OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City Council Meeting September 1, 2026: Study Session on DV/SA Advocacy and CIP, Regular Business Including Zoning and Parking Amendments

City Council — Tuesday, September 1, 2026
BodyKirkland, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, September 1, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:05:50

Transcript — Verbatim
0:19

All right, welcome back, everybody.

0:22

Um, welcome to the city council meeting of September 1st, 2026.

0:27

Before we call the roll, I'd like to thank everybody that worked hard on transforming our chambers.

0:33

Yay for the new AV.

0:37

Thank you, everyone.

0:38

Um, and it's gonna be great.

0:40

We have monitors down below and new mics, so we might have to work on these mics a little bit.

0:45

City clerk, will you please call a roll?

0:47

Certainly, Councilmember Tim Chisholm.

0:49

Here, Councilmember Arnold, here, Councilmember Prem.

0:52

Here, Councilmember Phil Cohn.

0:54

Here, Councilmember Pascal.

0:56

Here.

0:56

Deputy Mayor Black.

0:58

Here.

0:58

Mayor Curtis.

0:59

Here.

1:00

All present.

1:01

Our stage session tonight is on two items.

1:03

First, we'll have an overview of the domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy programs.

1:08

Second, we will have a review of the preliminary preliminary 2027, 2032 Capital Improvement Program.

1:16

We expect to reconvene our regular meeting at 7 30.

1:19

City Manager.

1:20

All right.

1:21

So thank you, Madam Mayor.

1:22

Deputy Mayor, members of the council.

1:24

So we're going to start off with the overview of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center and our pilot project.

1:30

We are very honored to have Kate Garvey, the CEO of KSARC here today, as well as Walk Goldstein, who's been our legal advocate.

1:36

They're going to describe our experience so far with the pilot.

1:40

And then we're going to be turning it over to the public defense team, or excuse me, the public safety team to talk about the domestic violence.

1:48

But I wanted to note that this is our final check-in on criminal justice in terms of the city work program item.

1:55

However, we will be having discussions of these topics during the budget process.

1:59

So looking forward to wrapping this up and then to take what we learned into the budget proposal that you're going to see in October.

2:06

So with that, I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to Kate.

2:15

Good evening, everyone.

2:16

Thank you again for having us here.

2:20

This has been an amazing opportunity.

2:22

And then to be here with you all today to talk about this past year and what we've learned from having a Kirkland dedicated legal advocate pilot program.

2:31

It's been just such a wonderful opportunity, and I'm so grateful for the partnership of the City of Kirkland.

2:37

So before I get into the pilot itself, I wanted to take just a minute to provide a little bit of context.

2:42

I'm honored to be here and included in this presentation with the Kirkland Police Department as well as Kirkland's DV system advocate.

2:51

That context is important because there's a very um unique distinction between domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as the roles between a community and a system advocate.

3:02

So domestic violence generally refers to a pattern of abuse or coercive control within an intimate partner or family relationship.

3:09

Sexual assault is sexual contact or behavior that happens without a person's consent.

3:15

Yes, they do overlap, but they're not the same thing.

3:18

And they often require very different specialized responses.

3:22

So at Casearc, our focus is primarily on sexual violence.

3:26

And when we talk about sexual assault advocacy, we're talking about supporting survivors through very specific impacts and systems that can follow an assault, whether that means navigating law enforcement, understanding legal options, accessing therapy, connecting with family support, or simply having someone who understands what they're experiencing.

3:45

There's another part of advocacy that's really especially important to this pilot.

3:52

So KSARC legal advocates, including WA serve as community advocates.

4:23

Both types of advocates are incredibly important because they create a complete safety net that balances a survivor's personal healing with access to justice.

4:50

So this slide right here is just a brief reminder and grounding in what KSARC services provide.

4:56

So KSARC, as you know, provides legal advocacy.

5:00

We also have a 24-hour resource line, uh, provide evidence-based trauma focused therapy.

