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Record of Proceedings

Kirkland Planning Commission Continued Public Hearing on Land Use Element and Market Street Corridor Plan - September 12, 2024

Planning Commission — Thursday, September 12, 2024

BodyKirkland, Washington

SessionPlanning Commission

DateThursday, September 12, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 3:32:10

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

0:21

I call to order this meeting of the Kirkland Planning Commission.

0:25

Let's start out with a roll call.

0:28

Gotcha, Alan.

0:30

Rhea Heiser.

0:31

Okay.

0:31

Aaron Jacobson.

0:34

Gina Medea.

0:35

Here.

0:35

Scott Ricer.

0:36

Here.

0:37

Angela Rosman.

0:38

Here.

0:38

Rodney Rutherford.

0:40

Here.

0:40

Thanks.

0:41

All right.

0:42

And with the majority of commissioners present, we have a quorum.

0:47

Now we're going into the um straight into the public hearing, I believe, because there's no um no study session, no special presentations, and um we since we took all of the public comment in the previous planning commission meetings.

1:05

Um tonight is uh as mentioned at the previous meeting is intended to uh give the commission a chance to uh uh start on deliberations after having a chance to fully consider uh all of the spoken and written comments that we've uh we've heard prior to now.

1:26

So um procedural question, do I close the written period now or is that part of is that closed?

1:36

Um with the closing.

1:39

Sure, I think you can just open open the public hearing prior to the staff presentation and then close it at the conclusion.

1:44

Sounds good.

1:45

All right.

1:46

So in that case, I uh open this continuance of the public hearing for the master for the market street corridor plan and the land use element for commission deliberation.

1:59

And now we can start with the uh note that Commissioner Allen is here.

2:04

Oh, Commissioner Allen has joined us.

2:06

Thank you.

2:09

Uh we'll start with the staff presentation.

2:13

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

2:17

Um myself and Leandra have a brief presentation for you on the land use element, the Market Street Corridor Plan.

2:24

Um, this is largely a repeat of the information that we presented to you at the August 22nd public hearing.

2:30

Um, so we'll move through it a little bit more brief briefly than that, but wanted to just give you a reminder of where we're at.

2:37

So uh the agenda for the public hearing tonight, of course, we're starting with the staff presentation.

2:43

After that, the floor is open for any questions from the planning commission on any of the draft goals and policies in either element, um, and then followed by um planning commission deliberation and motions if you're ready.

2:57

So to jump into the land use element, just wanted to give a bit of review on where we've been and where we're at in the adoption process for the land use element.

3:05

So this is one chapter in the comprehensive plan.

3:08

The public hearing for this was opened on May 23rd of this year, and the written record has remained open uh prior to the May 23rd meeting and then until tonight.

3:18

So you know, about four months of of open record for written testimony on that.

3:23

Um you continued the hearing on June 13th.

3:27

Um on June 13th, you voted to continue the hearing and to reopen the public record for spoken testimony because you wanted to make sure to continue hearing from the community.

3:38

So we had that continuation on August 22nd.

3:41

That was your last meeting.

3:43

Um at that meeting you heard from 86 speakers on the land use element primarily, um, and then you closed the record for spoken testimony on August 22nd and continued your deliberations to tonight.

3:55

So here we are at the public hearing, the continued public hearing for both uh land use and the market street corridor.

4:02

Um following a planning commission recommendation if you do reach one tonight.

4:05

Um council would consider the land use element with with all the other chapters in the comprehensive plan on December 10th of this year.

4:12

That's their last meeting of the year.

4:14

Of course, you are scheduled to have a joint session with planning com or with council, excuse me, on October 15th to discuss where you're at with your recommendations for the whole comm plan.

4:25

So quickly, you've you've seen this a couple times, but just wanted to um quickly review steps to implement the comprehensive plan.

4:32

Of course, we're starting with adopting policies.

4:35

Before we make any zoning changes, we would have to create a project or a task where we are defining what the scope of that work is going to be, and then it has to be adopted on the planning work program.

4:46

That planning work program is always a three-year work program, but we update it annually to be able to recognize any shifting priorities or any other considerations that planning commission or council might make.

5:00

So planning work program is another thing that the planning commission recommends, and then council ultimately adopts.

5:03

We'll start the process to update the planning work program early next year.

5:08

And then, of course, to implement comprehensive plan policies when they do include zoning code amendments.

5:14

That would be the third step in the process, often involves much more technical analysis and specific site level review.

