Blog Posts

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

Meeting Notes: November 12, 2018

11/13/2018

We opened the meeting with a moment of silence to honor veterans.

Kirkland Urban Update
Bill Leedom, the Director of Investments at Talon Private Capital, gave us an update on Kirkland Urban:

"Urban North", the building in the first phase, will be turned over from the contractor to the tenants on November 14th. Tableau will occupy the top 3 floors and are expected to complete the interior of their space around March 2019.
Talon is not able to disclose the names of other tenants, but we can surmise from news articles that Google is the second tenant that will occupy the remaining office space at the Kirkland Urban complex.
The QFC is expected to open in their new location in May or June of 2019. It will be a flagship location with a large format that includes a Starbucks inside.
Retail, restaurant and services tenants are expected to begin opening for business in late summer of 2019. Food tenants will include a bakery, fast-casual restaurant, burger chain, local coffee shop, a salad place, Chinese dumplings, cocktail bar, and a restaurant that used to be in Parkplace will return. Additional food offerings may include a food hall with sushi, Mexican and "wellness drinks", and possibly a pizza restaurant. Other tenants are expected to be a fitness center, sports-simulation entertainment, barbershop, pet store and clothing stores.
A luxury movie theater is not expected to open until 2021.
Construction on "Urban South" will begin once QFC has moved into their new space.
Parking: there will be 1,150 stalls in the first phase and an additional 500 in the second phase. It will be one of the largest parking garages on the Eastside. The stalls are 6 inches wider than required. 24 electric car charging stations are planned. The parking is set up with a gate system in case there becomes an issue with people parking and then leaving to use the transit center. If deployed, visitors will be issued parking stubs to be validated with one of the retail/service tenants.
185 apartments are planned to open in May 2019 and an additional 175 in the second phase. 75% of them will be studio or one bedrooms with an average of 750 square feet. The rest are two bedroom and two-story townhomes. Per Kirkland City requirements, 10% of the units are set aside as affordable housing units.

Hopelink
Tom Kreinbring shared information about Hopelink and new additions to the Turkey Trot fun run:

Hopelink's mission is to promote self-sufficiency for all members of our community; we help people make lasting change.
Services offered include shelter housing, food assistance, emergency financial help, energy assistance for heating bills, adult education, family development, employment services and financial literacy.
You can help by volunteering, participating in food drives and making financial donations.
The 18th annual Turkey Trot will be on November 18th beginning at 8AM. In addition to the fun run, there will be a fair with booths and family-friendly activities.

Crossing Kirkland 2019
The 3rd annual Crossing Kirkland community event will be held September 7, 2019. It will shrink from 6 to 3 locations to make it easier to visit all event stations along the Cross Kirkland Corridor. The leadership team is seeking volunteers for Station Captain roles. Email contact@mossbay.org if you are interested.

Developer Update

The Bartell project at the Wendy's site has gone through Design Review Board approval and moving into the permitting process. They still need approval from the Planning Commission and City Council to determine plans for their rooftop space.
Milagro Cantina, the TimeOut sports bar and The Slip have closed. We have word that The Slip will reopen in the spring of 2019.
The development planned for the Petco location on NE 85th Street has pushed out their design review until December because of changes with their expected gym tenant.

Bike Sharing in Kirkland
Assistant City Manager Jim Lopez presented information about the potential for regulated bike-sharing in Kirkland. We already have Lime bikes in Kirkland because they are established in neighboring towns. The City is determining whether to formally regulate Lime bikes in a pilot program to exert some control over the ability to move bikes causing clutter and other concerns.

If the pilot program moves forward, there is not expected to be a cost to the City; in fact it may generate revenue. If there were costs, they would be for government-subsidized docking stations, which is not part of the pilot plan. Another option is to paint white-striped areas designated for parking bikes. If approved, the bikes are expected to be an all-electric fleet (pedaling takes less effort).