5:04

We have family support, legal advocacy, uh, and then through our Dondovos program, um, giving voice, survivors and their families who speak Spanish can access the full breadth of KSARC's comprehensive services.

5:17

And then rounding it all out is education and prevention.

5:20

All of these services are accessible through our 24-hour resource line.

5:24

And I put up this number here, and I'm gonna put it up again at the end.

5:28

And I just want everybody to uh know our line.

5:31

It's 1889 voice.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing████████████████16%
Public Safety████████████12%
Capital Improvement Planning██████████10%
Sexual Assault Services████████8%
Procedural██████6%
Parking Management██████6%
Homelessness██████6%
Community Engagement█████5%
Planning And Zoning█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

City Council Meeting September 1, 2026

The Kirkland City Council convened on September 1, 2026, beginning with a study session at approximately 5:30 PM covering an overview of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KSARC) pilot program and the preliminary 2027-2032 Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The regular meeting commenced at 7:30 PM and included proclamations, public comments, a public hearing on civil detention center code amendments, consent calendar, and several business items: adoption of zoning amendments regarding affordable housing fees, revised parking enforcement code amendments, and a quasi-judicial decision on the International Community School development plan amendment.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved payroll warrants: August 7 ($8,635,240.77) and August 24 ($9,553,344.95), and bills ($13,511,645.01).
  • Unanimously adopted proclamations declaring September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, National Recovery Month, and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Karina O'Malley (on-site): Opposed the proposed RV parking prohibition, arguing it amounts to a banishment of people living in vehicles. Cited an instance where a van was impounded with no notice, contradicting city claims.
  • Britt Heikel (virtual): Urged council to support the Lake Washington Toddler Group (LW Tech co-op preschool) facing closure due to state funding loss. Requested vocal advocacy and funding assistance.
  • Erin Belmore (on-site): Raised concerns about unpermitted work at a condo association (404 Fourth Avenue), stating lack of responses from city staff and premature walkthrough discussions.
  • Sierra Diaz (on-site): Spoke in support of Lake Washington Toddler Group, noting its impact on her child's development and parent education. Asked the city to consider using a recently purchased property as a community hub.
  • Alex Zimmerman (on-site): Complained about King County Housing Authority and city inaction regarding his housing situation. Threatened litigation. Expressed political views.
  • Aaron Hamilton (on-site): Criticized mental health crisis response systems, including 988 and crisis connections, citing poor treatment. Urged better support for those with brain injuries and transgender individuals.
  • Alicia Reese (on-site, Habitat for Humanity): Opposed ordinance 4937 raising the affordable housing fee exemption threshold from 2,000 to 2,500 square feet, arguing it cuts revenue needed for affordable homeownership. Stated permitting delays are a greater cost driver.

Study Session: Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Advocacy Programs

  • KSARC Pilot (Kate Garvey & Walk Goldstein): Presented outcomes from the Kirkland-dedicated legal advocate pilot. From July–December 2025, served 43 survivors; January–June 2026, 62 survivors. Average caseload of 32. 85% of referrals from Kirkland Police Department. Conducted 30 coordination meetings (283 participants) and 35 outreach/education activities (519 participants). Built relationships with schools (e.g., Lake Washington High School website listing) and community partners. Council expressed support and questions.
  • KPD Domestic Violence Advocacy (Chief St. Jean, Lt. Slaminski, Deputy Chief Gogan, Advocate Shanice Dawson): Overview of domestic violence advocacy, history of Family Violence Unit (established 1998), and Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART) volunteers. In the last 18 months, 1,159 DV case reports: 509 with identified criminal offenses, 650 without identifiable crime. Advocate Shanice described her role as a system-based advocate, safety planning (e.g., a victim who used a plan to escape), and court navigation. Council discussed coordination with RACER, weapons identification, and support for all parties in complex cases.