5:22

It could require more environmental analysis.

5:25

And then as the other note, when we are looking at developments that are above a certain square footage threshold for commercial projects or more than 20 residential units in one development, that triggers project level CEPA.

5:38

So that's another very specific type of environmental analysis.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural█████████████████17%

Land Use█████████████████17%

Housing█████████████13%

Planning And Zoning███████████11%

Transportation█████████9%

Comprehensive Planning████████8%

Affordable Housing███████7%

Community Engagement███████7%

Public Engagement████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Kirkland Planning Commission Meeting: 2044 Comprehensive Plan Deliberations - September 12, 2024

On September 12, 2024, the Kirkland Planning Commission held a continued public hearing to deliberate on the proposed Land Use Element and Market Street Corridor Plan, both part of the 2044 Comprehensive Plan update. The meeting began at 6:00 PM and lasted until 9:32 PM, with all seven commissioners present. The commission considered multiple policy amendments, heard public comments, and made several key decisions on density, transit corridors, and neighborhood planning.

Consent Calendar

Approved meeting minutes for May 23, 2024 and June 13, 2024 (motion carried 7-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

Michael Radcliff (Kirkland resident, former planning commissioner) urged the commission to require speakers to provide addresses to identify non-residents. He expressed concern about traffic congestion, climate change, and tree removal, urging preservation of large fir trees during development. He attempted to gift his wife's speaking time, which staff later ruled not permitted under commission rules.
Jill Stoddart (Kirkland resident) described feeling attacked by Livable Kirkland for owning a single-family home, calling the language exclusionary. She stated that outreach to neighborhoods was insufficient, citing 3,000 signatures on a Change.org petition and 1,000 members of Cherish Kirkland.
Liz Hunt (Kirkland resident) noted that Kirkland is the third most dense city in Washington state (per population per square mile data from Office of Financial Management), despite lacking light rail. She argued current zoning already enables over 19,000 additional housing units and a 51% population increase by 2044, questioning whether more density alone would create affordability.
Nicole MacKenzie (Kirkland resident) commended the commission for listening to community feedback but raised a procedural concern that Commissioner Rozmyn's earlier motion on LU-2.A may not have been formally withdrawn, urging careful tracking of motions.

Discussion Items

Land Use Element (LU) Deliberations
- Staff presented an overview of the Land Use Element, focusing on Policy LU-2.4 (addressing additional density along frequent transit corridors). 86 speakers testified at the August 22 hearing, with split opinions. Staff offered several alternatives (A-E), including a version with grocery store proximity criteria and a maximum height study option.
- Commissioner Katya Allen moved to adopt Alternative D with an added criterion that the study area be within 1/2 mile of a full-service grocery store. Motion carried 6-1 (Chair Rutherford opposed).
- Commissioner Aaron Jacobson moved to add new policies: LU-2.8 (directing study of neighborhood centers and regional growth centers for housing), amend LU-3.4 (focus higher intensity near frequent transit service), and amend LU-4.5 (encourage missing middle housing). Motion carried 5-2 (Vice Chair Heiser and Commissioner Rozmyn opposed).
- Commissioner Bria Heiser moved to remove Policy LU-2.4 entirely and include a note to City Council that the city should study a similar policy at a future date (Option B). Motion carried 4-3 (Chair Rutherford, Commissioners Allen and Rozmyn opposed).
- Commissioner Aaron Jacobson moved to insert new Policy LU-3.10 (incentives for child care). Motion carried 7-0.
- Commissioner Angela Rozmyn moved to amend Policy LU-2.A to include “areas that have the potential to be 10-minute neighborhoods” and “areas within a 1/2 mile walk of full-service grocery stores.” Motion carried 7-0.
- Chair Rodney Rutherford moved to replace the “Residential Mixed Use” land use designation with “Residential Oriented Use.” Motion failed 1-6 (only Chair Rutherford in favor).
- Commissioner Aaron Jacobson moved to remove the transit corridor overlay from the Land Use Map. Motion carried 7-0.
- Commissioner Rodney Rutherford moved to replace “park and ride lots and other” with “significant” in Policy LU-3.3 (to focus on more meaningful transit facilities). Motion carried 5-2 (Vice Chair Heiser and Commissioner Reusser opposed).
- Final vote to recommend the Land Use Element as amended: carried 7-0.
Market Street Corridor Plan Deliberations
- Staff noted no new written comments since August 22. Commissioner Jacobson moved to reinstate Policy MS-8 (which had been recommended for removal by staff), with revised language describing low intensity development with limited allowances for additional height in neighborhood nodes. Motion to amend carried 7-0.
- Final vote to recommend the Market Street Corridor Plan as amended: carried 7-0.
Administrative Reports
- Staff reviewed upcoming meetings: Public Hearing on Housing Element and Comprehensive Plan Appendix on September 26 (with open house 4:00-5:30 PM), and joint session with City Council on October 15.
- Chair Rutherford addressed allegations of conflict of interest regarding commissioners' membership in Livable Kirkland. He stated the City Attorney confirmed no legal conflict of interest exists under state or city law, as there is no financial interest in comprehensive plan policy decisions.

