The notes from our January 10, 2023 virtual meeting are attached below. 

In addition to the meeting notes, we want to direct you to additional materials on our website - houghtonlives.com.

• CHNA's written testimony for the public hearing on the Permanent Supportive Housing project at the former La Quinta Inn and responses from City Councilmembers can be found under a separate heading below. The letter from Eastside Prep School to the City is also included. CHNA Letter and Council Responses. 
  
  
• We also have posted information related to Carillon Woods Park and an Opportunity with the Green Kirkland Partnership. This information can be found in a separate posting. 

One additional item - on January 19, the City posted information related to the arrest of individuals in connection with the burglary and shots fired at a residence in Central Houghton last October. 

As always, please let us know if you have any questions, comments, or ideas for future meeting topics. We are also looking for members interested in getting more involved in CHNA's effort to build an informed and engaged membership to enhance our community.

Larry Toedtli, president
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

Happy New Year!!!
 
The agenda for our Tuesday, January 10, 2023, regular meeting is attached below. The meeting will be held virtually on the Zoom platform. The meeting will start at 7:00 PM. 
 
At this time, we are planning to continue to meet virtually until the Fire Station 22 remodel is complete (scheduled for summer 2023).
 
The Zoom link and information for tour meeting is:
 
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87354175751?pwd=MDNtdCtQT0YwSEhMYTRKNk9NcE1UUT09 
Meeting ID: 873 5417 5751 Passcode: 921366
One tap mobile +12532158782,,87354175751#,,,,*921366# US (Tacoma) 
 
Our meeting will include discussion on several current or upcoming topics including:

• Former La Quinta Inn Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) project January 17 Public Hearing  - web page
  
  As part of the discussion on the former La Quinta Inn PSH project, later this week we will be sending out a DRAFT letter to the City Council from CHNA for review and discussion at the meeting. We will need to decide whether we want to submit it for the January 17 public hearing and, if so, what changes should be made to it before it is submitted.  
  
  
• The Northeast Recycling and Transfer Station Environmental Review Scoping January 11 Open House - web page
• The Houghton Village (Old PCC) Site Redevelopment (no web page currently available)
• Parks 2023 Ballot Measure Initiative - web page 
• City of Kirkland 2044 Comprehensive Plan Update, January 11 Visioning Event - web page

 
We also will be having an open discussion on what the Central Houghton Neighborhood Association should focus on moving forward to best serve and represent our neighborhood. 
 
We hope to see you virtually on Tuesday January 10 to share your thoughts and get updated on these and other topics.
 
Please contact us at centralhoughton@gmail.com if you have any questions, comments, ideas for future meeting topics, or want to help lead the organization.
 
Larry Toedtli, president
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

Central Houghton Neighbors-
 
The notes from our November 8, 2022, regular meeting are provided below. 
 
A few items to note about upcoming/ongoing activities.
 

1. La Quinta Inn Permanent Supportive Housing - We are hoping to set up a special meeting with the City so our members can get an update on the project schedule and status of the City agreements with King County and the future operator of the facility. We will alert everyone on our various communication platforms when we have more information.
2. Northeast Recycling and Transfer Station Siting Environmental Scoping - King County is holding open houses and taking comments on the scoping of environmental studies for this proposed facility to replace the Houghton Transfer Station. Two Kirkland sites will be evaluated in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - the existing transfer station site and the Houghton Park and Ride lot. More information can be found on the NERTS project website.
3. Carillon Apartment Amenity Building Public Hearing - We discussed this proposal at our October meeting. The Hearing Examiner public hearing has been rescheduled to December 1 at 9:30 am. More information on the project and hearing can be found using this link.

 
If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at centralhoughton@gmail.com.
 
Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

Central Houghton Neighbors-

The agenda for the Tuesday November 8 (7:00 pm) regular meeting of the Central Houghton Neighborhood Association (CHNA) is attached. 

Thanks to those of you that completed our short survey on the topics you want to hear more about at the meeting.
 
The meeting will be held virtually on Zoom. The Zoom link and passcode are:
 
CHNA is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87695566704?pwd=QjBVWEJwVnNHdHY3YUhKV1o5OUxrZz09
 
Meeting ID: 876 9556 6704
Passcode: 620876
One tap mobile
+12532158782,,87695566704#,,,,*620876# US (Tacoma)
+13462487799,,87695566704#,,,,*620876# US (Houston)

• The meeting will include time to discuss the La Quinta Health Through Housing project status and City's schedule for moving forward. The City Council is planning on a study session on this topic at their November 15 meeting.
  