Study Session: Preliminary 2027-2032 Capital Improvement Program (CIP)

  • Overview (Veronica Hill): Total proposed funding $224 million across eight programs: Transportation ($83M), Surface Water ($21M), Water ($33M), Sewer ($20M), Parks ($32M), Public Safety ($5.3M), Facilities ($7.7M), Information Technology ($8.2M). Funding sources include REET, street levy, impact fees, utility rates, grants.
  • Discussion: Councilmember Pascal requested more transparency on how program funding (e.g., Safe Routes to School) is allocated to specific projects, and how that is communicated to the public. Councilmember Falcon asked for clarification on the trail connection at Juanita Drive/132nd (scoped as an RRFB crossing). Staff noted that additional option scenarios could be brought to November meeting. Projects highlighted: Peter Kirk Pool renovations ($1.8M transfer in 2027), South Reservoir replacement cost increase (from $38.1M to $44.7M; Kirkland's share $2.9M), Highlands water pressure fix (temporary booster installed June 2026, permanent project added $7M).

Public Hearing: Civil Detention Center Code Amendments

  • Staff Presentation (David Barnes): City pursued targeted code amendments rather than a moratorium. Existing zoning prohibits private detention centers by omission; government-operated facilities are allowed under

Meeting Transcript

All right, welcome back, everybody. Um, welcome to the city council meeting of September 1st, 2026. Before we call the roll, I'd like to thank everybody that worked hard on transforming our chambers. Yay for the new AV. Thank you, everyone. Um, and it's gonna be great. We have monitors down below and new mics, so we might have to work on these mics a little bit. City clerk, will you please call a roll? Certainly, Councilmember Tim Chisholm. Here, Councilmember Arnold, here, Councilmember Prem. Here, Councilmember Phil Cohn. Here, Councilmember Pascal. Here. Deputy Mayor Black. Here. Mayor Curtis. Here. All present. Our stage session tonight is on two items. First, we'll have an overview of the domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy programs. Second, we will have a review of the preliminary preliminary 2027, 2032 Capital Improvement Program. We expect to reconvene our regular meeting at 7 30. City Manager. All right. So thank you, Madam Mayor. Deputy Mayor, members of the council. So we're going to start off with the overview of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center and our pilot project. We are very honored to have Kate Garvey, the CEO of KSARC here today, as well as Walk Goldstein, who's been our legal advocate. They're going to describe our experience so far with the pilot. And then we're going to be turning it over to the public defense team, or excuse me, the public safety team to talk about the domestic violence. But I wanted to note that this is our final check-in on criminal justice in terms of the city work program item. However, we will be having discussions of these topics during the budget process. So looking forward to wrapping this up and then to take what we learned into the budget proposal that you're going to see in October. So with that, I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to Kate. Good evening, everyone. Thank you again for having us here. This has been an amazing opportunity. And then to be here with you all today to talk about this past year and what we've learned from having a Kirkland dedicated legal advocate pilot program. It's been just such a wonderful opportunity, and I'm so grateful for the partnership of the City of Kirkland. So before I get into the pilot itself, I wanted to take just a minute to provide a little bit of context. I'm honored to be here and included in this presentation with the Kirkland Police Department as well as Kirkland's DV system advocate. That context is important because there's a very um unique distinction between domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as the roles between a community and a system advocate. So domestic violence generally refers to a pattern of abuse or coercive control within an intimate partner or family relationship. Sexual assault is sexual contact or behavior that happens without a person's consent. Yes, they do overlap, but they're not the same thing. And they often require very different specialized responses. So at Casearc, our focus is primarily on sexual violence. And when we talk about sexual assault advocacy, we're talking about supporting survivors through very specific impacts and systems that can follow an assault, whether that means navigating law enforcement, understanding legal options, accessing therapy, connecting with family support, or simply having someone who understands what they're experiencing. There's another part of advocacy that's really especially important to this pilot. So KSARC legal advocates, including WA serve as community advocates.

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