Key Outcomes

Land Use Element recommended (7-0) with amendments including:
- Removal of Policy LU-2.4 (4-3), with communication to Council to study a similar policy in the future.
- Addition of policies LU-2.8 (focus on neighborhood/regional centers), LU-3.10 (child care incentives), and amendments to LU-3.4, LU-4.5, LU-2.A, and LU-3.3.
- Removal of transit corridor overlay from Land Use Map (7-0).
Market Street Corridor Plan recommended (7-0) with reinstated Policy MS-8 (7-0).
Next steps: City Council will consider the full Comprehensive Plan on December 10, 2024; Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the Housing Element on September 26, and a joint meeting with Council on October 15.

Meeting Transcript

I call to order this meeting of the Kirkland Planning Commission. Let's start out with a roll call. Gotcha, Alan. Rhea Heiser. Okay. Aaron Jacobson. Gina Medea. Here. Scott Ricer. Here. Angela Rosman. Here. Rodney Rutherford. Here. Thanks. All right. And with the majority of commissioners present, we have a quorum. Now we're going into the um straight into the public hearing, I believe, because there's no um no study session, no special presentations, and um we since we took all of the public comment in the previous planning commission meetings. Um tonight is uh as mentioned at the previous meeting is intended to uh give the commission a chance to uh uh start on deliberations after having a chance to fully consider uh all of the spoken and written comments that we've uh we've heard prior to now. So um procedural question, do I close the written period now or is that part of is that closed? Um with the closing. Sure, I think you can just open open the public hearing prior to the staff presentation and then close it at the conclusion. Sounds good. All right. So in that case, I uh open this continuance of the public hearing for the master for the market street corridor plan and the land use element for commission deliberation. And now we can start with the uh note that Commissioner Allen is here. Oh, Commissioner Allen has joined us. Thank you. Uh we'll start with the staff presentation. All right, thank you, Chair Rutherford, and um good evening, planning commissioners. Um myself and Leandra have a brief presentation for you on the land use element, the Market Street Corridor Plan. Um, this is largely a repeat of the information that we presented to you at the August 22nd public hearing. Um, so we'll move through it a little bit more brief briefly than that, but wanted to just give you a reminder of where we're at. So uh the agenda for the public hearing tonight, of course, we're starting with the staff presentation. After that, the floor is open for any questions from the planning commission on any of the draft goals and policies in either element, um, and then followed by um planning commission deliberation and motions if you're ready. So to jump into the land use element, just wanted to give a bit of review on where we've been and where we're at in the adoption process for the land use element. So this is one chapter in the comprehensive plan. The public hearing for this was opened on May 23rd of this year, and the written record has remained open uh prior to the May 23rd meeting and then until tonight. So you know, about four months of of open record for written testimony on that. Um you continued the hearing on June 13th. Um on June 13th, you voted to continue the hearing and to reopen the public record for spoken testimony because you wanted to make sure to continue hearing from the community. So we had that continuation on August 22nd. That was your last meeting. Um at that meeting you heard from 86 speakers on the land use element primarily, um, and then you closed the record for spoken testimony on August 22nd and continued your deliberations to tonight. So here we are at the public hearing, the continued public hearing for both uh land use and the market street corridor. Um following a planning commission recommendation if you do reach one tonight. Um council would consider the land use element with with all the other chapters in the comprehensive plan on December 10th of this year. That's their last meeting of the year. Of course, you are scheduled to have a joint session with planning com or with council, excuse me, on October 15th to discuss where you're at with your recommendations for the whole comm plan. So quickly, you've you've seen this a couple times, but just wanted to um quickly review steps to implement the comprehensive plan.

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