Kirkland City Council will continue their discussions regarding the Houghton Everest Neighborhood Center (HENC) in their Tuesday July 18 meeting. The meeting commences at 7:30 pm and the agenda can be found by clicking here. 

Residential Suites/Apodments for the HENC?
At the previous City Council meeting, council members asked staff for more information regarding Residential Suites (aka apodments).​

Parking Concerns for the Neighborhood?
Parking Requirements for Residential Suites include:

• Parking requirement is 0.5 stalls/unit plus one/on site employee, if a parking management plan is approved by the City, implemented by the property owner and recorded with King County;
• Otherwise the parking requirement is one stall/unit plus one stall/on site employee;​

This parking requirement is less than half the City code for a studio apartment (1.2 spaces /unit). Concerns have been raised about the parking around Residential Suites. Neighbors are concerned residents saying they don’t have a car, park in the neighborhood, and not pay a parking fee which would be normally charged. There are concerns regarding the enforcement of the policy.

​Comparing parking for Residential Suites to more traditional multi-family units would be 2 spaces for 4 residential suites compared to 4.8 spaces for 4 studios, or 4.1 spaces for a mix of 1 studio (1.2 spaces),  1-one bedroom (1.3 spaces), and 1 – two bedroom unit (1.6 spaces).  Or 3.2 for 2 two-bedroom in its (same number of beds).

Thanks to so many people participating in the Houghton Everest Neighborhood Center Comprehensive Plan and Zoning update process. The following summarizes what has happened since the March 23 public hearing at which several hundred attended and more than 40 people spoke and provided written comments to the City’s Planning Commission (PC) and Houghton Community Council (HCC). 

The public hearing was just the start of the discussions on what will ultimately be adopted by the City Council. The following summarizes the meetings that have be held, where the PC and HCC have landed on major topics, and the next steps. 

You still have opportunities to provide input to the City Council as it takes up the discussion on June 6. More direction on that is provided below.

Since the March 23rd meeting, the HCC and PC have discussed and deliberated on recommendations for the HENC Comprehensive Plan amendments and associated changes to the City zoning code at several meetings:
•    HCC – March 27 
•    PC – April 13 
•    HCC – April 24
•    PC – May 11
•    HCC – May 15
•    PC – May 25
In addition, the City’s Design Review Board (DRB) met Monday May 22 to discuss staff’s proposed Design Guidelines for the HENC, as well as input from the HCC and PC.

The packets and information from all the previous PC and HCC meetings can be found at the following webpages:

Current Recommendations for HENC Plan Amendments and Zoning
Following the public input and several rounds of deliberations, the PC and HCC have agreed on many of the key items for the HENC. However, there are a few items where the HCC and PC do not fully agree. Because the HCC has the authority to potentially veto the Plan and zoning changes for the Houghton area (south of NE 68th Street) the PC and HCC have gone back and forth to resolve any differences. The HCC has identified one policy/code change that they indicated they would strongly consider vetoing the Plan/zoning for. They also identified several other items that they want passed on to the City Council for consideration, should the PC not support. These agreements and disagreements for the major items for the Plan and zoning are summarized in the table at the end of this post. The table references the three subareas of the HENC. These are described and shown below.

How Can You Add to the Discussion with the City Council?
The City Council will receive the recommendations of the PC and HCC at a Study Session at its June 6 meeting. The Study Session is scheduled to start at 6:00 pm, with the regular meeting starting at 7:30 pm. You can provide input to the City Council up to the date they take final action to approve the Plan amendments and associated zoning changes. We do not know when the City Council will take action on the HENC, so the sooner you get your comments in, the better.
Your input to the City Council should focus on the proposed Plan and zoning changes because that is what they will be addressing in their meetings. You should let the City Council know what PC and HCC recommendations you support and which ones you don’t. It’s always good to provide at least a brief reason as to why you support or disagree with the PC and/or HCC recommendations. 

Your letter or email should reference the project name and number:

Houghton Everest Neighborhood Center, Permit Number CAM16-0274

​The following provides the City Council’s email addresses. You should also copy Angela Ruggeri, Senior Planner. If you want to you also can copy the Planning Commission and Houghton Community Council.