City Council is actively seeking resident input:

Those who attended the Moss Bay meeting had an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback to Jim and City staff in-person, as well as filling out a paper survey.
A community input event is planned for December 6th at City Hall.
You can go to www.kirklandwa.gov and search for Bike Share Pilot program to learn more and provide feedback.

Off-Leash Dog Areas
Jim Lopez led us through a discussion on the possibility of expanding off-leash dog areas. By City law, only the Ethan Moulton Park's fenced-in dog trail and Jasper Park allow dogs off-leash. The City is considering options that include creating additional off-leash locations and/or having designated hours for pets to be off-leash in certain areas of parks.

The City now has an animal control officer that provides enforcement. The current enforcement policy is:

First offense: educate
Second offense: warn
Third offense: $25 ticket
Ticket fines double with each subsequent offense

City Council is seeking resident input:

Those who attended the Moss Bay meeting provided verbal feedback and had the opportunity to fill out paper surveys.
You can provide additional feedback at www.kirklandwa.gov/offleashdogs

Moss Bay Meeting Notes - September 10, 2018

9/11/2018

Tony Leavitt, Senior Planner with City of Kirkland provided information about two development projects near and in our neighborhood:

Rosehill mixed use project at the Petco/Outback site on NE 85th St.
1. The developer is Madison Development. Currently the developer hasn’t been able to acquire the U-haul site, but the proposed development area does include half of the Costco site’s parking lot.
2. 770 apartment units are planned in 4 buildings 4-5 stories tall, with ground floor retail. They will provide 10% affordable housing units per City requirements. 200,000 square feet of commercial space is planned, including a large health club, a drugstore and a grocery store.
3. The project is designed in part to take advantage of the new Bus Rapid Transit being developed nearby NE 85th St.
4. Next steps:
  1. The first design review board meeting was last week. October 15th will be the next design review board; it is expected to take to the end of 2018. There will be a traffic review to study impacts.
  2. The developer is proposing code amendments to allow rooftop amenities, and also to reduce lot line requirements.
312 Central Project where Wendy’s is located:
1. The project was approved in the design review in July.
2. The four-story development will include about 70 apartment units, a 12,000 square foot Bartell drugstore and 5,500 square feet for restaurant space.
3. Next steps:
  1. A code amendment was requested for rooftop amenities.
  2. If the design and approval process is successful, construction is likely to start in the spring or summer of 2019.
If you are interested in learning more about code amendments and potential rezoning, you can attend the Planning Commission meeting on September 13th. You can also learn more on the City’s Planning Commission site and on the Planning Department site.

Kurt Triplett, City Manager, delivered an informational presentation on the community safety ballot measure to be voted on during the November 2018 general election:

City staff is able to give us informational presentations but not direct residents in voting in favor or against the measure.
Planned growth in Kirkland is occurring at a faster pace than expected and revenues will be outpaced by costs and inflation beginning 2023. Services (including Parks) and programs will be cut unless additional budget is raised.
During the budgeting process, the City asks residents to take a survey to rate the priority of City services, and to rate how well the City performs those services. Emergency services rate at the top in both priority and satisfaction. There have been multiple outreach efforts to understand resident priorities and also what tax methods would be supported (soda tax, property tax, business tax, sales tax). A sales tax was the preferred choice.
Public safety concerns:
1. One area that the City struggles to keep up with is organized shoplifting and property crimes, and public safety challenges with mental illness and suicide, drug addiction, homelessness and domestic violence.
2. School safety is another area that residents have asked the City and School Board to address.
If passed, the measure would support:
1. Half a resource officer in schools (the other half paid for by Lake WA School district).
2. A ProAct police unit of 4 officers and 1 support staff position.
3. Adding a mental health professional with a neighborhood resource officer.
4. $100,000 for ongoing management of the Women and Family shelter in process.
5. Education program of $100,000 per year on gun safety and to possibly help people acquire gun safes.
The measure would increase sales tax rate by 0.1 percent, which is the equivalent of $0.01 (one cent) per $10.

