Kirkland Planning Commission Study Session on 2022-2024 Work Program - December 9, 2021
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Kirkland Planning Commission Study Session on 2022-2024 Work Program - December 9, 2021
The Kirkland Planning Commission held a study session on Thursday, December 9, 2021, from 7:00 PM to 8:09 PM, primarily to review and discuss the 2022-2024 Planning Work Program (PWP). Commissioners also addressed the scheduling of the annual retreat. The meeting was chaired by Angela Rozmyn, with six members present (Rozmyn, Reusser, Tymczyszyn, Bagg, Rutherford, Allen) and one absent (Singhal). Deputy Director Jeremy McMahan presented and led the discussion.
Consent Calendar
- None.
Public Comments & Testimony
- None.
Discussion Items
-
Planning Work Program Review (7:00 PM – 7:51 PM): Jeremy McMahan presented a comprehensive overview of the 2022-2024 PWP, including accomplishments from 2020-2021 (e.g., Shoreline Master Program, sustainability master plan, park-and-ride zoning, downtown urban center recognition, Market-Norkirk-Highland neighborhood plans, tree code adoption, pandemic-related outdoor dining allowances, and initial scoping for the 2044 Comprehensive Plan Update). He highlighted forthcoming projects: completion of the Station Area Plan (targeted for Q2 2022), Bridle Trails Neighborhood Center (resuming January 2022), high-performance building standards (early 2022), and the 2044 Comprehensive Plan Update (major work in 2023). McMahan also reviewed projects not yet initiated (e.g., geohazard regulations cleanup, wireless regulations update, sign code update, Holmes Point overlay, Cross Kirkland Corridor design guidelines, Kingsgate/Juanita neighborhood plans) and asked for feedback on whether to keep some items (e.g., community-initiated amendment process evaluation) on the work program. Commissioners expressed interest in prioritizing parking policy review, school capacity enabling, and affordable housing strategies. Commissioner Bagg raised clarification on high-performance building standards (not a city-specific standard but reliance on existing certifications). Commissioner Allen supported reviewing parking policy in 2022 due to its cross-cutting impacts. Commissioner Rutherford suggested broader commercial/mixed-use regulatory revisions (e.g., retail definition, lot coverage, development rights auctioning). Commissioner Reusser supported reducing parking requirements for neighborhood gathering places.
-
Public Meeting Calendar Update (7:51 PM – 8:08 PM): The commission discussed the annual retreat originally scheduled for December 16, 2021. Commissioners raised concerns about holding an in-person retreat during the pandemic (comfort with indoor gatherings, vaccination status of attendees, public meeting requirements). Options such as an outdoor venue in warmer months were considered. Commissioner Tymczyszyn moved to delay the retreat and revisit scheduling in March 2022. The motion was seconded by Chair Rozmyn and passed unanimously (6-0). It was noted that Commissioner Bagg’s term ends in March 2022, making a later retreat potentially beneficial for onboarding a new member.
Key Outcomes
- Motion carried (6-0): The Planning Commission voted to postpone the retreat originally scheduled for December 16, 2021, and will reconsider scheduling in March 2022.
- Directive to staff: Deputy Director McMahan will incorporate commissioner feedback into a draft Planning Work Program for review on January 27, 2022, with a final recommendation to City Council anticipated for February 15, 2022.
- No other formal actions were taken; the meeting adjourned at 8:09 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, thanks. Bye. Okay, we're live. Thanks. Can you call a role, please? Allen. Carter Bay. Here. Scott Racer. There. Angela Rosman. Here. Ronnie Retroford. Sure. Sandy Psingle. And John Tim Chisholm. Present. Thanks. All right. And then I do not see anyone in the audience. So shall we just jump right in to tonight's agenda? Jeremy. Yes. Let me show my screen. Okay. Can you see my PowerPoint show? Yep. Okay. No, it's like impossible to actually read your stuff. No, that's on purpose. That's on purpose. On purpose. Now what you need to see, that's just like supposed to be a pretty picture of the planning work program. Please don't read it. Okay. Yeah, so welcome to the planning work program. So this uh what we're going to talk about tonight is setting the stage to guide the work of the commission and our long-range planning team for the next three years. I'm going to walk through components of the planning work program. You feel free to stop me at any point if you have a question about an individual item. I'll take a couple pauses as we go. So to uh we can build questions on the fly too. Um the planning work program, if this is your first, uh it's an annual process where we establish the projects and priorities uh that the planning commission and staff will work on for that three-year period. It's a collaborative process, so we start tonight with the planning commission. So we'll talk um about what we see as staff as kind of the priorities coming down the pike for the commission to work on. Um we'll want feedback from you tonight if there are additional projects or changes or your priorities are different than we've identified. Really appreciate that feedback tonight. We will come back uh in January with a draft and uh planning work program. And the intent there is that planning commission staff will make a recommendation to city council for adoption of the planning work program, and they'll do that by resolution. Um so a little bit of back and forth. We'd expect this to get adopted probably in February by City Council.
openpublica.com