Politics & Government
Split Vote: Council Recommends Potala Village Density Cap
The council voted 4-3 Tuesday night to recommend the Planning Commission change the Comprehensive Plan category for the site of the controversial proposal and consider some cap on the number of residential units allowed.
The number of residential units allowed in the controversial Potala Village project proposed by a developer for a site on upscale Lake Street might well be limited after an intense debate and a 4-3 vote by the Kirkland City Council Tuesday night.
After much discussion, the council voted to recommend that the Planning Commission consider changing the category for the site on 10th Street South and Lake Street in the city’s Comprehensive Plan from Residential Market to Neighborhood Center. It also recommended the commission consider a cap on the residential density allowed.
The vote is only a recommendation to the Planning Commission and not binding. But it signals that the council overall supports some limit to density at the site, as a neighborhood group formed to oppose the project has urged at virtually every council meeting since last fall.
Yet council members also expressed a willingness to allow residential density at the site beyond what opponents seek.
In November, the council unexpectedly adopted an emergency 60-day moratorium to delay the project after angry neighbors stridently expressed concerns about the number of units planned and the project’s impact on traffic, property value and the scenic lakefront neighborhood, which is marked by some of Kirkland’s signature shoreline parks,, and. In December the council extended the moratorium for six months, to allow the Planning Commission to review the site’s zoning in the city code and its use category in the Comprehensive Plan, and .
The original proposal by Dargey Enterprises of Everett would have created a 143-unit apartment complex across two lots on scenic Lake Street at 10th Avenue South. At a, Lobsang Dargey, said the proposal had been reduced to 115 units that would be condominiums for sale, not apartments.
The motion Tuesday night was proposed by Council Member Amy Walen after she detailed her thoughts on the issue and seemed to take at least one council member, Dave Asher, by surprise. “How did this question get asked?” he said. “I haven’t heard anything about this prior to just a couple minutes ago.”
Walen, Council Member Penny Sweet, Mayor Joan McBride and Deputy Mayor Doreen Marchione voted for the recommendation. Council Members Asher, Bob Sternoff and Toby Nixon voted against it.
But the no votes seemed to stem more from procedural issues than opposition to limiting density at the site. Nixon, for example, said he opposed adjusting the Comprehensive Plan for a single project, since the plan is designed to provide clarity and guidance on city policy, not to regulate specific projects. Sternoff expressed similar thoughts.
Nonetheless, Nixon added that he supported some decision that would limit density at the Potala Village site to the same level of the surrounding neighborhood.
While McBride voted for the recommendation, she noted that she supports high densities on arterials near the city’s urban centers as a way to keep residential growth close to services.
Sweet noted that Potala Village has been a tough issue and urged compromise. “This is really hard,” she said. “What bothers me the most is the lack of consistency. I do believe there needs to be more density there than what people are asking for. I know the traffic is bad, I’ve been in that traffic for years. I don’t believe 100 more units is going to break anything.”
The Potala Village site is one of two in Kirkland zoned as ‘BN,” for neighborhood business, which allows ground floor retail and commercial use with residences above, but does not specify density levels for the upper floors. Its current category in the Comprehensive Plan is Residential Market. The recommendation would change that to Neighborhood Center, which envisions a more limited development; the recommendation would add limits to the number of residences above.
City Planning Director Eric Shields acknowledged after the meeting that the zoning code and Comprehensive Plan are complicated and their lack of specificity have made the Potala Village process difficult.
“We’re struggling now to figure out what the BN designation should allow,” he said. "What this does though is, it gives the Planning Commission an idea of how to proceed.”
In other business Tuesday night, the council:
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- Heard a report from Kirkland Police Capt. Bill Hamilton on the ongoing discussions about dealing with summertime noise and behavior issues with party boaters on Juanita Bay. Residents and regular visitors to the bay’s two parks have complained for year about the impact, but a city plan earlier this year to deal with it . Hamilton said new draft regulations, which should be available on the city web site today, would focus more on regulating noise. The earlier draft also would have also prohibited more than two boats from tying up together, or rafting -- a rule sharply criticized by the boating community.
- Discussed three options on what to do with the city-supported Kirkland Cultural Council in light of the city’s ongoing budget issues. All three would change the name of the council, with one keeping its funding and city staffing at current levels but focusing its efforts on public art; another favored by the council slightly increasing funding and staffing and sharpening its focus; and a third turning it into a non-profit with no city connection but with wide-open goals. After testimony by Cultural Council members, including a detailed list of its many accomplishments by co-founder Kathy Feek, the council voted to recommend the first option, but to allow the council to decide its focus. The recommendation now goes to the city Economic Development Committee.
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