OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Kirkland Planning Commission Meeting: Station Area Affordable Housing & Officer Elections – June 8, 2023

Planning Commission — Thursday, June 8, 2023
BodyKirkland, Washington
SessionPlanning Commission
DateThursday, June 8, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 5:00:02

Transcript — Verbatim
0:36

Is nobody online.

0:43

If we could uh call roll, please.

0:46

Gotcha, Alan.

0:47

Here.

0:48

Hi, sir.

0:50

Ricer.

0:50

Here.

0:51

Angela Rosman.

0:52

Here.

0:52

And new Rutherford.

0:53

Here.

0:54

And single.

0:55

John Timchison.

0:57

Yeah.

0:57

Thanks.

0:59

So tonight we have the public hearing for the station area plan, affordable housing requirements, followed by uh officer elections for the planning commission.

1:10

Um for starters, if there is anyone who would like to comment not about the public hearing, this is general pub comment for anything else but stationary plan affordable housing requirements.

1:22

If you have anything to share, um otherwise, you may raise your hand now, um, either in person or virtual.

1:32

Presume everyone's here for the public hearing, but just in case.

1:37

Okay.

1:38

And with that, I am going to open the public hearing and pass it on to Alison.

1:46

All right, thank you, Madam Chair, and good evening, planning commissioners.

1:50

I'm gonna pull up my screen here.

1:52

So we have a short uh staff presentation for you tonight, um, but really want to get to the public testimony.

1:58

Um, we have several folks here that I know you're interested in hearing from so what we're gonna do tonight is is focus on not a lot of background.

2:07

We've had two very intensive study sessions on this topic in the past four to six weeks, and so we're not gonna do a lot of background tonight.

2:15

We are happy to answer any questions if you have them about that.

2:18

Um, but we're gonna get more into what's in front of you tonight.

2:22

So for the public hearing tonight, we'll be going over the staff presentation that includes the draft um affordable housing requirements as directed by planning commission at your last study session.

2:32

We're also going to cover the rooftop appurtenance code amendments that we talked to you about at your April study session, um, and those are intended to be adopted with the station area plan phase two form-based code.

2:44

After the staff presentation, planning commission does have an opportunity to ask staff questions.

2:49

You'll then receive public testimony.

2:52

Um we can also answer questions after that, and then you'll close the public hearing and go into deliberations.

2:58

At the conclusion of the public hearing tonight, we are asking you to deliberate and reach your recommendation to City Council.

3:07

So, just a quick and for the for the benefit of perhaps some audience members that might not have been following.

3:13

Um, just wanted to go over a very brief summary of kind of how we got here.

3:17

And so we're we're wrapping 2020 to 2022 into one thing.

3:22

We were working on the station area plan development.

3:24

We were doing a lot of community engagement, and um, you had several planning commission meetings, and council had several uh meetings related to the station area and kind of setting the groundwork and the foundation.

3:36

Um in June 2022, council did adopt the station area plan, a comprehensive plan chapter that includes the goals and policies for the station area, the design guidelines for the station area, and phase one of the form-based code for the station area and also the associated rezones for that phase one.

3:55

We started developing the form-based code for phase two in fall of last year, and you held a public hearing and made your recommendations to city council on that form uh based code for phase two back in February of this year.

4:08

We did pull out the affordable housing requirements to talk about separately.

4:11

That's what we've been working on this spring in study sessions in April and May.

4:17

And so at your last study session, we did bring some staff recommendations for affordable housing requirements.

4:22

Those are included in your packet.

4:24

Um we do have them as backup slides if you want to see them again, but tonight we're going to focus on uh the draft amendments that you directed at that May study session.

4:33

Uh, we're holding the public hearing for those requirements tonight, planning to take the full phase two package of the form-based code, code amendments, miscellaneous zoning code amendments, the phase two rezones, the affordable housing requirements, and the planned action.

4:50

That whole package will go to city council to consider adopting on July 18th.

4:57

And so just really quickly with the station area plan comprehensive plan chapter.

5:00

And so just really quickly with the station area plan comprehensive plan chapter, we did adopt the capacity for the station area that's with the up zones being considered.

5:06

And what we really want to focus on tonight is just the total net new housing units we added capacity for with adoption of the comp plan chapter, and that's a net new increase of 6,243 housing units.

5:18

So when we're talking about new units tonight, that's the number we're talking about, the new capacity that we're adding with these stationary up zones and that number of total households.

5:28

Again, I know planning commission knows this, but for the benefit of those listening that might not.

5:32

In Kirkland, what does affordability mean?

5:35

And so we do have a definition of affordability in Kirkland, and those are units that are affordable for rental units to those making no more than 50% of the average median income.

5:45

We can adopt equivalencies to that in the code.

5:48

We'll talk about that later.

5:49

And for owned units, affordable means affordable to those making no more than 80 to 100% of the average median income or AMI.

5:59

So how do we do affordable housing in Kirkland?

