Kirkland City Council does not vote on moratorium, opts for interim ordinance
During a public hearing held Tuesday night, the Kirkland City Council passed on the chance to vote on two ordinances involving the building moratorium in downtown Kirkland. A dozen or so passionate speakers from the audience lobbied the Council toward their point of view, but in the end the City Council decided to go a third way. The Council compromised and agreed to work toward an interim ordinance in place of the building moratorium. The interim ordinance will be drafted by staff to encapsulate the limited intent of the Council with regard to changes in downtown zoning. It will be presented to the Council at a future meeting.
The interim ordinance will be limited in scope and area so as not to cast a pall over the entire downtown and will deal with specific issues of contention. The two ordinances which were not voted on were:
- #4142 Imposing a Moratorium Within Central Business District Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8.
- #4143 Relating to Land Use and Zoning, Adopting Interim Zoning Regulations for the Review Process for City Council Initiated Amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and/or Zoning
After the conclusion of the hearing, the City Council voted unanimously on a series of ordinances to raise taxes and/or fees on:
- Solid Waste
- Sewer Systems
- Water Systems
Posted by Rob Butcher on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Filed under Council · Tagged with City Council, Development, Downtown, Features, Moratorium, Vote
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For those who weren’t at the meeting or watching online, the first known casualty of the moratorium is the owner of the antique mall. After two and a half years of negotiation she reported that her deal is “kaput” due to the council’s action. Council members agreed to look at her request to carve out her parcel from the moratorium. With the impending construction of the transit center and library, it makes so much sense to let the antique mall property be developed concurrently to minimize disruption to surrounding residents, businesses, and guests of the Heathman.
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It is really too bad that the Council could not see their way clear to granting an exception for this project. The site needs to be redeveloped and with the transit center and the library remodel taking place it would be an excellent time for construction on that site. I guess we just have to count this as one more loss to the obstructionist Council and one more loss to the residents of Kirkland.
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They certainly had no problem raising taxes, I notice. Have they even considered trying to carve some money out of the budget?
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Mavio, they are going throught a process to cut spending as well. Each city department has been asked to come up with a prioritized list of cuts which would reduce their spending up to 8%. Then the council will have to decide what to do in each area.
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