Bea Nahon shared an update:

Kirkland Urban developers will come to our November meeting to share an update on their timeline and tenants.
The Chief of Police will talk about the Community Safety Ballot measure at the next KAN (Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods) meeting, this Wednesday, 7 PM at City Hall if you would like her perspective.
There is a “pro” ballot measure organization called Safer Kirkland. We are not aware of an opposing organization.

Amanda Judd gave a Crossing Kirkland recap:

There were 6 stations along the corridor sponsored by different neighborhood associations. There were live music performances, food trucks, and activities for kids.
Moss Bay had station #1 next to Google, and it was the most attended. We averaged about 125 attendees every hour. A big shout out and thanks to Amanda for managing our neighborhood presence at this fun event!
Planning for the 2019 event will start in March. We will ask for help planning and volunteering.

Neighborhood Safety Program:

As in past years, we can submit up to two projects that enhance safety within the Moss Bay neighborhood area. Projects must cost less than $50,000 each. Learn more at the Neighborhood Safety Program site.
Project ideas must be submitted to the Capital Improvements Projects tool by September 30th. In recent years, successfully funded projects have increased safety for large numbers of residents and either improved pedestrian/bike safety with measures to slow traffic or improve walkways. Adding/improving connection points to the Cross Kirkland Corridor have also been successful.
If you are interested in being our neighborhood’s representative for this process, email contact@mossbay.org for more information.

Meeting Notes - May 15th, 2018

5/15/2018

Lieutenant Brouelette stopped by and reminded us that car break ins are on the rise and to call 911 if you observer an incident.
Sound Transit Project Director for Bus Rapid Transit, Paul Cornish presented information about regional transportation plans, including the NE 85th Street transit project:
1. I-405 Master Plan was developed in 2002. At that time, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was decided on as the high-capacity transit system.
2. I-405 and SR 522 will have BRT in 2024. There will be a parking garage, a new fleet of buses, and a new operations and maintenance facility. This is a result of the Sound Transit 3 ballot measure.
  1. On I-405, buses will run every 10 minutes in peak time, 15 minutes in off-peak, with up to 19 hours of bus service on weekdays and 17 hours on weekends.
  2. As an example of the estimated time savings using BRT, Bellevue to South Renton in 2016 takes 48 minutes. It is predicted to take 24 minutes with the Bus Rapid Transit.
  3. There will be off-board fare collection; this means passengers pay on the platforms before they get on the bus. There will be ticket vending machines for people that don’t have ORCA cards.
  4. Sound Transit is in the process of deciding if electric buses are feasible for this project.
  5. The 405 interchange at NE 85th will be redeveloped and will a new Bus Rapid Transit station. The plan is to lower NE 85th Street while the interchange will be new layer that connects to 405 above.
3. New parking garages will be added at Kingsgate (600 stalls), Renton, and on SR 522.
4. Go to www.soundtransit.org/i5brt to sign up for alerts. Email brt@soundtransit.org with questions and comments.
5. There is a separate project to put bus lanes on NE 85th Street that would speed up travel times.
Marina Singh and Zach Smith from Kirkland’s newest apartment building, Voda, gave a presentation and brought Trophy cupcakes (thank you, Voda!):
1. Apartment details:
  1. Voda is adjacent to the downtown transit station on the site of the former Antique mall. The address is 207 Park Lane.
  2. There are 128 apartments total with studios, one and two bedrooms. 97% of the apartments have balconies. All have air conditioning. Amenities include a fitness center, 24 hour package concierge system, pet wash, and a grocery delivery fridge. They have partnered with the Heathman Hotel’s Trellis restaurant to have room service available to apartments.
  3. The first residents took occupancy in March. 33% of the building is leased to-date.
2. Retail and parking details:
  1. Banner Bank is going to move to one of their retail spaces. There are two additional retail spaces that don’t have signed leases yet.
  2. There are 1.4 assigned parking spaces per apartment and designated spaces for visitor parking.
  3. 47 paid, public parking on the retail level is open from 5am – midnight. $1 per hour or $10 to park overnight.
3. This Saturday, May 19th, Voda is hosting an Open House from 11:30AM – 2:30PM with live music and refreshments. You are invited!
Crossing Kirkland event:
1. This is a city-wide block party that takes place on the Cross Kirkland Corridor on September 8th from 11am – 4pm. Moss Bay is hosting a station near the Google Campus.
2. There were 1500 participants last year. There are family-friendly activities, food trucks, and games. A new addition this year is to have musicians stationed at different points along the trail.
3. If you are interested in volunteering to help host our station, email contact@mossbay.org.
Neighborhood Safety grants: Our project (crosswalk at Marina Park) is the first one "below the line" of funded projects, so if the higher-ranked projects don't use up the entire grant funding, we will get the crosswalk. More information can be found at http://www.kirklandwa.gov/depart/CMO/Neighborhood_Services/NSP.htm
Announcements:
1. KAN Update
  1. Please take the biennial Community Survey to gauge community attitudes about the quality of life in Kirkland, priorities for the future and satisfaction with City government and services. The survey is open until May 21st at https://www.research.net/r/2018KirklandCommunitySurvey
  2. Take the Kirkland transit implementation plan survey by June 11th to share your feedback about improving transit in Kirkland. https://ktip.participate.online/
  3. The State of the City address is planned for June 11th. The location has yet to be announced.
  4. Council passed a resolution to start a conversation about gun safety and community safety. There will be a town hall meeting that has yet to be scheduled.
  5. Work begins this month to install traffic signals at 6th Street and Kirkland Way and also at 6th Street and 9th Avenue South.
We voted to approve the slate of candidates for Moss Bay’s Neighborhood Association as follows: Chair – Aimee Voelz; Co-Chair – Amanda Judd; Treasurer – Leslie Keller. We have an open position for Secretary. If you are interested in an office or would just like to be more involved in the Association’s planning and events, email contact@mossbay.org.