6:02

We do that through something called inclusionary zoning.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, And Belonging█████████████████████████████████████████41%
Public Engagement██████████████████████████████30%
Affordable Housing███████████████████████23%
Planning And Zoning████4%
Economic Development█1%
Nonprofit Development█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Kirkland Planning Commission Meeting: Station Area Affordable Housing & Officer Elections – June 8, 2023

The Kirkland Planning Commission held a public hearing and deliberation on June 8, 2023, regarding affordable housing requirements for the Station Area Plan (File No. CAM20-00153), followed by officer elections, approval of minutes, and administrative reports. The meeting began at 7:01 PM and adjourned at 8:41 PM. Commissioners present: Chair Angela Rozmyn, Vice Chair Scott Reusser, Katya Allen, Bria Heiser, Rodney Rutherford, John Tymczyszyn. Absent: Sandeep Singhal. Staff present: Adam Weinstein (Planning & Building Director), Allison Zike (Deputy Director), Scott Guter (Senior Planner), Blanca Garcia-Reyes, Jeannie Dines.

Public Hearing – Station Area Plan Affordable Housing Requirements

Deputy Director Allison Zike presented background on the station area plan, including the timeline, comprehensive plan chapter, and draft affordable housing options (fixed/base requirements, 50% AMI equivalencies, and unit mix options 1, 2A, and 2B). She also reviewed the proposed code amendment for rooftop appurtenances (elevator overruns). Director Adam Weinstein summarized written public comments received over the prior week.

Public Comments & Testimony

Six individuals testified:

  1. Carl Shorett (Avalon Bay Communities) – Opposed the proposed requirements, stating that in the current economy multifamily development in Kirkland would remain infeasible indefinitely if the proposed affordability requirements were implemented. He urged the Commission to consider economic realities and the existing planning process.

  2. Sheri Druckman (Druckman Associates Assets, representing Washington Multifamily Housing Association) – Opposed the mandatory inclusionary requirements, calling them the second most stringent on the Eastside, sending a signal that Kirkland is not supportive of new development. She encouraged discussion of mandatory requirements and AMI as part of the Comprehensive Plan update and urged adoption of new incentives simultaneously with any increase.

  3. Guillermo Rivera (Eastside For All, representing Eastside Housing Equity Coalition) – Expressed support for strong affordable housing requirements, highlighting increasing rents and the need for 3,000+ homes affordable to households at 31–50% AMI by 2044. He encouraged the Commission to view the discussion through an equity lens.

  4. Dan Landes (Development Director, King County Housing Authority) – Supported going beyond the existing 10% requirement, noting that analysis shows feasibility for developers in normal conditions. He cautioned against making decisions based on today's historically bad development environment.

  5. Chad Vaculin (Housing Development Consortium) – Expressed agreement with staff's recommendation, citing reasons from the Eastside Affordable Housing Coalition's Technical Advisory Committee. He urged adoption of greater affordability requirements.

  6. Kim Faust (MainStreet Property Group) – Supported the Commission's concept as ambitious and potentially feasible for private developers in the future, but not now. She supported 10% at 50% AMI or 20% at 80% AMI, or other combinations presented by staff.

Hearing no further comment, Chair Rozmyn closed the public hearing at 7:49 PM.

Discussion Items

Commissioners deliberated on the affordable housing requirements. Key discussion points:

  • Commissioner Tymczyszyn emphasized the need for timely affordable housing, referencing the Juanita High School senior class, and leaned toward options that encourage immediate development.
  • Commissioner Allen expressed concern about not capturing enough value from the upzone, suggesting deeper affordability for units built above the base height (e.g., above 65 feet).
  • Vice Chair Reusser and Commissioner Heiser supported Mix Option 2B, which requires a minimum of 5% of units at 50% AMI and allows flexibility with equivalencies at 60%, 70%, and 80% AMI. They noted this balances affordability with feasibility.
  • Commissioner Rutherford raised the risk of regulatory takings if requirements are too high, but supported Mix Option 2B.
  • Chair Rozmyn suggested adding flexibility for for-sale units (ownership units) with equivalency up to 110% AMI, which was later adopted as an amendment.

Also discussed: the need for a joint meeting with City Council, review of MFTE requirements for more flexibility, and the rooftop appurtenance code amendment.

Key Outcomes

Motion 1 (Base Affordable Housing Requirements) – Moved by Vice Chair Reusser, seconded by Chair Rozmyn: Adopt fixed/base requirements of 10% at 50% AMI for rentals, 10% at 80% AMI for owned units, and recommend the optional alternative (20% at 80% AMI eligible for 12-year MFTE) as a base requirement with Mix Option 2B, including the equivalency table for 60%, 70%, and 80% units. Carried 6-0 after an amendment.

Amendment to Motion 1 – Moved by Chair Rozmyn, seconded by Vice Chair Reusser: Direct staff to include equivalency language for ownership units, allowing half at 80% AMI and half a mix up to 110% AMI. Carried 6-0.

