send us your Feedback
How did the online meeting work for you? Let us know by emailing us at contact@mossbay.org.

March 2020 Virtual Meeting

3/21/2020

Since we weren't able to meet in March we're bringing some of the content to you online. Thank you to everyone for social distancing! We'll get through this together.

Big Changes Coming to Our Public Transit
In this two part video series our co-chair Brad talks about big changes coming to our neighborhood's public transit on March 21st.

The first video focuses on what's changing with the 255 and what you need to know to take public transit to downtown after 3/21.

In the second video we learn what's changing with the bus routes from downtown Kirkland to Juanita, Totem Lake, Kenmore, Bothell, Woodinville, Redmond and Bellevue. The end of the video also covers two future projects coming in 2024: RapidRide K Line and Swift BRT.

You can find more info on the King County Metro website.

Join the Moss Bay Board
We're looking for volunteers interested in helping run the Moss Bay Neighborhood Association. In this video our co-chair Brad talks about what it means to be a board member and what kind of work board members do.

Interested? Let us know in the comments or send us an email at contact@mossbay.org.

Stay Safe and Let Us Know If This Is Helpful
Are these videos helpful for you? Let us know by emailing us at contact@mossbay.org. We're looking into options for live streaming completely virtual meetings in the future and hope to have more to share by our May meeting.

January 2020 Meeting Cancelled

1/13/2020

Our January meeting was cancelled due to snow. We're working on bringing you some of the same great presentations in March. See you then!

November 2019 Meeting

11/11/2019

Welcome
We opened the meeting by acknowledging Veteran’s Day.

We are trying something new: we are streaming the meetings live on Facebook. You can watch real-time or view the recording later. Visit the Moss Bay Facebook page for viewing.

Parks Update

Amanda Judd provided a Park Board report on the Parks, Play Areas and Accessibility Enhancements fund. Planned updates include:
- North Kirkland Community Center is replacing the playground and exploring adding a basketball court.
- Peter Kirk Park will have the tennis court resurfaced. The basketball area will also be upgraded.
- Windsor Vista Park will be the beneficiary of the playground equipment being moved from Juanita Beach Park.
In addition to the projects already selected for this funding, there is an additional $50,000 that we would like to receive community feedback on which additional amenities would be desired. You can email ajudd@kirklandwa.gov with questions and feedback on these projects.
Construction is estimated to begin on the Juanita Beach bath house in January 2020.

Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan
Kari Page discussed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan. Kirkland has gone through the entire city and assessed if items such as sidewalks, access to transportation, and restrooms meet the ADA requirements. The transition plan identifies areas that need to be updated as well as the time frame for completing them.

Neighborhood Safety Program
Brad discussed the Neighborhood Safety Program. Moss Bay has three projects under consideration that meet the criteria for the program. In addition to voting in the meeting, surveys were sent to the Moss Bay mailing list. All three projects are proposals to replace crosswalk flags at the following locations with rapid flashing beacons, which are proven to be safer:

State Street and 2nd Avenue S
State Street and 7th Avenue S
Central Way and Main Street

Kirkland Urban Update

Pat Logan from the architect for Kirkland Urban provided an update on Kirkland Urban South update, including roadwork/access plans and an update.
Google purchased and took ownership of the first two office buildings.
Phase 2 is called Kirkland Urban South and just began construction. A different development started along the South of the project which means that in order to have access to the construction site, there will need to be a temporary access road.
The temporary access road will enter on Lakeview, pass by the Shake Shack area and exit on Central. This will mean that some of the park improvements will be removed. The project is expected to take 2 years, ending in November 2021.
Improvements to the park at the end of the project will include a series of low seat wall areas to create flexible seating. There will be a plaza added that will create an area for different types of events.
Kirkland Urban South will include an 8-screen theater on the ground floor, currently slated to be Ipic. Tenants include Power Hour Fitness, Mosaic Salon and Spa, Mud Bay, AT&T, Café Ladro, Restore Wellness, Soy, Top Golf, Bright Horizons, the Heavy Restaurant Group (formerly Purple), Mod Pizza, a nail salon, and the already opened Shake Shack and QFC.

September 2019: City Council Candidate Forum

9/9/2019

We were honored to host the first Kirkland City Council Candidates forum at our September meeting. A big thank you to all seven candidates for their time and participation:

We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on November 11, 2019.

Meeting Notes: May 13, 2019

5/22/2019

The contact@mossbay.org email address has not been receiving email – we are looking into this asap. In the meantime, you can message or add a comment to the Moss Bay Facebook page.