Moss Bay Meeting Notes - March 2018

3/15/2018

1. Kirkland Safe

Leah Kliger and Paula White gave a presentation about Kirkland Safe, which spearheaded the effort to have Kirkland declare itself an inclusive city.
You are welcome to join their meetings on the second Tuesday of every month. There are additional community events and activities that residents are encouraged to join.
For more information and to participate, visit www.kirklandsafe.org

2. Central Way Development

Mark Craig and Anthony Jansen gave a presentation about the company’s history and plans for Central way.
This was originally the George Henry Bartell company, and has been in business since the early 1900’s. They work for the Bartell company in a separate activity from the drugstore chain.
Henbart Development is redeveloping the site at 312 Central Way, where Wendy’s is currently located. The project includes the alley behind the existing building, which will be redeveloped for traffic.
The plan is to build a Bartell drugstore on the site, although it isn’t confirmed at this time. There will be additional retail space on the site. They will develop two levels of underground parking. They are tentatively planning for 70 apartments built on top of the retail.
In the next month or so, the City will respond to their initial design. They estimate that it will be a year before they can break ground.

3. Kirkland’s Housing Strategy update

Dawn Nelson, Planning Supervisor with the City of Kirkland provided information about the City’s Housing Strategy Plan.
The City has had a Housing Strategy plan for about the last 20-25 years. It identifies priority issues for the City to address local housing goals and policies. For the last year, an advisory group made up of residents and stakeholders from businesses, education and the faith community has been meeting to help identify strategies that address these goals and policies.
The updated plan is intended to provide guidance for the next 3-5 years.
Over the year, the group sought community feedback through surveys, a workshop for Kirkland residents and focus groups.
The outcome of the group’s work was a set of strategies that were presented to the City Council on March 6, 2018. Ultimately City Council will decide on the recommendations and they will be added to the City’s work plan.
The three categories of strategies that the group identified are:
1. Neighborhood Quality
2. Expanded Housing Choices
3. Housing Affordability
For more information about the Housing Strategy, visit the City’s Housing Strategy Plan Advisory Group webpage.

