Denny Creek Alliance Could Become a Kirkland Neighborhood Association

Denny Creek Neighborhood Alliance (DCNA) leaders are urging Finn Hill residents to attend a meeting Wednesday, Sept. 7, to help them decide whether the longtime environmental group should become a city of Kirkland neighborhood association.

Most of Finn Hill formally became part of the city of Kirkland with annexation on June 1, and the DCNA board supports the transition from a non-profit group formed to protect the area’s natural resources to one of several associations that work on neighborhood issues with city hall.

The move would change the group’s name to the Finn Hill Neighborhood Alliance and expand its mission to embrace not only environmental stewardship issues, but also matters of interest to community at large -- issues such as zoning, transportation and public safety.

“We believe we can enhance our parks and preserve the natural assets of our neighborhood most effectively if we are recognized by the city as a neighborhood association and if we do so as a representative for the entirety of Finn Hill,” DCNA president Scott Morris wrote in a recent email to alliance members. “We have considered concerns that DCNA’s environmental mission will be diluted if it takes on other issues. While we do not minimize that concern, we know that DCNA’s effectiveness has always been the result of our neighbors’ personal commitments to maintain trails, plant trees, and work with government officials to improve our parks and natural resources.”

The meeting, at at 12600 84th Avenue beginning at 7p.m., will give Finn Hill residents a chance to ask questions and provide feedback.

Kari Page, the city’s neighborhood outreach coordinator, will be on hand to answer questions about the neighborhood associations and how they operate with the city.

Meanwhile, several other neighborhood meetings are scheduled for September, including:

• The new , Monday, Sept. 19, 6:45 p.m. at , 10007 NE 132nd Street.
• The Evergreen Hill/Kingsgate Neighborhood Association, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m. at , 14111 132nd Ave NE.
• The Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods -- the umbrella group of all city neighborhood associations -- on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m. at , 203 Market Street.