• City Council: citycouncil@kirklandwa.gov
• Angela Ruggeri: aruggeri@kirklandwa.gov
• Planning Commission: planningInfo@kirklandwa.gov
• Houghton Community Council: HoughtonCouncil@kirklandwa.gov

Please contact us at centralhoughton@gmail.com if you have any questions about the current HENC recommendations, City Council review process, or about submitting comments to the Council.

Houghton Everest Neighborhood Center Zoning Districts

​•    HENC 1 – this includes the core commercial area of the HENC, including the Metropolitan Market/Bartell Drug site, Starbucks, Bank of America, PCC site, Shamiana, Menchie’s, Teriyaki Madness, and the offices north of NE 68th Street and east of the Cross Kirkland Corridor (CKC).

•    HENC 2 – covers the existing apartments between the CKC and 
106th Avenue NE. The HENC 2 site originally included two additional parcels south of the boundary shown in the graphic. These two properties (shown in light green) are owned by the City of Kirkland and were deleted from the HENC 2 zone during the course of the PC/HCC review.

•    HENC 3 – includes properties immediately east of 6th Street S/108th Avenue NE. The existing 7/11, dry cleaners, and Shell service station are part of HENC 3. The parcel immediately east of the 7/11 and dry cleaners is also included in HENC 3.

•    Other areas – the existing PR 3.6 zone area including the Northwest University office building and other offices east of the Shell station are part of the planning study area but are not included in the special zoning districts. 

The Public Hearing packet is up on the City of Kirkland website at: 

http://www.kirklandwa.gov/…/…/Boards_and_Commissions/HCC.htm

Please look through and join us at the Public Hearing this Thursday March 23 at City Hall. Open House from 6-7. Public Hearing starts at 7pm in City Council Chambers.

Below are the 5 documents for the March 23rd meeting: 

Correction to Upcoming Meeting
2/23/17 (7pm City Council Chambers) meeting is a Planning Commission and Houghton Community Council joint study session ONLY. There will be NO Open House prior to meeting. Public comment is encouraged. If you cannot attend, meeting is broadcast live on KGOV and will be uploaded to Kirkland City website within a day or so.

Sample Letter Regarding Development at the HENC
This letter was asked to be into the meeting minutes by a Central Houghton neighbor who is concerned with the plans for the Houghton Everest Neighborhood Center (HENC). It was suggested to be used as a template for people who would like to communicate with the City Council, the Planning Commission and the Houghton Community Council. 

Email subject line: Ready for 850+ apartments in Houghton?

Ready for 850+ apartments, 5 stories at Houghton/Everest Neighborhood Center and 7-9x bigger??

Act now: and let your voice be heard if you want to give input for rezoning at the Houghton Everest Center, including nearby apartments, Met Market, PCC, office buildings, 7-11 & gas station.  If you don’t act, be prepared for cranes to start digging underground parking and putting up 55’ tall - 5 story buildings with 1,000,000 square feet!  This is only 20% smaller than the very large new Parkplace development called Kirkland Urban with 300 apartments and up to 5,500 additional workers.  It is very similar in units and square feet to the large scale Village at Totem Lake under construction. 

According to the city transportation expert: expect an increase of 3,300+ car trips/day here. Traffic could be 25% worse by 2035, increasing your 20 minute & 1.25 mile back-up to over 1.5 miles at one of the worst intersections in the City.

City web site: http://www.kirklandwa.gov/depart/planning/Development_Info/projects/he6th.htm

The City has already met Comprehensive Plan Growth Management goals and has in the pipeline 4,500 residential units, 746,000 sq. ft. of office space, and 760,000 sq. ft. of commercial/retail.

The City conducted a survey and held a workshop asking for input, residents overwhelmingly favored keeping low scale development and not adding to traffic. They asked to fix the traffic situation first. 

To give input:  act now and write emails and attend upcoming meetings.  Next ones are Feb. 23 and March 23 at City Hall at 6:00 pm.  Unless the City hears from many, many residents, they will proceed with zoning changes and there is no turning back. 

Write to: the Kirkland Mayor,  Kirkland City Council, Houghton Community Council, City Manager,  City of Kirkland Planning Commission, and the Planning Department Staff.