We are approaching the time when the Moss Bay Neighborhood Plan will be updated. We don’t have an official neighborhood meeting in July but we may need to call a special session with the City to provide feedback.

Officer elections
We voted to approve the officer slate:

Aimee Voelz – Chair
Brad Haverstein – Co-Chair
Leslie Keller – Treasurer
Bea Nahan – Member-at-large
Dan Ryan – Member-at-large

Crossing Kirkland event
We will have 3 stations instead of 6 and combine neighborhoods. Moss Bay will be at Google. Station 2 will be just south of Kirkland Avenue (near the overpass). Station 3 will be just north of NE 85th overpass. Visit Crossingkirkland.org for updates and if you’d like to volunteer.

We participated in four City-led feedback sessions that David Wolbrecht and Christian Knight coordinated:

Sustainability Master Plan

This is part of the 2019/2020 master plan. The City is collecting feedback to get feedback and prioritize action items. David Barnes is heading this initiative for the City.
You are invited on June 22 9AM – 12 PM at City Hall for a session on the Sustainability Master Plan.
Neighbors suggested these topics be addressed as part of this initiative:
- Affordable housing
- Increasing composting options and possibly requirements for multi-family housing
- Traffic and transportation
For more info, visit https://www.kirklandwa.gov/sustainabilityplan

Community Policing

The Kirkland police department completed a strategic plan in 2016. The plan included an increase in Community Policing.
Citizens put forth a ballot measure in 2018, Proposition 1, to increase police staff, which passed. Now the Police Department is reaching out to residents and businesses for feedback on strategies.
Community Policing generally includes developing relationships with community members and schools to strengthen connections vs. only being visible when residents call police.
Resident feedback: there used to be more of a “beat cop” style of interaction with residents and would like the police to feel more accessible.
Part of Proposition One was to add a mental health professional that assists people in crisis; Susie Cole is in this role. Many calls are from people who are in a mental health crisis. By having an MHP on staff, this enables the police to continue patrolling while the MHP can take responsibility for and provide them with resources.
The City assigns officers to one of eight districts that they typically patrol for six months to a year. Residents think it would be nice to see the same officers in the neighborhood so we could get to know who is patrolling our area.
https://www.kirklandwa.gov/communitypolicing

Citywide Connections

The City is creating a citywide transportation connections map that identifies potential areas where future public and private development could facilitate connections for driving, walking, bicycling and emergency response.
The City has sought safer school routes, better routes for emergency vehicle access, improved traffic flow and access to services. In the past, new connections were identified one at a time. Now, the City is mapping all of the identified connections for a resilient transportation network. The final map is scheduled for the 2019 comprehensive plan.
City staff is seeking feedback from residents and businesses about the draft connections map. Residents provided feedback:
- The map is hard to read because we can’t zoom in and see what streets are impacted.
A community meeting will be held June 15th. Learn more at https://www.kirklandwa.gov/citywideconnections

Safer Routes to School Action Plans

The City is collaborating with neighborhoods, students, parents, and school district staff to develop safer routes to school action plans for elementary, middle, and high schools in Kirkland. The action plans will update existing designated routes to school, identify and estimate costs to remove physical barriers to walking, biking, and taking the bus, develop programs to encourage alternatives to driving, and improve enforcement around schools to enhance safety for all modes of transportation.
Action plans will be done for all schools. They City will prioritize safety, filling gaps, the proximity to schools and attempt to increase the ability for children to walk to school.
Over the next year, the city will survey parents and communities, and hold an open house on June 15th at City Hall.
Resident feedback included:
- Will the City consider changing school start times to better enable parents’ ability to walk with their kids vs. driving?
- Parents are also facing a challenge getting kids from school directly to their after-school activities.
Learn more at https://www.kirklandwa.gov/safer2school

