The Kirkland City Council will hold its annual retreat on March 19-20 to receive results of the recently conducted community survey, discuss goals and performance measures, be given financial updates and discuss the 2011-2012 Budget outlook and process.  The retreat will be held Friday, March 19, 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Heritage Hall, 203 Market Street, Kirkland, WA and Saturday, March 20, 9 a.m. to... [Read more]

The City of Kirkland has a new tourism branding logo. The new image depicts a sailboat with the word Kirkland and the strapline, “Water.Colors.Everything.” At the March 2 Kirkland City Council meeting, the council approved the new branding for the city following a presentation by Ellen Miller-Wolfe, Economic Development Manager. On February 9, 2010 the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) met... [Read more]

Council Up Close is a series of Q&A interviews of Kirkland’s City Council, produced by the City of Kirkland. Each thirty minute interview is conducted by Scott Mullet and is an opportunity to learn more about our City Council members. The first three interviews are in the can and available to watch online (scroll to the bottom of the page). Council Up Close – Mayor Joan McBride (26... [Read more]

UPDATED The first Kirkland City Council meeting of 2010 started with the ceremonial swearing in of the the new council members. Kirkland City Clerk Kathi Anderson administered the oath of office to Council Members Joan McBride (Position No. 1), Penny Sweet (Position No. 3), Amy Walen (Position No. 5) and Doreen Marchione (Position No. 7) who were elected to office in the November 2009 general election.... [Read more]

In this letter to the editor written by Mr. Robert L. Style, some comments were made regarding Mr. Toby Nixon. We invited Mr. Nixon to write a response and we have posted it here in its entirety. -Admin By Toby Nixon It is incorrect to say that the city will “lose out on more than $75,000” by moving the effective date of annexation to June 1 from July 1, 2011. That figure is based on an estimate... [Read more]

By Robert L. Style At last night’s Council meeting, the Council approved annexing the PAA 4 to 3.  It was one of the most serious breaches of trust between four elected officials and our citizens that we’ve seen in many years.  The four did not represent the people who elected them. How we got to this vote is important.  Several Councilmembers lead by Mr. Sternoff said they did not want... [Read more]

With a narrow margin of 1 vote, the Kirkland City Council voted 4 to 3 tonight to proceed with annexation of the neighborhoods of Kingsgate, Upper Juanita and Finn Hill. The annexation of these neighborhoods will fulfill a promise made by the City of Kirkland decades ago. The decision prompted cheers from the audience when the annexation vote passed. The mood of the council was not all cheery as evidenced... [Read more]

At the December 1 Kirkland City Council Study Session, annexation and the budget were front and center. With concerns or reservations about annexation expressed by only two councilmembers, it appears that Kirkland will proceed with annexation before the end of the year. Annexation is on track for passage by the Kirkland City Council. Since annexation received over 50% of the vote in the general election,... [Read more]

Just two days after the election, the City of Kirkland announces a Special Study Session for the City Council to discuss some sobering news: the 2009-2010 mid-biennial budget “gap” has risen to a whopping $13.1 million. The table below summarizes the revised shortfall projection and the staff’s recommended strategies for closing the “gap.” The decisions on where to cut... [Read more]

Political gamesmanship was again played at last night’s Kirkland City Council meeting. However, that is now par for the course and really no surprise. Of particular interest in this election was the Sterbank Review of the Bank of America fiasco from last year in which actions taken by City Staff were reviewed by outside council. In a nutshell, Sterbank’s review said the City acted accordingly.... [Read more]

  For those of you who have yet to vote in this election, one lesson to learn is this: do your homework. There are falsehoods and dirty tricks being played to persuade... [Read more]

UPDATED In a startlingly frank assessment of the current Kirkland City Council and those yearning to join it, the Seattle Times has made the following endorsements: Seattle Times Endorsements for Kirkland City Council Position 1: Joan McBride (incumbent) Position 3: Penny Sweet Position 5: Amy Walen Position 7: Doreen Marchione The Seattle Times states, “Kirkland deserves a City Council... [Read more]

The following is a list of endorsements each of the candidates for Kirkland City Council has earned to date. Update information by submitting it here. Position 1 Joan McBride (incumbent) ORGANIZATIONS Kirkland Firefighters City of Kirkland AFSCME Women’s Political Caucus Cascade Bicycle Club Washington State Conservation Voters FORMER KIRKLAND MAYORS Doris Cooper Bill Woods Michaele Muse Larry... [Read more]

The Kirkland City Council will hold a Special Study Session on the Shoreline Master Program Thursday, October 22nd at 6:00 PM in the Peter Kirk Room of City Hall. The Council is considering changes to regulations of waterfront property owned by the City and private property owners. To learn more about is subject, please download the Shoreline Master Program from the Council packet (17.6 MB). Read More →

There will be four opportunities to see the candidates running for Kirkland City Council in the next few weeks. Each forum is unique: one is focused on specific issues; another includes only candidates for position 5; and another requires an advanced reservation to attend. The best bet is to attend the October 12 candidate forum sponsored by Holy Spirit Lutheran Church — it is free and all candidates... [Read more]