Cut & Paste these email addresses into your letter.  You can use the attached sample letter with your own modifications and name.  DO NOT FORGET TO ADD YOUR NAME TO LETTER AT BOTTOM:

awalen@kirklandwa.gov; citycouncil@kirklandwa.gov; HoughtonCouncil@kirklandwa.gov; PlanningCommissioners@kirklandwa.gov; ktriplett@kirklandwa.gov; eshields@kirklandwa.gov; pstewart@kirklandwa.gov; aruggeri@kirklandwa.gov

You can do this in less than 10 minutes.  Ideally letters will be received by Feb. 22, but can be sent as late as early March.

If you want more information that can be used in writing letters, please email: lovehoughton@msn.com

Sample Letter concerning the HENC

​Dear Mayor Walen and City Council Members,
cc: Houghton Community Council, Kirkland Planning Commission, City Manager and Planning Department staff

I am a Kirkland Resident and would like to convey my concerns with the proposed Houghton Neighborhood Center Plan. With the latest 5-story (55 foot tall) aggressive growth plan, I believe the following factors would negatively impact the infrastructure and livability of our treasured neighborhood areas of Houghton, Everest and Lakeview.

• Traffic Congestion – Per the transportation consultant’s estimates, this plan would increase traffic by an additional 10%, with 3300+ daily trips added at this intersection that is one of the worst in the city.  Unlike Kirkland Urban and Totem Lake, the existing roadways are not sufficient to support the added traffic in this area.
• Over Growth and Excessive Density – According to the Growth Management goals, the city has already exceeded housing goals and there are 4,500 housing units already in the pipeline.  Increasing the area’s density by 7 to 9X is excessive and unnecessary.  This large plan will NOT increase retail for the neighborhood center, which was a goal of residents. 
• Multi-family on 106th Avenue NE should remain at its current zoning.  106th Ave NE is an unusually narrow street and large scale buildings on both sides would tower over both the street and the beloved Cross Kirkland Corridor Trail.  The multi-family here is a transition zone to nearby single family homes.  

I understand that growth is inevitable as Kirkland is a desirable place to live and work; however, as elected officials of the residents, I urge the Council to listen to their constituents input via survey, letters and workshop and manage growth to take place where and when it is needed. Don’t change this already successful center.

Now that Everest Neighborhood has weighed in, the Houghton Everest Neighborhood Plan should be updated to a design that suits the neighborhood and then zoning guidelines should be carefully developed along with additional community input.  Ideally, you would re-visit these plans after Kirkland Urban, Totem Lake, and Northwest University projects are completed to be able to more accurately evaluate the impact to the current infrastructure and livability to the proposed area in question.

Sincerely,

Name

Email Address

Topics covered include:
-          CHNA Board Elections
-          Eastside March
-          Houghton-Everest Neighborhood Center (HENC)
-          Timber Ridge Apartment CAR
-          Northwest University
-          Neighborhood Matching Grant
-          Neighborhood Safety Project
-          For the love of Kirkland
 
Elections
The following people were elected as officers for the coming year.
•       Brian Staples – Vice President
•       Erika Somm – Treasurer
•       Cathy Whiteside – Secretary

We have no President! What does this mean?
•       Monthly meetings are suspended until we get a President.
•       If you are interested in being President, please contact any of the officers
•       Major issues in our neighborhood will be updated on Facebook and/or Website

As the former president, Lisa McConnell will become a member of the steering committee. We appreciate her dedication to the neighborhood; for keeping us informed-on on local issues,  as well as improving our neighborhood. Thank you, Lisa!
 
                                                                                                                                                     
Eastside March
Brian Granowitz is organizing Eastside March. The march is for the rights of immigration, plan parenthood, rights for women, and the current issues.
 
He is looking for help to organize. If you would like to help, please contact Brian at Eastsidemarchforjustice@outlook.com . He is in the early stages of organizing the march, meeting with city to get permit this past week. Expectations are to march from Carillion Point or Houghton Beach to Marina park with rally at end. Potential date is March 18th . You can get more information at Facebook.com/eastsidemarchforjustice
 
Houghton-Everest Neighborhood Center (HENC)
There are several meetings coming up that will be moving the process forward. It is always good to attend to provide your feedback and to stay informed. Feb and March are most important to get to these meetings. If you care, write letters or attend meetings (or both)! We hope to get sample letters out to group before the 2/23 meeting.
 