Meeting Notes: March 11, 2019

3/14/2019

Kelli Curtis - Newest City Council member
1. Kelli has lived in Kirkland for 25 years and served on Houghton Council in the past as well as on the Housing Strategy Advisory Board.
2. She is assigned to the legislative workgroup that works with legislature on items that are important to Kirkland. She is also on the Planning and Economic Committee.
3. Her term is until December 31st and she will be running for the Council seat again in November 2019.
4. Kelli’s priorities as a City Council member include:
  1. Livability – affordability for all residents, including senior citizens, those who are downsizing, and young Kirkland residents who need to find a place of their own.
  2. Parks – accessibility and recreational opportunities.
  3. Community – how can we continue to build a welcoming, inclusive community.
Richard Chung – rep for Moss Bay on the Park board
1. The Park board is a committee of volunteers appointed by the City Council to provide oversight and guidance to City Council on any topics related to parks and recreation. They are a liaison between the community and the City.
  1. Each of the Park board members are assigned Neighborhood Associations to liaison with; Richard is our rep for the Moss Bay Neighborhood Association.
  2. If we have questions or concerns relevant to the Park board, we can email Richard at rchung@kirklandwa.gov. The public is also welcomed to attend Park Board meetings on the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 7 PM at Council Chambers.
2. Park updates
  1. Richard shared that there is an initiative to assess the shoreline parks. They will be drilling several holes into the bulkhead at Brink Park to assess the condition of the shoreline. If you have questions about this project, you can email Mary Gardocki, Park Planning and Development Manager for Department of Parks and Community Services at mgardocki@kirklandwa.gov.
3. Juanita Beach park will have a new bath house. Construction is planned to start towards the end of 2019.
4. Totem Lake Park is at 90% designed. They are working on playground equipment.
5. Peter Kirk and Kirkland Urban’s parks are in process.
Christian Knight – Neighborhood Services Outreach Coordinator working in the Capital Improvement Program.
1. Kirkland Urban
  1. There are 11 tenants already committed and include iPic, Top Golf, Shake Shack, Evergreens Salad, Dough Zone, Mud Bay Pets, Purple Wine Bar, Restore Hyper Wellness, Soi, Bright Horizons Childcare and Early Learning, Home Street Bank, Café Ladro, AT&T and a new QFC.
  2. There will be a new stoplight at Central Way leading into Kirkland Urban, which will replace the existing crosswalk.
2. 6th Street work
  1. The stoplight was scheduled to be completed at the end of March. However, there were some delays due to worker strikes and other issues and may slip.
  2. Street paving project will happen after the sewer main project, which is scheduled to end in April 2019. The paving is scheduled for July 2019.
  3. The paving process will take longer than normal because it is severely damaged, and part of the street needs to be rebuilt. The average cost is $17,000 to repave but to rebuild is $65,000.
Lakefront Bicycle and Pedestrian improvements
1. They are making improvements along Juanita Bay park with a new bike box at the intersection. It allows the bicyclists to move forward at the stoplights to get a head start before cars move forward when the light turns green.
2. The City has rebuilt 100 curb ramps to be compliant with the ADA (American with Disabilities Act).
3. Kirkland Scramble is a proposed project to turn the intersection at Kirkland Ave and Lake Street into an all-way crosswalk. The purpose of these types of intersections is to improve traffic and pedestrian flow. It works well in areas where there is a lot of automobile traffic.
  1. $1.2 M has been proposed for this project in state legislature, proposed by Amy Whalen. If approved, it will be completed in 2021.
  2. The expense involves engineering costs and the work to change the streets and curbs.
  3. The right turn lane “pocket” on Kirkland Ave to turn right on Lake Street would be removed. This is part of improving the safety of pedestrians crossing this intersection.
Karen Story from the Highlands Neighborhood Association is proposing that Park Lane be closed on Sundays in summer months. To provide input to City Council on this topic, you can attend the March 19, 2019 City Council meeting at 7:30 PM in Council chambers.
Meeting participants provided feedback to Christian that there is a utility box in the walkway near the Bank of America building that makes it difficult to navigate in wheelchairs.
We had a discussion about whether the sidewalks along Lake Washington Blvd would be widened to better accommodate pedestrians. Council Member Toby Nixon was in attendance and said that it was on the list of items for City Council to consider. The tradeoff is removing parking spots.
We had a discussion about how traffic volumes are measured and how new developments impact road capacity. In the past, concurrency was measured by automobile traffic at intersections. Now all modes of transportation including bikes and pedestrians are counted because Kirkland residents have consistently asked the City Council to make Kirkland more walkable. For more information about what concurrency means for roads, traffic and development, visit https://www.codepublishing.com/WA/Kirkland/?Kirkland25/Kirkland25.html and https://www.kirklandwa.gov/depart/Public_Works/Transportation_and_Traffic/Development_Concurrency.htm
Troy Thiel - legislation for housing development
1. Troy is part of a group called Community for Affordable Housing (CFAH). He speaks to different groups about the climate and need for affordable housing.
2. Home prices have more than doubled in a 7-year period. People are considered over-burdened when the spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs.
3. In the 2nd half of 2018, 25% fewer homes in King County were sold than in the six months prior.
4. In the state legislature, proposed solutions include:
  1. Improving condo and conversion laws. The average cost now is $950 per square feet for new multi-family dwellings. Enabling conversions could make new condo ownership possible. The current laws require the apartment owner to keep it as an apartment for 7 years and then completely empty the building before it could be converted. The first in Washington is a 21-unit conversion on Slater, but the starting prices are still too high.
  2. Upzoning where appropriate
  3. Smaller multi-family that addresses the “missing middle”
  4. TOD (Transit-Oriented Development)/Mixed use residential. This bill was shut down.
  5. Better ADU (Accessory Dwelling Units) policies (changes reduce restrictions including the required parking spaces, the size of the ADU’s); however, this measure was eliminated from legislation and won’t be voted on.
  6. Learning from other cities and states
  7. Excess public lands
  8. Improve prefab/modular laws
5. Condo law fixes:
  1. Defining “defect”. In the 1980’s there were few consumer protections for condo buyers when buildings had defects. There wasn’t a good definition of defect. This will clarify it and also give developers opportunities to remedy issues during the warranty period.
  2. New construction is expensive and takes a long time to get through the permitting process.
6. Tiny home neighborhoods are not likely in Kirkland.
7. There is a possibility that the real estate transaction tax will increase. Graduated taxes are also proposed. Homes under $700K will have lower home sales tax while high-end homes will pay more.
8. Tenant protections: it looks like a law for just cause evictions will pass. Currently if rent is late 4-5 days, they could be evicted.
9. Resources to learn more about the issues:
  1. The sightline.org provides resources – you can go to the Bill Tracker page to learn about where bills are in process.
  2. Community for Affordable Housing and Livin’ Small Facebook group pages.
10. 11% of the market is condominium purchases; many of them are purchased by investors.
11. Average cost of home in Moss Bay in 2018 years is $1.624 M.
12. In 2018, 140 condos have sold; average price is $1.4 M. Average market time is 28 days.
Bea Nahon - KAN Update
1. The Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods meets the 2nd Wednesday of every month at City Hall with representatives from all Neighborhood Associations.
2. KAN has been discussing housings issues and will be talking about it at the meeting on March 13, 2019.
3. At the January 2019, they talked about state-mandated housing. KAN members wanted zoning decisions to remain with cities and not mandated at the state level.