Kirkland City Council candidate campaign contributions & expenditures to date. Source: PDC The four open seats on the Kirkland City Council are drawing a lot of attention — and a lot of money. Unlike all too many recent election cycles when there were candidates who ran unopposed, this year there is a healthy stable of candidates wanting to represent you in Kirkland. Soon the campaigns will... [Read more]

The Kirkland City Council unanimously adopted a resolution on September 15, 2009, expressing opposition to Initiative Measure No. 1033 (I-1033) which will appear on the November 3 general election as “Initiative Measure No. 1033 concerns state, county, and city revenue.” The City Council held a public hearing; no member of the public addressed the Council. I-1033 seeks to limit the growth of... [Read more]

At the July 7 Kirkland City Council meeting, the second public hearing regarding zoning in the potential annexation area (PAA) was held. Decisions made by the council could potentially include down zoning regarding building heights, limiting property uses on oversized vehicles, storage containers and chickens. The Council continued the public hearing until its July 21 meeting. Staff identified... [Read more]

Dear Citizens of Kirkland and the Finn Hill, Juanita, and Kingsgate Neighborhoods, Thank you for your recent correspondence to the Kirkland City Council regarding the City’s potential annexation of the Kingsgate, North Juanita, and Finn Hill neighborhoods. Whether you are new to this process or have been involved over time, your interest and concerns are valued by the City Council.  As you... [Read more]

Mayor Jim Lauinger is on a tour of the neighborhoods giving a presentation titled, The State of the City. His message is focused on the City budget and infrastructure needs. In case you don’t recall,  2008 came to a close with the City looking at nearly a $19 million deficit. By law, the City of Kirkland must have a balanced budget. So, as the economy softened, the City scrambled to make up... [Read more]

Local media was present at City Hall last night when citizens of Kirkland and the Potential Annexation Area (PAA) filled Council chambers for a public hearing on annexation. Following the comments of about 40 from the audience, the Council voted in favor of annexation by a margin of 5 to 2. The comments in the public hearing appeared evenly split – most in favor of annexation were from the PAA,... [Read more]

Councilmember Bob Sternoff has recently been elected to serve on the board of directors for the Suburban Cities Association of King County. Suburban Cities Association is a nonprofit corporation representing 37 suburban cities in King County. Founded in the 1970’s, the purpose of SCA is to lead King County cities with populations less than 150,000 to act locally and partner regionally to create... [Read more]

The Kirkland City Council will hold a Public Hearing on January 20, 2009 for changes to the Comprehensive Plan with regard to downtown Central Business District (CBD) zoning. Significant changes are being planned as to how development will occur in the future in an effort to clarify, and modify the limits to downtown development. Some of the planned changes include: building heights, setbacks, and... [Read more]

At the December 16, 2008 City Council meeting, the Council passed sweeping tax increases as well as the Biennium Budget for 2009 – 2010. During the discussion of Ordinance No. 4161, relating to enacting a “head tax” on Kirkland businesses, individual Councilmembers spoke at length on the problems Kirkland has with its budget process and tax structure. Councilmembers revealed their... [Read more]

Council struggles to find way to balance City Budget At the final Kirkland City Council meeting of the year, the agenda was packed. Before the City Council were 21 ordinances and a council chambers filled with concerned citizens. After months of budget discussion, debate, bartering and horse-trading, the time had come to adopt the Biennial Budget for 2009-2010. The service level cuts and utility tax... [Read more]

At the December 2nd City Council meeting over twenty people signed up to speak to the Council on issues such as the Costco gas station PAR, Touchstone’s Parkplace PAR and the South Kirkland Park and Ride. Both the Costco PAR and the South Kirkland Park and Ride issue produced passionate voices of opposition. View Larger Map The South Kirkland Park and Ride, which straddles the Kirkland/Bellevue... [Read more]

It’s unanimous. The City Council, City Staff, the Developer and CiViK all let out a collective sigh of relief as the nine-month long ordeal ends with smiles and handshakes all around   The Bank of America project, at 101 Kirkland Avenue, received the go ahead from the Kirkland City Council last night when they passed Resolution 4731- in support of the alternative design which will have the... [Read more]

At the Kirkland City Council meeting last night, two public hearings were conducted with regard to downtown development: Ordinance No. 4149 Relating to Land Use and Zoning Within Central Business District (CBD) Zone 1, Adopting Interim Zoning Regulations Limiting the Height of Buildings Within Design Districts 1A and 1B as Designated in the Moss Bay Neighborhood Portion of the Comprehensive Plan to... [Read more]

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... [Read more]

The Kirkland City Council held a Special Council Meeting to answer questions of the Juanita neighborhood held Thursday evening at the Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Juanita. Each council member spoke briefly about an issue and the audience was allowed to ask questions. Some interesting pieces of information were revealed along with some lively conversation. Notes from the evening: Superior Court –... [Read more]