4. Human Services Commission

Leslie Miller, the Human Services Administrator for the City of Kirkland, gave a presentation about the Human Services Commission and the grants that available for organizations with relevant missions.
The Human Services area of focus are:
- Food to eat and a roof overhead.
- Supportive relationships within families, neighborhoods, and communities.
- A safe haven from all forms of violence or abuse.
- Health care to be as physically and mentally fit as possible.
- Education and job skills to lead an independent life.
The City participates in regional initiatives for human services as well as at the City level.
There is an advisory Human Services Commission made up of 7 adults and 1 youth representative. They meet monthly and will determine the grant recipients.
The 2019 – 2020 grant process is shared among 17 regional cities. This creates a more efficient process for non-profits who need to submit grant requests to multiple cities: now the non-profits can submit one grant application and check a box to request which cities they would like to consider their grants.
Approximately $950,000 is available across the participating cities for agencies that provide services. The process can be found on the City’s website. Applications are due April 10, 2018.
Residents can reach out to City Council directly or the Human Services Commission if they would like the City to take into consideration a particular area of focus.

5. Kirkland Police

Captain St. Jean, who has been with the department for about 20 years, gave a presentation and answered questions.
There are about 60 patrol officers and 100 officers in total. Kirkland hired 17 new officers in 2017 and are now fully staffed. Budget has been approved for two officers for “pro-act”, which is a proactive regional approach to property crimes. There is a detective assigned to the US Secret Service. He helps work on digital crime and fraud. By May 1st, two officers will be on traffic patrol on motorcycles.
Crime update:
- 1,100 reports have been filed using the online reporting tool since it started a year ago.
- In Moss Bay, in the last 3 months, there were 52 crimes. Most are shoplifting theft in businesses in downtown Kirkland. Downtown also has more DUI’s than some other neighborhood because of the concentration of bars and restaurants.
- You can go to crime mapping on the City’s website to look up police activity or trends.
- You can report crime online for non-emergencies.
- Violent crime has decreased in the last few years. Rape, robberies, assault, residential burglaries are all down.
- What is increasing is motor vehicle theft and prowls. Stolen cars are often found in Everett or Auburn, and vehicles stolen from those areas can be found in Kirkland; thieves are using get between these cities. To try to combat this and other crime, the police request that citizens:
  - Don’t leave purses or laptops in cars, even if exiting the vehicle for just a moment.
  - Trust your gut if something or someone seems suspicious that help with property crimes.
  - For package theft: recommendations include having them delivered to your work or Amazon’s lockers, or use one of the lockbox products.
  - If you see needles in the parks, call 911, don’t touch it, and stay nearby so other people don’t accidentally get pricked by a needle.
- Crime on the Cross Kirkland Corridor has been very low. They have two ATVs to patrol.
- A question was asked about whether the rumors of the Kirkland library parking is unsafe – we hear that there is drug dealing. Captain St. Jean said they do extra patrols there and that the City Council is considering adding lighting and taking other measures to make people feel safer, such as replacing the cameras.

6. Neighborhood Safety Program

We have one project submitted: adding a crosswalk at Marina Park’s north side. We will find out whether this project is funded by the April 17, 2018 City Council meeting.

Moss Bay Meeting Notes - January 8, 2018

1/9/2018

1. Short-term Rental Ordinance

Michael Olsen of Kirkland's Finance and Administration Department provided an update on the new ordinance, which mainly applies to Aibnb and vacation rentals.
Key requirements for property owners include both City and State business licenses and paying State lodging tax.
The City is enforcing the policy mainly by responding to complaints, but they may contract with a vendor or use software. The City mails letters to people out of compliance and if they continue to violate the rules, it is a misdemeanor crime.
Bed and Breakfast rules for parking apply for short-term rentals, which is one parking stall per room rented.
Details can be found on the City’s website here.