Meeting Notes: January 14, 2019

1/17/2019

We began the meeting by welcoming Lt. Brouelette from Kirkland’s police department, who joined us to meet residents and answer questions before we started our agenda.
Liz Mack from Sound Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit team joined us to provide a NE 85th Street Connection update:
1. Sound Transit responsibilities are to plan, build and operate the regional transit systems and services in urban areas of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties
2. BRT will start in 2024 to the north, east and south of Lake Washington.
3. BRT is designed to be a fast, frequent and reliable transit system. It will run every 10 minutes during peak travel times and 15 minutes during off-peak hours and 19 hours per day for six days per week, with 17 hours of service on Sundays.
4. Paying for fares happen off-board and riders enter and exit from all doors to make the process faster. You will be able to purchase tickets, ORCA cards, and reload ORCA credits.
5. To keep the bus moving quickly they will travel in managed lanes where possible. This includes the 405 express toll lanes.
6. There will be a Lynnwood to Bellevue line and a Bellevue to Burien line.
7. They estimate 15,000 to 18,000 riders by 2040.
8. WSDOT will build new direct access ramps from the I-405 express toll lanes to support BRT service at NE 85th Street. The BRT station will be in this new area, and it will also accommodate local buses making transfers.
9. Although it is early in the planning process, there is money set aside to improve transportation access to the BRT station on NE 85th Street.
10. The BRT will be called STRIDE.
11. We have an opportunity to provide input through mid-February:
  1. Sound transit wants to understand what barriers you have to station access.
  2. www.i405brt.participate.online
  3. You can also email at rt@soundtransit.org
Jon Pascal, City Council member shared information about City Council processes for selecting a Council member:
1. Because Amy Whalen’s seat is vacated as she joins the legislature, City Council will select someone to fill the seat until the next election, which will be in November 2019.
2. Residents interested in applying must fill out an application from the City’s website, which is due by January 29, 2019.
3. A subcommittee of three council members will manage the selection process. They will review the applications and create a shortlist of the top five candidates. Council members will approve the short list at the first City Council meeting in February.
4. The full Council will interview the finalists at an open meeting that the public is invited to attend for observation only – no public comments will be allowed during the interviews and they will not be recorded or broadcast. The interviews will likely occur on the same day as the next Council meeting.
5. Requirements: Candidates must be willing to disclose their financial information as required by state law. Council members spend up to 20 hours per week on their duties. There are meetings during the day as well as Council meetings in the evening. There are also interactions with residents informally through phone conversations, emails and coffee meetings. All Council members are assigned to committees every other year, typically after the elections. For the new Council member, there may need to be changes to best align with the new person’s interests and capabilities.
Jon Pascal shared the process City Council used to selected a new mayor, since Amy Whalen held that position:
1. The mayor’s responsibilities are largely ceremonial, including presiding at meetings and serving as the face of the City. It is a two-year appointment. The mayor also sets the agenda for Council meetings along with the Deputy Mayor and the City Manager.
2. There is no formal City Council process for selecting mayor other than it requires four votes from existing City Council members.
3. Council members are not supposed to collaborate on the process as a group, but they were able to have individual conversations with each other to decide who they wanted to nominate and vote for.
4. In this process, Jay Arnold nominated Penny Sweet at a City Council meeting and the Council members voted affirmatively. Penny Sweet will fill the remainder of Amy Whalen’s term, which will run until November 2019.