  

• We also will be deciding on project ideas to submit by December 2 for the 2023 Neighborhood Safety Program. We discussed some of those ideas at the CHNA October meeting and would love to get more ideas to consider.
  
  
• The other major topic on the agenda focuses on initial discussions for the role of the Central Houghton Neighborhood Association moving forward, especially after the sunsetting of the Houghton Community Council.
  
  
• EIS scoping for the Northeast Recycling and Transfer Station (NERTS) kicks off today, November 3.  The County's NERTS Web Site. includes an online open house related to the EIS scoping and upcoming public comment opportunities.

 We look forward to seeing and hearing from you next Tuesday, November 8. 
Please let us know if you have any comments, questions or suggestions for future meeting topics. We can be reached at centralhoughton@gmail.com.


Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

Central Houghton Neighborhood Association Members (CHNA)-

The notes from our October 11 meeting are attached. They include updates on several ongoing topics of interest, as well as links to associated web pages.
 
Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday November 8 at 7:00 PM. It will be held via Zoom. The agenda and Zoom link will be sent out approximately a week before the meeting.

The November 8 meeting will include discussions on how CHNA can best support our community moving forward. We also will identify projects for CHNA to propose for the City's Neighborhood Safety Program and the 2023/2024 City Neighborhood Matching Grant program. 
 
Please let us know if you have any questions, comments, or ideas for topics for future meetings. You can send an email to centralhoughton@gmail.com.
 
 
Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association 

Central Houghton Neighbors-
 
The agenda for the Central Houghton Neighborhood Association's meeting on Tuesday October 11 is attached.
The meeting will start at 7:00 PM and will be held virtually using Zoom.
The following provides the Zoom meeting information:
 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81173838830?pwd=bm9EV09tV1I3Z0pTMzdBTWltWS9EQT09

Meeting ID: 811 7383 8830
Passcode: j8absU

+12532158782,,81173838830#,,,,*101820# US (Tacoma)
+16699006833,,81173838830#,,,,*101820# US (San Jose)
 
We had a great turn out for our Labor Day Picnic at the Everest School. I want to thank all of our volunteers for making it a really fun event. The School of Rock provided some excellent music and they really rocked. Lake Washington Physical Therapy put on an excellent Youth Challenge Course which received lots of positive reviews.
 
We have added a number of people to our distribution list. Welcome!!
Many names were added from the Labor Day event - I hope that I got the email addresses input correctly.
As always, if you do not want to receive emails from our distribution list, please let us know by contacting us at centralhoughton@gmail.com.
 
In addition to our meeting agenda, I want to alert our members to some upcoming meetings that will happen before our meeting that you may be interested in.
 

1. Transportation Benefit District Community Forum - Monday October 3 (6:30PM) 
   The City is proposing a potential increase of $20 in vehicle licensing fees to fund higher priority walking and bicycle projects as part of the Safer Routes to Schools Program.  You can use this link to learn more about the proposal and to sign up for the forum:   Transportation Benefit District Community Forum Tickets, Mon, Oct 3, 2022 at 6:30 PM | Eventbrite
2. Public Hearing on Revenue Sources for 2023-2024 Budget - Tuesday October 4 City Council Meeting (7:30 PM)

As part of its regular meeting, the Kirkland City Council will hold a public hearing on October 4, 2022, on revenue sources for the 2023-2024 Budget. This is the first of three scheduled public hearings on the 2023-2024 budget. The second and third public hearings are scheduled to be held on Tuesday, November 1 and Tuesday, November 15. These public hearings and other feedback from the community over the coming months will help inform the City Council’s adoption of its 2023-2024 budget at the December 13, 2022, Council meeting. 
The focus of the October 4 public hearing is on revenue sources. 
The City Council Agenda and Packet can be accessed here.

    3.  Carillon Apartments Amenities Building Public Hearing - Tuesday October 11 (9:30 AM)
The City's Hearing Examiner will be holding a public hearing on a proposed amenity building for the Carillon Point Apartments located at 5604 Lakeview Drive.  
 
Background:
City Council approved the existing Master Plan in 1988. It included plans for a recreation building in an area along Lake Washington Blvd. that is now encumbered by a stream and critical area buffers.  This means that the approved location is no longer code-compliant per KZC 90.  Over the years, the property owners decided not to construct the recreation building; however, in 2019, the applicants chose to pursue an amenity building.  With the 1988 location no longer code-compliant, the application proposes to locate the amenity building along the east side of the property adjacent to the CKC outside of any streams, wetlands, and associated buffers.
 
