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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Kirkland Planning Commission Meeting, September 22, 2022

Planning Commission — Thursday, September 22, 2022

BodyKirkland, Washington

SessionPlanning Commission

DateThursday, September 22, 2022

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 4:36:58

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:13

Okay, thanks.

0:14

Okay, we're live.

0:16

If you could call role, please.

0:18

Alan.

0:20

Care.

0:22

Heiser.

0:24

Scott Riser.

0:26

Angela Rosman.

0:27

Here.

0:28

Ronnie Rutherford.

0:30

Sandeep single.

0:32

And John Tim Chizon.

0:34

Here.

0:35

Thanks.

0:38

All right.

0:40

So we just have the station area on for tonight.

0:45

And Scott and I invited Mayor Sweet to join us just at the first five minutes of this meeting to give us a recap of what council talked about Tuesday night, which they got their briefing.

1:00

So Mayor Sweet, I'll just pass it over to you for a couple minutes just to get everybody up to feed.

1:06

All right.

1:07

Thanks, Angela.

1:08

And actually, I'm not going to give you so much as a as a wrap-up of what we learned on Tuesday.

1:14

You're having the same meeting that we had on Tuesday, is what I understand.

1:17

And we didn't do any conclusions.

1:20

We gave Angela or Alison a little bit of feedback, but recognize we have we all have a big body of work ahead of us.

1:29

The fact is that after meeting with Scott and Angela on Tuesday and watching your July meeting, Jay and I really felt like we needed to come respond to some of the concerns that you raised, and quite frankly, to apologize.

1:53

And that your work doesn't feel like it's being considered.

1:58

But what I want to tell you is that of the 13 years that I have served on this council, I've not served on a council that has paid more attention to the advice and the recommendations that we get from our boards and commissions.

2:13

And particularly this board or this commission.

2:52

I mean, we extended it almost a year, but I think beyond what we initially anticipated that it was going to take.

4:48

But there are seven individuals on this council that have very strong feelings, and those feelings are fairly in alignment as far as the work that we've done so far.

5:00

So I think as we move forward into phase two, we have a whole lot more work to do, and we've got to get to um you know, school space.

5:10

We got to get to open space and and multimodal connections.

5:16

We still have to do that in phase two, and I think that's gonna be incredibly difficult for all of us.

5:22

Um but one of the things that I was thinking about just as I was trying to put together something, some comments for this evening is you know, maybe throughout this phase two process, maybe Angela and Scott and Jay and I need to come together like every month um and and kind of check in on where we are just to to give each other an assessment of where our bodies that you know where our our legislative bodies are headed and what questions that um we might consider together.

5:56

And with that, I I don't want to take a lot of your time.

5:58

I really appreciate uh your letting me do this tonight.

6:02

And again, uh the planning commission is one of the, if not the most important commission that we work with in a city where land use is absolutely a paramount condition or consideration.

6:19

So I thank you all for your work.

6:21

I hope that we will be able to build a little bit better on um moving through the phase two process.

6:29

And I am more than willing to meet with any of you individually, and I know John, I owe you a date.

6:35

Um, but uh we'll get that.

6:38

Um, thank you for coming.

6:40

It means a lot, and it it it means a lot that our work's valued, and thank you for being here.

6:47

Okay.

6:48

Well, thank you all very much for the incredible level of work.

6:52

Um meetings fascinate me.

6:54

Um but this one this one kind of kicked me in the head.

6:59

So um well done.

7:01

And uh I look forward to working with you more closely.

7:05

Thanks so much for coming tonight, Penny.

7:07

You better appreciate it.

7:08

All right.

7:09

Does anybody have any comments for her before she runs off?

7:11

I wanted to keep her time uh short here so we can get on with our night and she can get on with her.

7:20

All good.

7:21

All right.

7:22

I have to thank you notes to police officers now.

7:28

All right.

7:28

Good night, honey.

7:30

Bye.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████45%

Cannabis Regulation███████████████████████████27%

Parks and Recreation██████████10%

Station Area Plan█████5%

Planning And Zoning████4%

Affordable Housing███3%

Environmental Protection██2%

Procedural█1%

Community Engagement█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Kirkland Planning Commission Meeting, September 22, 2022

The Kirkland Planning Commission met on September 22, 2022, at 7:00 PM in the Council Chamber. Chair Angela Rozmyn presided, with Vice Chair Scott Reusser and Commissioners Katya Allen and Bria Heiser present. Commissioner John Tymczyszyn left at 7:08 PM due to a prior commitment; Commissioners Sandeep Singhal and Rodney Rutherford were absent. Staff present included Planning & Building Director Adam Weinstein, Deputy Director Allison Zike, Senior Planner Scott Guter, and others. Mayor Penny Sweet attended briefly to address Commission concerns and outline the Phase 2 process for the NE 85th Street Station Area Plan.

Consent Calendar

Motion to amend the June 23, 2022 minutes to note Commissioner Tymczyszyn's dissenting vote on the Personal Delivery Devices item carried 4-0.
Motion to approve the minutes of June 9, 2022 and June 23, 2022 as amended carried 4-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

Margaret Bull, a Kirkland resident, expressed that she shares her views with the Planning Commission but feels the City Council does not listen well. She questioned the inclusion of a gas station in the Station Area Plan due to its proximity to the freeway and suggested requiring electric vehicle charging stations and a sheltered place for people to smoke or vape.