City Council member compensation:
1. A Salary Commission sets the compensation for City Council and Mayor.
2. It is $1,238 per month for Council members $1,577 (this typically increases annually at the same amount as a cost of living increase).
3. Council members can take City’s healthcare plan or a $300 equivalent instead.
4. They receive $225 monthly for travel expenses plus an ORCA card.
Jon also shared:
1. There are early plans for Transit Oriented Development at the Kingsgate station, that will include a 500-stall parking lot.
2. There are King County plans to add a waste transfer station in NE King County for garbage. It is likely to be built in Houghton.
Don Winters and Dave Aubry gave presentations as members of the Cross Kirkland Corridor History Committee.
1. Don gave us an overview of the history of Kirkland’s railroads:
  1. Peter Kirk’s vision for Kirkland included railroad lines in many parts of the city. What came to pass is that the Northern Pacific railroad wanted to build a line that circled Lake Washington. The built the Northern and Southern sections but not the Eastern part.
  2. Where Slater Avenue is today, Peter Kirk’s steel mill buildings and a sawmill where they built the mills were located adjacent to the railway in Kirkland. The steel mill failed to progress because of issues of sourcing ore and completing the railway.
  3. In 1905 the old railroad was torn up and steel mills were dismantled. This is where the railroad was located until the rails were removed when the Cross Kirkland Corridor was built.
  4. Passenger trains ran for 17 years. They often included postal cars where postal workers sorted mail while the trains ran. After passenger service ended, they still occasionally ran excursion trains, including to the Puyallup Fair.
  5. A depot was built at Kirkland Avenue in 1912. It doubled as a telegraph office for Western Union and for railroad business. It was torn down and replaced with a new depot.
  6. Today there is a caboose on the Google campus to commemorate the railway.
  7. The dinner train ran on the tracks from Renton to the Woodinville wineries for about 15 years.
2. Dave Aubry shared plans for an installation:
  1. This is a joint project with Kirkland rotary and the CKC History Committee. Rotary awarded them a grant for picnic tables. The Kirkland Parks foundation is raising funds to plant native plants in the area.
  2. There will be a picnic pavilion with picnic tables, 60 feet of original rails, historical markers and native plants.
  3. Follow the progress and learn how to participate at: https://ckcrotarycentralstation.blogspot.com/
  4. To donate, please contribute to the Kirkland Parks Foundation: https://www.kirklandparksfoundation.org/projects/ckc-railroad-station-platform-picnic-area/
Matching grants:
1. The City of Kirkland offers money for matching grants to neighborhood association projects. The projects have several requirements:
  1. The neighborhood association must approve projects.
  2. The residents within the neighborhood must contribute volunteer hours that the City equates to dollar amounts.
  3. Residents must also provide an equal amount of money to the amount matched by the City.
2. We voted to approve two matching grant projects:
  1. Michelle Lustgarten, an art teacher at Lakeview Elementary and Robert Wolverton proposed a project for 5th graders at Lakeview Elementary to work with a professional artist to create murals on the North and South side of the underpass beneath the CKC.
  2. Moss Bay’s participation in the 2019 Crossing Kirkland event.
A memorial for Eric Shields, a beloved City employee, is scheduled for January 22nd, 5:30 at Kirkland Performing Arts Center. RSVP’s are required and can be sent to pcowin@kirklandwa.gov.
Hopelink wants your input on the best time to schedule tours at their Totem Lake location: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6JR8RQ3

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