•       01/17/17 City Council Study Session (Update)
•       01/25/17 Transportation Commission
•  01/26/17 Open House & Joint Study Session Planning Commission & Houghton Community Council http://kirkland.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=12&clip_id=3517
•     http://kirkland.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=39&clip_id=3515 Transportation Commission meeting is audio only. The item is referred to as the 6th Street Corridor Study on the agenda.
•       02/21/17 City Council Study Session (Transportation Update)
•       02/23/17 Open House & Joint Study Session Planning Commission & Houghton Community Council
•       03/23/17 Open House & Joint Public Hearing Planning Commission & Houghton Community Council
•       03/27/17 Houghton Community Council Meeting - Recommendation to City Council
•       04/13/17 Planning Commission Meeting - Recommendation to City Council
•       April - May 2017 - City Council and Houghton Community Council Final Decision
 
Timber Ridge Apartment CAR
Timber Ridge Apartments CAR is now being processed (the apartments are located behind the 7-11 off 68th). The request is for an increase from 3,600 s.f. of lot area to 1,800 s.f. of lot area per unit.  A density of 3,600 s.f./unit is equivalent to 12 units per acre, and a density of 1,800 s.f. per unit is equivalent to 24 units per acre.
 
The Timber Ridge Apartments CAR will be considered by the Planning Commission at their meeting on February 9th.  The Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the City Council as to whether or not the request should proceed to the “Study Stage”.  If the City Council decides that the request should proceed, additional analysis will take place this year, with any amendments to be adopted by the end of 2017.  This webpage  provides a more complete description of the entire process.
 
 
Northwest University
Short update – still waiting hearing date – expecting to e in March. Transportation commission was not aware of the changes to NWU. Asked that 6th cooridor study be included and reviewed.
 
From Tony Leavitt, senior planner for this project.
‘A hearing date has not been set and it likely won’t be until March at the earliest. We have requested that the applicant address issues that came out of the public comments and we expect a response to those by the end of the month. A Notice of Hearing will be sent out and posted on the signs at least 3 weeks prior to the hearing. Staff will draft a recommendation prior to hearing that will be sent out at least 1 week before the hearing.’
 
http://www.kirklandwa.gov/depart/planning/Development_Info/projects/Northwest_University_Master_Plan_Zoning_Permit.htm
 
 
Neighborhood Matching Grant
Thanks Lisa for submitting our grant which includes support for website and celebration next year.
 
The Neighborhood Matching Grant Program provides Kirkland neighborhoods the opportunity to apply for City funds to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods. Neighborhood matching grant funds have resulted in many physical improvements in the neighborhoods as well as community building activities.
In the past we have done such projects as the CHNA website www.houghtonlives.com , 21years of the Houghtdown Picnic, Fourth of July parade floats, and newsletters and mailers.
 
 
Neighborhood Safety Project
Our request for this year will be reviewed in Feb with decision in March – paint curb and potential flashing speed sign – along 68th
 
Walkway behind fire station is already being fixed so no longer on list as a safety project.
 
For the love of Kirkland
The event, called “For the Love of Kirkland,” was held Monday, January 23. The presenter was Peter Kageyama, author of For the Love of Cities and Love Where You Live.
It was a good meeting with positive energy towards Kirkland. The group came up with t-shirt ideas that would be unique to Kirkland; ‘if you were from Kirkland, you would understand’. The group also came up with a project that would excite the neighborhood. ‘Meet and Eat on the CKC’ won.
 
If you have not already, please join the CHNA Facebook page so you can get automatic updates.

Or check out the CHNA website.

Please check our Facebook page for any weather related updates to the meeting. 

​Not sure when this happened but the city put the trash can is back at the lower entrance to Watershed Park. Two thumbs up! 

​

Central Houghton Neighborhood Association
Wednesday February 1 meeting
7pm, Houghton Fire Station #22
 
Agenda

• Introduction/Welcome
• February Officer Elections
• Houghton/Everest Neighborhood Center Review
• Northwest University Master Plan update
• General February goings on in the Neighborhood

 
If you have not already, please join the CHNA Facebook page so you can get automatic updates.
Or check out the CHNA website.
Please check our Facebook page for any weather related updates to the meeting.

As many are aware, the Houghton Everest Neighborhood Center (HENC) is being looked at as part of a zoning change. There was a meeting at Northwest University in which people discussed design aspects they would like to see as part of the HENC and 6th Street Corridor Study. We've hosted a number of post-it fests to better understand our neighborhood concerns and desires.