Final vote on Motion 1 as amended – Carried 5-1 (Commissioner Allen dissented).

Motion 2 (Joint Meeting with City Council) – Moved by Commissioner Tymczyszyn, seconded by Commissioner Allen: Request a mini joint meeting with City Council due to the importance of the issue. Carried 6-0.

Motion 3 (Review MFTE Requirements) – Moved by Commissioner Tymczyszyn, seconded by Commissioner Heiser: Recommend that Council review MFTE requirements to provide more flexibility. Carried 6-0.

Motion 4 (Rooftop Appurtenances) – Moved by Chair Rozmyn, seconded by Commissioner Tymczyszyn: Approve the updated language per staff recommendation regarding elevator overruns for buildings with height limits of 85 feet or taller (20 feet above rooftop common room). Carried 6-0.

Officer Elections

  • Chair: Scott Reusser nominated by Katya Allen, seconded by Angela Rozmyn. Carried 6-0.
  • Vice Chair: Rodney Rutherford nominated by Scott Reusser, seconded by Angela Rozmyn. Carried 6-0.

Approval of Minutes

Motion to approve the January 26, 2023, and February 23, 2023 meeting minutes. Moved by Chair Rozmyn, seconded by Katya Allen. Carried 6-0.

Administrative Reports

Staff reviewed upcoming meeting agendas (comp plan heavy next meeting, including land use, transportation elements, and community-initiated amendment requests). Vice Chair Reusser volunteered to serve as a judge for the Fourth of July parade. Chair Rozmyn acknowledged a hateful speech incident in another city and reaffirmed Kirkland's commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Meeting Transcript

Is nobody online. If we could uh call roll, please. Gotcha, Alan. Here. Hi, sir. Ricer. Here. Angela Rosman. Here. And new Rutherford. Here. And single. John Timchison. Yeah. Thanks. So tonight we have the public hearing for the station area plan, affordable housing requirements, followed by uh officer elections for the planning commission. Um for starters, if there is anyone who would like to comment not about the public hearing, this is general pub comment for anything else but stationary plan affordable housing requirements. If you have anything to share, um otherwise, you may raise your hand now, um, either in person or virtual. Presume everyone's here for the public hearing, but just in case. Okay. And with that, I am going to open the public hearing and pass it on to Alison. All right, thank you, Madam Chair, and good evening, planning commissioners. I'm gonna pull up my screen here. So we have a short uh staff presentation for you tonight, um, but really want to get to the public testimony. Um, we have several folks here that I know you're interested in hearing from so what we're gonna do tonight is is focus on not a lot of background. We've had two very intensive study sessions on this topic in the past four to six weeks, and so we're not gonna do a lot of background tonight. We are happy to answer any questions if you have them about that. Um, but we're gonna get more into what's in front of you tonight. So for the public hearing tonight, we'll be going over the staff presentation that includes the draft um affordable housing requirements as directed by planning commission at your last study session. We're also going to cover the rooftop appurtenance code amendments that we talked to you about at your April study session, um, and those are intended to be adopted with the station area plan phase two form-based code. After the staff presentation, planning commission does have an opportunity to ask staff questions. You'll then receive public testimony. Um we can also answer questions after that, and then you'll close the public hearing and go into deliberations. At the conclusion of the public hearing tonight, we are asking you to deliberate and reach your recommendation to City Council. So, just a quick and for the for the benefit of perhaps some audience members that might not have been following. Um, just wanted to go over a very brief summary of kind of how we got here. And so we're we're wrapping 2020 to 2022 into one thing. We were working on the station area plan development. We were doing a lot of community engagement, and um, you had several planning commission meetings, and council had several uh meetings related to the station area and kind of setting the groundwork and the foundation. Um in June 2022, council did adopt the station area plan, a comprehensive plan chapter that includes the goals and policies for the station area, the design guidelines for the station area, and phase one of the form-based code for the station area and also the associated rezones for that phase one. We started developing the form-based code for phase two in fall of last year, and you held a public hearing and made your recommendations to city council on that form uh based code for phase two back in February of this year. We did pull out the affordable housing requirements to talk about separately. That's what we've been working on this spring in study sessions in April and May. And so at your last study session, we did bring some staff recommendations for affordable housing requirements. Those are included in your packet. Um we do have them as backup slides if you want to see them again, but tonight we're going to focus on uh the draft amendments that you directed at that May study session. Uh, we're holding the public hearing for those requirements tonight, planning to take the full phase two package of the form-based code, code amendments, miscellaneous zoning code amendments, the phase two rezones, the affordable housing requirements, and the planned action. That whole package will go to city council to consider adopting on July 18th. And so just really quickly with the station area plan comprehensive plan chapter. And so just really quickly with the station area plan comprehensive plan chapter, we did adopt the capacity for the station area that's with the up zones being considered.

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