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Citizens for a Vibrant Kirkland |
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Downtown Kirkland Update |
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There are several key meetings coming up - some of which involve newly announced projects, so please place these dates on your calendar! First the dates, and then details are listed below. Each of these events takes place at City Hall. There's a lot going on, and the only way to make a difference is to pay attention and express your opinions.
See the Calendar page for a summary of all upcoming events.
There is a very interesting survey opportunity, where you can tell the City about where you currently obtain goods and services (in and out of downtown or Kirkland in general) and what goods and services were more available in Kirkland. The survey is available at http://www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/Business/sustainability.htm and will be available until May 19. It takes just a few minutes and your participation is important.
As many are (or should be) aware, we are anticipating a new Transit Center on 3rd Avenue. One of the neighboring citizens has been diligently studying the environmental impacts (noise, air pollution, etc) that will impact the citizens who live near the Transit Center - and there are many who are impacted. Based on the information that he has surfaced, this will have a significant impact and mitigation is called for. If you are interested in knowing more about this particular - and important - issue impacting downtown liveability, please e-mail civik at civik_org@hotmail.com.
The Wednesday Market returned on Wednesday May 7 from 2PM until 7PM - the longer hours are a great change which will allow more people come to the market after work. Please visit the market, patronize the vendors, and see neighbors and friends - see www.kirklandwednesdaymarket.org for more information about events and vendors!
The development update:
Bank of America/Merrill Gardens mixed-use proposal On the evening of May 6, 2008, the City Council voted 4-3 in support of CiViK’s appeal effort. Please note that the matter is still considered to be quasi-judicial and so no related conversation can be conducted with City Council members until after their May 20 meeting (at the earliest).
Park Place The time is coming for some important decisions to be made on this proposal and your attention and input is important. To review, the developer has requested an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan to develop a new Park Place, including retail and office space. Because a variance has been requested, this process involves the Design Review Board, the Planning Commission and eventually the City Council. There is a thorough summary of meetings which have been held and which are going to be held at: http://www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/depart/Planning/Code_Updates/Touchstone_Orni_Altom.htm At this website, you can learn a great deal about the proposal and the process, including access to the draft Environmental Impact Statement and several other documents of interest.
The Developer is hosting another Open House for the community on Monday May 12. The goal of the Open House is to receive input about public art and open space. The Open House will be from 6 to 8PM at the Kirkland Performance Center. For more information, please see www.envisionkirklandparkplace.com.
On Thursday, May 22, 7pm, there will be a Planning Commission Public Hearing at City Hall. As of this writing, the packet is not on the City’s website yet, but when it is, it will be posted at http://www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/depart/Planning/Planning_Commission.htm One of the key elements for this meeting, is a likely decision regarding the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). Your input on this part of the process, impacting traffic, parking and other environmental concerns, is critically important. The DEIS is a lengthy document, but is worth your attention and consideration. You can view the DEIS at http://www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/__shared/assets/Environmental_Impact_Statement_Draft8338.pdf Fair warning, this is a long document and so it may take time to download - but your attention and input is sought, and the time is now!
To submit comments about this proposal to the Design Review Board or the Planning Commission, please send them to: Angela Ruggeri, Eric Shields & Jeremy McMahan Aruggeri@ci.kirkland.wa.us eshields@ci.kirkland.wa.us jmcmahan@ci.kirkland.wa.us And since this matter will eventually come before the City Council, you can also submit comments to the City Council at citycouncil@ci.kirkland.wa.us It is highly recommend that you subscribe to the City’s distribution list for Park Place – which is easy to do at http://www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/E-Bulletins/TOA_pars.htm This is an excellent means of being alerted about all meetings and updates with respect to Park Place. A group of citizens are collaborating as Citizens for Responsible Development to provide a grass-roots resource on various citizen concerns about the proposal – a website may be up in the near future, but as of this writing, there is not a link yet. If you are interested in knowing more about this group, please contact Ken Davidson at ken@kirklandlaw.com or Danielle McClure at dk.mcclure@hotmail.com If you are interested, note that the Planning Commission will also have study sessions on this proposal on Thursday May 8 at 6:30PM and on Thursday May 29 at 7PM.
Finally, on this matter, there is also an alternate proposal, intended to conform to the current zoning, which is running on a parallel track. The initial meeting regarding the alternate proposal was held on 4/21/08 before the Design Review Board, and will return to the DRB again on Monday June 2.
Chaffey mixed-use proposal This is the property at 206 Lake Street - the corner of Lake St and 2nd Ave South, across from the Third Floor Fish Café – the current location of the Café’s parking lot. A pre-submittal meeting occurred on April 17, 2008, for a 4-story mixed use proposal at this location, and its initial Design Review Board meeting will occur on Monday May 19 at 7PM. The information at www.kirklandpermits.net indicates that this proposal is a combination of retail, office and residential. If you have any information on this proposal, let me know. Thanks!
McLeod proposal This proposal was approved by the Design Review Board and an appeal has been filed by a group of Kirkland citizens. For more information about the project, please see:
For information about the appeal, please see: http://kirklandpermits.net/tm_bin/tmw_cmd.pl?tmw_cmd=StatusViewCase&shl_caseno=APL08-00004 The date of the appeal hearing for the McLeod proposal is June 3 – please mark your calendar and plan to attend. As a quasi-judicial matter, you are not able to have communications with members of the City Council regarding this matter.
Downtown Advisory Committee The last item on this update! The Downtown Advisory Committee (DAC) will be resuming its work on Thursday 5/22/08, with a meeting from 4-6PM at the Peter Kirk Room at Kirkland City Hall. The City Council is asking the DAC to take on a specific task - downtown retail strategy. Your input is very much appreciated as this process evolves.
For more information about the DAC and its work to date, please see http://www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/depart/Planning/Code_Updates/DSP.htm And a new blog – www.kirklandviews.com The following note is from the organizer:
I would like to invite you to visit www.KirklandViews.com, a new source for news and views focused on the important issues facing Kirkland. I think Kirkland Views will interest you. It's a news source focused on what is happening in the City of Kirkland -- development, transit, Parkplace, growth, city government. Please visit the site. Read the opinions of your neighbors. Join in the conversation. Kirkland Views will not send any e-mails unless you ask them to do so. |
Posted 5/8/08 |