2. David Wolbrecht is Kirkland’s Neighborhood Services Outreach Coordinator

His primary role is to act as a liaison between the City and the Neighborhood Associations. This includes communicating City happenings and policies to the Associations and to other community or religious organizations.
He produces the “This Week in Kirkland” email newsletter that you can subscribe to here.

3. Animal Services

The City stopped contracting with King County for animal licensing, shelters, and animal control and is now managing this directly.
Dogs and cats are required to be licensed. We have a new dedicated Animal Control Officer that can help with nuisance complaints. The program resides with the police department. The Officer is Jennifer Madison at 425-577-7656. Email animalcontral@kirklandwa.gov.

4. Parks

The dock at Marina Park will be closed for about 6 weeks while underwater repairs are made. More information can be found here.
Edith Moulton Park will be closed until July for extensive renovations and improvements. More information can be found on the Edith Moulton Park webpage.

5. Moss Bay's Neighborhood Safety Program projects and Matching Grant program

Two projects have been submitted to the 2018 Neighborhood Safety Program: a crosswalk at Marina Park and improving a trail connecting the Cross Kirkland Corridor to 5th Ave/10th St. Aimee Voelz is participating in the grant process and will keep you updated.
We had applied for a matching grant to install a sign at Marina Park. After working with the City’s Parks Department and getting bids from vendors, we unfortunately determined that the project isn’t feasible. However, we’ve learned that the City will eventually install a Marina Park sign on their own, within the next few years.

6. Developer activity:

SRM: the planned traffic signals on 6th Ave S and 9th and at Kirkland Way were paid for by SRM in 2014 but will be installed by the City. There were delays in part because the City needed to acquire private property to accommodate buses turning the corners at these intersections.
At 3rd and Central where Wendy’s is located, a design has been submitted for 80 housing units and a 17,000 square foot Bartell’s.
Park Lane apartments are anticipated 128 units and 13,000 square foot of commercial are anticipated being done in the Spring. We don’t know who the retailers will be yet.
Aegis will go in the former Potala Village site – it has been approved in the design phase by the City.
The Olympic building where the Christmas Store and Haute Dog store 40 townhome units and some commercial space.

7. Sign Regulations

The City has received many complaints about the existing sign code. A hearing will be held on January 11th at 7PM at City Hall to solicit feedback on amendments to the current code. You may also email comments to jregala@kirklandwa.gov (reference File No. CAM17-00419 and include your name, mailing address and email address).
One proposed amendment is to allow A-frame signs and other temporary signs. You can read the existing Temporary Sign code here.

8. Transportation Update

a. Bus route 255, our direct route to downtown Seattle, will eventually be routed to the UW station. This was originally planned for Fall 2018 but the route will remain as-is until at least March 2019.
b. City Council has added bus queue jumps on 6th and 108th to the unfunded Capital program. If funding is secured, this change would allow Northbound buses to bypass cars waiting at traffic lights so they aren’t delayed by congestion.

9. KAN is meeting on Wednesday at City Hall and a key topic will be the sign ordinance.

Moss Bay Meeting Notes - September 11, 2017

9/12/2017

It was great to see a big turnout for our City Council Candidates Forum. The entire agenda was dedicated to the event.

We started the evening with a moment of silence to remember the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. We then heard a short talk from each candidate, followed by candidates each answering one question submitted by Moss Bay neighbors. We concluded with time for candidates and residents to mingle.

Penny Sweet was unable to make it and provided a statement that was read during the forum. Candidates in attendance were:

Position 1: Jay Arnold
Position 1: Martin Morgan
Position 2: Tom Neir
Position 5: Amy Walen
Position 6: Jon Pascal
Position 6: Uzma Butte

Our next meeting will be November 13, 2017, at 7pm at Heritage Hall.

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