MOSS BAY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

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!

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. 

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:

• Kelli Curtis
• Toby Nixon
• David Schwartz
• Neal Black
• Martin Morgan
• Amy Falcone
• Jory Hamilton​

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

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 
  

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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:

1. City staff is able to give us informational presentations but not direct residents in voting in favor or against the measure.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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:

1. Kirkland Urban developers will come to our November meeting to share an update on their timeline and tenants.
2. 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.
3. 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:

1. There were 6 stations along the corridor sponsored by different neighborhood associations. There were live music performances, food trucks, and activities for kids.
2. 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!
3. Planning for the 2019 event will start in March. We will ask for help planning and volunteering. 

Neighborhood Safety Program:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. If you are interested in being our neighborhood’s representative for this process, email contact@mossbay.org for more information.

​ 

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.