Discussion Items

Mayor Penny Sweet's Remarks: Mayor Sweet apologized for the Council's actions that felt dismissive to the Commission and assured them that the Council values their recommendations. She highlighted the importance of the Commission's work and proposed monthly check-ins between the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Commission leadership during Phase 2.
NE 85th Street Station Area Plan Phase 2 Briefing: Deputy Director Allison Zike presented an overview of Phase 1 adopted items (vision, comprehensive plan chapter, rezoning, form-based code, incentive zoning program, design guidelines, and catalyst project implementation for Google at the Lee Johnson site). Phase 2 will include a planned action ordinance for the full station area and form-based code amendments for perimeter districts (civic mixed-use, urban flex, etc.). Key differences from Phase 1 include lower densities, allowance of residential uses, and a focus on affordable housing as a priority. Council directed staff to explore trade-offs in affordable housing requirements (e.g., deeper affordability, more units, higher bedroom counts) while maintaining mixed-use vibrancy. Commissioners discussed the need for detailed cost analysis of incentive zoning options to ensure developer feasibility, and the importance of preserving retail/services for 10-minute neighborhoods. They also emphasized addressing development standards (massing, setbacks, transitions) beyond the incentive program. Zike outlined the timeline: October study sessions, a community open house, a November 10 public hearing, and December Council adoption.
Administrative Reports: Chair Rozmyn and Vice Chair Reusser reported their quarterly meeting with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor focused on improving the Phase 2 process. Deputy Director Zike noted Council actions: adoption of the Planned Action Ordinance (September 6), Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan update, and Houghton Community Council zoning code amendments as recommended by the Commission. Zike also reviewed the upcoming public meeting calendar, including October 27 as the first hybrid meeting, and requested Commission input on potential policies for commissioner attendance and conduct during hybrid meetings. Commissioners expressed a preference for flexible, soft language regarding in-person attendance, emphasizing ongoing pandemic concerns and the need for equitable virtual participation options for the public and commissioners with health risks. Staff will draft a policy for consideration at the October 13 meeting.

Key Outcomes

The Commission approved the June 9 and amended June 23 meeting minutes (4-0).
The Commission received the Phase 2 briefing and provided guidance to staff on study session topics (incentive zoning, affordable housing costs, community benefits, development standards).
Staff will release a full draft of Phase 2 form-based code before the October meeting and conduct two study sessions in October.
A public hearing on Phase 2 is tentatively scheduled for November 10, 2022.
Staff will draft hybrid meeting attendance policy language for Commission discussion at the October 13 meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, thanks. Okay, we're live. If you could call role, please. Alan. Care. Heiser. Scott Riser. Angela Rosman. Here. Ronnie Rutherford. Sandeep single. And John Tim Chizon. Here. Thanks. All right. So we just have the station area on for tonight. And Scott and I invited Mayor Sweet to join us just at the first five minutes of this meeting to give us a recap of what council talked about Tuesday night, which they got their briefing. So Mayor Sweet, I'll just pass it over to you for a couple minutes just to get everybody up to feed. All right. Thanks, Angela. And actually, I'm not going to give you so much as a as a wrap-up of what we learned on Tuesday. You're having the same meeting that we had on Tuesday, is what I understand. And we didn't do any conclusions. We gave Angela or Alison a little bit of feedback, but recognize we have we all have a big body of work ahead of us. The fact is that after meeting with Scott and Angela on Tuesday and watching your July meeting, Jay and I really felt like we needed to come respond to some of the concerns that you raised, and quite frankly, to apologize. And that your work doesn't feel like it's being considered. But what I want to tell you is that of the 13 years that I have served on this council, I've not served on a council that has paid more attention to the advice and the recommendations that we get from our boards and commissions. And particularly this board or this commission. I mean, we extended it almost a year, but I think beyond what we initially anticipated that it was going to take. But there are seven individuals on this council that have very strong feelings, and those feelings are fairly in alignment as far as the work that we've done so far. So I think as we move forward into phase two, we have a whole lot more work to do, and we've got to get to um you know, school space. We got to get to open space and and multimodal connections. We still have to do that in phase two, and I think that's gonna be incredibly difficult for all of us. Um but one of the things that I was thinking about just as I was trying to put together something, some comments for this evening is you know, maybe throughout this phase two process, maybe Angela and Scott and Jay and I need to come together like every month um and and kind of check in on where we are just to to give each other an assessment of where our bodies that you know where our our legislative bodies are headed and what questions that um we might consider together. And with that, I I don't want to take a lot of your time. I really appreciate uh your letting me do this tonight. And again, uh the planning commission is one of the, if not the most important commission that we work with in a city where land use is absolutely a paramount condition or consideration. So I thank you all for your work. I hope that we will be able to build a little bit better on um moving through the phase two process. And I am more than willing to meet with any of you individually, and I know John, I owe you a date. Um, but uh we'll get that. Um, thank you for coming. It means a lot, and it it it means a lot that our work's valued, and thank you for being here. Okay. Well, thank you all very much for the incredible level of work. Um meetings fascinate me. Um but this one this one kind of kicked me in the head. So um well done. And uh I look forward to working with you more closely. Thanks so much for coming tonight, Penny.

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