Application Materials:
The staff report is still being finalized, so check the City's Hearing Examiner's web site during the week. A copy of the applicant’s plans and public amenity package are attached below for your reference.
 
Public Comment:
Written comments must be submitted by 5:00 PM on October 10, 2022, the day before the hearing; however, the October 11 public hearing is open to everyone, and anyone in attendance will have an opportunity to speak.  Written comments should refer to Permit No. ZON21-00460 and include the commenter’s name, address, and e-mail address.
 
 
We hope to see you at the October 11 CHNA meeting. The more people that participate, the better the Neighborhood Association can assist in working toward keeping and improving our community for all. Please forward this email and agenda to others that may be interested.
 
In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, including ideas for future meeting topics, please let us know at centralhoughton@gmail.com.
 
 
Thanks
 
Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

The notes from our March 8, 2022, regular meeting are provided below. We covered a lot of current and ongoing topics including the Sunsetting of the Houghton Community Council, the La Quinta Inn homeless housing proposal. We also reported on the proposed mailer and 2022 Celebration Event.

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday May10. We will be electing Board members and also discussing proposed changes to our Bylaws to engage younger residents in the neighborhood association.

Please contact us at centralhoughton@gmail.com if you have any questions, ideas for meeting topics, or want to find out more on how you can get involved.

Larry Toedtli, president
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

CHNA Members and Guests:


The agenda for our regular meeting on March 8 (7:00 pm) is attached. We will have updates on several topics including:

• State Legislation on Sunsetting the Houghton Community Council -HB 1769
• La Quinta Hotel Homeless Housing Proposal
• CHNA 2022 Mailer and Event Planning
• Potential Changes to Our CHNA Bylaws (see attachment)
• Various City Code and Plan amendments

A couple of the topics will likely evolve between now and the date of our meeting.

1. State Legislation on Sunsetting the Houghton Community Council
HB 1769 (web link above) has passed the State House and is now on the floor of the State Senate. The bill could be voted on any day.. The Legislative session is scheduled to end March 10. 

The bill, as currently written, would effectively sunset the existence of the Houghton Community Council immediately. This would ignore the overwhelming (76%) vote of Houghton residents on November 2, 2021 to extend the HCC until December 31, 2025. You can contact any of the Senators to share your thoughts to express your position on the bill. Senators (wa.gov)

2. La Quinta Hotel for Housing 


I want to make sure that you are aware that the Houghton Community Council Meeting on Monday February 28 includes discussion of the proposed purchase of the La Quinta Hotel for use as a permanent supportive housing facility.


The Chair of the Houghton Community Council has asked for representatives from King County and the City of Kirkland to attend the Houghton Community Council meeting occurring Monday, February 28, 2022, at 7 p.m. via Zoom and provide information on the potential purchase of La Quinta Hotel by King County for permanent supportive housing.  
To view the agenda, including Zoom webinar information, please visit the City's website. 



You can read more about the program at - King County's Health Through Housing Initiative in Kirkland – City of Kirkland (kirklandwa.gov)

I look forward to seeing you at the meeting next week. As always, please let us know if you have ideas for topics for future meetings or would like to be part of our Board.

Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

To all-
​
Thanks to all of the people that attended our meeting last week. some really good discussion on several topics.

A focus was on the proposed legislation moving forward at the state to sunset the Houghton community council (and East Bellevue Community Council).  We discussed how people can track the bill and provide comments. This information and web links are summarized in the meeting notes. If you have any questions or comments, please email us at centralhoughton@gmail.com. 

We also discussed current activities related to our 2021-2022 Matching Grant. If you would like to assist on any of these, please contact us (centralhoughton@gmail.com).

At the end of the meeting, we also discussed possible changes to our Bylaws to allow high school students to be members. We also noted a need for more people to assist CHNA as Board members or volunteers.

Sincerely

Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

​To all-

Here are the notes from the November 9, 2021 meeting of the Central Houghton Neighborhood Association.

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday January 11 via Zoom (starting at 7:00 pm). Please let us know if you have ideas for meeting topics.

We are also setting up a brainstorming session to explore options for a Celebration/Event next summer to (hopefully) celebrate the return to a new Post Covid normal and to re-introduce CHNA to our community members.
At that same meeting we also will be brainstorming ideas for a way to create a Sense of Place or Historical Marker for our Central Houghton neighborhood. As an example, the Everest neighborhood just installed a Train Depot along the Cross Kirkland Corridor Trail.

Please let us know (centralhoughton@gmail.com) if you have any ideas and if you would like to participate in a brainstorming session. I promise, your participation in the brainstorming session will NOT commit you to helping with implementation (although that would also be great).