​​The HENC process continues on with these upcoming meetings:

• 02/21/17 City Council Study Session (Transportation Update)
• 02/23/17 Open House & Joint Study Session Planning Commission & Houghton Community Council
• 03/23/17 Open House & Joint Public Hearing Planning Commission & Houghton Community Council
• 03/27/17 Houghton Community Council Meeting - Recommendation to City Council
• 04/13/17 Planning Commission Meeting - Recommendation to City Council
• April - May 2017 - City Council and Houghton Community Council Final Decision

Please, stick with it. From the schedule of meetings above, the process will reach a conclusion in the April-May timeframe. Help ensure the decision is a good one!

Important Upcoming Meetings and Events

• Dec 15th - Joint study session for the Houghton Community Council and the Planning Commission.  They will be discussing which options to bring forward to the public hearing in January concerning the Houghton Everest Neighborhood Center.  There will be an Open House from 6:00 to 7:00 that evening to allow citizens to come early and ask questions.
• Sunday, 12/18 is the 5K walk/run starts at 9:30, 12K run starts at 9:35
• Next CHNA meeting January 4th
• February Officer Elections (please let us know if you are interested)

Minutes from December Meeting
John Marasco from Security Properties and PCC talked with us about potential future plans for PCC store. The current PCC store is not ideal for them. The PCC Fremont and Columbia City stores are closer to what they are hoping to have here in Kirkland. Current Kirkland store is about 12K sq ft and they would like to go to 25K sq ft with community space and cooking demo area. John wanted to hear what the neighborhood would like to see built in the area between Teriyaki Madness to Shamiana.

Comments made regarding the PCC property:

• Free parking, underground parking, some curbside parking for quick access
• Concerns around traffic – provide better access in/out of area as well as within the area
• If housing is added, want to be residents of neighborhood, not resident housing for local companies
• Wide sidewalks, set backs, bulk of building off the street
• Keep the charm of our neighborhood – make it look like Kirkland
• Make employee parking planned into the development
• Underground power
• Not 5 stories

Some of John’s comments about the area:

• Site can handle more retail than just PCC
• Currently 30’ – area would go from 2 to 3-5 stories.
• PCC is owner of land
• Most likely be mix use – commercial space @ ground level, housing above
• Discussion at HENC workshop did not give a conclusive answer to how to handle these areas.
• Neighborhood should look at using incentives as a tradeoff to height increases. As an example, “only develop 70% above X stories with setbacks”.

The timeline for the HENC project:

• 12/15/16 Joint Planning Commission & Houghton Community Council Study Session (Open House from 6:00 to 7:00)
• 01/17/17 City Council Study Session Update
• 01/26/17 Joint Hearing Planning Commission & Houghton Community Council
• After the January 26th meeting, they will determine if we need to continue the hearing and/or need an additional meeting in February to complete the recommendation to the City Council.

Comments and emails to:
Houghton Community Council HoughtonCouncil@kirklandwa.gov
Planning Commission PlanningCommissioners@kirklandwa.gov
And the senior Planner for the project, Angela Ruggeri aruggeri@kirklandwa.gov

NORTHWEST UNIVERSITY MASTER PLAN
Sidebar has all the specific sections of the proposed Plan. Of special interest is the Project Narrative and the Traffic Impact Analysis pdfs.

Major highlights:

• Over the next 6-years or by 2022, an increase of approximately 370 students is projected for the Kirkland campus resulting in a total campus population of 1,600 students. In 20-years (2037), the campus student population is anticipated to increase by approximately 770 students for a total of approximately 2,000 students.
• 6 court tennis facility that will be a 50’ high building along 53rd Street, first item to be constructed
• 300 bed dorm addition
• Athletic Field Improvements including new AstroTurf and lighting(80’ tall, on until 9:30 at night) with New Field House and bleachers at the athletic fields. These fields will also be “rented out” to other sports teams. Traffic to enter/exit along 53rd Street.
• Additional new trips(cars traffic) per day from new students, tennis center and sports fields is 2,130 by 2022 and 3,820 by 2037, along 53rd Street and 108th Avenue. See Traffic Impact Analysis, page 29, Table 16

All comments to go to Senior planner, Tony Leavitt tleavitt@kirklandwa.gov

The 12K of Christmas map is below: